Chapter 1
Tamwine
PRESENT DAY
ANMARA
My sweet sleep is ripped apart by a strong jolt, followed by a muffled voice.
“Miss, we arrived at your destination!”
I hear a door opening. I try to part my eyes, but a strong headache surrounds me, and my vision blurs.
I feel like I’m being lifted and sat down by two strong and agitated arms on a softer surface. The dizziness subsides, and I realise that I was lying on the ground on a burgundy carpet just a few seconds ago.
”Miss, are you ok?”
I finally succeed in looking around and realising I’m in a luxurious train berth, and the one who helped me is a member of the staff.
How the hell did I end up here?
“Where are we?”
I try looking outside the window of the cabin for the town’s name, in which we supposedly arrived, but the light from outside is too strong for my tired eyes to be able to see anything. I grab the pair of sunglasses from the table next to me and put them on.
“Tamwine, miss,” says the man just before I read its name on the panel in front of the train station. “You need to get off immediately! The train is about to leave.”
I’m still confused, but I start gathering all the things that are supposed to be mine while admiring the interior of the cabin I’m in.
The bed I’m lying on faces two cosy and elegant chairs, one of which has a bag that I think belongs to me.
Between the two sets of furniture, there’s a table, on top of which are a multitude of sweets, a glass of orange juice half full, and a candle in the middle that seems barely blown out.
Above the chairs is a big suitcase, which makes my eye twitch when I think about having to get it down alone, but I exhale with relief when the crew member sees my reluctance and decides to help me with it.
My gaze turns to the window above the table, which offers a view of the splendid train station.
I freeze for a few moments, drawn by all the greenery spreading across the building’s facade, which creates a beautiful natural decor.
Around it, a lot of elegantly dressed people, like barely off an important meeting, are walking around the unique and colourful flower pots.
Everything seems… perfect.
The train staff member clears his throat, waking me up from my thoughts. I hurry to get out of the berth with my luggage before checking if I haven’t forgotten anything.
Not that I know exactly what I have to forget, considering I don’t remember how I got into this situation.
Walking through the hallway by the lined-up pots with low flowering shrubs, I admire the decor on the train cabin’s exterior, which fascinates me with the same intensity as the magnificent train station.
I get out of the train, with no exact destination in mind, and I don’t even manage to admire its exterior as it quickly departs.
I’m more than confused. I don’t even know why I feel so damn weakened, where I came from, or why the hell I'm in a town called Tamwine.
I just know my name: Anmara Brown.
Nothing more.
Wanting to calm down, I manage to close my eyes for a few seconds. Inside me is an entire hurricane of emotions, full of restlessness and frustration because I don’t know anything about me or this destination I’m in.
Feeling the movement and the continuous humming around me, I decide to finally open my eyes and go around the train station in search of a toilet to just look for a second in the mirror.
A big sign takes me to it, and I get in front of a mirror surrounded by small gold details.
When my sunglasses come off, I feel a deep shiver down my spine.
Why the heck do I have a black eye?
Getting closer to the mirror, I softly touch it and flinch when I feel the deep pain just from the light pressure I applied to it, a sign that the wound is pretty recent. It’s probably linked to my sudden awakening.
I look down at my clothes, and I feel like I don’t have anything to do in a place like this, seeing the people from here. I’m wearing a pair of blue flared jeans, a low-cut red blouse, and a fucking pair of sneakers.
I have to find a hotel, lie in a bed, open my luggage, and find a freaking clue that could tell me how I ended up in the situation I’m in now.
Putting back my sunglasses, I get out of the toilet. I don’t want to keep staring at my lost expression in the mirror.
I get closer to one person who’s walking in my direction, but she doesn’t even notice me when I greet her.
Now, that is strange.
In the absence of good manners and being pretty desperate, I stop in front of an elderly woman.
I address her politely and ask whether there are any available hotels in this city.
She rolls her eyes at me for bothering her, but tells me that the only accommodation option is the city centre hotel called Tamwine Ville.
I thank her, but she just passes me, rolling her eyes once again, and hitting me with her black leather bag.
Strange people. Very grumpy. It just seems like all of them woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
Or maybe they have their period.
Ignoring the voice inside my head, I go directly to where they sell tickets to find out how to get to the only hotel in town. I note the route to it on a crinkled piece of paper I found in my bag. It’s kinda odd that it didn’t have anything on it, though.
I thank the smiling person behind the thick glass, and I move towards the exit of the building, thinking why I didn’t ask this nice lady from the beginning instead of dealing with the fussy, strange people.
The road is going to be an absolute nightmare with my big suitcase that I’m barely carrying behind me, and the big, heavy backpack on my back. Plus, I have a small pink leather bag with me, which I don’t even know why I combined with my outfit. I don’t have any fashion sense, as it seems.
Getting out of the train station, I feel the fresh air, with no sign of pollution, as if I were on top of a mountain.
Many flowers like the ones from the station are all around me, but what really makes the city look more like a paradise is the river that’s elegantly flowing just a few steps from me.
