Nadine narrowed her eyes while looking at their faces; she could swear on her life at this very moment that she had seen these men before. She knew each one and exactly what they were talking about, yet her mind nor her body let her react or even talk.

“If our calculations are right, we must move fast. We cannot let them take our right to fight,” the standing man said and looked at the rest. The third man from the right looked at him intensely before standing up and walking to stand beside him. He looked different; he had a full chestnut brown beard and hair, and he was wearing more layers of clothes than the rest. Nadine’s eyes widened. She knew this man, she knew his name, yet she didn’t move or speak.

“I evaluated everything; they are everywhere,” — he sighed and eyed the rest of the men who shared the same worrying reaction — “they are in disguise, recruiting weak souls to get to the heart.”

The man sitting in front of Nadine gasped and said, “but… how? The heart doesn’t exist in any reality!”

“I tried everything to prove that they are not, but… if we don’t stop them, we will lose everything. Our only chance is in seven.”

“She is not even born yet! None of the other girls had it! She won’t,” another man said.

“I saw every possibility, and it all led to the massacre,” — he rubbed his temples roughly — “I saw it with my own eyes. It is the girl from the seven.” He sighed and looked at the man next to him. “Did you find him?”

The man looked at him and said, “He is seventy-three… but he is mundane.” The other man was about to ask something else, but he didn’t when the man continued his answer, “I don’t think he could do anything.”

He stood up and went to the right to a huge brown door. “We have to get the girl before any of them… we must protect her till we can fight them without risking her life.” The rest nodded their heads, agreeing with him. He nodded back, then grabbed the doorknob; a loud noise hit the whole place the moment he opened the door.

Nadine gasped for air. She looked around, she was in her room. Nadine couldn’t call it a dream anymore. She looked at the clock next to her; it didn’t move even a second. She could remember everything this time, but she won’t any longer.

Her mind kept itself safe, erasing anything she remembered, leaving her yearning for something she didn’t know. She blinked several times before sitting up. Like every morning, she was left with emptiness in her heart.

She grabbed her iPod to switch it off before leaving her bed. Her eyes went from the iPod to her left hand. A cicatrix between her thumb and index fingers looked rough, not stitched nor treated. For years, she believed the accident she had when she was eighteen was the reason behind the scar. Her parents told her she survived such a horrible accident with no broken bones or even a bleeding wound.

No one knew how she got the scar.

Eight years ago, she got into an enormous car crash. She was driving on El-Gaish road when suddenly her car flipped multiple times causing her to become heavily disoriented. The only thing she remembered from that day was the world passed up and down in a blur and faint voices screaming her name. She heard the same voice say something else, yet she never recalled what it was.

After she woke up in the hospital, she couldn’t recognize anyone. When the doctors asked her if she remembered anything, nothing was in her mind but her name. The doctors said that her memory loss was because of the accident, and she might not get back. After one month, she remembered everything except her childhood memories; even the things she remembered were more like feelings from the past, not genuine memories.

Anyone who knew Nadine would mostly envy her. Nadine had a perfect-looking life. She was the youngest member of one of the wealthiest families in the country. Nadine had the money and the power to have anything she wanted yet it wasn’t as luxurious as it sounded. She wasn’t free to decide anything major in her life. She must follow in her family’s footsteps.

She was the only granddaughter of the Abaza family; her family dominated her life in every aspect. It wasn’t bad to have a comfortable life ready for her to lead yet feeling captivated was drifting her away and she didn’t know why she kept feeling this way.

She didn’t celebrate her birthday after the accident; she couldn’t even remember if her family ever celebrated that day. Three months ago, was her birthday. Her cousin Camellia threw her a party even though it was a hectic day.

Nadine smiled as the memory came vividly to her. She looked over her room while heading to her closet to get ready. There were many pictures of her with Camellia hanging on the walls. Nadine opened her closet and there was a picture on the closet door of their summer trip two years ago in South Korea. She remembered how crazy this trip was. “If I only knew all that crap would happen just one year after this photo,” she said sarcastically and looked away.

After she went to the bathroom to have a quick shower, her phone rang, she looked at it and blew dry her black wavy hair. She had a kind of beauty that women love to hate, with a willowy figure. Light-olive skin tone, heart-shaped face, and almond brown eyes. Long curved eyelashes, and naturally full round light red lips with rounded cupids bow.

Her phone kept ringing. Two names were calling her: Camellia and Adam. She finally answered one of them after taking a deep breath. “Nadine!! Please talk to me.” Adam’s voice strained.

“Don’t call again.” She hung up the phone before Adam could say anything else. Nadine went to her room to wear her heels while holding her phone, blocking Adam’s number. She checked herself over in the mirror one last time. “Will it ever end?” she said and grabbed her bag.