1: Second Life

Samantha Corey woke up grasping for air.

Explosions, deaths...

The scenes from her dream were terrifying. Truly a nightmare. 

Mabuti nga sana kung masamang panaginip lang ito. Unfortunately, all of it happened in reality. 

The explosions... Shereen's and Marco's death...

Nanikip ang dibdib niya.

It was all her fault.

Her plan which she thought was placed properly turned out a plot twist for all of them.

Nasa ganoon siyang sitwasyon ng magbukas ang pinto at bumungad doon ang isang babae. Nang makita siya nito ay agad itong namutla.

"Emy... You're awake."

For a moment, mukhang hindi alam ng babae kung anong gagawin niya. Was she going to rush towards her or go outside to inform others?

In the end, she did the latter.

"Everyone, gising na si Emy! She's awake!"

Pagbalik niya ay marami na siyang kasama.

Three adults, four teenagers and a kid. But none of them she could recognize.

They had relief on their faces, except for those two teens na nakatayo sa likuran nung babaeng nagbukas ng pinto kanina. Somehow, they looked like they were scared of her.

"Emy... How are you feeling?" Tanong nung nag-iisang matanda na lalaki. He approached her at naupo sa gilidan ng kama.

"Shin, baka nauuhaw siya. Give her some water," sabi nung babaeng sa tantya niya ay asawa nito.

Agad namang ginawa yun nung lalaki. He took a glass mula sa bedside table at nilagyan ng tubig bago inabot sa kanya.

"Here."

She took it. And as she was drinking, she felt their eyes on her. At dahil hindi na rin siya mapakali, she decided to ask them finally.

"Who are you all?"

They were all surprised. They looked at her as if she'd grown another head. 

"Emy..." Sabi nung lalaking nasa harap niya.

"Who is Emy?"

***

These people around her took her as amnesiac. She got into accident and affected her brain therefore lost her memories.

Even those doctors who had taken a look at her couldn't explain what really happened to her. In the end, they concluded that it was indeed amnesia.

Only she thought otherwise.

She had checked everything she had to check. Her face, the date and where she was. All of them were not supposed to be related to her. She was in a different body.

Her panic was taken by the people around her as a normal reaction of an amnesiac person. Wala siyang maalala. Not even herself. So it wouldn't be abnormal if she wasn't going to panic at all.

"What happened to me?" She asked as soon as the doctor left.

The lady who found her awake suddenly bowed her head. She found it weird and continued observing the people around her.

The couple and their children looked at her with pity. She guessed that was normal. What she couldn't understand was the reaction of those teens behind that other lady.

They seemed relieved but their eyes was showing another emotion. 

Was it contempt?

She stared at the two of them for a long time which made them feel awkward about it.

The others, on the other hand, noticed her action though.

"Is there something wrong, Emy? Bakit pinakatititigan mo 'tong dalawa? Can you remember that the two of them are with you nang maaksidente ka?" Sunod sunod na tanong nung panganay na anak nung matandang lalaki na kasama nila.

For a moment, she saw fear in the eyes of those teens. At the same time, she seemed to have understood something.

These two teens might have something to do about the body owner's accident and the others were already suspicious of them.

"W-what are you trying to say, Shantal?" Defensive na tanong nung binata.

That Shantal raised an eyebrow. "Tinatanong ko lang si Emy. At saka totoo namang kayo ang kasama niya when she had an accident ah. Why are you so nervous?"

Natahimik yung dalawa at pilit na inayos ang expressions nila.

She coughed.

"No. I can't remember them nor can I remember anything at all." She said a little bit of frustrated.

What was happening right now was totally out of her logic. She died but took over another body.

Hindi niya alam kung paanong nangyari ito. Was this the will of heaven?

All her life, she thought she was lucky. Everyone else thought so too. She had the looks, the brain, the perfect family background and the people she treasured.

But who would have thought that everything would be gone due to her blind trust over a person? Who would have thought that she would die in the hands of her own best friend? And who would have thought that she would wake up in a different body?

Mabilis na nahigit niya ang kanyang paghinga as realization hit her.

That's right! She was certain she died. The explosion took everything important to her life. Shereen... Marco... and her own life.

So, there must be a reason why she was reincarnated in this body.

If that was the case, she must not disappoint the heaven then.

She must live in Emy's body and become her completely. But one must not also forget Samantha, her true self, at all.

***