A runaway car came hurtling towards me. "It must be him..." My world blacked out before I could think anything more. The next time I opened my eyes, I found myself on the edge of an ice-made bridge. The ferocious water roared under the bridge, emitting a suffocating stench. "Hi", a hoarse woman’s voice comes from somewhere. I turned around back and forth, trying to find where it came from, but had no clue. "Drink this, my little girl, drink this and you will be relieved," the sound kept going. The chilling air from the water made me shiver uncontrollably. "Who are you? Where am I?" I shouted with all my strength, but I couldn’t even make a sound. "Drink it... Drink it..." The sound sounded closer this time. A crocodile popped up from the roaring water with a small potion bottle held in its mouth. The water stopped roaring. I felt something had left my body, and before I could control it, my hands reached out for the bottle. I managed to grab it.

"Drink this. Your powers should return soon." The water was rushing into the bottle again. I closed my fist around it tight. The pain I inflicted on it was enough to break the bottle. Water flooded out of it and fell onto my face. I could feel the blood running through my hair. It wasn’t like my usual wounds, this one hurt so much. I opened my eye and the world around me started spinning. As my vision faded. I was left alone once again.

***

The first thing I remember after falling into darkness is hearing my name being called over and over again by someone I never saw or heard before. After a while it stops. No one calls for me anymore. No one speaks about my past life; they only talk about how strong and brave and amazing I was. I don’t know why, I have no memory of ever meeting them and I definitely don’t remember ever doing what I did, but people are still praising me like a saint. They call me their angel; the savior they always dreamed of. I wonder if I am one. Or maybe I just imagined everything. But then again, if there is anyone who knew me best than they would say otherwise.they are dead after all.

***

I sit at a table by my window, reading a book as the sun slowly sinks down on the horizon. My phone starts buzzing, signaling that someone has messaged me. I ignore it. The ringing persists for a while, I try to shut it off, but it keeps ringing. I throw my book across the room when I finally give up and get up to answer the call.

"What do you want?!" The caller doesn’t say anything. The only sounds on the other line are heavy breathing.

"Hello?! Hello! Can you hear me?" A voice breaks through the silence. "I asked you what do you want?! Don't tell me you got lost!"

"Sara..." I hear the voice, it is weak. "Where are you? Why haven't you answered any of my messages? I'm worried... Please let me help you-" She cuts herself off, her breathing gets quicker, as if she was about to cry. "Sara, where are you?" This time, her voice is clearer and not full of panic. I can barely catch what she says "... The ocean... I'm at the beach..."

"Are you alright? I'll come and pick you up."

Before she answers, she lets out another cough. "No.. No.. I'll be fine... Just stay safe... I love you Sara." She hangs up. I turn my phone off, go upstairs to my bedroom and fall asleep without thinking about anything else.

***

I wake up feeling dizzy. My head hurts, and my whole body feels numb. Everything feels strange, I need to leave, right now. Before anyone sees me, I start walking outside. I don’t look back, I run straight out of our house. The sky is dark and covered in heavy clouds. Rain begins pouring heavily. I keep running until I reach the bus station, hoping that a bus will take me wherever it takes me.

***

My eyes fluttered open, and I sat upright in shock. I was sitting on the cold hard floor of a cell, surrounded by chains. I couldn’t breathe properly; my body felt heavy. My chest was pounding, but at least my breath was steady. Someone approached the bars of my cell.

"Hey kid..." he said softly. "It’s been three years since I last seen you and you’re already taller than me." He laughed lightly and I forced a smile. "So how’s it going, kid?" His tone was filled with worry.

"Not so good. Couldn’t sleep well last night..." I didn’t lie, I really couldn’t sleep well, especially since…

"Yeah..." he sighed and stepped away from the bars of my cell. The man looked at me with his big, round eyes. "Kid…" I waited patiently for him to continue speaking. "You’re gonna have to get yourself outta here, okay? The prison is closing in ten minutes."

I didn’t respond to his words, instead, I tried standing up, which failed miserably because my legs wouldn’t support my weight. I gave up, took a deep breath, and rested my arms against the bars.

"Listen to me, kid." He kneeled down in front of me. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Of course I do... Why would I forget what happened? What do you mean by ‘ten minutes'? I need to get out of here now." I was struggling with every word.