Chapter 3 Her Rebirth

• "Lauren, Lauren….are you alright?"
• Lauren stirred a bit, her eyes still shut. Could dead people hear the voices of their colleagues?
• "Lauren…."
• Wasn't that Anita's voice? Her colleague and friend, Anita Parker?
• Lauren frowned, her eyes still tightly shut. Was Anita dead too? Is that why they could communicate?
• This didn't make any sense.
• "Lauren, wake up. Our shift is over."
• WHAT?!
• Lauren opened her eyes instantly and held her neck, gasping for air.
• "Oh my g—Are you alright?" Anita held Lauren's shoulders and looked at her. "You slept for such a long time. Are you sick?"
• Lauren's eyes scanned the environment around her.
• Nurses and clients filled the room like any other day at work and not just that, she glanced at herself and realised she was wearing her nurse uniform and sitting at her desk.
• Impossible!
• Lauren furrowed her brows in confusion. Was there a hospital in the afterlife? Her hospital specifically? Did Regen Health Centre exist in the afterlife?
• "Lauren! You look like you just saw a ghost. What's going on?" Anita's voice dragged her out of her scattered thoughts.
• She stood up and glanced at her friend who stared back at her like she had lost her mind. "What's today's date?"
• "Huh?"
• "Date. W—what's today's date?" Lauren mumbled as she searched her table for a clock or phone.
• Her brain wasn't working properly right now. She was sure of it.
• "February 24th 2024. It—"
• "WHAT?!!!" Lauren screamed so loud that Anita and some nearby people jumped in fear.
• "W—what is the prob—"
• "No way. Give it to me!" Lauren snatched Anita's phone and checked it with her own eyes.
• Her face went pale white as 'February 24th' reflected on the phone screen.
• The world seemed to slow down around her as she tried to figure out how she was soaked in a pool of blood a few minutes back and now working at her job like a regular day.
• What happened? D—did she just come back to life? Was that even possible? This had to be a dream.
• A very crazy dream.
• Lauren dug her hands into her scalp, searching for the sticky wetness of blood. To her surprise, there was no blood and no pain.
• A cold shiver rolled down her spine and she shuddered.
• "What's going on?"
• "Huh? Lauren, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" Anita mumbled. She kept looking at Lauren, a worried expression in her face.
• Lauren closed her eyes and took a breath. She had to calm down. Her mind was in a haze.
• "You have been given a second chance to set your life in order and correct your errors. A two month time frame.
• The past will repeat itself. Find your enemies. Save yourself.
• In return, you will get a helper and a longtime friend….if you survive.
• Do not forget this"
• Lauren shuddered fiercely as a voice whispered those words. It was as calm as a soft breeze blowing past her ears.
• "Did you say something?" Lauren opened her eyes and glanced at Anita.
• "I said what's wrong?"
• Lauren heard the voice again with the same instruction and that was when she realised that it was specific to her.
• Noone else could hear it except her. She was the one who got a rebirth.
• A second chance.
• Noone else could help her through this except herself.
• The weight of this realisation suddenly felt heavy and Lauren gripped the hand of her chair firmly and sat down, taking deep breaths to steady her mind.
• "N—nothing is wrong, Anita. I think I'm just really stressed out today." She managed to mumble loud enough for the other lady to hear.
• "Oh….I see" A sigh of relief followed. "Thank Goodness. For a moment there, I thought you had gone crazy."
• Lauren gave a short laugh.
• She felt crazy. Everything about this was crazy.
• Fragments of the past two months were spinning around her mind but she didn't even know what to do.
• Anita leaned closer and raised an eyebrow. "Did you do something wrong?"
• Lauren frowned. "What do you mean by 'wrong'?"
• "The CEO requests for you. Like right now."
• "The CEO? Mrs Susan?!" Lauren jumped to her feet. "W–why? W–what did I do?"
• Anita rolled her eyes and laughed. "Are you asking me? I should be the one asking you. What did you do wrong, Lauren? Your shift is over and she is aware. I don't think you should keep her waiting."
• Lauren bit her lower lip and hastily tidied her desk.
• She had not found the time to process everything that had happened and what her next steps should be. She would have to wait till she was well rested at home. Her whole mind was in a mess.
• She grabbed her hand bag and cleared her throat. "Okay, let's do this!"
• Anita sighed as Lauren walked out, heading towards the elevator leading to the top floor. "My prayers and thoughts are with you"
• Lauren took one final glance and poked her thumbs up in assurance. "I'll be fine. I hope so"
• _____________~~~___________
• "You can go in," The Secretary signalled at her.
• Lauren clutched her handbag tightly on her shoulders and rubbed her very sweaty palms on her blouse.
• "Good aft—"
• "Sit" Susan Harrison's firm voice echoed in the large spacious office.
• The fifty seven years old woman had a strict and firm expression on her face. Lauren almost wanted to crawl under her desk for a moment.
• "Oh, oh, yes. Sit" Lauren almost fainted at the sound of the woman's voice as she scrambled for the chair opposite the elderly woman's desk.
• She had never seen her physically before. It wasn't common that the CEO would request to see a random employee. Definitely not her.
• The office went gravely quiet for a moment except for the slow puff sound that came out from a small wooden diffuser on a white porcelain table.
• The elderly woman who was dressed in a dark blue suit continued watching Lauren for what seemed like hours.
• Well, it was just three minutes but it felt like hours to Lauren.
• "I don't beat around the bush so I'll get to the point."
• Lauren glanced up and nodded slowly. Her neck bone suddenly felt stiff.
• This had been a long day and she had only been alive for about one hour.
• "My son has been having a digestion problem. It's a minor problem. His diet is terrible by the way….." The woman sighed and rambled on.
• Lauren listened intently, wondering what this had to do with her.
• "....He is too busy to go for regular check-ups and too stubborn to listen to all the nutritionists I have sent his way. So I am going to try one last time and assign you to him….."
• Lauren released her heaviest sigh of relief. She had rushed in here, thinking that she was in big mess or something even worse.
• "....Word has it that you are a practicing nutritionist. I want you to give it a try then. I'll pay you very well. Better than what you earn at your job. You'll show up for your nursing shifts on Wednesdays to Fridays. For the remaining days, you'll focus on my son. So, what do you say?"
• All of a sudden, the air around Lauren smelled so good.
• Doing the work she loved. Getting a tasty payment cheque in return. Treating one of the most sought after bachelors in the United States of America……
• What better dream could a woman like her have?
• Logan Harrison was known everywhere as a proper and principled young man.
• Calm.
• Handsome.
• Refined.
• Disciplined.
• Endearing.
• She was so delighted she wanted to scream out for the whole world to hear.
• Lauren cleared her throat and smiled warmly. "It is my pleasure to help your son, Logan Harrison become the healthiest version of himself. I will do my best."
• Mrs Susan chuckled, a subtle smirk on her lip. "Not Logan. I'm talking about my first son, Richard Harrison."
• The smile on Lauren's face disappeared immediately.