Death & Rebirth

The sign above the pharmacy across the street still blinked 94°F, while it was freezing.

I was sitting on my mother's porch in a red summer dress and flip flops. There was snow up to my ankles and it was all over my knees since I had sat there for more than an hour now. The worst part was that it was a July snow, instead of summer that we were used to.

My toes had gone from burning from the heat we had earlier to nothing, and that scared me more than the summer burning did.

'Don't fall asleep. Just keep knocking.' I told myself that and yeah, I did it. I knocked again and my knuckles left a pink smear on the wood.

Inside, I had a humming heater and soft laughs and talks. With all that knocking for the whole hour, my own mother, not even a step Mom atleast. My own biological mother, Mrs Diane snow sat on a new sofa that I had bought for as her birthday present.

Suddenly, I widened my eyes and my heart raced in relief when I heard footsteps near the door after I knocked.

Stupid of me, it was Mia passing by, and I heard her saying, “She's still out there? How brave of her.”

And the witch responded while I thought I had a friend, a mom, my everything, “Let her be, seems like she's enjoying it, we can't open the door, the heat will escape and we will catch a cold.”

Those words landed like a slap. My own mother couldn't open the door for five seconds for me to get in because of just some heat that would escape.

That should have made my tears fall free off my eyes but nothing came up. My body just felt numb, I couldn't even lift a finger anymore, but I had to knock.

‘Keep knocking Nora, you've got this, Nora Snow can't just freeze from this lost snow, I should…’ At this rate, thinking felt harder while it was my primary thing to do when I was bored to keep myself entertained sometimes when I was lonely like now.

That second, I heard the sound of a glass plate and cups as spoons collided when they ate and stirred their coffee or tea they were having.

That same second I heard a familiar voice that I wasn't expecting.

“This is a delicious pasta, your cooking is one of a kind, you should really work in a restaurant.”

My little sister made a voice she never made before, the one I barely recognized when she responded to him. “Ohh, thanks, Cole..”

Mom added, “She's my amazing cook, unlike Nora who can't even cook.”

It was disappointing how they did it. I couldn't do anything than to just talk in my thoughts, ‘Wow, and my mom, is.. Bad mouthing me.. In front of my ex.’ Cole left me to hit on my friend and now, he was flirting with my own little sister.

And Mom allowed it, she even put me down while I was the one who taught Mia to cook.

I tried to knock again, maybe they would hear me but I couldn't move anymore. I couldn't shake, it was like I was warm at last but that told me one thing, I was dying.

My eyes slowly closed but I wanted to stay awake. I didn't have the strength to open them anymore.

The last thing I saw was my breath and a figure in black that looked familiar coming my way and crossing me sitting there.

***

Suddenly,

I felt warm, not the warmth I felt earlier, but this time it was real, with something soft brushing over my skin.

I sat up straight in an instant, looking around the place. Not cold, no snow, not even sitting on my mother's porch anymore.

‘Did they allow me in at last?’ I thought.

But the place looked familiar,

I was in my house I had bought before I lost my job. Then the sheets that covered my feet were sheets that I had burnt at least two months ago.

‘What's going on here?’ The question came up while my brain couldn't process thoughts back there.

I rolled to the left side of the bed, reaching for my phone. I had changed this phone, I had bought the latest iPhone not this iPhone 13.

When I double-tapped the screen, my eyes widened in astonishment.

‘No way, it's 5 April? Was it a dream?’ I couldn't believe it, it was unreal, when I think back, this is everything I had done, like the house and all that, that can't be a coincidence.

'Did I just foresee the future? No, that doesn't work that way.’ I shook my head trying to make sense with the situation.

I stepped on the fluffy carpet and visited the bathroom to wash off my face, maybe it was something troubling my mind and it can be washed off.

I poured water on my face a couple of moments before I looked at myself in the mirror.

‘Wait a second…’ I was wearing a dress that I hated the most, the dress I wore when I visited this club to see Cole with Sloane, my best friend.

‘This is the day after I broke up with Cole, no way, was I living in a dream?’

It couldn't feel real, it was 3 months before the day I died on that snowy day.

‘This doesn't add up, let me check something.’

I realized that my phone was loaded with messages from Sloane.

«It's not like that, Nora, believe me».

“Believe me?” My voice came out calm and collected. I sighed and let it pass, ‘Whatever, you said this 3 months ago…’ Before I could finish in my thoughts, I realized something, “Ohh, yeah, she did, I had forgotten that I was behind a bit.” I said out loud.

I saw a short reel notification about a new episode.

Reborn to take revenge. The title froze my brain in an instant. When I thought of the story, the MC was moved to 3 days before her death and this felt like a coincidence.

This makes sense, couldn't believe that I believed the fiction story. Something that entertained me.

I moved to the kitchen but my brain was still hazy for some weird reasons.

If this is real, I should do something about it, if the cold really is going to hit in 3 months, like in 90 days, I should make sure to store everything I can use.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed. A message.

«Hello sister, what are you planning for Mom's birthday next month?»

“Mia huh?” I gritted my teeth before I slowly sighed but I couldn't calm down, ‘you little slut,’ I just ignored the message and put on some good clothes and left for window shopping for what I'll need if I were to start preparing.

I took a notebook and a pen and headed downtown.

After strolling the whole place writing prices of everything I needed, I reached the final shop where I wanted to check the heater.

I entered the place, and that smell of new things hit me and I ignored it, I just headed towards the heater I needed.

I reached for the 40,000 to 80,000 BTU wooden stove heater, it was big enough. I put my right hand on top without looking where I was placing and I touched someone's hand.

I straightened my back and apologized instantly and she did the same. That second, my eyes widened… it was Sloane Caravan. The girl who stole my boyfriend.