Zarielle's loud gasp echoed across the hall, catching the attention of those who passed by her. She blinked a thousand times, still in shock from her unexpected experience that felt like just a minute ago.
"What?" she muttered unconsciously, confused about what was happening. "The impact, I clearly felt it." She touched her waist, then her shoulders, and lastly her head. She brushed her chestnut brown hair in between her fingers. She didn't feel any pain.
"I-I'm alive?" Her eyes wandered around her. Seeing a very familiar ceiling and tiles, there's only one thing she can conclude. "Am I at the company?"
Zari rushed towards the nearest comfort room and began to look in the mirror. She sees herself wearing her long orange floral dress, which covers most of her skin and makes her seem old for her age.
In a panic, her slender fingers quickly poked around her heart-shaped face. With no make-up on except a light pink lipstick to add color to her face, her delicate features don't particularly stand out.
"I really don't understand what's happening. Was everything just a dream?" The brunette asked herself, hoping she could remember at least what her final moments were. Zari felt a pang in her head as she tried to think harder.
Unconsciously, she grabbed her head in pain. "H-help!" she groaned. But as if the timing were bad, there was no one around her. She was the only woman who had entered the comfort room at the moment.
Zari took a deep breath and calmed herself down. Her heavy breathing echoed throughout the cold lavatory. A few seconds passed, and the pain seemed to subside.
"I'm pretty sure I was just in front of my apartment complex, so what am I doing here?" she once again asked herself in front of the mirror. "A-am I... a ghost?!" Her eyes widened just thinking about the idea she really had returned from the dead, not as a human being but as a wandering soul.
"Ha, it can't be, right?" Zari chuckled nervously, denying her thoughts.
"Who goes there?!" Zari squealed while also taking a step back from a mixture of shock and fear. Her moment was abruptly cut short when she heard a splashing noise coming from one of the stalls at the end. She was so sure that she was the only one in the comfort room at the moment.
"Is anyone actually there?"
No response.
Just as Zari was going to shrug it off as the wind blew hard and made a noise, a tiny voice came from the stall, along with the sound of splashing water.
"Can you just open the door and help me out?!"
Zari blinks a few times. The voice was so adorable that she couldn't help but think that perhaps it was a child stuck inside. But impatience and sarcasm were evident in the voice coming from the stall, which she found oddly surprising coming from a child.
"Wait, hold on!"
Zari rushed towards the stall and pushed it with all her might, but to her surprise, it was open all this time. What greeted her inside was a white cat with sparkling, golden eyes, stuck inside the toilet bowl. "What the..." She gaped at the sight in front of her. Her brows furrowed, already drawing conclusions inside her head.
"Oh, I get it." She fixed her posture and started laughing. "I am dreaming!"
"A cat... a talking cat? Pfft—hilarious!" Zari lightly slapped her face a few times. "Come on, Zari! Time to wake up!"
From a frail woman who looks like she just got out of the hospital to a crazy lady who laughs hysterically from the mental hospital. That is exactly what Zarielle Montclair looks like right now, if anyone were to see her. Aside from the constant laughter that made her seem like she lost her head, she also continuously pinches herself as if trying to wake herself up.
Zari was brought back to reality when the cat, the color of an angel, hissed at her.
"I don't have all day!" Like a thunderous roar, the cat growled at Zari. "Stop laughing, you crazy woman! Help me out!"
She snapped from her thoughts and stared at her arms, which looked almost like tomatoes from how red they were. It was then that she realized that her arms were sore from all her pinching.
"Wait... so this is real? Are you real? Am I real?"
"Are you an idiot?" The cat glared her golden eyes at her. "If you don't pick me up at this second, I swear you'll regret it so much!"
How could such a sweet-looking cat even mutter such words? That was what Zari thought to herself. She blinked a few times before approaching the cat and lifting her. The pungent smell from the toilet dawned on her nose.
"Ugh..." Zari groaned before dropping the cat gently on the floor.
