Chapter 1

Some people call my life boring. My friends and family tell me that all the time, but I find comfort in my daily routine. Stacking shelves, chatting with regular customers, and watching the little traffic drive by always makes me feel at ease in such a chaotic world. I can see why people say my life is boring by I do not care what they say. I would never change my life for all the wealth and power in the world.

The corner store where I work is only a small one owned by an elderly man who spends less and less time here, but I can hardly blame him when his health has been slowly degrading. He has always been kind to me, and I enjoyed visiting his house whenever I made him a soap or stew on days his illness was practically bad. I hope he will get better soon.

Ding dong!

Even that sound that annoys other people is comfortable to me. But I wish it were not her that entered the store. I know this is wrong to say something like this about my very own twin sister, but I wish I never had to see her. We are the complete opposite. I always tried to do what was right. I gave to charity, helped those in need and never broke any rules in my life. My sister, on the other hand, was a schoolyard bully, a thief and someone who would beat you within an inch of your life just for looking at her the wrong way. But as much as I want to push her away, I cannot do something like that to my own twin sister.

I watch her disappear in between the aisle, our eyes briefly meet, but she seems more interested in the man approaching me than myself. I guess she is only here for my friends and family discount. I should not feel bad that such a bad person does not want anything to do with me, but it still hurts a little to be ignored by her. At least the man is a regular that I enjoy dealing with, even if his stories about his farm goes on a little too long.

"Thank you for your business," I smile as I hand the man back his change. "Please come back soon." As usual, he only comes by to buy his morning paper and a pack of cigarettes. Not onto my next company. "Thank you for shopping with us. Is there anything else you…"

I take a step back, instinctively feeling my heart race at the sight of the silver gun aimed right at me. Is that thing real? More importantly, why is my sister pointing it at me? She has never done anything like this before. Even at her worse, she has never held someone at the end of a weapon. I pray she is just playing some lousy joke on me, and that gun is just a fake. However, that hope is quickly dashed.

"Open the register and give me the money!" She yells, leaning over the counter. "Don't try anything or hit the alarm, and you won't get hurt!"

"Hey… you don't want to do this…." I put my hands up, hoping my sister was not too far gone. "It's not too late… you… you could just leave and I… I won't tell anyone about this…."

"Shut up!" Spit flies from my sister's mouth as her cold eyes lock onto mine. "Just give me the money or… or I will shoot you!"

I shiver, seeing there is no saving her. Slowly I step forward towards the register, not giving her any reason to shoot while looking at her hoping to see any chance of her changing her mind about this. No such luck. I open the counter and start to remove the money but not fast enough for my sister, who suddenly pushes me away and grabs it all herself.

"Is this it?" She asks, looking at the small pile of crumpled bills in her hand. "Where's the rest of the cash?"

"That's it," I tell her. "I swear there is not more money here."

"Bullshit!" She curses, pocketing the money. "There has to be more here."

"There isn't," I reply, well backing up until my back hits the cigarette display behind the counter. "Most of our customers pay with their cards, so we keep little money in the till."

"There has to be more this can't be all of it," She looks at the register, then back at me. "Where's the safe? There has to be a safe with more money…."

Bang!

It all happened in the blink of an eye. Out of nowhere, some guy tackles my sister to the ground, but as she falls, there is a loud bang and flash of light as if someone has suddenly set off a firework in here. At the same time, it falls as if someone has punched me in the chest, knocking me to the ground. I must have been hit really hard because my vision is starting to become blurry. I can see my sister from where I fell. She is still struggling with the guy who tackled her, but when she spots me, she suddenly freezes, and her eyes widen.

"Nooooo!"

I think that is my sister screaming as I blackout. I think I am smiling. I did not know she cared about anyone other than herself.

<--->

This is strange. I do not recognise where I am or have any idea as to how I got here. It cannot be a hospital. I doubt they would set me down in the chair instead of a bed. Still, this chair is comfortable, so I will not be complaining. But where am I, and where did that man come from? I swear he was not sitting in the chair opposite me a minute ago, but now a balding old man is staring at me from that seat with a gentle smile. I should feel afraid, but strangely I feel oddly calm around him.

"I will be blunt with you," The man gently speaks. "You're dead."

He could have put that to me better, but strangely I still feel entirely calm even as he tells me the devastating news. I am starting to suspect this man has something to do with my feelings. It just is not possible for me to be so at peace after appearing in a strange room with a mysterious old man and being told I am dead.

"Now, let us discuss what comes next," The old man continues. "Normally, you would be sent to the afterlife, but in special cases like yours, we give a choice." Take a moment to sip from a cup that appeared out of nowhere in his hands. Just who is this man? "You have lived a good life, raised a considerable sum of money for charity, gave food to the homeless and even looked after several stray cats. Looking at your life, people only have good things to say about you, so you have earned a second chance."

"You're going to bring me back to life?" I ask, hoping it is true.

"Not exactly," The man replies before drinking from his cup again. "You have the option of being reborn in a different world. If you do not want to be reborn, that is fine, and I will send your spirit off to the afterlife. This world will be filled with magic and fantasy creatures, and because of your virtuous deeds, I will give you a boost to your magic if you. That is if you want to be reborn."

"I…" I take a moment to think about it. Being reborn seems like it could be fun, and in the end, the chance of adventure wins over. "Yes, I want to be reborn, please."

"Very well," The man smiles as his cup vanishes. "Close your eyes." I do as he says. "And when you open them, you will begin your next life."

This is it. If it were not for whatever this old man is doing to keep me calm, I am sure I would have butterflies in my stomach. I take a deep breath. Three… two… one… I slowly open my eyes and find myself held in the arms of a beautiful blonde woman.

"Darling, she's beautiful," The woman says. "Our daughter is like a little angel."

"She is," The woman softly smiles as a man's deep voice speaks ups. "Little Angelina is worthy of her name and to carry the noble blood of the Lamonia line."

Angelina Lamonia! Please tell me it is just a coincidence that I share the name of the wicked woman of whom I am thinking. I better not be that Angelina Lamonia, old man! I should have gotten more information from that old man before he sent me here.

<--->

Author Note:

Hey guys, thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and if you have any suggestions or thoughts about this story, feel free to share them.