The rain poured as if to wash away all the world's grievances. Thunder resounded throughout Manhattan as pedestrians on the road wrapped themselves in tight clothing, their hands gripping their umbrellas tightly to keep them from being blown away by the wind.
"Wake up, Serena, wake up!"
What was that sound? Serena seemed to hear someone calling her name.
She slowly opened her eyes, and a skinny girl was sitting next to her with a bottle of rum in her hand.
"It's not like you to fall asleep after only drinking so little."
Struggling to get up, Serena suddenly realized that she was in her own home and the girl who had just called her was her best friend, Emily.
"What do you mean? Where am I?"
There was a sudden sharp pain in her head, and Serena rubbed her eyes, suddenly remembering that she was clearly ... dead.
Where were the two men who had buried her alive? Where was the dirt?
Serena looked down at her body; nothing was different.
"Where's Ethan?"
She asked.
"Who? Who's that? Your new date?"
Emiliy's reaction surprised Serena; it was like she'd never known Ethan when the three of them often dined together.
All this strangeness confused Serena, and she pushed the bottle of wine in front of her and felt for her cell phone, wanting to call Ethan for clarification.
But the date on the screen froze her in place as if she couldn't move her feet from being wrapped in uncountable vines.
September 20, 2023. The night before her birthday.
What the hell was going on here?
Serena stumbled and looked around; this was indeed her home. She opened her phone; Ethan's invitation to have dinåner with her on her birthday was still in the message, quietly waiting for a reply.
Was it all just a dream she had had?
Serena dropped to the couch in disorientation, her friend not noticing the difference.
But the fear that came from deep inside her heart, the cold touch of dirt on her body, and her desperate moans as she was about to die, all of this seemed like it had just happened, and if it was a dream, it was too real.
In a flash, a tingling sensation came from Serena's palm, and when she opened her hand, a symbol she had never seen before inexplicably appeared on her palm, engraved on her hand like a brand.
"Emily, have you seen this before?"
She reached out to show her friend, but Emily looked away and stared at her strangely.
"There's nothing there's. You're so drunk you're hallucinating."
Was she the only one who could see it? What exactly is this symbol?
Serena felt like there was too much unknown information, and her head was about to explode.
"Deeds."
A low voice suddenly floated through the air.
"I give you the power to be reborn; you will become my slave until the moment you die again, and your soul will meet me in hell. "
"Who?"
Serena shouted in the air, Emily. They stared at her strangely; although she was often drunk, she was never like this.
"What the hell is wrong with you, S?"
Emily shook her, trying to get her sober.
"Don't forget the vow."
The muffled voice reappeared before disappearing into the air forever; no matter how much Serena called out, there would be no more response.
Vows, symbols, souls, hell.
Serena suddenly remembers her wish before she was buried; if she could do it all over again, she would want revenge.
Could there be a demon in this world that heard her prayers? Has it fulfilled her wish? As the demon said, the price is to become its servant to meet in hell after death.
"S!"
Her friend's yell brought Serena back to reality, and she began to accept the outcome.
But if she told her friend, she might think she was crazy; after a few moments, S decided not to confess.
"I'm fine; I just had a nightmare. I was probably scared."
Serena prevaricated to comfort Emily.
But now that she had been reborn, why did she have to take revenge? If she didn't accept Ethan's invitation and let Ethan disappear from her world from now on, wouldn't she be able to circumvent the harm that would have been done?
Thinking about this, Serena suddenly told Ethan that she couldn't make the appointment, deleting him from her contacts.
I could sleep well tonight, couldn't I? The future will be peaceful, too, Serena thought to herself.
Indeed, it was true; Serena's life was as smooth as she thought it would be for three months, and it was as if Ethan had evaporated from the earth and never contacted her again.
But is fate something that can be changed at will? Everything is just the calm before the storm.
That day, she stumbled into a bookstore, looking for her favorite books on the shelves; she has always loved to read all kinds of detective novels, especially Agatha Christie; her childhood dream was to be a female detective like Miss Marple in her old age.
She was intently rummaging through the bookshelves when suddenly a novel called "The Disappearance of You" appeared before her eyes.
Just as she was about to reach out and touch the book, another hand suddenly appeared, and in a flash, as if an electric current had passed through Serena's body, she turned her head and saw the face that should have disappeared from her life.
"You are?"
Serena was too surprised to speak; Ethan stood beside him with an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you wanted to read the book after you, too."
Ethan didn't recognize her; after all, in this life, she had refused the first meeting that was supposed to happen.
"Thanks, no."
Serena turned around in a panic and walked out of the bookstore without looking back.
"Wait!"
Within a few minutes, she heard someone shout and turned around to see it was still Ethan, who was holding the book in his hand.
"I don't know what I did to offend you; I hope you can accept my apology; this book is for you."
He handed Serena the book and disappeared into the crowd without looking back.
Back at home, Serena was still in shock. She hastily unscrewed the cap of her bottle and took a large swig of vodka, turning her attention to the book.
"OUCH!"
There was a sudden stinging pain in her palm, and looking down, the symbols in her palm began to blush; this frightened Serena to no end, and she emptied her glass in a single gulp and darted into the bathroom, intending to take a shower to calm down.
"Maybe I should look for that Tarot Master."
She suddenly remembered the tarot reader she had found before her last birthday, and now it seemed that all her prophecies had come true, so maybe she would have something new to tell her this time.
The next day, Serena returned to the tarotist's little house, but the man didn't seem surprised.
"You've come again."
"Again? What do you mean?"
Serena was a little scared; this was their first meeting, but she said it was again.
"Hold out your hand."
The older woman allowed Serena to place her hand over hers, scrutinizing the marks on her hand.
"It's a sign of signing."
"What does that mean?"
"You made a contract with the demon, and you will bring that soul to him no matter what in exchange for the comfort of your soul."
What the more aged woman said struck Serena as odd, and she inquired again.
"Which soul?"
"The demon has given you another chance at the cost that you need to offer him another soul soaked in blood that has long since become impure."
"And if I don't?"
"Then the contract will be voided, and you will return where you belong once more."
After saying this, the older woman twisted her head to look at the jar next to her, which contained a handful of dirt that instantly gave Serena the creeps.
"So what am I supposed to do?"
"Follow your destiny. The demons will guide you; take this."
The older woman placed a solid black ring into Serena's hand.
"Go back to your house. What's meant to be will be; no one can fight fate."