Cattleya's eyes weakly opened, a cherry blossom failing to her face, after what seemed like forever, she sprang up. Observing her environment, her eyes widened in shock. She remembered how she died, in the middle of the road. She could still remember clearly the look of pity on the faces of the passersby.
"Is this the afterlife?" She whispered and stood up. She was under a cherry blossom tree whose leaves fell magnificently to the ground. Walking forward, she got to a cliff and over it, she saw a beautiful meadow with children running around with no care. Far off were exotic animals of the air and land. Her eyes widened upon seeing multiple dinosaurs walking freely amongst the children.
Her eyes lit up with excitement and wished nothing but to run down.
"Home at last." She squealed. "I'm home." Her palms clasped together, her eyes tearing up at the serene scene.
"Actually, you're going to hell." She heard a soft voice from behind which made her shiver. She turned swiftly to see a man standing inches close to her.
Her eyes widened and she quickly ran away from him.
"You..." She stammered. "It was you!" She exclaimed. "I saw you and you spoke to me. And what do you mean by I'm going to hell? I haven't done anything wrong." She fumed.
"I was just kidding but you're not staying here either. Kami decided to grant you a second chance at life."
"Oh no, you or Kami whoever don't get to decide whether I live or not. I like being dead. I mean, who doesn't?" She shrugged, feeling stupid at her statement but still confident.
"I want to stay here."
"Do you know how you died?" He asked, his hands folded at his back.
"Yeah, duh. I was hit by a car." She replied as though she was proud of the incident.
"Such a careless driver."
Something a screen with bright lights appeared behind her and she shrieked while jumping away from it.
"What's this?" Her mouth was left agape when she saw her past life playing right in front of her.
"You think you died because of a car accident? Let's watch together."
Before she could reply, the man was already standing close to her. A little bit too close for comfort. Seeing their proximity and the sheepish smile on his face, Cat slipped away slowly.
"Well, you would say I was quite unfortunate." She rolled her eyes, watching the embarrassing parts of her life. It soon got down to the promotion celebration and then the accident.
The screen rolled away, leaving her head blank.
"So, do you still think you died in a car accident?" He asked again. At this point, Cat was beginning to think he was delusional. She shrugged, not wanting to play his games of tricky questions.
A memory flashed and it was her standing in the middle of the road.
"Why was I standing there?" She asked herself.
"Oh well... I get to stay dead and not have to deal with anything." A smile curved on her lips.
"You're very dumb, unlike the other humans." The man fired with a soft smile, making her lips twitch.
"If I had to save a life for every wise word you've said until now, I'm pretty sure everyone destined to die today will die. Even extra."
She fumed with visible anger while the man exuded a calm and gentle smile.
"With a fish brain like yours, I bet even---"
"Fine!" She screamed, causing the man to open his eyes. It was then she realized his eyes had been shut. She had never seen a beautiful pair of white orbs like this.
Catching herself drooling, she shut her mouth and maintained her angry demeanor.
"I get it, smart arse." She scoffed. She folded her hands while waiting for whatever had to say.
"You died by poisoning."
"What?" She whispered. "Listen, I make sure I cook my meals properly and I don't eat outside my kitchen."
"You truly are the dumbest or you're just pretending because you don't want to believe your best friend poisoned you."
Her heart stopped for a moment as her hands dropped.
"Skylar?"
The man waved his right hand in the air and the screen came back on. It played the part where the special drink was brought over to her and she watched how she was persuaded to, even if she didn't want to. At that event, she only drank water which she had selected randomly from the refrigerator.
"You stopped in the middle of the road because the poison had already started taking effect. If you hadn't been poisoned, I wouldn't be with a mindless woman right now."
"Are you saying Skylar poisoned me? And why should I believe you?" She hissed. Seeing how naive she was, the man played all the scenes where Skylar went behind her back and insulted her. And how she had poisoned the drink too.
She didn't know when she dropped to the ground and was crying. It was like a huge blow to her head. She suddenly couldn't breathe properly.
The person she had trusted for almost all her life was the one that ended her and for what? A measly promotion which she would have gotten if she had worked hard too?
Cattleya clutched her shirt, her heart pounding against her ribcage. She felt like dying but then she remembered she was already dead. Her cries of sorrow were now replaced with cries of betrayal. She laughed and cried altogether until she couldn't do either anymore.
"Your story is indeed touching. Your life was a sad one and that's why Kami has decided to grant you a new life." He spread his arms as he announced joyfully.
"I don't want to go anywhere." She sniffled.
"Oh, but you can't. Once decreed, it must never fall back. Now..."
In front of her, a wheel of many colors appeared. Wiping her tears, she stood up.
"Does everything around here just appear without any warning?"
"As I said, you can't stay here. Spin the wheel, Cattleya. You have ten seconds, ten, nine..."
"Wait... Wait..." She stammered, not knowing what to say.
"Six, five..."
Unwillingly and out of pressure, she spilled the wheel with mustered strength, causing the wheel to start turning. The wheel continued twirling until everywhere became white, causing her to shut her eyes.
"You are now one of the Addams." A retreating voice echoed.