Evelyn stroked Elena's hair and face lovingly. It felt so warm that Elena couldn't describe it adequately. It was the feeling that she had yearned for in the last few years. Elena couldn't help herself and started sobbing.
"Mom… can you pinch me?" Elena choked as she uttered these words with difficulty.
Evelyn Ashford was surprised when she heard her daughter's absurd request.
"Huh? Why?" She asked with confusion written all over her face.
Seeing her mother's confused face, Elena understood that it was not a dream and she was not in heaven. She hugged her mother again and didn't want to let go.
Seeing her daughter's reaction, Evelyn grew even more worried. She asked again, "Elena, tell me what's wrong. Mother is very worried for you!"
Elena saw the worry in her mother's eyes and calmed down. She said, "Mom, it's nothing. I had a horrible nightmare and I'm glad that you woke me up from it."
Evelyn sighed when she heard her daughter. She then gently pulled Elena into her arms and patted her back, "It's okay Elena. The nightmare is over now."
Elena nodded with tears in her eyes. Yes, her nightmare was over!
Evelyn cupped Elena's face in her palms and said gently, "Okay sweetie, now freshen up and come down for breakfast."
Elena nodded as she watched her mother go out of her room.
She then closed the door and leaned against it. It was then she saw her old room in front of her eyes. It was the room in her family house and not her villa in which she had lived with Evan's family. She however still couldn't believe it. She hurried to her dressing room and saw her reflection in the mirror. When she saw her youthful appearance, her heart finally started settling down. She still checked her phone for the date. It was 2020. She was now sure that she was reborn. She was reborn five years ago!
Elena pinched herself multiple times, but all she could feel was pain. She had really gone back in time. She had gotten another chance.
"I'm really grateful for the chance you have given me, God, and I promise that I will make good use of my second life and will never make the same mistakes ever again." Elena swore to herself.
Elena took a bath before getting dressed up. She then walked downstairs to have breakfast with her mother. She wanted to spend time with her mother now that she had gotten her back. It was like this most of the time. When a person is there in your life, you take her for granted. You only understand the true importance of a person only when she disappears from your life. And this is mostly the case for parents. We take them for granted when they're alive and miss their presence when they're gone. We wish that we would have spent some more time with them.
As Elena reached downstairs, she saw no one in the living room. She was about to call her mother when the housekeeper informed her that Evelyn was waiting for her in the back garden.
Elena nodded and went to the back of the mansion.
Evelyn was seated on the garden chair with a table in front of her. The table stood beneath a flowering magnolia, laid with porcelain dishes, fresh fruits, and steaming tea. The chair beside Evelyn's chair was empty, seemingly for Elena.
Elena walked through the grass calmly. She even removed her footwear to feel the grass beneath her feet. This feeling gave her a sense of peacefulness.
Elena walked towards her mother and sat down beside her. "Mom," she greeted Evelyn.
Evelyn Ashford smiled gently at her daughter. She then handed over a plate of fruits to her daughter.
Elena took the plate from her mother's hand and took a bite of a grape. She ate elegantly just as Evelyn sipped her tea gracefully.
"Elena, was your nightmare too horrible?" Evelyn didn't want her daughter to remember the nightmare but she was worried sick, and so she wanted Elena to vent it out.
"Mom, it's all in the past!" Elena smiled.
Evelyn looked into Elena's eyes and saw that she didn't have a trace of fear or sadness in her almond-shaped eyes. It was just peace. This made her feel relieved.
She looked at Elena and said, "Elena, I wanted to say something to you from a long time. So now that we have some time, I might as well tell you what's on my mind. I know that you've never suffered a bit since childhood and you have a kind heart, but not everyone is like you. Don't easily trust people in your life. I know that you don't have a lot of friends, but still, you need to be careful because you never know when they might betray you."
Evelyn knew who Elena was close to and didn't like either of them. Thus, she told her daughter what was on her mind in a roundabout way.
Evelyn had said the same thing multiple times in Elena's past life but she had ignored her mother's words and that had cost her everything.