repeated lives 2

8/3/2019 Repeated Lives 2

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CHAPTER ONE

Talia Silverwoods looked down at her textbook and

started to tap on it with her fingers. She looked sideways

at Michael who was completely engrossed in his

notebook. Tomorrow was her midterm exam and here

she was sitting in a car on the lookout for one of her

µcustomers¶. She was getting a little tired of trying to

maintain the balance of the world. If she wasn¶t out

doing destiny¶s bidding every day, maybe she could get

a B grade once in a while.

She sighed out loud and Michael looked towards her

with a frown on his face. ³Why aren¶t you studying?´

Talia leaned her head back and rubbed her eyes. ³I¶m

working remember?´Her hand touched the amulet,

distractedly. She had accidentally chipped it a week

before while she was playing badminton with Michael



and she had worried that her Aunt would scold her for

being so careless. So, she had decided not to tell her.

And what possible harm could that do, anyway? Stanley

was safely locked away in an asylum.

Michael closed his notebook and looked out the

windshield. ³Still don¶t see him.´

Talia closed her eyes. She hated her job and if Aunt

Rosalind knew this she would be reprimanded, but right

then she would do anything just to have a normal life.

She had been assigned the role of a teacher when she

had stripped off Stanley¶s powers, but she had been

reassigned to her role as the helper of Destiny when her

student had made a serious blunder during work. No

one was ever supposed to showcase their powers in

front of anyone, and poor Shane had done just that.



Apparently subtlety hadn¶t been his µthing¶ as he had

explained and then turned up the volume of the music.

She opened her eyes as she heard two high school

girls giggling loudly and licking ice cream cones. Talia

frowned and turned to look at Michael who was staring

wistfully at them.

³Hey!´ she cried and slapped his wrist.

³What? I was just wondering...we should get ice

creams. It¶s too hot in here.´

Talia raised her eyebrows. ³Already bored of me huh?

What happened to µwe¶re meant to be together¶?´

³We are!´Michael said.

Talia crossed her arms and shook her head at him. ³I

hate this!´



³I was just looking out and they happened to be there.´

He explained.

³Not that.´Talia said. ³I¶m starting to really,´ Talia

rubbed her forehead, ³loathe what I do. ³

³Have you been getting headaches?´ Michael asked

and put an arm on her shoulder. Talia leaned on him

and took a deep breath.

³Sometimes.´ she said. ³Maybe the stress of this is

getting to me. I¶ve been getting these weird dreams.´

³Nightmares?´

Talia nodded.

Michael drew her closer and started to massage her

temples.

³That feels nice.´ she murmured as the pain started to

subside almost immediately. ³You really are my helper.´



Michael chortled. ³That I am. Are you sure your Aunt is

okay with me knowing this stuff.´

³Not really.´Talia said. ³But I can¶t lie to you.´

Michael drew in a sharp breath. ³So do you know who

your new protector is?´

³I¶m not supposed to know apparently.´Talia said.

³Something about my mind being read. After what

Stanley did to me...´

³It¶s okay. I can take it.´ Michael said. ³You don¶t have

to side step every time you talk about him.´

Talia shrugged and sat up straight. ³Oh, hey! There he

is.´ she pointed at a thirty year old man coming out the

bank. He was tall and good looking and through her

powers she had known what kind of life he led.

³So what¶s he like?´Michael asked.



³Thirty years old, has a wife, just had a baby girl and

got a huge bonus for sealing a deal.´Talia said.

³And what¶s the game plan?´

Talia tapped her fingers on the door handle. ³He just

had a baby for heaven¶s sake!´

³You don¶t have to break his bones or

anything.´Michael said.

³No, I just have to do something that would create a

lasting dent in his otherwise perfect life. Someone else

screws up and I have to be the cleaner.´

³What you do is important.´Michael explained and

Talia frowned at him. She really did love Michael, but

there were some days she wished he wouldn¶t be so

matter- of- fact. Why wouldn¶t he just agree with her

already? From what Aunt Rosalind had said, Michael

had pretty much done her bidding in her previous life.



