Chapter 1: Elena Halloway

The haunting stench of burnt flesh filled my nose, a heat that scorched through my bones. It was eating me, gnawing at me from the depths of my soul. Please, just let this nightmare end. I screamed for help, but no sound escaped. I was in a vacuum, where all there was the crackling sound of fire and pained, hoarse groans escaping my lips.

          

 Save me!

     

It startled me awake from another of the recurring nightmares which plagued me in my sleep. I gasped for air as if I was a beggar having his first taste of food in weeks. I was starving and it was my salvation. 

     

It's been three years since that accident, but it has always felt like it had only happened yesterday. The constant barrage of nightmares that always assaulted me in my sleep was a painful reminder of the horrors it brought about as if the scars on my body were not enough of a reminder as to what I had lost that day.

Elena Halloway, the "It Girl", the face of the nation's beauty, who was much revered and worshiped, suddenly fell from the very peak into the depths of the burning pits, becoming a nobody who people didn't care to take a second look at. 

The once pearly white soft skin, which was a subject of envy and on the cover front of many companies, instead became a subject of disgust and ridicule for the masses after suddenly turning charred, blackened, and leathery. The once hailed "Face of a Beauty" with beautiful viridescent eyes which shone like jewels and fiery red hair turned into pale, sightless, and lifeless eyes; hair thinned and ash grey.  

How did it come to this? What did I do to deserve this life? I was at the peak of my career, the pinnacle of the world. I was pursuing my dreams and doing what I loved and yet, it all came crashing down in a matter of seconds.

I had once thought that losing my dream was the worst thing that could happen to me, but the world loved to prove me wrong. I was forced to bear the brunt of the world's torment. It was only after the accident where I realized the true face of humanity. Only in the face of suffering could I finally tear off the facade everyone around me had put on. People who I thought loved me and cared for me slowly started to leave me one by one as I was in my darkest moments of despair.

The first to leave was my manager. I was no longer profitable and could not bring in the one thing he loved to use me for, money. He had a family to feed, he claimed. The next to leave was my group of "friends". They took advantage of my situation to boost their popularity and get more opportunities to act in famous shows and movies. 

Scripts for shows and movies which were supposed to be for me had I not been disfigured by the fire. It took away everything I thought I had. My friends, my fame, my career, my dreams, and my will to live.

But I still have him, the love of my life, Jared. He is the only light at the end of this never ending tunnel of darkness, my hope, my salvation. Every day, he sings me lullabies with the sweetest of voices, lulling me to sleep in the comfort of his warm and firm arms, reassuring me that everything will be alright after the horrific scene of carnage, flames and destruction that plague my dreams every night. 

"I wish you could sing with me," he would say sweetly into my ears, his sweet nothings reassuring me that he'd be my fort, my rock, and my support in these times of despair. Every time he said that I'd always feel tears welling up in my eyes, threatening to fall and the conflicting joy and despair I felt. 

It didn't take very long though, for his true colors to show. Oh, how I had wished for the times we spent together to be true, but fate had other plans. It kept taunting me when I was at my peak before ruthlessly pulling me back down to earth, reminding me that I was destined to be alone, destined to be a nobody. I had once unintentionally bumped into him and he called me a "Stupid Bitch.". Those words pierced my soul and I could feel my heart twisting and clenching at the very thought of it. My mind kept reeling back the scenario, playing it on repeat, set on tormenting me with these painful memories. 

I was naive to think 'He might just be having a bad day.' Oh, how I deluded myself to think it was true. It was like a mantra chanting in my mind, hypnotizing myself to believe as such, all in order to escape from the harsh reality of the world. But it wasn't one bad day. Soon, it turned into two, three, four, five, six... 

SEVEN.

Then, it began. The hellish routine of harsh, biting words stabbed my insecurities and fears. The torrent of demeaning insults which were accompanied by the sharp sting on my face from the slap he delivered daily. If I was lucky, that was all. But on days I wasn't, it would be an inescapable living hell which I could only view from the eyes which once contained such vitality, but were now rendered useless. On one of the worst days, I awoke to a concussion, a broken nose, and a few lost teeth, courtesy of him who had kicked me in the face without restraint. It was hell. I suffered in his hands for two years, two years filled with despicable acts which made one nauseous to the stomach. Only after two years, when he was finally tired of playing with the broken doll he was left with, did he leave me completely. 

Only one person remained by my side through all the ups and downs I had faced. That was Maya. My childhood best friend stood by me in times of need when everyone else left me. She took me in even after all those years, even though I had abandoned and ignored her all due to my greed and ambition. She showed me the true light I had thought I had obtained when with Jared. 

"Do you remember? We swore that it'd be us against the world, forever and always." It was something she would always say, and it had engraved itself in my heart, carving out a space that would only be left for her till the end of time.

But just like everyone, she left me. Though against her will.

"The doctor said I have three months left to live," her voice trembled as she held my hand, grasping it in reassurance. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you'll be well taken care of even after I leave."  

She thought of me, even till the very end. When I thought of the injustice the world loved to deal to me, as well as those who actually cared about me, I couldn't help but curse in indignation. Why, why me? Why Maya? What did I do to deserve such treatment? However, no matter how hard I cried and prayed, God never answered. I was forsaken, forgotten, and abandoned by the one who said he'd always care for us. 

Day by day, she grew weaker and weaker to the point that she was unable to stand on her own. Her condition deteriorated daily, all the way till the day God took her from me three months later, just as the doctors had diagnosed. 

