CHAPTER ONE
1375 Words
Olivia feared many things. But standing in the middle of her own funeral with none of her loved ones recognizing her? That topped the chart.
A few hours ago, Olivia Woke up in a coffin, scared and confused about how she got there; she ran out.
After hours of wandering, she returned to see her family walk out of the same building, sad looks on their faces and their eyes swollen with tears.
Her brow furrowed. “What is going on?” She muttered as she approached them. Suddenly, her gaze caught one of her family holding a picture frame of her, and behind was a coffin.
A funeral?
Her heart skipped a bit as she saw her mother weeping uncontrollably. “Mom?” She yelled shakingly, rushing towards them “Mom? What is going on?”
Her mother gave her a confused look. “Who are you?” She asked, still in tears.
Olivia tapped her chest. “Mom, it is I; why are you crying? I'm not dead”
“Who are you?” Her uncle asked. “Why would you want to ruin a funeral, get out of here.”
She shook her head. “ Do you not recognize me? Do any of you not recognize me!” She yelled in frustration. “Please, Mom!” She grabbed onto her mother. “I'm your daughter; it's me, Olivia! I'm Olivia!”
Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her. Pulling her away from the crowd. Olivia turned to see a strange man her age. Brown hair, Chiseled jawline, and a sharp nose. But she didn't know who he was.
“W.. hat?” She stuttered. “Why did you pull me away? My family thinks I'm dead!! I'm their daughter! I'm their daughter!”
“I know,” he said softly. “I know it's you, Olivia, it's me Chris”
Her brow furrowed. “Chris who?”
He chuckled. “Chris, your childhood friend?”
She shook her head. Who is this crazy person? “Start away from me,” She said, turning to run after her family, but his grip tightened around her, pulling her back.
“You are dead Olivia!” He yelled.
She flung her hand away from his, shaking her head. “No,” She gasped. “I'm alive!”
He pulled closer. “I know that Olivia,” He said, pulling out a blue pendant from his pocket. “I resurrected you, with this”
“What?” She muttered.
“What is the last thing you remember?” He asked, his expression serious.
Olivia shuddered with fear. “I remember,” She muttered. “I had just gotten home from work, and I noticed somebody in my house. A man”
TWO NIGHTS AGO
Nosa sighed as she walked into her apartment; she flung her bag onto her bed and positioned herself in front of her mirror, pulling up her hair.
And that's when she noticed a figure behind the curtain.
Quickly she turned around, pretending not to notice him. Her hands shook as she reached for her phone pretending to dial a number. “Mom, where are you?” She asked placing the phone against her ear as she began to walk outside her bedroom. “You are here already?” But before she could leave the room completely, a gnd wrapped tightly around her hair, pulling her back.
She dreamed loudly as her gaze caught his.
An old man?
“Who are you?!” She yells, trying to get up, but, but kicks her to the ground with a knife. “Who are you!” She gasped with fear.
He let out maniacal laughter. “You do not know who I am?”
She shook her head. “No…please don't kill me,” she muttered, but it was too late. He drove the knife up to her multiple times until her eyes closed in death.
PRESENT DAY.
“Oh my God,” Chris said, sorrow written in his eyes. “I'm sorry”
“If I died that day, why am I still here right now?”She asked. “Why why do you look…different”
“I'm not the only one,” he said, tiring her to face a car beside them.
Olivia gasped. Aa hee gaze met her reflection. But it wasn't hers. Her face …her body, they were all.. different.“Who is that?”.
“That is you,” Chris said.
She pushed away from him. “I know what I look like”
He raised the pendant one more time. “I told you, I resurrected you with this, this is called Phoenix; it brings back the dead but at a cost; they come back to life with a new body, new face; I was told the new look is how we look on the Inside.
Olivia swallowed hard as she processed the information; suddenly, her gaze shot up to him. “You look different. Does that mean you are dead, too?”
Chris nodded. “Two nights ago, I stood on the edge of my company, watching the city. I attempted to move away, but somebody knocked me off the building, and I fell to my death. Minutes later, I woke up with a new face and a new body. And there was a lady next to me”
“Who?” Olivia gasped.
“She says she's one of the people in charge of taking dead souls to the afterlife”
A chill ran down Olivia's spine.
“But she didn't take me, because I didn't die by natural causes or by my own hand, she accidentally pushed me off as she passed by, so she resurrected me with the Phoenix, now it's mine”
“You are..really Chris?” She asked.
He nodded. “Yes, That night I rushed to your house to tell you the news. On my way to you, I stumbled upon a man in the group, he was breathing, as I tried to wake him up the pendant began to glow and I saw it was written ‘The new owner of the Phoenix and bring back to life whomever he chooses’, that's when I realized that I could wake people up with it but before I could finish I heard footsteps rushing over. I didn't want them to think I killed him, so. I ran off to your house. I stood outside and called out your name, over and over again but there was no answer so I assumed you had gone to sleep so I went back home, unfortunately when I turned on the news, I saw you”
“News?”
“It was reported that you committed suicide in your apartment”
Olivia gasped. “That is not true, I was murdered”
“I know,” Chris said softly.
“But we are the only ones who know that. Your killer staged your murder as a suicide”
Olivia gasped “Who was that man? I didn't recognize him,” she muttered. Her gaze moved up to Chris “We have to find him, A man murdered me and he's still out there, I need to bring him to justice and make him confess his crimes”
“Even if that happens, your parents still won't believe that this is you” Chris explained.
Olivia paused to think. “It doesn't matter. I want to bring him to justice”
He nodded. “Let's go to my house first, you should get something to eat,” He said, leading her to his car.
“What if people see you in your house? They won't believe it's you either”
“My parents already know it's me”
“What? How?” Olivia asked, confused.
“I told them I had plastic surgery, which is believable considering how I looked before death.” He said starting the car.
“Maybe I should tell my parents that too”
“Bad idea,” Chris said. “You were beautiful Olivia, nobody would believe that”
Olivia nodded, her bread pressed against the headrest of her seat. How would she even begin to expose a murderer? One she didn't know?
- Writer
