Love's Reborn

April 19, 2025

Selena felt her chest burning, her feet were throbbing with pain. She couldn't run any longer. The darkness made it difficult to know exactly where she was going, but she was unable to stop, even if she wanted to. If she stopped, she would probably lose her life.

Even running like a madwoman, she could hear the footsteps behind her, as fast as her own, chasing her through the dark forest since she had left the Campbell mansion.

This night couldn't be more tragic; in fact, her life couldn't be more tragic. Her marriage was a failure, she had been kicked out of the house after a scheme, and now some crazy person was chasing her through the woods since she had left the mansion, desperate and scared.

She was already hoarse from screaming for help, but there was no one to assist her-at least that's what she believed. There had never been anyone to help her in her life; it was proving true again. Once more, she was alone to face her problems; no one would fight for her but herself.

A glimmer of hope reached her heart when Sel noticed that the trees were thinning and the path was becoming clearer. She could even see the light of the full moon illuminating the treetops and making her path a little clearer.

"I'm saved! That opening must be the road! Thank God, I'm saved!" Sel thought, and a smile shone on her face.

But that hopeful smile quickly faded when she reached the clearing. It was a beautiful open area with lush green grass and a lovely view of the full moon, but there she was, trapped. Contrary to what she imagined, there was no highway awaiting her, just a green field surrounded by trees and, ahead of her, a cliff overlooking the sea.

Realizing she had run to her death, she started crying again. From where she stood, she could hear the sea waves crashing against the rocks below and the strong wind howling everywhere. There was nowhere to go back to, as her pursuer was behind her, someone she didn't even know.

Desperate, Selena looked around, searching for an option but found nothing. There was no escape! She ran her hands through her short red hair, walking quickly to the edge of the cliff and looking down. There were many rocks and the open sea ahead. If she survived the fall, she would drown because she didn't know how to swim.

"Damn! Damn! Damn!" she shouted, tears filling her eyes, completely disoriented.

When she turned around, Selena saw a movement among the trees and, moments later, saw him emerge from the forest. Her voice caught in her throat, and her fear-filled tears turned into tears of hatred and resentment. Her face twisted into an expression of pure regret as she took another step back when she saw the gun pointed at her. As she moved, her foot reached the edge of the cliff, and she looked down, seeing once again the waves crashing against the rocks and the sea, furious and relentless, behind her.

"Why are you doing this to me? What did I do to you, huh?" she screamed again, her chest filled with anger. "I didn't do anything to deserve this!" Her voice was trembling, and she felt the tears invading her being once more.

Thick tears rolled down her cheeks, blurring her vision, but even that didn't stop her from seeing the victorious and cruel smile that appeared on her pursuer's lips as he cocked the gun. Then, moments later, he pulled the trigger, shooting Selena in the chest.

She felt a pain she had never felt before; it was physical pain, but it also hurt her soul and shattered her heart into pieces. The person she trusted most was the cause of her death. All the decisions she had made in her life led her to this point.

"Why?" was the last thing she said before her body fell backward, off the cliff.

As she fell, tears streamed down her face, and she felt life leaving her body, her soul being slowly carried away by death.

In the last seconds she had, she saw Anthony at the edge of the cliff, tearing off his shirt and jumping into the sea to save her. A small smile shone on her now-pale lips as she felt the water.

She had no strength left to move or speak, feeling her body slowly sinking into the water. As she closed her eyes, she secretly wished, as her last wish in life:

"I so wanted to change everything... I wanted so much to do things differently... I don't want to die like this! Likewise, I don't! If someone is listening to me, please give me a new chance!"

April 19, 2020

When the sun rose, Sel opened her eyes suddenly.

She was gasping, her chest was sore, her hair felt damp, and her body was limp, almost lethargic. For a moment, she didn't understand what was happening; she remembered the water, the pain from the shot, the forest, but when she looked around, she wasn't in any afterlife realm. Instead, she found only her room, her old room with posters of her favorite band on the walls, pink and delicate curtains at the large window, a wardrobe with a big mirror. Even her usual fluffy rug was perfectly the same.

She furrowed her brow and got up quickly, feeling dizzy as soon as her feet hit the floor. She ran to the mirror and couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her red hair was no longer short; on the contrary, it was long and had beautiful waves at the ends. She was wearing her heart-patterned pajamas, didn't have the tattoo she had secretly gotten on her right shoulder, and, most importantly, didn't have a ring on her finger. There was nothing left from the previous night; the only thing that clearly reminded her that this life wasn't a crazy dream was the small, pinkish, round mark from the shot on her chest, but she didn't remember who had tried to kill her.

For a moment, she didn't know what to do, touching her face, shocked by what she was seeing. But she didn't have time to think much more; her phone rang, and the ringtone filled the room, pulling her out of her trance. She ran back to the bed, grabbed her phone, unlocked the screen, and saw the date in the top corner of the device.

April 19, 2020.

It was the day she would start university.

But that wasn't the most important thing. Besides being the day she was supposed to start university, it was also the day her father would suffer the accident that would set off all the ruin in her life.

"Was my wish granted, then? Is this my new chance?" she thought, feeling her head ache from the shock and fear.

But there was no time to think. She needed to run.

It was time to start changing her life! She wouldn't waste her new chance, nor would she make the same mistakes from the past. Now was the time to build a new life and find out why someone tried to kill her!