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517words
I met Ethan at a coffee shop.
A senior now,he’d grown taller over the summer,maybe six feet one inch tall.
With his grades,he could’ve easily gotten into Central High,but he stayed at this mediocre private school for me.
“Any news from South Asia?”I asked.
“All clear.Contacts made.When can you go?”
“Next week.I’ve only got two days,or the Harpers will get suspicious.”
“I’ve got it.I’ll arrange.We leave next week.”
After parting,I wandered the busy streets alone.Two lives,my first taste of freedom.
In my last life,from orphanage to Harpers,I was Jessica’s shadow,abused and dispatched,buried in their garden without a moment’s liberty.
I explored boutiques,clothing stores,food stalls,savoring each stop.
By evening,I took a taxi back to the villa.
Jessica sat at the dining table,stabbing a a steak with lots of blood with a knife.
Seeing me,she sneered,“Claire,have you no shame?First week of school,and you’re meeting Ethan?How cheap of you.”
“Cheap?I don’t think so.Ethan’s thoughtful—bought me coffee.”
She threw the steak off the table.
Her hand caught the knife,cutting a thin slice.
Mrs.Harper,heartbroken, she glared.“Claire!”
“Mom,my hand hurts.This cut’s so long—will it leave a scar?”
“I’ll get the best doctors.No scars.”
That night,Mr.and Mrs.Harper traveled to South Asia.
Two days later,they returned,faces grim,clearly with nothing to show for it.
Saturday morning,Ethan and I met up at the airport.He’d arranged a diversion to shake the Harpers’surveillance.No one knew we went to South Asia.
Back home,they questioned me closely on my whereabouts,noting I left my phone.
I said I was out with classmates and forgot it at home.
Two days without me drove them crazy with worry—my life was tied to Jessica’s.
A bit later,and they’d have started using their connections to track me.
Thankfully,South Asia went smoothly.Ethan would take care of the rest.
I swore not to disappear again and accepted my punishment,calming them.
The next year,Ethan aced exams,enrolling at the nation’s top university in the capital,leaving with his brooding charm.
With preparations nearly complete,his presence wasn’t critical anymore.
Jessica and I,just like in last life,attended a local mediocre university.
…
In my freshman year,nearing Claire,Mr.and Mrs.Harper’s mood visibly lifted.No longer suppressing anger,they looked at me like a tattered garment,ready to discard.
The shaman had said Jessica’s survival required lifelong proximity to me,my birth chart suppressing her curse.
But,under heavy payment,he revealed another way:ten years together for Jessica to strengthen,then a ritual array to bury me alive,amplifying my chart’s power.Jessica could visit periodically to stay healthy.
When Jessica cut her hand,they asked if my sacrifice could be hastened but were denied.
In my previous life,in my tenth year,the Harpers demolished and rebuilt the villa,not for outdated décor,as claimed,but to construct my burial array.
This year,they announced the rebuild,moving us to another villa temporarily.
Before moving,they secretly hauled items from the basement at night,handling them themselves,not even trusting Mr.Thompson.
Ethan had men tail them,pinpointing the temporary storage.
He didn’t act—construction was complex,with specific blueprints,materials,and timing.
The Harpers obsessed over the rebuild.In a past life,I thought it showed family devotion.
Ethan planted long-prepared items in the villa’s foundation,unnoticed by the Harpers.
