She Was Reborn

Hailey's eyes blinked open to the irritating sound of a bell tolling in the distance. The catholic church's bell tower was chiming, calling its faithful to morning mass even though it was barely seven in the morning. For Hailey, that noisy bell was her wake-up call, signaling the start of a new day filled with chores. However, this time, she woke up in confusion. The Lincoln Villa, with its high ceilings and enchanting chandeliers in every room, was a far cry from her previous living conditions. As she sat up and scratched her arm, sensitive from bedbug bites, she couldn't help but question her reality.

 

"Am I not dead?" she wondered.

 

The room she found herself in was dark yet familiar, and the musky odor of wet shoes filled the air. Without thinking, she reached behind an outdated calendar to find the light switch and flicked it on. Realizing her mistake, she immediately turned it off again, withdrawing her hand.

 

"How did I know the switch was there?" she pondered.

 

Slowly, she reached for the light switch once more, flooding the room with light. It was a small room tucked beneath the stairs, with only one window and a cramped space for an eighteen-year-old. To Hailey, it felt like stepping back into a déjà vu nightmare. She was supposed to be dead, wasn't she? The warehouse fire had engulfed her, yet here she was, alive and well, surrounded by familiar surroundings. She had spent years in this tiny room and could navigate it blindfolded. The broken closet door still hung on its hinges, and the soggy ceiling boards struggled to keep out rainwater, allowing some to seep through the holes.

 

"How is this possible?" she wondered, utterly stupefied. "Have I been given a miracle?"

 

Throwing off the threadbare sheets, Hailey revealed her tattered pajamas. They were a gift from Mrs. Bale on her sixteenth birthday, secured from the local thrift shop. The pants had become too short due to her rapid growth, and the elbows were weak, but she wore them anyway. The yellow fabric with red roses was soft but inadequate for the harsh winter. She left her bed, trying to remember the day she had landed in. Opening her termite-infested closet, she retrieved the broken piece of mirror she had hidden there. Speaking to her reflection was a rare comfort, especially when she felt sad and Mrs. Bale would have confiscated it if she had found it.

 

The Bales, an awkwardly married couple who had no children of their own, occasionally took in foster children from the orphanage. Hailey remembered being sent to them at thirteen, accompanied by a letter from the Social Services officer and a small bag of clothes. Mrs. Bale, the dominant one in the relationship, had insisted on cutting Hailey's hair, fearing lice infestation. Mr. Bale mostly remained silent, content with smoking his pipe and grunting his agreement to his wife's commands. Mrs. Bale had snipped away at Hailey's waist-length hair with garden scissors, reducing it to an uneven military buzz cut.

 

Luckily, Hailey found the hidden mirror and examined herself. A zit nestled between her eyebrows, triggering a wave of nostalgia. Puberty had hit her like any other girl, bringing both advantages and disadvantages. Her body had matured, though she remained lanky due to malnutrition. Her face had blossomed with youthful beauty, but acne marred her otherwise smooth skin. That solitary zit was a stark reminder of the day her life had changed forever. It was the day she had bid her final farewells to the awful Bales, who had housed her for five years.

 

She vividly recalled waking up

 

 to the zit and feeling despondent. The day before, a cute boy named Carlos had waved to her in church, and now a pimple threatened her chances with him. If her memory served her right, someone would soon bang on her door, and--

 

"Hailey!" Mrs. Bale's annoying, shrill voice shrieked. "Get out here! Someone is here to see you, and I know you heard the bell."

 

Despite reliving the moment, Hailey still held resentment towards the bitter woman beyond her door. Childlessness seemed to bring out the worst in some people. With a sigh, feeling a sense of strangeness, she glanced out of her window, only to confirm her fears. She had been granted a second chance by some higher power, a gift many longed for but rarely received. As she remembered the abrupt end to her previous life—sent up in flames like a burnt offering—she vowed not to make any more mistakes this time.

 

"No more mistakes," she asserted, deciding then and there. "Nobody deserves my kindness, and I won't let my half-sister, Ashley, and stepmother, Leah, get away with what they did." 

 

She immediately began packing her belongings, anticipating what awaited her. Pushing open her door, she stepped outside, already aware of who wanted to see her. Her father couldn't be bothered to come for his long-lost daughter himself, so he had sent his snobbish old butler, Ronald. The butler would be standing by the door, rejecting any offered seat from the Bales and constantly checking the time on his fancy pocket watch.

 

"Hailey," Mrs. Bale started, "this gentleman has news for you. It seems like..."

 

"...your birth father has been discovered," Hailey finished the sentence mentally, along with Mrs. Bale. The butler frowned, his gaze assessing Hailey. Disappointment was evident on his face, as if he had expected more from a child bearing the Lincoln name. After a moment's hesitation, Ronald reluctantly took her small luggage from her.

 

"Do you always travel so lightly?" he rudely asked, holding the bag with distaste.

 

Offering him the same reply she had given in her previous life, Hailey said, "It's all I have to claim in this world. Now, take me to see my father."