"Finally, a use for a worthless human being, even though I believe she is crazy," the cat muttered to itself. The cat turned its head towards Zari before leaving her another glare. If looks could kill, Zari would be lying on the cold, hard floor. "Humans live only to serve us! I can't believe this human only stared at me when I was clearly in a predicament!"
"Hey! Aren't you being too harsh right now?" Zari puckered her lips in an attempt to appease the cat. Hearing the cat's words was like a knife being stabbed in her chest.
Worthless. Am I really worthless?
"Stop with your depressing thoughts, crazy woman."
Zarielle blinked a few times, realizing that the cat somehow heard her words. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, the cat spoke once again.
"No, I didn't hear your thoughts. Your expressions are as clear as the day." Zari can imagine the cat rolling its eyes if they can even do so.
"Maybe I have gone mad," Zari whispered to herself. She clearly remembers how a truck crashed into her in front of her apartment complex, and then somehow, here she is, alive and well. Why is there even a truck at that time of the night?!
Then now, she's faced with a talking... cat. She believes she's clearly gone insane.
"You haven't gone mad, Zarielle Montclair. You have simply been given a second chance in life." Little sparkles fluttered around the cat as she hopped on the tiles of the sink. In an instant, the cat was all dried up. "My name is Aetherion, I am a messenger sent by the feline deity, Bastet."
"Aetherion? Deity? Bastet? What?" Zari can't help but express her confusion through loads of questions. "But more importantly, a second chance in life?"
"Sit down, human. I'll do all the talking." Aetherion raised his head, asserting his dominance.
"Excuse me?" Zari scoffed, flabbergasted by how the cat treated her.
"Shush!" Aetherion hissed, then spoke once again. "You, Zarielle Montclair, were destined to die at such a young age. But..." he dragged the word out while walking his four paws towards the mirror.
"The feline deity has approved to give you another chance in life. Hence, we have turned back time for you, two weeks before your destined death," Aetherion explained, his golden eyes gleaming with ancient wisdom.
Zarielle's disbelief hung in the air as she absorbed the fantastical revelation. Aetherion, the mysterious cat, continued with an air of solemnity.
"But beware, Zarielle," Aetherion warned, his tail flicking with an air of seriousness. "This second chance is not without its challenges. You must navigate the intricate web of your past, making choices that will shape the course of your future. The threads of destiny are fragile, and the consequences of your actions will echo through time."
"Now," Aetherion continued, "if you succeed in altering your destiny, then you get to continue living your life." The furry feline paused, looking directly into Zari's eyes, which resembled chocolate. "But if you failed, then say goodbye to your life and prepare to enter the next era!"
"What do you mean? What exactly do I have to do? Does changing my destiny mean I have to prevent my death?" Zari fired off a barrage of questions, her confusion and anxiety mounting.
"That's for you to figure out," Aetherion replied cryptically, leaving Zari with a sense of urgency and the weight of an unknown mission hanging over her, the gravity of the situation settling in her chest like a heavy stone.
"Well then, my time is up. I wish the best for you, Zarielle Montclair." With those words, Aetherion leaped gracefully off the sink, the little sparkles once again surrounding him as he disappeared into the shadows, leaving Zarielle bewildered.
"Wait, I still have a lot of questions!"
And it was just then that something beeped in her pockets. Still baffled by what just happened, Zari hesitantly grabbed her phone to check the source of the sound. What she reads makes her eyes wide and her mouth gape.
From: Evan <3
Hey, love. Are you free next week? Let's go out.
Her heart skipped a beat. The familiarity of Evan's name on her screen sent a shiver down her spine. "This is the last text he sent me before we broke up," she whispered to herself, finding it hard to believe what was happening. She scrolled through the message history, each word confirming the uncanny reality that lay before her.
"Did I go back to the past?" Zari mumbled, her mind racing to comprehend the implications of the mysterious turn of events. She traced her finger over the screen, half-expecting the words to change, but the timestamp and the sweet emojis remained unchanged. The weight of confusion settled in her stomach, blending with the surreal situation that Aetherion had just revealed.