In the dim lighting of the room, a woman laid on the bed curled up in a ball. Her pale cheeks stained with tears as the pain engulfed her. She opened her deathly swollen red eyes.
'What is the point of this? They all left me... my child, my brother, my father, and now… my mother… They're all gone… faded out of my life, one after the other.'
Her heart grew numb.
'You caused their deaths. Why complain? Why are 'you' still alive?' All that was left was the guilt of the past and the lack of hope for the future.
She dragged her tired body from the bed into the washroom and splashed her face with cold tap water, but it did nothing to soothe her restless heart.
'It won't wash away the stain on your conscience,' She mocked herself with a self-deprecating smile.
'Mom, how do I live by myself now?' She sighed. The woman would have killed herself if it wasn't for her mom. Now, with the only reason for her survival gone, she had no will to carry on.
The guilt of the past drove her insane. As the days passed, she couldn't bear it anymore.
She made up her mind. There were sleeping pills in the cabinet beside the mirror.
'Will this bring me retribution?' She wondered, imagining pouring out all the pills into her palm and forcing them down her throat. Never in the entire life had she felt so relaxed as she did this moment. The decision to end the farce she called life, had freed her from the shackles of guilt and regret.
As her thoughts sank further into the world of darkness, something caught her eye. She recognized the object.
'Is that what I think it is?'
She bent over to look at it and then picked it up from the floor. It was a pregnancy test. A positive pregnancy test with two lines.
'Why is it here?'
Her muddled thoughts made it difficult for her to inspect the origin of the item. The next moment, a strangely familiar face reflected in the mirror, one she had long forgotten.
She saw a woman—a young woman who was not her—staring back at her. It couldn't be her; she was already in her late thirties.
Her diamond face had a distinct glow with the glossy tousled bob complimenting it. It was the complete opposite of her disheveled and lifeless countenance from a while ago.
She wore this haircut way back.
Her face was devoid of any wrinkles and discoloration.
Her clothes: black skirt, white blouse... professional attire?
She unconsciously clenched her fingers around the strip, afraid it'll disappear, and everything would turn into an illusion.
'What's going on?'
Before, she was so engrossed in her gloomy thoughts to notice the changes in her surroundings. Now, her prior numb heart exploded in her chest, beating with intent.
Baffled, she ran from the bathroom to the bedroom, to the living room, and finally to the study.
Yes, it was her old home, or rather, her ex-husband's house. As she scanned her surroundings, her eyes fell on the calendar on the study desk.
12 October ****.
The year…
Her heart skipped a beat.
'Did I go back in time?'
'Rebirth?'
She checked the date in the calendar over and over to make sure that it was not just in her head. It was everywhere. All the digital clocks, her cell phone; all showed the same.
'Please, let it not be a dream.'
PAH!
She slapped herself hard in the face.
The burning pain in her cheek brought a smile to her lips. It was as bright as the dawn on a dazzling summer day.
Reborn into her 28-year-old self.
As she stared at the strip, a thousand thoughts raced across her mind. She finally acknowledged the fact: God had given her a second chance in life.
'Everyone is still alive. I won't let the tragedy repeat itself this time.'
I am pregnant…
The two lines that felt like a life sentence in prison in her past life now became he wings to her happiness.
She caressed her belly. "Baby, thank you for coming back. Mommy is sorry for not appreciating you in the past."
The woman was Ira Rai, who believed she deserved death for her sins. She was trying to kill herself, but God had given her a second chance to redeem all the crimes she had committed. She could finally see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
Lost in her thoughts, the woman hadn't noticed someone behind her. A warm hand grasped her wrist.
The pregnancy strip fell on the ground.
"Are you pregnant?" An anxious but sharp voice broke her chain of thoughts. She turned around to look at him.
A tall figure in a suit came into her view, —a perfectly sculpted face with deep-set almond eyes, and a sharp jaw. It was ironic how he would stay just as handsome in ten years.
Vivan Shah, her husband, was 27.
She had seen him age like fine wine. As the crisis in her family and the burden of the company crushed her spirit. It also took a toll on her youthful face.
Vivan had attended her mother's funeral. Ira refused to meet him in fear of letting him see her withered and wretched appearance.
He had a wedding band on his finger, a wife, and a child.
She snapped out of her reverie and glanced at his ring finger.
Like that time, he had a ring, a wife, and a child.
Unlike then, the ring he wore was their engagement ring, and she was his wife, bearing his child.
This thought bought a wave of relief in her. She closed her eyes after taking a deep breath.
He pulled her hand, "Are you pregnant?" he asked, pressing for an answer after his eyes fell on the pregnancy strip. Is it positive?
Ira didn't reply. Overwhelmed with emotions, she stared at him. Guilt filled her heart, followed by large teardrops and a pink nose. She cried and wailed like a child.
Vivan was confused. Scratching his head, he wondered how to react in such a situation. The woman hated his mere touch. It would be blasphemous to think he could console her with hugs and kisses. He extended his hands but retracted them back. A moment later, he felt pressure on his chest. Realizing it was Ira, who was now attached to him like a koala bear, he shivered in pleasure.
He was on cloud nine.
As he was about to hug her back, she abruptly pulled back, covered her mouth and retched.
"Are you sick? Let's go to the hospital! Have you eaten something bad?" Vivan panicked as he held her with trembling hands.
"Viv, you idiot. I'm pregnant. It is morning sickness. It has been two months already." She hugged him tight and wept once again.