When the stars align

Echoes of a Life I Lived

She woke in a life already lived,
with love she could feel
but not remember.

San gasped, her body jerking violently as she snapped back to reality.

Her eyes flew open, breath coming in sharp, uneven pants. She wasn't in the car anymore. The rhythmic beeping of machines echoed around her, and the sterile scent of antiseptic stung her nose. Panic clawed at her chest as she looked around wildly, trying to make sense of where she was.

Her heart pounded erratically as she tried to sit up—only to stop cold.

Her stomach—it was strange. Heavy. Different.

Fear surged through her veins as her trembling hands reached down to her abdomen. It was swollen... as though she had an operation. .

No. This can't be real.

Just a moment ago, she was in the car with Taehyung. They were on their way to their date. And now this?

Her breathing grew frantic. What is happening to me?

Her dry throat barely let the word out, but instinct drove it past her lips:
"Taehyung."

Before she could even process the sound of his name, the door creaked open. A nurse stepped in.

San's wide, panicked eyes locked on her. "What's happening? Why am I here?" Her voice cracked with fear. "I was just with my boyfriend—how did I end up here? And why do I look like this?" She gestured desperately toward her stomach. "I wasn't this... this fat before!"

The nurse's expression softened, her gaze gentle yet clouded with something unreadable. "Ma'am, please try to stay calm."

San shook her head, her voice rising. "No! Don't tell me to calm down! Something is wrong! I feel weird down there—" she pointed toward her lower abdomen—"and there are machines everywhere! Why am I hooked up to all this?"

The nurse stepped closer, hesitating. "Ma'am... you've been here for a while."

San's breath hitched. "What do you mean? How long?"

Before the nurse could answer, a doctor entered the room. "Two months," he said gently.

San felt the world tilt. Her limbs went numb, her ears rang.
"Two... months?" she repeated, stunned. "That's not possible. I just passed out in the car!"

She stared at the ceiling, her mind spinning. How could she have been unconscious for two months? The last thing she remembered was the déjà vu, the fear, Taehyung's voice—and then... blackness.

The door opened again. Her mother stepped in.

San's eyes widened. "Mom? What... How are you here? In Michigan?"

Then her father walked in behind her. San blinked in disbelief. "Papa? You too?"