Elara's eyes popped open. She didn't think of anything at first. Her mind was quiet and empty, like a blank sheet of paper. She lay there, breathing slowly while staring at the ceiling above her. After a few seconds, her eyes moved around the room.
Left. Right. And up again.
Her brain felt muddled, as if she had just woken from a very long sleep.
The room looked… familiar.
That thought made her frown slightly. She slowly tried to sit up but the moment her back left the bed, a sharp pain shot through her head.
"Ouch—!"
She gasped and fell back down at once. The pain throbbed, spreading across her skull. She sucked in a painful breath and closed her eyes tightly, waiting for it to pass. And then—
Memories rushed in. Too fast and many.
She was standing on a stage, bright lights were blurring her vision. A microphone was in her hand. Music rising.
She opened her mouth to sing. At first it went on smoothly. But then, the high note came and her voice suddenly broke.The sound cracked in the air, ugly and totally unpleasant to the ears.
Laughter followed. Some people whispers. Some pointed fingers at her.
"She can't even sing properly."
"What a joke."
"She slept her way in, didn't she?"
Fake rumors spread like plague. Her name dragged through the dirt. Doors closing in her face. People calling her disgraceful names.
Then memories of her grandfather. His tired smile. His rough hands.The day she lost him.
Her chest tightened.
And then the river which felt so cold that it burned. Water rushing into her ears, her nose, her mouth—all at once. And finally, her body sinking.
She had jumped and ended it all herself. The feeling was still there. It felt too real as if it had happened just a few seconds ago.
Elara's eyes flew open again. She gasped, her heart pounding hard against her chest. She looked around again, this time carefully.
Posters covered almost every part of the walls. On the posters were girl groups with bright smiles and matching outfits.
A guitar stood quietly in the corner of the room, leaning against the wall. By the other side of her bed was another narrow bed, exactly like hers.
It was empty.
Her heart thumped rapidly in her chest. She pushed herself up again, slower this time. Her body trembled as her feet touched the floor. The moment she stood, her legs nearly gave out. It felt like jelly.
She steadied herself and looked around the small room. Of course she knew this place too well. This was her dorm room back when she was still training in Lorien.
But how?
How did she come here?
Was this… life after death?
She stood properly now. Her breathing slowly calmed. Everything was exactly the same. The beds. The desk.
She walked toward the window where a small mirror was fixed to the wall. She stopped in front of it. Her eyes suddenly widened.
The girl staring back at her looked very young. Her clothes were familiar too. The loose top she used to wear for night training. The worn pants. Everything was wrong—and yet right.
Her hair was long but she had cut it short when she came to Starfall City.
In the mirror, it fell past her shoulders, just like it used to when she was still younger.
Her heart began to race.
She lifted her wrist and stared at it. Her skin was white, smooth and blank.The black and red microphone tattoo should have been there too. But there was nothing. She even rubbed her hand until it turned a raw, angry pink, thinking stupidly that maybe it had been covered with make up. But there was nothing. No scar, no pigment, no raised lines.
"What…?" her voice came out as a whisper. She was supposed to be dead. So why did everything look like her past?
As she was still thinking of this—
The door creaked open slowly and a girl stepped inside.She was dressed casually in a loose tank top and shorts clinging to her slightly sweaty skin. Her hair was tied into two low pigtails, packed neatly below each side of her ears. A few strands escaped and stuck to her face.She almost tripped over her own feet the moment she stepped inside.
"Dammit...", she cursed under her breath.
Elara watched silently as the girl struggled to balance herself, the books in her arms nearly slipping out. She somehow managed to steady herself and walked to the other side of the room.
Then she dropped onto the bed hard. The mattress squeaked loudly as she fell back, staring at the ceiling, breathing heavily.
"Tired…" she muttered, letting out a long sigh while covering her mouth with her palm.
Elara's fingers curled slightly. She knew her.
Even after so long, she still remember her name.
"Lyra…" Elara whispered without realizing it.
Lyra was her roommate back then. Clumsy. Loud. Always rushing. She was not very talented, but strangely stubborn. She loved singing, even when she knew she wasn't good at it.
And yet...here she was, alive and young.
Lyra suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
"Oh right," she said casually, still lying down. "Mrs. Elopee asked about you."
Elara turned toward her sharply.
Mrs. Elopee. Their mistress. The one in charge of their training.
Lyra continued talking, not even looking at her, as if she had expected no reply. "I told her you're down with a fever and you couldn't come for training today."
Elara opened her mouth. Her voice came out cracked.
"…You did?"
She froze. Is that her voice. It surprised even her.
Lyra glanced at her briefly but didn't comment. "Yeah. You looked half-dead yesterday."
Elara's thoughts were a mess. Nothing made sense. Her chest felt tight, like she couldn't breathe properly.
"What…" she began, then stopped. She swallowed. "What's going on?"
Lyra sat up slowly and stared at her.
"…Are you okay?" She asked, her brows knitting together. "You're kinda acting weird."
"Well Mrs Elopee was annoyed. She said the competition is in two weeks time and you were staying in bed. Maybe she thinks you were pretending."
Elara's heart skipped.
"What competition?" She asked in confusion.
Lyra was dumbstruck. It seems she don't know how to reply. "We're going to the talent hunt show in two weeks. Don't tell me you forgot that."
Elara blinked. "Which… talent show?"
Lyra stared at her again. This time longer. Suspicion crept into her eyes.
Elara saw her reaction so she forced herself to calm down. She couldn't mess this up. Not now.
She gave a stiff smile. "My head feels fuzzy. Fever, you know. And I'm someone who forgets things easily"
Lyra looked unconvinced but nodded as if she got it. "Ohhh."
It was clear she didn't understand a thing.
"The Star Hunt competition." She said still staring at Elara as if suspecting that she had lost her mind.
Elara turned back to the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her, pale and stunned.
Star Hunt.
Her fingers trembled. She suddenly walked toward the door and pulled it open.
"Hey—?" Lyra called behind her but Elara didn't look back.
She stepped into the hallway. The narrow corridor stretched ahead, lined with dorm doors. Some girls leaned against the railings, chatting and laughing. Some were faces she recognized clearly while some only felt a bit familiar.
A few glanced at her strangely.
Some smiled.
Her head throbbed as she walked further. She passed by the music theater, the practice hall, the training rooms. She knew this place too well.
This wasn't a dream.
She still remembered some details of the Star Hunt competition. It happens every five years, held in less urbanized cities across Aurelia. Lorien was one of them. The winners would be admitted into singing schools in Starfall City.
She had competed before. Several years ago.
A name flashed in her mind. Livienne.
She remembered her standing on stage, confident and smiling. Livienne had won. Along with another girl from a different training school.
Elara's steps slowed. She stopped walking. Her breathing turned uneven as she realized everything wasn't a dream.
She's back
Not just back. She's back in time.
Back before everything fell apart. Back before she lost everything.
Elara lowered her head slowly. The realization echoed quietly in her mind.
This wasn't life after death.
This was a second chance...