Respawned

Chapter I - The Respawn

I yawned after dad made a terrible pun about vegetables. "Yeah, sleep tight, dad." I said, as I turned my head on my small mattress. Dusty, dirty, and cleaned probably once in its' entire existence, it belonged on the floor, along with the many bugs crawling in our room.

"Night, Phoebe." He coughed, and turned off the flashlight that he found on the ground outside on Broadway, placing it back on the floor next to his own mattress.

The air was thick with dust. Our shelter was just around the corner of Times Square, in New York City. Many homeless people wanted to live here, so it's a privilege that my dad and I can. Dad has a part-time job at some fast food store that isn't too popular. I think it's called Little Bees. But how would I know? All I do when he works is look for scraps, or thrown out valuables on the street.

I breathed slowly, falling into sleep, when I heard the yells outside. I sat up immediately. "Dad?" I squirmed around trying to find my flashlight.

Turning it on, I saw my dad fumbling for his own. He looked concerned. "It's probably a fight over some scra-" Dad suddenly became quiet as a high pitched scream echoed through the shelter's halls. I heard footsteps running down the hall into different rooms. Our room was near the end of the hall, with our lock not working.

My dad's bright blue eyes turned to me, his flashlight lighting up his face, and a shot rang through my ears while I saw my dad fall to the ground, his head bloody. I stared at my dad, and in the reflection of our little mirror, there was a man at the door with a gun. I turned around and jumped to the side, dodging a shot from his gun. I peeked over the sofa I was hiding behind, and inspected him. His brown hair, sharp jawline, and dark clothing hid his own vivid features. 

I turned to look for our emergency shotgun, when another shot rang, and the last thing I saw before my vision turned black was the man's large scar across his hand, which held his gun, and his grim smile.

----

I heard rustling around me, followed by, "Beth!" Who? I rubbed my eyes. Ah, thank God. Was this all a dream? I turned in my mattress, but something felt different. The sheets were soft, and I now wore a silky nightgown that brushed my skin, instead of the dirty shirt and over-sized pants that I usually wore to bed in the shelter.

Whoa. No thick dusty air? Is this heaven? I yawned and stretched out my arms. 

"Beth! Wake up!" I finally opened my eyes enough to see myself in a luxurious large bed, I think they call those king-size? An older woman, in her fifties maybe, is smiling down at me. "Ah, there you are, hun." I look around, silky pajamas brushing my skin.

"What?" I sit up, a little too quickly, which caused my head to hurt. "Where am I? What happened?" I looked to my right, where a cup of water would usually be for when I became thirsty in the middle of the night.

The woman took my hand that was seeking the cup, and placed it on hers. "Ooo not so fast. The suitors are here, and you're going to be late to breakfast to greet them!" She had a sweet smile on her face, but where was I?

I laughed. I'm seventeen, why are there suitors for me? "Sorry, but where is my dad? And what happened yesterday, with that man in the shelter?" As I was saying this, the woman's face became scrunched up, and she herself laughed at my genuine question.

"Beth, honey. You were eating dinner with your brother and parents last night." What? My mother died when I was born, and I don't have a brother. The woman picked up a light grey dress, made of a soft material.

"Wear this to breakfast. Pretty, isn't it. Your maid had it done two days ago and wanted it to be a surprise for your big day today." She pulled my hands so I'm out of my bed. "First impressions are important!"

I looked around, golden couches, beige walls, and furniture made of such articulate designs surrounded the room. I looked at the woman, her long graying black hair pinned back, with her sweet eyes searching for a pair of shoes in a closet bigger than my room at the shelter. The shoes she was picking through were with big heels, and some completely flat.

"So, where are we?" I asked, but all I got was a laugh and a short phrase, "Colossal damage can be undone, m'lady." Her eyes squinted as she smiled brightly at me. Her expressions made me feel uncomfortable, but I tried to not pay attention too much at them, and pay more attention to the situation.

Confused, I decided this was the wrong person to ask.

She finally clamped her mouth with her hands, sighing. "Ah, Beth, I found the most beautiful match!" She held up a pair of silver heels, with a small elevation to them. "C'mon, try them on, we've only got about five minutes until breakfast starts!" She carried the dress and heels to the sofa I sat at.

I quickly changed into the dress through my nightgown that I took off after the dress was on. While I was putting on the shoes, the woman brushed my hair gently. The curls coming out from my braid that I slept in, or at least that Beth slept in.

I pinched myself. How can this not be a dream? Or is this a heaven? Was last night's events real?

I shook my head. "Hey! Don't move, you'll ruin your hair's look!" I sighed. The brushing on my scalp was calming, and it resulted in me relaxing. Maybe yesterday's events were all a hallucination, but what explains this world?

I'll just keep the flow of the day going, whatever helps to forget about dad. Dad. He's dead, isn't he? Unless everything from yesterday was not real. I saw him fall. Oh God and the man. The man. With his ugly scar on his arm. Who was he? How'd he come through the locked doors at the front?

The woman stopped brushing my hair, and I turned around. She held a small mirror in her hands, facing it at me.

My curly auburn hair was tied into a half-pony, and the rest on its own. It was brushed and clean. No longer knotty and greasy as how it was in the shelter. My lips have been colored a nude pink, and the eye shadow on my eyelids, was a brown and golden smokey-eye. I looked beautiful for the first time I can remember.

"Wow," I practically breathed, "thank you." I looked back at the woman and smiled at her for the first time that morning.

The woman's smile lifted even more, and she gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Alright, Phoebe. Time to impress the boys!" I got up from my seat and headed toward the large double doors in my room. 

Time to impress some boys.