III. The Impact of Her

’After what seemed to be an eternity underwater, strong arms finally pulled me out.

’As soon as I was removed from the icy ocean water, I coughed vigorously as I tried to get as much air as I possibly could. My back ached as my breathing struggled.

’Father called out as he helped me regain consciousness, “Robert! My dear boy, are you all right?”

’I nodded as I continued coughing.

’Father quickly carried me and rushed over to where my mother and sister were. “There is nothing to fear son, I am here.”

’Mother cried as we approached them, “Robert!” Father crouched down to them as we sat together in a corner. “My son,” Mother pulled me into her arms. Her tears fell on my face as she cradled my little body.

’Father looked at us all and said, “No matter what happens, we stay together. Do you understand?” Determination was evident in his voice, driven to make sure we survived this chaos. “I will do everything to make sure we return home safely.”

’Mother gave him a kiss and we all shared a tight embrace.

‘At the brief moment of solace, everything seemed peaceful, secured. The people around us still ran amok, screaming for their lives. But everything was muffled out as my family surrounded me.’

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

My eyes slowly opened as I awakened. I sat up and sunk my head in my hands as I tried to process the dream that I just had.

For the past months, I had the strangest dreams. Most dreams were easily called unreal. However, some of them didn’t feel like they were dreams only.

They felt real.

Could they be some sort of memories?

Or had I gone mad?

~*~*~*~

Days passed since the night that I had that strange dream. I did my best to ignore it but I couldn’t anymore. I knew I had to ask somebody about it.

After changing into my riding clothes, I headed to the kitchen in search of Nana. I had no doubt that she could explain the meaning of my dreams. She was quite known to give somewhat accurate interpretations of dreams.

“Good afternoon, everybody!” I greeted the servants as I entered the kitchen.

Everyone smiled and greeted me as I walked past them. Everybody with the exception of Nana Rose, who was Elizabeth’s former nanny. She was always the cranky woman in the kitchen. Nana Olsa would sometimes make a joke that Nana Rose was born that way.

I looked around the kitchen but Nana Olsa was nowhere to be seen. I checked where she usually cooked but everything was clean. It was as if she hadn’t cooked for the day yet.

I approached one of the cooks and asked, “Have you seen Nana Olsa?”

“Your Highness,” the cook bowed, “I heard she is in Her Majesty’s garden right now.

“Thank you,” I nodded and rushed to Mother’s garden.

~*~*~*~

As I approached Mother’s garden, the fragrance of the flowers could be smelled from afar. The breeze carried their scent - from the roses to the jasmines - towards my direction. It was absolutely enticing. As I entered, Nana was by the roses with a pair of cutters in hand. Seeing that she hasn’t noticed me yet, I sneaked up to her and hugged her from behind.

“Oh!” she exclaimed as she grabbed onto my arm. “Oh, my dear boy!”

I giggled mischievously as she turned around to face me. “Good afternoon, Nana,” I said.

“Good afternoon, dear one,” she smiled. She let out a deep breath, with her hand on her chest. “You have been having too much fun scaring me,” she remarked.

“It’s not that, Nana,” I replied as I put my hands behind me. “Well, I may be having too much fun with it,” I smirked playfully, “But you’re just too easy to scare.”

“I know I am. But you have to refrain from doing that. I can die of a heart attack,” she said.

I nodded. “I am sorry, Nana.”

“Anyways, what brings you here?” she asked as she returned to the roses.

“I looked for you in the kitchen but you weren’t there,” I said as I stood beside her. I continued, “One of the cooks told me that you were taking care of Mother’s garden today.”

Nana nodded as she examined each and every flower. “It’s been a while since I last tended to your mother’s garden. I’m supposed to do that everybody. However, I wasn’t able to because someone took my cutters and didn’t return it to its proper place. I had to ask someone to fetch me a new one,” she replied.

“Were you able to find the culprit?” I asked.

She stopped cutting and faced me once again. “I haven’t solved that matter yet. However, I did find my cutters in one of my aprons. I found it this morning,” she giggled.

I shook my head in response.

Nana continued, “I have grown old, Robert. My mind isn’t as sharp as it is before.”

“You still know everything about me, Nana. Your mind isn’t that dull,” I replied.

“Everything about your family is an exception, of course. Those were instilled in my brain during my prime. I won’t be able to forget that,” Nana said. She turned back to the roses again and asked, “Why are you looking for me, dear one?”

“I have been meaning to talk to you about something,” I said as I walked to her right side. I then explained, “I have these dreams that feel as if they are true. They feel as if they are some sort of memories that I know nothing about.”

I added, “You used to give dream interpretations. And I’m hoping that maybe you can give me some answers.”

“What are your dreams about, exactly?” she asked whilst she cut a few dead roses.

“Some are memories about a happy family. But the recent ones are about me and my family. We were in a sinking ship,” I replied.

Nana stopped.