| Fan Fiction |
by [killerhunter]
“A New Breakthrough in Treatment for Split Personality Mental Illness” – it was the headline which splashed across most of the major newspapers’ and psychiatry research magazines’ front page.
Right at the press conference being held at the city’s top research institution on neuropsychiatry, many reporters and distinguished experts from the neuropsychiatry field had turned up for this exclusive press release on the institution’s new-developed treatment method for patients suffering from ‘dissociative identity disorder’. Everyone had been aware that one of the participating institutes from New Orleans had once experienced a failure in their highly-confidential experiment which had caused the deaths of more than ten people, casualties of around thirty, and two missing crucial personnel. This incident had resulted in a tarnished reputation of the New Orleans research institution, and an internal probe and investigation by the CIA. In the end, the research institution was cleared off all charges due to insufficient evidences.
“You know…” Myolie turned to the director and began to speak. “I don’t like being in the limelight.”
“But this project is under your charge, Dr. Wu.” The director answered. “You can’t escape. Stick together with Sammul. He knows what to say and what not to.”
Myolie sighed softly as she joined Sammul upfront whom was gladly accepting pre-interviews by some reporters. Sammul was someone whom enjoyed being in the center of attention by everyone and the fame. Sometimes, he was a little narcissistic too. Now, he had already surpassed her, his mentor, in most of the aspects, and was capable of being one of the most creative and brilliant research scientists in history. However, she felt that Sammul was rather extreme and inhumane in his thoughts during their experimental tests. Somehow, she felt Sammul strangely familiar as they continued working together for the past two years – it was like she had known this man already, and even knew his habits pretty well too, but he was like wearing a different mask now that she could not recognize him on surface.
“Dr. Wu, will you mind coming over for a moment?” Sammul turned and called out to Myolie.
She nodded and joined in with the conversation which he was having with a previous Nobel-prize winner in the neurology field, Dr. Lincoln. This made her recalled that the latter used to one of Raymond’s colleagues in the past. Myolie did not like to be reminded of the past…and of Raymond. Two years ago, she was determined to put everything behind her, and start anew again, thus she moved over to New York and led another fulfilling life here……with another person.
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[6 Hours Later, Subway Station]
“Seriously Bosco Wong, if you don’t stop your bad habit of reading while walking, I swear you may just end up on the train tracks one day…” Myolie snatched over his favorite science-fiction magazine, as they walked into the train cabin.
Bosco groaned as he tried to get it back from his mentor, “Oh come on, I’m just on the most exciting part of this week’s issue.”
Myolie chuckled as she flung it back into his hands, “I meant it for your own good, dude. I don’t wish to have your mother come nagging at me to take good care of her son again.”
“Oh! Shh!” Bosco looked around nervously as he told Myolie to lower down her voice. “Stop raking up the past, Myo. It’s so embarrassing.”
Myolie laughed as she slapped on Bosco’s arm playfully. He was such an amusing and easy-going friend, and she truly enjoyed being in his company – minus those nonsensical jokes once in a while. Bosco had joined the research institution less than a year ago, and had been under both Sammul and Myolie since then. He had a part in their newest-launched treatment too – in fact, Myolie felt that Bosco had great potential in this area, but Sammul seemed to think otherwise and often condemned Bosco’s ideas and studies. She had loved those sessions when she was over at his apartment burning the midnight oil together with him to brainstorm for new concepts and reflect their past experimental tests. It was then that she got to know more about Bosco and his only family – his mother, and it sort of reminded her about Paul and her back in New Orleans.
“Are you planning to return to New Orleans to visit your dad since this project has finally come to an end?” Bosco casually asked.
Myolie shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know yet. I mean, I hope that Ron has some time off his schedule to go back with me.”
“Oh yeah…Ron…” Bosco started giggling – he always had this reaction when Ron was being brought into their conversation.
Myolie rolled her eyes as people around them began staring at both of them. She nudged him on the arm, and sent him a warning glare to stop his nasal-like laughter. Bosco grinned in mischief as he returned his attention onto the magazine, although he kept stealing glances over at Myolie, which ultimately got on her nerves.
“Now, can you ever tell me what problems do you have with Ron?” Myolie demanded once they arrived at their station and walked out of the train.
Bosco threw up his arms with an innocent expression, “I swear I don’t! I just wonder sometimes……”
“What?” Myolie questioned as she stopped near the entrance of the subway station and turned to stare at Bosco.
Bosco tried to phrase his sentence properly, afraid that it might just piss Myolie further, “Well sometimes…I just have this feeling……that maybe…I mean, maybe you don’t really love Ron…”
Myolie was caught dumbfounded by Bosco’s answer that she did not know what rebuttal she should shoot back at him. It seemed to have hit on a raw nerve as there was this guilty feeling welling up within her as she looked away from Bosco.
“You see, Myo, I’m really sorry.” Bosco saw the change in her expression. “I was just kidding as usual. I just think that you really look compatible with Ron. I’m serious!”
Myolie punched in his stomach playfully, before pinching his ear, “Don’t ever say that again, especially in front of Ron.”
Bosco nodded with a serious expression. He regretted saying those words out, because it seemed to have affected Myolie greatly. However, Myolie had not blamed him for those words, since he had no idea about her past with Raymond – she never talked to anyone about it anyway ever since she moved to New York City. Even Ron was not allowed to talk about the past.
“Some kind of game you guys are playing?” A familiar voice spoke from behind Myolie.
“Hey Ron!” Bosco called out as they struck palms in the air. “You’re late, dude. We’ve been waiting for like……”
“Ignore him, Ron. I bet he’s on drugs.” Myolie chuckled. “Just take him in for questioning.”
Ron laughed, “Join us for dinner, Bosco?”