Tears welled up and pooled at the corner of my eyes when I thought back to those days, asking God why it couldn't have been me who suffered in her stead. Why, why the innocent and pure Maya who stood by my side when no one else did, why? 

I jerked upright and sat up in bed before wiping my tears with my soft hands. 

Soft?

Both my hands had already long turned leathery and disfigured after the incident. I had memorized their texture as a painful reminder of my current predicament, where I was useless and disabled, unable to fend for myself without the help of others. I unconsciously opened my eyes and a burst of white light blinded me after years of darkness, a darkness which I had thought would last till the day I died. 

'What's happening?' I thought.

After taking a few seconds to finally adjust to the light, I was able to see and take in my surroundings. A miracle. I looked around me, taking in the view which seemed foreign to me. "Where am I?" I whispered to myself, confused as to what had happened. 

Whisper? I had lost my voice in the fire due to smoke inhalation. I was told that I would never get it back as they were destroyed beyond repair. The voice I had maintained and conditioned daily had disappeared in a snap, leaving behind a gravelly hoarse groan which sounded as if it came right out of a zombie apocalypse movie. Apart from that, I couldn't utter a peep. 

I looked down and saw my hands. They were white, smooth, soft, and without calluses. They were free from the labor Jared had forced me to do despite my disabilities. They were completely different from what others had described them as for these past three years. It was a sharp contrast to the visceral image they painted with the words they used to describe it. It was as if they were merely part of the nightmares that tormented me in my sleep. 

Utterly confused, I stood up from bed and hurried to the nearest mirror I could find. When I took a look, what greeted me was not the sight of a burnt, charred, and disfigured face, but a younger version of me. The face had clean smooth skin, free of pores and it glistened in the light. Gleaming green eyes which shone in the light and fiery red hair was akin to flames licking at my skin.

'Is this a dream?' I raised my hand to pinch my cheek, still dazed and processing the current situation. 'I can feel pain. Is this not a dream?'

At the thought of it not being a dream, tears began streaming down my face uncontrollably. Did I manage to go back in time? If so, why? How was it possible? 

"This isn't real! This isn't real!" I cried out, my mind reeling at the situation. It was absurd that such a thing would happen!

I ran out of the room and headed to the kitchen, hysterical. I grabbed the sharpest knife I could find on the counter. It was easy, just a quick slash and it would all be over. I wouldn't feel a thing if I was quick enough. 

A second chance? Who wanted that? It would all just be a simple repeat of everything that had happened in my past life. All my suffering and pain, was it all for nothing? Why did God give me this chance after he forsakes me in my time of need? Was this another one of his cruel jokes? 

Just let me die in peace. My acting days had long ended. I wanted no part in this bullshit. I was just tired of life and all it had to offer. 

As I raised the knife, preparing to plunge it into my chest, I heard a phone ring. 

A phone? I didn't have one. I didn't have anyone either, so who was calling me? Whose phone was ringing? 

My trembling hands slowly dropped the sharp blade onto the counter. I was allowed to satisfy my curiosity one last time before I died, right? I slowly followed the noise back into the room where I had woken up. There, a familiar phone sat atop the bedside table.

It had a clear cover that allowed a glimpse into the happiness the owner had experienced. There, there were polaroid photos that held many happy memories enclosed at the back of the device. They were photos of my parents and Maya, something I had lost a long time ago. 

I flipped over the still ringing phone to check the screen. When I saw the familiar caller ID, I felt something get stuck in my throat.

Best Maya

+0001xxxxxx

I couldn't help but choke back on tears. Is this real? Is this just another joke God is playing on me? I asked myself. Maybe, just maybe... I could take the chance. After all, I had already lost her once, it wouldn't matter too much if I lost her again, right...?

"No, this can't be real! She's dead!" I shrieked.

I looked around frantically, desperately searching for a sign that this is all just a figment of my imagination, a cruel prank fate had laid in store for me, but there were none. All that awaited me was the familiar-looking items displayed all around the room. 

The stuffed animal on the bed which I had thrown away a long time ago, a board with photos which had been lost in time and many which I was never able to see again, no matter how desperately I tried to cling on to them, all due to my accursed eyes. Small trinkets which I would have never thought I would be able to see again. 

My eyes drifted to the vanity table and there, a small inconspicuous calendar dated 14 August, 20xx stood atop it. It was exactly fifteen years into the future, where I last remembered falling asleep at night. 

I hesitated, 'Could this be real? Have I actually gone back in time?'

Was this just an elaborate dream meant to deceive me one last time, or did I finally just wake up from a fifteen-year-long nightmare?

I looked down at the small device in my hands.  Although it was small, it contained all my fears which I didn't know I harbored until then. I was afraid it was just a cruel hallucination, something conjured up by my brain to provide solace for me despite all that had happened. I was uncertain as to whether I should answer, for I feared the disappointment which would await me, had it been a hoax.

'I have to know.'

Mustering up all the courage I could, I pressed the answer button with trembling fingers. Placing the phone at the side of my ear, I held my breath, hoping to hear something which would give me a sign of hope that maybe, just maybe, this was real. 

"Hello?" I answered, my voice trembling. It was filled with panic, the panic that engulfed my senses, overwhelming me with a torrent of emotions I couldn't simply explain...

[Good morning sleeping beauty! You need to move your ass if you want to make it to that audition on time!]

That voice. There was no doubt, it was her. 

It was a voice I longed to hear in my darkest moments, something that I was never able to hear again after her death. 

I didn't know if it was from relief or sadness, but I cried.

[Edited by: Lumist. <3]