chapter 1- Reborn

I died yesterday. I thought as I stared at my ratty ceiling. Not just me but my best friend too. We stuck together in everything and I did everything I could with what little I had to help her and we still failed. And it's all her family's fault. They abandoned her and we became friends. We wanted a better life than this and they did everything they could to suppress us. I was included because I was her best friend and defied them.

And now I'm back to the beginning and I don't know what to do. She's here in the countryside with me and I know she's at that ratty shed slowly coming to terms with being abandoned and I don't know how I can face her younger self knowing that I failed. That we fail in the future. That no matter what new things we learn, or how hard we try…we will always end up on the short end of the stick.

Ever since I woke up in my younger body I've just been laying here. I can't bring myself to get out of my bed and it's been 3 hours. 'What if she notices in different?' 'What if we don't develop the same relationship we had from the first time?' 'What if I can't protect her again and everything goes up in flames again?'

'It would be better if she were here' I thought. She'd know what to do. She would be able to point me in the right direction on our next move. I'm not good at thinking the right way and I know my plans have many loopholes. Plus my heart is a big factor in my decisions. She was always the brains to our plans. I preferred it that way. Don't get my wrong I'm smart in my own way but I just preferred taking the orders not giving them.

I guess it's time to face the music I sigh. Rolling over I get out of my mattress and head out of my room.' I live in the orphanage at the edge of town. Never knew my parents, they died when I was a baby and I've been here ever since. That's why I stuck to my best friend, we were the only ones to actually care for each other and we spent so much time together. We had so many aspirations but her family kept blocking our advances no matter what we tried. As we got older we got sneakier and actually started to make a name for ourselves in the business world. But in the end her family found us and they killed us. I'm the end I didn't even care about myself, all I wanted was for Sasha to survive. To get revenge and live a long happy life. Maybe settle down and find someone. But I couldn't even do that.' I thought as tears started streaming down my face.

I rubbed my eyes with my sleeve and tracked my way across the field to the abandoned shed thag I know Sarah resided in. 'I just need to see her alive and we'll even if it won't be the same' I thought.

I walked up to the shed and knocked on the door. "Sarah are you there?" I said. No one answered. I opened the door to see if maybe she was sleeping and no one was inside. 'Maybe she went out, but where would she go?'

I heard some movement outside and walked out. There she was, standing about 10 feet from the door. She was still as tiny as she was from last time. With ripped shorts and and old faded shirt on. Her hands were small and rough and she had scraped knees. Her face was cold but her eyes where soft. Which was different because I remember she was a sweet young girl and only grew colder from our rough lives.

"Sarah? What happened?" I asked. Maybe one of the villagers was mean to her or something. But she shouldn't look this different. What is going on???

I was so confused but she just smiled at me. There was a slight smirk to it and immediately I knew. She had come back too.

My knees buckled under me and relief coursed through my veins. The tears that had been slowly streaming were now bursting like a waterfall. I just sat there wailing my little heart out because she was back and I wasn't alone.

She stumbled towards me and sunk to the ground next to me. Pulling me close and holding me as I cried my heart out.

"It's me Mandy, I'm back and so are you and everything will be different this time." Sarah said to me. My heart filled with motivation and hope. Just having her back with me is enough to strengthen my resolve.

"Yeah" I said softly while hiccuping. "Your here and I'm here and everything will be different." I said.

"How do we start?" I asked