Commonweal Private Hospital sat between an unknown book store and a Society-owned Children Hospital not too far off from the city's centre.
Several research projects had been carried out successfully with the aid of its topnotch equipment and staff.
It was one of the few hospitals licensed to carry out unconventional procedures.
The book store stood dull and inconspicuous when compared to the modern and high rising buildings in its environs.
It's true identity was in the fact that it had somehow remained untouched despite the times Hong City had been torn and pieced back together.
Was this however important?
Yael had managed to give a casual glance to its awkward roofing. Perhaps it was.
For a soul out of its vessel, she was seemingly not frantic nor confused.
Quite unsettling.
The famous playwright, William Shakespeare had once said,"The eyes are the window to your soul" , which of course could literally apply to her current state.Her ghostly eyes could be guessed to be a window to her innate nature or it was just that, eyes. Sometimes not everything is meant to be deep.
A nurse who had been keenly observing the heart monitor of the patient in one of Commonweal's operating theatres, where a salpingostomy was being performed noticed a phenomenon. The line on the heart monitor had gone flat for a second but was back to its high and low in the batting of an eyelid.
Salpingostomy, a procedure under ectopic pregnancy surgery involved removing a pregnancy that had begun developing outside of the uterus whilst retaining the the affected area mostly, the fallopian tube.
In the vast majority of cases, ectopic pregnancies occur within one of the fallopian tubes.
Pregnancies that grew outside of the uterus cannot develop normally or survive to viability. Ectopic pregnancy also can cause the organ it's developing in to break open (rupture), which can become a life-threatening emergency for the pregnant person.
The pregnant person wasn't too hard to guess, it was Yael.
Since it was a sight for the otherworldly, the medical staff didn't notice when a translucent version of the pregnant person had hovered near the window.
Besides her stood two other ghostly forms.
One was bathed in strong golden light.
The other was more humanoid.
What occurred was unknown.
The result was a soul had successfully occupied the anaesthetized body of Yael.
All in broad daylight.
....
Recovery Room 08, Commonweal Private Hospital
Her fists clenched and unclenched.
The deliberate digging of her nails left not only pain but also, prominent red marks on her soft palms.
Soft palms on wrinkle free hands.
Augustine Chu hadn't gone completely senile from old age and had given a name to the her current situation, life after death
Although, heaven seemed to clinical with the annoying smell of... bleach
Was this purgatory?
It was the only plausible answer.
She had died at a good age of 74 not only because of old age.
The melancholy associated with trying to be good person despite playing by the dirty rules of politics also played a huge role in pushing her to death.
Yet she was breathing and living.
What other explanation could she think up?
The temperature in the room was normal.
Yael's slender body however visibly shivered.
Internally, it was Augustine but there wasn't anyone to tell the difference.
The memories and thoughts of the original Yael were slowly yet forcefully infiltrating Augustine's, it was accompanied by a severe pounding.
Once the pain receded, Augustine immediately changed her initial conjecture.
Her soul had moved house and was in the body of a young woman named Yael Elisabeth Mo.
Augustine was heavily into the webnovels her young staff lazied about reading.
And the story of Yael's life was unlike the usual transmigration plot that was rampant.
Yael's softly arched eyebrows furrowed as Augustine tried to make sense of the body she was occupying. She frowned when she came across some unsavoury recent events.
After analysing everything, the tension between her brows relaxed.
Both she and the original owner of the body truly deserved each other.
Each despicable in their own might yet innocent in their own right.
Augustine decided to not think herself apart from the original Yael.
From now on, she was a 26 year old young lady from an affluent background.
Augustine lived a stereotypical hard life of girl child when she was younger, everything was reserved for her lazy brother and she had to give thanks for the scraps.
The thought of being young again left her mixed feelings.
Could she really be genuinely happy and fulfilled in this second chance at life?
Her eyelids shut.
With her thin lips curled into a frown, she marinaded in the memories and twisted mind of Yael.
Augustine Chu had been an powerhouse and influence in the politics of Hong City and even The Famous Capital.
Her personal life had been in everlasting turmoil and chaos whilst she dwadled in the game of politics. Her desire for power left her a worldly and scheming woman.
Only when she resigned to the back seat of power did she see the world as what it was.
Vain.
Everything and everyone she sacrificed to climb to the top tormented her endlessly.
She couldn't bring herself to sympathize with how Yael had complicated her own life.
It was time.
The nurses came in after they'd estimated she would be awake.
