The hotel room was quiet too quiet except for the soft hum of the air conditioner and the occasional creak of wood.
Iris lay motionless on the bed, her skin pale under the dim golden light. Sean sat beside her, one arm draped protectively over her, the other absently brushing her hair. His eyes were locked on her face, memorizing every furrow in her brow, the tension in her jaw. She was still unconscious. But breathing. That was something.
Next to her, the other woman lay still but not cold. Not dead.
That's what kept rattling him.
She was dusty, skin streaked with sand and scratches. Whoever she was, she had been underground a long time. And yet her chest rose and fell. Slowly. Rhythmically. Almost peacefully.
Sean's eyes narrowed. Something itched at the back of his mind.
Gently, he reached over and tucked the loose strands of hair behind the stranger's ear, wiping away the dried dirt from her cheek.
His breath caught.Her face it was eerily familiar. He stared harder.
She looked like Iris.Exactly like Iris ,a duplicate .This made his heart stumble in his chest.Same bone structure. Same jawline. The resemblance was disturbing.
He shook his head. "No," he muttered under his breath. "I'm tired. I'm imagining it. I've been thinking too much."
But just as he tried to pull away, the door creaked open and a man in a navy blazer stepped inside , the doctor Sean had called.
"You said she was breathing?" the doctor asked, walking over quickly.
"Yes. Both are. But she was buried," Sean gestured at the woman beside Iris. "And now she's just… sleeping?"
The doctor bent down, checked her pulse, then turned to check Iris.
"They look quite alike," the doctor finally said, frowning.
Sean exhaled slowly. "So I'm not crazy."
"No," the doctor said carefully. "Are they sisters?"Sean shook his head.
As the doctor began checking Iris's vitals, Sean looked back at the stranger.
That's when she stirred.She blinked slowly, her eyes fluttering open like petals parting at dawn. Her gaze wandered, empty at first then landed on Iris.Her body tensed.
She didn't speak. She didn't scream.Instead, she curled in on herself, like a child protecting her heart from the world. Her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, and she pressed her face into her elbow. Only her eyes remained visible wide, watching, lost.
Sean approached slowly.
"Hey… can you hear me?" he asked gently.
No response.
He tried again. "What's your name? Do you know where you are?"
Still nothing. Just the steady, haunted stare toward the still unconscious Iris.
Like she was looking at a ghost .She curled tightly on the bed, her limbs drawn in protectively. The silence was thick , the kind that buzzes beneath your skin. She blinked slowly, eyes darting around the room, taking in the strange lights, the walls nothing seemed familiar to her apart from Iris.
She had seen her before, that face hovered at the edge of dreams. Sometimes laughing. Sometimes crying.
Always watching.
Her fingers tightened around her knees. Her throat was dry. Her body hurt.
"Do you know your name?" Sean asked gently.
She didn't respond. Not because she didn't want to but because she didn't know the answer.
"My name is Sean," he continued, voice steady. "And that's Iris. We found you buried… alive. Do you remember anything?"
Nothing. A blur. A heavy feeling in her chest, like sorrow that had no shape or source.
"I don't know sorry," she said finally, her voice hoarse, unfamiliar to her own ears. "I don't know anything."
Sean nodded, even though the pit in his stomach deepened.
She wasn't lying.
The doctor gave a soft sigh. "Memory trauma. Could be temporary. Could be protective amnesia," he muttered, scribbling on a notepad. "Let's give her time."
And just then Iris stirred.It started with a twitch of her fingers.
Then her brow furrowed deeper, and her lips parted as if breathing for the first time.
Sean was at her side in an instant. "Iris? Iris, can you hear me?"
Her lashes fluttered open slowly and she winced against the light.
"Where—" she croaked. "What… happened?"
Sean exhaled, relief washing over him. "You fainted. After we found her."
He gestured to the other bed.
Iris turned her head.
And froze.
She was staring directly at herself. Or someone who looked almost exactly like her bruised, covered in dust, staring back with wide, unblinking eyes.
For a long second, neither of them said a word.
She didn't flinch, didn't move. She just watched her. Not with fear. Not even with shock. But with a kind of aching recognition.
Iris sat up slowly. "Sean… is this? Is this who we found?"
Sean nodded. "She hasn't said much. Just that she doesn't know who she is. The doctor thinks it might be memory loss."
Iris's eyes softened. She swung her legs off the bed and slowly stepped toward the woman who didn't retreat, only kept staring.
And then, woman spoke. Soft. Dreamlike.
"You've been in my head… for so long…"
"I don't know your name… but I know your face."
Iris's breath caught in her throat. Her heart pounded against her ribs like it was trying to break out.
"Do you… remember anything else?" Iris whispered.
The strange lady's eyes grew distant again. "