Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Rowena

****

The tension in the sky domain remained.

Everyone was angry at me.

They were disappointed.

I didn't know why they couldn't reason with me on this.

The sky was clouded with their anger and my pain.

Why did they make it such a big deal? I was just in love.

"Rowena, Be Quiet! You can't fall in love with a human! You're not even allowed to get married!" yelled my sister Genevieve.

"We are guardians, for goodness sake. Have you ever heard of a guardian in love?" She yelled further, briskly walking toward me.

Maybe if she shortened the distance, I'd get the message.

"You're messing with the balance of things," added my second sister, Penelope.

Penelope and Genevieve are like two peas in a pod; they always see eye to eye and there's never one without the other.

My third sister, Giselle, didn't really care about anything, and this made her my favorite.

"Rowena, I have no problem with you falling in love, but this is bad," she said, keeping her eyes on the cloud spell she was brewing.

We were five,

Guardians of the Sky. 

Yes, we exist. 

There are other guardians too, of the sea, the sun,the forest, and under the earth, all led by our supreme guardian, Mother Nature.

Once a guardian has lived up to a hundred years, she's allowed to visit the human realm, and that was how I met Eugene. 

He was the most handsome and well-mannered man I'd ever met.

Actually, he was the first man I'd ever met, but I doubt all men are like him.

And we fell in love, I loved him despite the fact that it was forbidden. 

One evening, on the day I turned hundred, the day I was finally allowed to go down to the world and enjoy life as a human, I met Eugene.

It was a rainy night and I particularly warned Giselle not to brew any rain spells since she was in charge of rain.

"Giselle, today is the day I get to go down to the world" I twirled and danced in the human dress I was wearing.

"It's nothing special, what do you want me to do?" She replied coldly.

"Please I beg you, let there be no rain" I begged.

"The sun has been up for days, the trees and the fishes will suffer greatly" she replied, muttering a few cloud spells.

"Come on, do this for your little sis" I whined.

"I'll see what I can do but no promises" she replied and closed the spell book.

Well she did nothing,

The rain was so heavy and it felt different since it was my first time experiencing it as a human.

I trudged and trudged aimlessly under the rain till someone covered me with an umbrella.

It was magical, I'd always been the one guarding and no one has ever looked after me like he did that night.

I can't share our love story because it's not this story.

Maybe some other time.

"But I love him, and you can't stop me," I yelled back. 

We continued yelling, and this caused Mother nature to arrive.

We shook in fear as we saw her.

"You will get rid of whatever love you have for that human, whether you like it or not, Rowena," she began.

"It is forbidden, you know that." She said sternly, her eyes glaring with rage.

The entire place felt extremely windy as she tightened her fist in despair, I was making the mother of nature lose her temper, something that rarely happens.

The last time she got this furious was when a guardian of the sea turned an entire river to a river of grape wine just to quench her desire, leading to thousands of dead fish.

This was my first time standing up for myself, and it was indeed brave of me to stand up to The Mother of Nature. 

So brave.

I stepped forward and knelt before them.

My other sisters bowed, except Giselle, because of the spell she was brewing.

"I'm sorry, mother, but I don't think that's possible." I replied.

 

My sisters gasped in shock, their hands clasping over their mouths.

"Listen, child, bad, bad, very bad things happen when the supernatural becomes entangled with the natural, and as a result, you will lose your position as a guardian if you do not cut off all ties with that human," she roared, her anger building steadily as she spoke.

Why couldn't they see how in love I was?

My sister's stared at me in anticipation... awaiting my reply.

They could feel the annoyance in Mother Nature's voice.

They knew I could feel it too.

Giselle was still maintaining her spell and stealing quick glances at the situation.

"I accept losing my position, I accept my fate. I choose the human cause. I love him... I accept."

I whispered loudly, tears flowed down my cheeks, and I heard Giselle giggle a little.

Nothing like a rebellious act to crank her up.

"Rowena!" yelled all my other sisters in unison.

"I haven't finished yet. for speaking against me and my wishes, this is your punishment," continued Mother Nature. 

"You are not only going to lose your position, you are also going to live as an ordinary woman and die." I immediately looked up in shock.

Losing my position was enough punishment, but being human? Being in pain, getting sick, and unable to return to the skies?

Gasp!

"After every century, you'll be reborn with all your memories intact." 

"Your so-called lover is going to be reincarnated after every century with absolutely no memory of you. 

Both of you are going to meet and go through the same falling in love process all over again till he dies, and it will continue in this cycle unless you are able to break the curse." She said.

I replied, "I... I... I accept."

I was in love, and I didn't care anymore. I knew Eugene was my soulmate.

"Rowena, what is wrong with you? You're a hundred and twenty years old." Clair, my younger sister, burst into tears.

I kept mute and walked away.

I felt their eyes watching me from behind.

I had turned away from my sisters, from my life and position, all for Eugene.

Was I a fool for love?

*************************************

*Present day*

Hello, I'm Elle Andrews. 

At least for now, and yes, I'm still the same old Rowena.

You all know how my life is. 

Get reborn blah blah blah, different parents, same lover or at least his lookalike, and then death.

How thrilling!

I don't actually get my memories as soon as I'm born, though. 

That'll be weird. 

I get them once I turn ten. I literally wake up a different person. 

For the first few times, I was extremely sad, but I'm used to it now and try not to get too attached to the people around me. 

I'm honestly worse than an introvert.

I've lived my life every century as an extremely weird and remarkable person. 

Even as a court maid in Korea.

I'm on my 18th time being reborn and my life was going great so far because I haven't met Eugene, at least not yet, and I just got a job at the cafe. 

I'm trying to make this my most uneventful century.

"Elle, you're going to be late for work!" yelled my mum as I ran out of my room and out of the house.

I didn't want to make a bad impression on the first day.

I have my own apartment but I spend the weekends with my "mum" and even though I'm not the daughter she thinks I am, I still owe her.

It was a small cafe up the street, and my only job was to make and sell coffee. 

Nothing could be more satisfying. 

I just hope my boss is a nice person.

"Hey, I'd like a cup of coffee," said a voice, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"What can I get........." Looking up to see the customer, my heart stopped for a second, A sensation moved through my body; chills were accompanied by immediate heat. 

"It's him. 

It's Eugene." My brain alerted.

He looks even better than the previous century. 

Same blue eyes,

Same curly hair. 

He wore a suit and held a briefcase like some sort of detective. 

I kept my gaze. 

I couldn't look away.

"Heyyy" he said, snapping his fingers. He was trying to get my already drifting attention.

"I'm so... sorry.. what can I get you?" I shutter.

"Iced Americano please, to go" His voice was not so deep or husky. It was a normal baritone.

It didn't change, but he looked more serious than ever.

"That'll be 20 bucks," I said, handing it over.

"Thanks." He replied and left after paying.

I kept staring till he was out the door.

"Dreamy, isn't he?" My co-worker, Peter, said.

"He's a regular here, so don't worry, you'll get to see him every day," he teased.

I already made my coworker think I'm a girl who can't keep her cool after seeing a nice looking guy.

Pathetic.