According to standard, they troubled her to stand up and go on to use the toilet inorder to ease her bladder.
Augustine obediently did as told.
Her foot steps, small and cautious.
The corners of her lips perked up and she couldn't help the jingle of laughter that escaped her.
The nurses exchanged looks.
Ignoring them, she basked in the feeling of being full of life.
Augustine was a new born taking her first steps.
....
Special Ward 02, Commonweal Private Hospital
The radiance of the sun had reduced, signifying the transition of day to night.
Yael hadn't stirred from her self induced rest.
The curtains were drawn close together, due to the nurses' consideration of the sunlight, thus, the ward could only slowly plunge into darkness as night approached.
The lamp beside the bed space lit up spontaneously.
Yael's upturned eyes narrowed immediately as she was startled out of her thoughts.
She was definitely not alone.
Augustine didn't feel any need to be alert.
Assassinations weren't a common thing for the person she was now.
However, this life was probably borrowed and if despite all her efforts, she still suffered and died again, so what?
Her body moved upwards, ignoring the sting that stemmed from her abdomen as she dared to sit up.
Feeling rather uncomfortable, she placed a pillow to cushion her back against the metal head board.
Whoever was in the ward was awfully silent.
"Who is it?", her voice came out in an odd note.
Goodness, she was terribly parched.
The sound of liquid pouring gave her a sense of tranquility the sound of rushing waters gave.
It also pointed out how observant the person was.
A glass of water came into her line of sight.
The lamp was stingy with how much light it provided, hence, Augustine couldn't see past her bed.
Holding the glass of water was an elegant hand. One that looked like it had never seen a day of hard labour.
What, however, truly struck Augustine was the symbol on the simple silver band on his ring finger.
Yael coughed in light amusement and took the glass with a wry smile.
The water left a cooling sensation as it flowed into her body.
With no need to be polite, she downed half the glass without a thanks.
She set the glass on her lap lacing her fingers to wrap round it,
"Aleksander Eli Mo, you didn't bother to visit me when I gave birth to our first child and even now when I killed the possibility of another child, you just sent your secretary along"
" Or are you outside and want him to inform me that you need a grand welcome"
Yael had a child. A living one.
Also,Yael was married. Realistically she was married to herself.
Augustine had been old for quite sometime, hence, she used a person's full name when scolding them and her words were delivered coldly.
The original owner's bitter resentment towards the man had been provoked by anything related to him. Considering the fact that this secretary had another identity which was the cousin of her dear husband did not exactly endear him to her either.
Augustine had once seen the outstanding man Aleksander a decade before her death.
Whilst the rest of her body was aging, her eyes were strangely sharp.
He'd stood glaringly gorgeous, holding perfunctory conversation with about anyone who bothered to stop by for a chat.
Who knew...
With a soft click, the entire ward lit up.
She turned her head, only to make direct eye contact with a pair of lowered eyes.
She raised a brow in response to the glare directed at her.
He dares look at her like that...
Where was he when she was sent out alone on her first day of school?
He wasn't even thought of.
Observing his kind of face closely irked her.
His features were good looking but there was a certain detachment and coldness he exuded. There was no scent to him.
So alien-like.
The original owner had never had need to interact with him. Augustine had a headache
Why isn't he here. I finally did something big this time. There's no way he could just not care.
She lowered her head to take a sip from her glass.
This enabled her masking the ugly expression that flashed across her face.
The voice bouncing in her head was exactly like that of the body she resides.
Her eyebrows scrunched together
The original Yael wasn't gone?
This never happened in the books.
He finally spoke,"Madam. I apologise for intruding in such a way"
After some thought, he added,"Master isn't here"
I had them record the procedure as an abortion in the hospital files.
He should know. He definitely knows.
How can he be so calm. It was our child.
He should be here, To yell at me, promise to...
Augustine blinked as she tried making sense of it alongside, suppressing the tremors from the original Yael's strong reaction.
By her side, he pointedly stared at her flat stomach.
"And?"
"That's all"
"I don't like hospital food. Have the house send over my meals according to the diet the doctor recommends. Also a few clothes and toiletries that could last a week. That would be all"
Her lips part to speak again but he bows and immediately heads for the door.
Although, everything wasn't going along with her expectations.
She had two major hurdles.
One, Aleksander Mo was quite the character.
His reaction made Augustine rethink hers and the original's reputation as scheming women several times over.
Secondly, Yael's consciousness was still within this body.