The next morning, Lifa woke up because of a commotion that kept disturbing her beautiful sleep. Her eyelids felt incredibly heavy, sealed shut beneath the temptation of laziness that had suddenly taken over her entire body.
"Ugh... What time is it? You're so damn noisy," Lifa mumbled, hiding her face beneath the blanket. The lazy soul clinging to the original Lifa seemed to have completely fused with her now as lifana.
However, instead of dying down, the whispers and quiet laughter only grew louder. Her patience ran out. Holding back her irritation with ragged breaths, Lifa abruptly sat upright and shouted, "Ughhh! You're so damn loud! What are you guys even doing?!" Her shrill scream successfully cut off the conversation between the two men in the corner of the room.
"You're awake, Lifa?" asked a very familiar voice. Lifa slowly rubbed her eyes. As the tall, broad-shouldered figure in front of her came into focus, her eyes flew wide open. It was Rehan, the cousin who had nearly scared her to death since yesterday. He was now standing there casually, as if he had just returned from the convenience store down the street.
"Rehan?! Where the hell have you been?! I've been looking for you since yesterday, you know!" Lifa cried hysterically, half relieved and half ready to punch him.
Rehan chuckled softly while rubbing the back of his neck. "Weren't you the one who recommended that I go to that mysterious hill yesterday? You said there was a rainbow mushroom there that could cure Ica, my little sister."
Lifa narrowed her eyes, trying to piece together the fragments of foreign memories in her head. "Huh? You actually went there? But why didn't you tell me first? I've been looking for you since yesterday, and you just disappeared without a word! And... why did you tell this stranger to watch over me?!" she asked, pointing at the man sitting back on the sofa.
Rehan let out a long sigh. "If I'd told you, you'd have whined until I let you come along, and it would've been even more dangerous. And as for Kairo... I asked him because he's reliable. Besides, you two have known each other since you were kids, right?"
"No! I don't know him!" Lifa cut in quickly, shooting Kairo a sharp glare.
The man she was glaring at merely closed the distance between them without a care, slipping both hands into his pants pockets as he flashed an incredibly irritating, faint smile. "Ah, but we just 'met' yesterday. How could you forget so quickly?" Kairo teased softly.
In an instant, the memory of their faces drawing dangerously close yesterday surfaced vividly in Lifa's mind. A warm shiver raced through her, sending her heartbeat soaring and painting both cheeks red.
*Get a grip, Lifa! Don't let a novel character's charm tempt you!* she screamed inwardly, frantically patting her own cheeks.
"Lifa? What's wrong? Why did your face suddenly turn red?" Rehan asked in confusion, tilting his head.
"H-huh? I-I mean... it's hot! Yeah, this room is hot, so my face is red!" Lifa stammered, fanning her burning face with her hands.
Kairo held back a laugh at the girl's ridiculous behavior. *She's kind of cute,* he thought, amused.
"Han, I'm heading out. Something urgent came up at home," Kairo said casually to Rehan, then glanced briefly at Lifa. "Besides, you're here now to look after this burden."
"What do you mean, calling me a burden?!" Lifa shouted indignantly. But Kairo merely waved without looking back, then casually disappeared through the door.
Rehan shook his head at his cousin's behavior. "Come on, Lifa. Why are you so irritable now? Is your amnesia getting worse?"
"I-I mean... maybe?" Lifa scratched her non-itchy head, then leaned forward with a curious expression. "Hey, but that's not important! Tell me about when you went to that hill... Did you really find it?"
"Yeah," Rehan replied with a relieved sigh, the weary look on his face replaced by a faint smile full of gratitude. "I found it, and the mushroom is being processed by a trusted professor right now."
**Flashback** The hill on the outskirts of Kota X felt ominous. Towering trees covered the forest canopy, making it incredibly difficult for sunlight to penetrate the gaps between the leaves. The hill looked more like an untouched primeval forest, filled with thick vines, icy gusts of wind, and the sharp scent of wet earth.
"Sir, we've arrived. Where should we begin our search?" one of the guards asked warily. At his uncle's insistence, Rehan had brought five highly capable guards for his safety.
Rehan stared at the dense forest ahead of him, his brow furrowed. "This hill is huge, and it gets pretty dark inside. We have to find that mushroom before nightfall. Whoever finds it, send up a flare immediately."
Rehan split his team into three smaller groups to search the left, right, and front sides.
The journey was anything but easy. Danger lurked in every gap between the dense vegetation. Rehan and his guards had to deal with the roars of tigers stalking them from behind the bushes, wild monkeys that threw rocks, and old hunting traps left behind by poachers that nearly caught their feet. At one point, the ground beneath Rehan's feet even collapsed at the edge of a steep ravine.
"Sir, we've searched this side, but we still haven't found any sign of the mushroom. It looks like the other groups haven't found it either, since no one has sent up a signal," one of his guards reported, panting heavily as sweat soaked his temples.
The sky began to fade into gold. Despair slowly crept into Rehan's mind. *God, please guide us so we can find this rare medicine and cure my little sister...* he prayed silently.
"We'll keep searching until night! Don't give up. I'm sure that mushroom is somewhere around here!" Rehan shouted to encourage his team.
He retraced the area along the ravine where he had nearly fallen earlier. As he bent down to examine the gaps between the large rocks, his eyes caught an odd glimmer. In a partly hidden corner of the cliff, a cluster of tiny mushrooms was exposed to the last rays of sunlight, radiating a breathtaking rainbow-colored glow.
"Finally... I found it!" Rehan murmured, holding his breath.
With the help of ropes and his guards' sturdy support, Rehan risked his safety to make his way through the rocky crevice along the ravine. Although he nearly slipped for a second time, his hand managed to grasp the rare rainbow mushroom safely.
That very night, they hurried down from the hill and headed for the city laboratory.
"Professor, please examine this. Is it really a rainbow mushroom that can cure all kinds of diseases?" Rehan asked impatiently as he handed it over in the research room.
The gray-haired professor stared at the plant in his hands, his eyes widening. "Where did you find this?!" "On a remote hill in Kota X, Professor."
"Wait outside. I need to examine the components inside this mushroom first!"
Each minute of waiting felt like an hour to Rehan. Finally, the laboratory door opened. The professor emerged carrying a tube filled with mushroom extract, his face glowing with astonishment.
"Congratulations, Rehan! This really is that rare rainbow mushroom! With this, we can formulate an antidote to cure your sister's illness!"
*Crash.*
Rehan's knees suddenly went weak. He sank into a chair in the hallway, covering his face with both hands as overwhelming emotion surged through his chest. His life-and-death struggle in the forest had finally paid off. His little sister had hope of recovering.
*Thank you, God... and thank you, Lifa,* Rehan thought, filled with gratitude.
Rehan quickly wiped his face and stood up. "Professor... can medicine made from this mushroom also be used for someone with amnesia? My cousin happened to develop amnesia yesterday." The professor smiled warmly and nodded. "Of course. Rainbow mushrooms have extraordinary nerve-cell regeneration properties. Their compounds can gradually stimulate damaged or blocked memories in the brain."
"Then please make another dose for my cousin, Professor!"
"All right. Give me two days. The medicine will be ready the day after tomorrow."
**Flashback Off**