Rebirth

Beep.

Beep.

The sound of the monitors was all that was heard in the white walled room where the woman lay on the bed. Her eyes were closed. Red, spider-like blood vessels on her yellowed and bruised skin, and a tube stuck inside her throat helping her breathe. By the bedside sat a man, holding her swollen hand, bringing it to his lips as he said a prayer with his dark eyes closed.

‘Please don’t leave..’

He wasn’t sure if he was heard, all he could do was hope. A tear slid down her face. Then suddenly, all the alarms in all monitors attached to her body blared.

“NURSE! NURSE!

Panic rose inside him.

The nurses and doctor came in rushing, forcing him to move to the side.

But it was useless. They could not do anything.

“Why are you not trying to save her?!”

He shook the doctor by his shoulders.

“Sir, we have to respect the patient’s wishes. She had signed the DNR.”

Shock gripped him. He couldn’t believe what was happening. He pushed everyone aside and attempted to perform CPR on her.

He didn’t know if what he was doing was correct. He wasn’t trained. All he knew was he didn't want her to leave.

“Sir, please.”

“Time of death, three o’clock”

He finally lifted his hands from her body as he slumped on the floor.

He prayed to the heavens.

‘Please let us meet again.’

Cold.

Unbearable cold.

Everything is dark. There was no wind but she felt cold.

She looked for warmth but couldn’t find it. She wanted to run to look for shelter but the road was endless.

‘This is madness!’

‘Where will this road lead to?’

“Help! I’m here! Help!”

Silence.

Fear crept inside her. She began to run.

She kept running until she felt pain in her abdomen. There was no wound. Only pain, excruciating pain.

All of a sudden, her chest began to ache as if being stepped on by a giant, she couldn’t breathe. She stumbled and fell, rolling down, falling off the cliff that she didn’t know was there.

Splash!

She hit the water.

Her hands and feet tried to paddle but it was as if a giant octopus had taken hold of her limbs, she was dragged down to the depths of the ocean. She lost her breath. Her eyes began to dim.

It felt like an eternity.

By some miracle, her eyes opened. There was light above the water. Her hand reached for it, the tentacles released her, letting her swim towards the light.

And when she took her first breath, she was no longer in the ocean. She was in a bedroom, unfamiliar. She was drenched in sweat. She checked her limbs, noticing her pale complexion, especially her fingers. Still feeling cold, she wrapped herself with the blanket that seemed to have fallen off the bed without her knowledge. Rubbing her arms and legs, she gradually felt warm, her nails began to turn back into their pinkish color.

‘Where am I?’

She looked around the room. It was not her own bedroom.

Everything looked outdated. The room looked too girly, with everything in pink. The bed was not as soft as her own bed. There was no air conditioner, only a small ceiling fan.

She could hear the sound of crickets by her window. ‘Do people still use this type of window?’

If she’s not mistaken, those were called jalousie windows.

‘Whose room is this?’

“Hello?”

She gasped, her hand flew to her mouth, covering it.

‘That’s not my voice!’

“Ahemm.. Hi…”

She gasped once more. ‘That is really not my voice!’

Only then she noticed that her body looked and felt different. She used to be light and skinny due to her disease. Her skin and eyes had even turned yellow. Liver Cirrhosis does that.

‘How come I’m alive?’

She clambered out of bed and looked for a mirror to fix her appearance before looking for people to ask questions to.

She found one inside a drawer. She took it out and held it at eye level.

“Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!” She shrieked like a banshee.

Moments later, the door flew open.

A woman with messy hair, furious eyes, and gritted teeth came barging in, holding a slipper in her hand.

“What’s happening?! What happened to you?! Why were you screaming?!” She spoke in a different language.

Her own eyes widened in shock. ‘Who is she?’

She gulped when she realized that this woman was awakened by her causing her to be angered.

“Ummm.. sorry? Ahhh... I had a nightmare..” Her voice trembled to have to face a stranger.

“Why are you talking in English?” 

‘This language is very familiar. Filipino.’ She spoke it when she was with family members.

“Why do you have to scream?! I thought a thief had got inside our home!” She dropped the slipper on the floor forcefully, then slipped her bare foot inside it. “Go to sleep!”

She watched the woman close the door behind her in a huff.

She walked back to her bed and sat down, the mirror still in her hand.

She lifted it up to check it again.

“Ugh!” Although this body looked better than before she died, it still looked worse than when she was still young and healthy.

‘Rebirth? Is it possible? How did this girl die? Just like that, in her sleep? Tsk. Well, it was much better than suffering from a disease for a long time.’

She felt a pang in her heart as she thought about it. She missed her family. ‘Are they okay after I passed away?’

She wondered if she could check their status. She rummaged through the things in the room, looking for a phone or a computer.

There was no computer. The phone was old-fashioned. It was not a touch-screen. It had the traditional keypads. The screen was small and pixelated.

A wry smile appeared on her face.

‘It has been a long time since I held a phone like this.’

‘This kind of phone doesn’t connect to the internet. Do they even have their own home internet?’

She pressed the big button. It asked for a security code.

‘Security code? How should I know?’

She closed her eyes, trying to focus.

‘Memories. Memories. I need this girl’s memories.’

But what she expected was a surprise instead.

‘Dawn Salcedo? What the---?! We have the same name!’

She couldn’t believe there could be such a coincidence.

'Rebirth. Same name. Time travel?'

‘Time travel. Is that even possible? Goodness! I don’t know what’s real and what is not anymore. This type of technology should be at least phased out by a decade before I died.’

She looked around the room, looking for a calendar. Before, she didn’t keep a calendar anymore since she could view the dates using her phone. She could have checked it on this girl’s phone as well, but it looks like she set it up to show only the month and day.

Finally, she found the huge printed calendar hanging on the wall. The calendar looked to be a freebie from a company.

2007.

‘Two thousand...freaking seven!’

She glared incredulously at the numbers in big bright red.

‘If that doesn’t explain time travel, I don’t know what would.’

‘But how did I end up in this body? Is it just because we have the same name? Or is there any greater purpose for this?’

She sighed.

It seemed like, no matter where she is, her love for weaving stories won’t disappear. She would always look at a situation and find a deeper meaning in it.