How much time has passed since I blacked out? Sigh… My show’s probably over by now. What even just happened? And… where am I?

  I scanned my surroundings and was greeted by nothing but darkness—an endless void stretching in all directions. I wasn’t standing, but floating, suspended in this strange space.

  Then, in the distance, I saw her again.

  The crying girl.

  But this time, she was facing me.My breath caught in my throat. There was no mistaking her.

  “It’s… me,” I whispered.

  The girl from my past—a helpless, crying child with no one to look after her.

  “Why am I seeing my younger self? What is this place? Hello? Anyone? Hey, weird magical ball of light? Can someone tell me what’s going on?” My voice echoed back at me, but there was no response.

  Resigned, I began walking toward her.

  The moment I touched her, a jolt of lightning coursed through my body. My mind erupted with memories, flashing by like a reel of film.

  I didn’t have any big dreams as a child. My only goal was to play with my dad. Life was simple back then—happy, even. I never knew my mother, but Dad always took care of me.

  “Your mom’s a superhero,” he used to say. “She’s working hard, but when she’s done, she’ll come back, and we’ll all play together.”

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  I believed him for a while. Eventually, I stopped asking.

  Dad and I had a routine. On weekdays, he worked while I went to school. Weekends were our time—shopping at the mall, playing in the park. It was perfect.

  Until it wasn’t....

  I was ten years old. It was a normal day. Dad was leaving for work, just like always.

  “Bye, sweetie. Do your homework before I get back!” he said with a smile.

  “Okay, Papa!” I mumbled, half-watching TV with a piece of toast in my mouth.

  That evening, I waited for him. Six o’clock came and went. Then seven. Then eight.

  I called his phone repeatedly, but it was unreachable.

  By ten, panic set in. I ran to our neighbors, and they helped file a missing person’s report. They let me stay with them while the police searched, but as days turned into weeks, their kindness faded.

  The whispers started. “She’s a burden.” “Poor thing.”

  I understood. I was a nuisance. But I had nowhere else to go.

  One day, the woman caring for me drove me to an orphanage.

  “It’ll be a new home,” she said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

  The orphanage wasn’t a home. It was survival. I learned quickly that without money, you’re nothing. I studied harder than anyone, topping exams to prove I wasn’t worthless.

  But I also rebelled. I dyed my hair blonde, got into fights, became a delinquent—or at least tried. My grades never slipped. I wouldn’t let them.

  Eventually, I graduated high school with a scholarship and went to college. I thought things would get better. I’d make friends. Build a family. Find a place where I belonged.

  But it never happened.

  Tears rolled down my cheeks as I relived it all.

  “All that pain… was it for nothing? Will my life end like this? All I ever wanted was a normal, happy life. Was that too much to ask? I just wanted to meet Papa again…”

  Suddenly, a strong gust of wind hit me. I wiped my eyes and looked around.

  The void was gone.

  Instead, I saw the sky.

  “Wait… is this heaven?” I muttered.

  Then I realized something horrifying.

  “No. No, no, no! WHY AM I IN THE SKY?!”

  I was hundreds of feet above the ground, falling fast.

  “NOOO! I DON’T WANT TO DIE! NOT AGAIN!” I screamed, bracing for impact as the ground rushed up to meet me....