“I wish to.” Bosco replied before smiling over at Myolie. “But I believe someone here will love to have a romantic dinner alone with you.”
Myolie rolled her eyes and swung her handbag to hit him, “Oh gosh, get out of my sight immediately, Bosco Wong.”
Bosco pulled Ron over and whispered aloud, “Told you that she wants to be alone with you for tonight.” With that, he quickly scrambled away before Myolie could knock some sense into him.
“I’ve booked a table at the Italian restaurant. I remember that you like the spaghetti over there.” Ron held onto Myolie’s hand as they walked down the streets.
Myolie nodded with a faint smile. Somehow, she just could not take her mind off Bosco’s words earlier on. Had Ron sensed the same way as Bosco did all along – that she had not completely forgotten Raymond yet?
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[Storage Warehouse]
A huge, long truck stopped in the unloading bay of the storage warehouse of one of the largest supermarket chains in New York City.
“Hey Jason! Beer tonight?” Someone had come out from the security section and asked the truck driver.
“Yeah, let me do some checking on the goods first.” Jason yelled back.
He unlocked the truck at the back, and opened the doors. The cartons and boxes were all intact, just like how they were being stored in Boston, and then being transported into this city.
“Jason, be quick! The beer’s not going to wait!” The security guard continued to urge.
Jason jumped down, and left towards the security section to join his colleagues for a beer-drinking session. The weather was too appropriate for some mugs of beer now. After several minutes, a carton nearer towards the doors of the truck began moving slightly. It then opened up and a man appeared from within it. Brushing off the cotton on his clothes, he stealthily pushed the doors a little, and after ensuring that no one was watching the surroundings, he jumped down and moved quickly to hide behind a machine. As the security at this time was pretty lax, he had no difficulty in getting out of the compounds without being caught. She’s right, he thought silently in his mind as he walked down the roads out to the main streets. Having only a small backpack with him, he retrieved a map of the city, before searching around for a public telephone booth. Popping a few coins in, he heard the dialing tone and waited for an answer.
“Hello?” A lady had answered – just as he expected.
“I’ve arrived.” He said. “Has your plane touched down yet?”
“Yes, I’m trying to catch a cab out to the town area now.” She replied. “We shall meet at the place which we’ve decided, okay? In another hour or so?”
“Sure.” With that, he hung up, and got out of the booth.
He heard his stomach growling fiercely due to the aroma of food hanging around the entire town. He was used to starvation already back in Russia, until he met his supposed savior, and she provided him with free food and lodging. Surprisingly, when he told her his story, she had believed in him completely without a doubt, and he came to know that she was a budding scientist as well in college. The main reason that he could return, albeit illegally, and execute the next step of his plan was entirely thanks to her help.
“Mister, will you like to try out authentic Italian cuisine?” A sales-promoter on the streets passed a flyer to him. “Our restaurant’s just a few steps up over there. You’re welcomed to take a look.”
He used to love Italian food, especially the spaghetti. But he wondered how long it had been since he last ate these foods.
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[Italian Restaurant]
“I saw the news this afternoon.” Ron rose up his wine-glass. “Congrats on your project. You’ve finally succeeded.”
“Thanks.” Myolie accepted his congratulations.
Just then, the waiter, whom was walking past their table, tripped against the leg of Myolie’s chair, and caused her to spill some wine on her skirt.
“I’m so sorry, Miss.” The waiter repeatedly apologized, before he accidentally knocked her handbag off the table.
“It’s okay. Relax.” Myolie said as she bent down to pick up the handbag herself.
At this moment, something shiny began dangling out from Myolie’s blouse, and it caught Ron’s attention. He did not need to take a closer look to identify what was hanging around Myolie’s neck.
“Are you alright?” Ron asked in concern after the waiter cleared up the mess.
Myolie nodded with a smile before excusing herself, “I need to visit the washroom first.”
After Myolie had left the table, Ron took in a deep breath as he retrieved a small, wrapped box from his pocket. He opened it, and stared at the identical rings in the box. Earlier on, he had discovered that Myolie was still keeping her engagement ring with Raymond – and strung it on a necklace and hung it on her neck. He wanted to believe that Myolie had truly put the past behind her, and started afresh together with him. He had even requested for a transfer to New York two years ago just to be with her, and in the end, she had accepted him, and they were going out since then. Ron had a faint smile on his face as he quickly kept the box back to its original place. He should not let some past events affect his current relationship with Myolie – tonight, he would propose to her, and he knew that she had no reason to reject him.
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He stood not far away from the Italian restaurant as he stared down at the flyer in his hands. Walking closer towards the glass panel, he looked in, before his eyes landed upon a familiar figure. After such a long time, he felt his almost-dead heart reviving back to life again, as it pounded harder and harder against his chest as each second ticked by. His hands had unconsciously crushed the flyer, as he wondered if his mind was playing any tricks on him – since his ‘other self’ residing within him was fond and capable of conjuring up hallucination images in him. No, it’s real, he concluded defiantly.
And at this moment, the figure looked up and stared straight at him. It was as if time had temporarily come to a still as they were both absorbed in each other’s world. He was the first to break away from the intense gaze. Blinking his eyes in disbelief, he turned around hastily and hurried off into the crowd.
“Myo…” Ron stood up from his seat when he saw her running out of the restaurant without a word.
However, before he could catch up with her, a waiter in the restaurant had restrained him as the bills had not been paid yet. In addition, Ron had asked for the restaurant’s cooperation to plan a surprise for Myolie later on.
She headed towards the direction where she saw him going off to. She had no idea if it was merely a mistaken identity…No, it was not. She knew that it was him right from the first sight.
Raymond was not dead…and he had returned.
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Hmmm around 3-4 more chapters to go =) shall end here for today.