third time's the charm.

{ epilogue - third time's the charm }

"If only..."

...

I bit through the tough piece of stale bread, my teeth stinging from the sheer hardness.
I crawled up into a ball. The weight of the situation had finally struck me. A tear fell from my eye, reaching the realization that no one cared. Not my mom, my dad, or even my sister. Not even in death. ...Hah... why had I been so foolish to chase after their praise and adoration? I should've known it was a hopeless dream.

I put my head in between my arms, wet droplets streaming down my face. I heard the iron door unlock, the creaking of the hinges hurting my ears. The guard glared at me as he unlocked the cell door. He latched my handcuffs onto the rusty chains, dragging me out as if I were an animal, I said nothing, my cheeks red and my eyes swollen. The guard reassured me that the blade of the guillotine was dull. I sighed, feeling grateful they were merciful not to give me a painful death. As I was harshly pulled to the area where the citizens, noble or commoner, could bear witness to the execution of myself, I noticed my family in the audience. The looks of disgust that I failed to notice before.

I was thrown into the guillotine, the chanting of the crowd drumming in my ears. As the blade dropped to my neck, I realized the dullness of the blade wasn't merciful at all. I could feel it all. The pain of the metal slowly inching through my flesh, the pain unbearable. I looked up as much as I could; I was hopeful that my family at least was sad. I saw my mother smiling, a glint in her eyes that was far from mournful. A final tear dropped from my face, the memories of my life flashing through my mind. My vision grew blurry.

"If only..."

"If only I had lived life differently."

...

I opened my eyes to a bright white room, with human-like figures swarming around me. They spoke an incoherent language, unlike any I had heard in Zicea. I tried to speak but no words came out. Am I hallucinating? Am I really so in denial of reality that I've simply created a fake one? Hah...

I was taken to this strange caged mattress by the humanoid creatures. I couldn't help but notice the resemblance to a crib back in Igaegu, though the cribs there were not risen from the ground. Perhaps this was a foreign country, maybe Cerulean. I heard they were famous for their clean appearance and strange technology.

Hey... my eyelids are get...ing heavy. I should take a quick... nap...

...

That's how it happened. I died, and reincarnated here. If I had the choice to change the outcome, there's a lot of things I'd rather do differently. Here on Earth, things like mana and magical creatures don't exist. There has been much more technological advancement, and people take in ordinary domestic animals as "pets." I've had a lot of time to think over the things I did, and the steps I took. I certainly wasn't good, but there were people who pushed me to the brink for their personal benefit. How could I have naively believed them?

Enough of that, I shouldn't dwell on the past. I'm only 27 and sitting on my deathbed, I'm near my expiration date for heaven's sake. I've barely lived at all and I feel like I've lived forever. I should sleep now, I'd rather go out painlessly than spend my last hours alive thinking the things I could've done.

...

I awoke to a large room, nearly double to size of my room in the hospital. The windows were draped with deep crimson curtains, and the bed I was laying on felt as soft as clouds.

I can't believe it.

...

A/N: Hello ladies, lasses, and lassos! This is a new book! (That I will probably only publish 2 chapters of.) It's chalk full of terrible writing and cliches, but there's a reason they still exist. I plan on posting on the weekends or Wednesdays, but it's likely I won't keep up. I'll post a few before I start having a schedule, just to get a feel. It's fine though, lol. I made the character young because I didn't want weird romance, ew. The start may be patchy but it'll get better- hopefully. Expect short chapters and bad grammar, but if you catch some please correct me! Criticism is welcome as long as it points out what is wrong. Bye! ❤️