Sarafina POV
I woke up breathing.
That was the first thing that felt wrong.
My eyes snapped open.
Sunlight streamed through my bedroom window.
Birds chirped outside.
My blanket was wrapped around my legs.
My heart pounded.
"No…"
I sat up slowly in my room, in my bed.
My phone buzzing on the nightstand.
Everything looked normal.
Except it shouldn't be.
Because last night—i died.
The memory hit me like a punch.
The bridge, the men.
The blade sliding into my side.
The cold darkness swallowing the world.
My hands flew to my ribs.
I lifted my shirt.
No wound. Not even a bruise.
"What…the...."
I stumbled to the mirror.
My reflection stared back at me.
Pale. Wide-eyed.
Alive.
"This isn't possible."
Dreams faded. Dreams blurred.
That memory didn't, it was sharp and real. Vivid.
My phone buzzed again.
Clara: Alive? Or dying from your birthday hangover?
The word alive made my chest tighten.
Me: Alive. I think.
Her reply came instantly.
Wtf does that mean??
I didn't answer.
I couldn't.
Because something else was wrong.
When I stepped into the shower, the water felt hotter than usual.
The sound of the faucet echoed too loudly.
My heartbeat thudded clearly in my ears.
My senses felt… different.
Sharper.
As I dressed, a faint vibration stirred under my skin.
The same hum from last night.
Still there.
Waiting.
Outside, the city looked the same.
But it felt different.
I could hear conversations from across the street.
Car engines sounded deeper.
The wind brushed my skin like a warning.
I wrapped my jacket tighter and headed for the bus.
Yesterday I had walked this same route thinking life was normal.
Today everything felt like a lie.
At school, the noise hit me immediately.
Students talking.
Chairs scraping.
Lockers slamming.
Every sound was louder.
"Ms. Ainsley?"
One of my students frowned at me.
"You look pale."
"I didn't sleep well," I said.
That was the understatement of the century.
The day dragged on.
I taught.
I graded.
I pretended everything was fine, but it clearly was not because every few minutes the hum inside my blood pulsed again.
During lunch the fluorescent lights flickered overhead. Just once.
My stomach dropped.
The same way the streetlights had flickered before the men appeared. This wasn't coincidence.
Something was happening to me.
Something connected to last night.
To the blade and the words.
When your blood sings… the world ends.
What does that mean?
I died.
I remembered dying.
And yet here I was.
Alive and well like it was a figment of my own imaginations.
When school ended, I stepped outside and paused.
A strange sensation brushed the back of my neck. A presence watching me.
My heart started racing.
I scanned the street.
Cars. Shops.
Students walking home.
Normal. Everything seemed normal.
But the feeling didn't disappear.
It lingered.
Soft an waiting.
I walked faster.
By the time I reached my apartment, my hands were shaking.
I locked the door and slid down against it.
"What is happening to me?"
The hum inside my blood pulsed once.
Quiet. Alive.
Something changed when I died.
And deep down—I knew this wasn't over yet.