When I opened my eyes again, I half-expected to be back in my own bed at home. But no — the same ancient-looking room stared back at me.
A number of people were gathered around my bed now. An elderly man sat beside me, holding a bundle of needles in his hand. From the looks of him, he had to be some kind of physician or doctor from this era.
The moment I saw those needles, I screamed. Loud.
The kind lady from earlier was still by my side, patting my back gently, trying to calm me down. I wanted to cry. I wanted to go home.
Then she spoke to the old man.
"What has happened to my daughter?"
My eyes flew wide open.
*Wait… what?*
*Did she just say 'my daughter'?!*
No way. Did she mean *me*?
The physician answered her calmly, "Madam, I believe she is simply stressed and tired. If she rests well, she will be fine."
I almost laughed. *Stressed?* hell yes because I'm "not-from-here!"
The gentle looking woman said looking at the girl earlier
"Xiaomei tell the physician what you told us earlier"
Xiaomei — the maid — spoke up, "Physician, when I tried to wake her, she started speaking nonsense and behaving strangely. Could something have caused this?"
The kind lady looked at me again, worry etched into her face.
Meanwhile, the physician moved closer. Between us hung a curtain for modesty. He reached for my hand but didn't touch it directly; instead, he placed a cloth over it and pressed his fingers against the cloth, like he was checking my pulse.
I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from laughing. *In my world, doctors check your pulse just to see if you're alive. Here, this man looks like he's trying to solve a mystery through my veins.*
I was alive — though honestly, at that point I would have preferred to be dead rather than in this situation.
The physician finally turned back to the lady - the supposed mother of this body and said, "She needs rest. I'll prescribe some medicine."
But his voice didn't sound convincing.
I noticed the worried glances being exchanged between the kind lady, Xiaomei, and even the brothers hovering by the door. They looked... scared. Of me.
The lady whispered, barely audible, "Could it be... a spirit?"
The physician didn't answer. He just packed his needles and left quietly.
And that was worse than any diagnosis.
My "mother" turned to my eldest "brother," her face pale.
"Junhao," she said softly, "I think your sister needs more than a physician. Call… somebody. A shaman, perhaps."
He looked at her, then at me. I could see the worry etched on his face.
"Yes, Mother," he said quietly. "She should rest. I'll find someone."
With that, everyone murmured well-wishes and slowly left the room, leaving me alone on the bed.
I sat there, utterly shocked. *Haunted?*
*Dude, I'm not haunted. I'm just a desi girl stuck in someone else's body.