Chapter 4: Wake up again

Once again, Êyavia stood beside her parents, the scene exactly as she had seen before. The gentle golden sunlight filled the space, the lush green grass was full of life, and the chirping of birds filled the air.

Her mother was still sobbing, and her father still wore that same complicated expression. Only Êyavia stood there, whispering, "Perhaps this is just a dream…"

The eerie silence of the evening descended upon them, the three of them sitting at the table with their food cold. Êyavia clenched her fists, bowed her head, and murmured, "This is just a dream, like any other dream…"

And as night fell again, Êyavia lay in her bed, closing her eyes, telling herself, "This is just a dream, when I wake up, everything will be back to normal!" But the silence continued, leaving Êyavia sinking deeper into darkness.

She did not know how much time had passed when she suddenly burst into tears, her hands clasped tightly over her mouth as if to prevent any sound from escaping. Tears rolled down her sulky face and onto the pillow, creating streaks that soaked through the fabric.

This was reality, no matter how much she denied it. She had truly rewound time four days earlier to experience this again. She blamed herself for realizing it but doing nothing. Why did she let it slip away without trying to stop it? Why? Why?

A suffocating feeling came over her without warning, squeezing her heart, preventing it from beating. Each labored breath seemed to vibrate with the space in the small room. She did not know if it was just her imagination, but the space seemed to contract and expand with each breath.

With each time she inhaled, the darkness and the walls seemed to shrink closer, wanting to swallow her small body whole. But when she exhaled, they recoiled like they were frightened by something.

In her hazy state, Êyavia could imagine the creaking of the wooden floorboards harmonizing with the cracking and grinding sounds of the plaster walls. She was both terrified of sinking deeper into the darkness and silently lay there, exhausted and powerless. After a very long time, Êyavia finally relaxed her body, no longer struggling against the suffocating feeling. She thought that if she just let it swallow her, perhaps all these feelings would disappear…

Perhaps so, perhaps it really was… otherwise, why did she feel so light now? Like the Earth's gravity had vanished, and her body was slowly floating in space. Her eyes were tightly shut, completely oblivious to the changes in the surroundings. When she opened them, the place had transformed; it was no longer her familiar bedroom, but a vast, almost empty expanse of land. Only the ground and a sky ablaze with stars, the four Milky Ways stretching across it.

The sound of the wind chimes sometimes echoed faintly from afar, sometimes clearly right beside her ear. The melody remained the same, only this time it did not call her in any particular direction.

Her body, floating, slowly descended until the feet touched the ground. The surface she landed on felt strange; it was not entirely solid but undulated like waves, with only a small area around where Êyavia's feet rested being completely flat.

This "ground" was not rough but soft like a cotton blanket. Or perhaps it was something else entirely, because except for the starry sky and herself, the entire area was shrouded in a mysterious blackness, making it impossible to see anything more.

When she looked up at the dazzling starry sky, she caught sight of two of the largest and brightest stars. Their form was peculiar; they seemed not to be two stars but a pair of curious eyes gazing at Êyavia. They simply looked at her without any reaction, their gaze devoid of any malice, only curiosity.

Before long, the sound of the wind chimes echoed close to her ears. This time, it did not flicker on and off, but continued until the pitch-black night swallowed the starry sky, leaving behind the sound of a woman's sigh.

The wind chimes once again urged her to open her eyes, just like the morning she had rewound. Seeing this familiar scene again, she sat up in bed, not following her usual morning routine, but covering her face with her hands and sighing. Then she looked out the window where the gentle sunlight still shone through.

She neither cried nor laughed; her entire face was completely relaxed, revealing no emotion as she sat there silently. It was unclear what she was thinking, or perhaps this state of hers was one of complete stillness.

She grabbed her phone to check the time; the calendar showed July 13th. It was the day after Alisa's birthday, unlike last time. Opening her photo album, the most recent picture was a birthday photo with Alisa. In the picture, everyone was smiling brightly, except for Êyavia, who only managed a faint smile. She frowned, turned off her phone, and went downstairs.

Stalas, sitting downstairs, suddenly turned around, intending to greet Êyavia with a smile, but stopped. The words were stuck in his throat. Êyavia's face showed no emotion, and she did not look directly at Stalas, simply sitting down to eat her meal. Stalas seemed to have something to ask, but then refrained. After a long while, Stalas took a deep breath and said, "Is something wrong today, V?"

Êyavia did not answer immediately, but her lips moved slightly, then she remained silent for a moment before looking directly at Stalas, avoiding his gaze, and saying, "If you had a choice, would giving up everything behind, including me, be one of the options?"

Stalas remained silent, his expression shifting from bewilderment to awkwardness: "I'm a little tired today, let's talk another time?"

Êyavia's eyes widened slightly as if she understood something, then she frowned and lowered her head. Perhaps she should not have asked that question; she felt a little guilty for saying it. She looked out the kitchen window, perhaps trying to forget what she had just experienced. She wanted to change the outcome of what was about to happen, but she did not know where or how to begin.

Even though she had witnessed Stalas's death and been pulled back to the past twice, she was still clueless. She was not prepared for things like this; how could she know what to say or do? Would she remain silent again, and everything would unfold as it had twice before?

I'm so useless…

Perhaps this is hell for me, perhaps this is punishment for my uselessness…

With each breath Êyavia took, the space began to contract and then shrink again. But she did not want to pay attention to them anymore; her mind was now conjuring up strange visions. A place where everything was different from the reality she was in.

A place where she could save this story.

A place where she would be transported to another world, to begin another life.

Then, remembering that she was only dreaming of those visions, she thought, if someone killed her now, perhaps she would go to those worlds.

If she closed her eyes and, for some reason, could not open them again, perhaps she would be reborn there…

Êyavia closed her eyes, relaxing her body, letting a wave carry her away.

The wind chimes echoed in her ears again, and when she opened her eyes, the dark land beneath the starry sky appeared before her. This was the third time she had seen this scene, and this time it no longer felt unfamiliar.

She looked up at the eyes staring directly at her. She remained silent, simply gazing into them. They were not frightening, nor did they evoke any sense of danger, but neither did they feel familiar. All she knew was that they looked ancient, noble. Before those eyes, she was just a tiny, insignificant dot on a much larger canvas.

Perhaps this was the magical world she had always longed to reach, a place where she could choose the story she desired. But this place was so empty; besides these things, there was nothing else.

Desolation, vastness, endlessness, and coldness were the only four things Êyavia could see here. Or perhaps, this was merely a transit point. Was that why it had transported her back to the past? If so, if she wished, could she leave this place and go to another world?

A glimmer of hope, she did not know when it had begun, had flickered in her mind. An opportunity could take her away from here, away from this gloomy place filled with painful memories!

But then she suddenly remembered Stalas, her parents… The people she loved were still here, how could she leave? Perhaps this was her chance to save Stalas. Perhaps if she saved Stalas, she would be free, and the world that lay out there would be her reward.

But then she fell silent. How could she take advantage of Stalas like that? It was so selfish. She felt angry at herself for forgetting that Stalas was always there for her, and now, when she had the chance, she was taking advantage of him and abandoning him

Abandoning...

The wind chimes chime softly in Êyavia's ears, comforting her. It was like a lullaby, so relaxing and soothing.

The night once again swallowed the starry sky, leaving behind a darkness that seemed to offer no escape. Meanwhile, Êyavia's body, drawn by the sound of the wind chimes, once again awoke in the familiar room.

On the phone, the calendar showed July 10th.