Also, the paved streets have very few cars, and I can swear that they are all electric from the subtle noise they make.
Many generous trees and buildings of up to four floors surround me. Every structure has a unique personality, with superb, distinctive elements, from the moss in a different shade on each facade to the way the shops on the ground floor are decorated.
The restaurant on the left side of the train station has a small Japanese garden at its entrance.
The barber shop across the river has a Texan vibe, accessorised with lots of blue, white, and red.
The interesting fact is that I haven’t been able to figure out if I’m still in the UK or in another country, because of how different every inch of this city feels, or because of how beautiful the weather is.
All of a sudden, I feel a gloomy breeze on the back of my neck, giving me goosebumps. I stop for a second to look around me. The weird part is that, apart from the black shutters on the windows of every building, I don’t see anything that’s out of place.
That’s probably the main issue. Everything’s suspiciously too neat.
I make a mental note to see why the hell I wanted to end up in this place. I also need to explore all its streets to unravel the dark stories of every building.
I look back at the noted instructions and breathe the clean air before starting to walk again to the hotel, ignoring the horrible headache that won’t leave me alone at the same time. Lying down and taking the strongest headache pill that exists on this earth is what I desperately need.
In all of my 25 years, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way before. At least, that is what it feels like. My memory is still blurry at the moment, and I cannot manage to remember anything.
On the road to the hotel, I notice that the bridges are also full of the same unusual flowers. A strong fragrance catches my senses, but I can’t tell what the smell is. It feels like roses, but with a divine fruity flavour that makes my headache even worse.
Great.
I try my best to not fall or drop my suitcase so I won’t ruin any flowers. I think these people are utterly obsessed with these, as they majestically surround the city.
I barely manage to walk straight until I reach a huge hotel, which I think could be the biggest building in this city. It has around seven floors and beautiful gardens on its high terraces.
The entrance of the hotel is even more beautiful than what I’ve seen until now in Tamwine.
Different types of trees are all around it, from voluptuous oaks to a very different kind of magnolias, with violet flowers so dark and intense that they seem brought straight from the abyss.
Aside from the mysterious and sophisticated trees, there are plenty of diverse flowers and two artesian fountains surrounding the white marble stairs.
The image of a paradise. I can’t describe it any other way.
I gulp when I see a small, but persistent detail of this hotel: it has five stars.
That’s just great, what can I say? The only hotel in this town, and it’s one for rich people. They should’ve probably told me before getting this far.
That alone makes me realise I don’t even know if I have a credit card to pay with, and I was so stupid not to check.
Before entering the hotel, I search my small bag for money, cards, a phone, an ID card, anything, but I only manage to find an envelope that has the hotel name and a signature in a beautiful calligraphy, but I can’t understand a thing from it.
Amazing.
With my head full of questions and a paralysing lethargy, I surprisingly manage to get up the stairs and enter the hotel without getting tangled up.
I arrive at a simple yet refined reception with black marble and golden details, where I greet the receptionist and hand him the envelope I’m holding.
I study Raymond as he types something in front of a screen, as the tag name on his black uniform reads. His suit has the same details from the reception itself, but its intense black colour absorbs my being into its spell.
Two delicious chocolate eyes get me with my feet on the ground, smiling politely while talking to me.
“Welcome, Miss Brown!”
Before I can speak up that I haven’t told him my name, the Asian receptionist with an interesting accent takes up a card and tells me how to get to the room that is meant for me, but I stop him in the middle of his sentence, surprised by what’s going on.
“How do you know my name?”
“Oh yes, you told me on the phone that this would be the exact reaction you would have,” he says in a very calm and patient way.
“My name is Raymond, and you’ll stay at this hotel for however long you want, because half of the superior floor is yours.
In addition, you will have Blake, who will be at your disposal anytime you want and will help you with anything you may need.
Just keep in mind that he won’t help you with information regarding how you arrived, because that is how I was instructed on the phone and… ”
“Ok, too many details and nothing I’m interested in. I just wanna get up to my room. Can Blake help me with this matter?”
“Of course,” he says. He doesn’t even seem bothered by my angry presence and immediately presses a button.
Just a few seconds later, a beautiful blonde man appears, greets me respectfully, and helps me with my luggage.
Even with all the dizziness that captured my mind, I can see how good Blake looks. Especially in the dark green uniform he’s wearing, similar to the one Raymond has. I admire his arse as I walk behind him to my personal room.
Then it hits me that I own half of the superior floor.
Am I rich? Is this the hotel of a relative or something? Oh my God, is it mine?
Raymond didn’t recognise me from my appearance, but after my voice and envelope, so I haven’t been here before. Or, at least, not whilst he was present.
I try to focus on the paintings and decor in the hallway until we arrive at an elevator more elegant than everything else. Blake turns to me to say something, but I feel how my headache has other plans.
Two strong arms manage to catch me before I hit the ground. I hear Blake’s voice shouting my name before it all goes dark, and I’m swallowed by all the questions I have, with two scared and beautiful blue eyes in my mind.