A few hours passed by.
Darkness loomed over the unknown. Noise filtered, leaving only the silence and peace undisturbed... Then, suddenly, eyes filled with lingering terror fluttered open. It was the girl. She lay on her back, and the aroma of roses and chrysanthemum flowers filtered the heavy air around the room.
For a moment, her mind went blank, numb. But then the pain arrived.
A sharp throb pulsed across her cheek, followed by a stinging burn along her jaw and temple. She winched, reaching up with trembling fingers to touch the side of her face. Her skin was tender, bruised, and sore from the weight of the books that had crashed on her head earlier.
She tried to sit up slowly, her limbs stiff and uncooperative, numb with exhaustion. Her body ached as if she had been trampled in her sleep.