Talia bit her lip hard. What was she thinking? She

loved Michael and whether she liked this or not, he was

telling her what was right.

³I just wish it wasn¶t today. Not so soon.´Talia said.

³Maybe when his daughter is a teenager or something.´

³Then he probably wouldn¶t want any help at all. His

life would already be a ...´he trailed of as he saw her

face and grinned at her.

Talia pulled on the handle and got out. ³Come with?´

Michael pointed at his textbook and Talia sighed. She

closed the door behind her and started to walk towards

the man. What should she do today? A parking ticket

won¶t do much, neither would breaking his car. What

were her options? A sharp pain pierced through her and

she gasped. Just as suddenly, the pain subsided leaving

her feel disoriented. What was that?



Maybe she had been using her powers too much. Last

week she had caused a woman¶s new car to enter a

ditch. Not only did her car get scratched from the barbed

wire near the ditch, but the glass pieces in them had

punctured three of her tyres.

³Great times.´Talia said to herself. The poor woman

had cried and Talia had walked away guiltily, knowing

that what she had done was required of her, but couldn¶t

Destiny replace her heart with stone?

Her powers were growing stronger by the day. She

had only to think of an obstacle and the obstacle would

appear that very second.

She turned her thoughts back to the man who was

now walking towards his car while talking on his cell

phone. Probably his wife telling him to get some

groceries or something for the baby. Talia stood across



the road from him and realised that she didn¶t have a

plan yet. She would have to think fast and it had to be

right now.

Maybe she could start off with letting his expensive

cell phone slip from his hands and into the gutter. And

then when he bent down, she could...

Just then the man clutched at his chest. The cell

phone slipped and fell into the gutter just like she had

imagined. But that had been it. The man started to gasp

and his face started to redden.

³Oh my God! He¶s having a heart attack!´someone

yelled, but Talia¶s eyes were fixated on the man. What

was happening? This wasn¶t supposed to happen.

³Someone call an ambulance!´



The man collapsed on the pavement and started to

sweat profusely. Talia crossed the road and ran towards

him. ³Call for help!´she screamed.

She knelt beside the man and wished she had known

CPR. Why hadn¶t she paid attention in school when she

was being taught?

In the distance the ambulance arrived, but Talia knew

that it was already too late. The man lay motionless and

everyone around him, started to step back and make

room for the medics.

³Luckily we were in the area.´ she heard one of the

medics say. Talia got up as the medics moved in and

covered her mouth from screaming. She hadn¶t done

this, had she?

³He¶s dead.´ one of the medics said.



Talia turned around and ran across the road, almost

getting hit by a car. She saw Michael getting out of the

car with a confused look on his face.

³What¶s going on?´ he asked.

³He¶s dead!´Talia said and started to cry. ³He wasn¶t

supposed to die! If he was, I would have never been told

to go to him!´

Michael took her in his arms and she sobbed loudly. ³I

couldn¶t help him!´

³You couldn¶t have.´Michael said soothingly and

stroked her back.

³If I hadn¶t repeated my life I would have still been the

good one and made sure the medic was right there.´

³The medic was in the area.´Michael said. ³I saw them

coming. There wasn¶t any traffic.´



Talia looked up at him. ³Then how did he die so

quickly?´

Michael looked towards the dispersing crowd and

frowned. ³This doesn¶t make sense.´

A thought suddenly occurred to her and Talia pushed

herself away. ³I think I did it!´she said. ³I think I made it

happen!´



CHAPTER TWO

On the way to Aunt Rosalind¶s house, Talia wished

Michael would say something to calm her nerves. He

looked deep in thought and avoided looking at her. His

gaze was fixated on the road and Talia held back a sob.

After she had stripped him of his powers three years

back, Michael had started to forget who he was and

although she had been relieved at first, she had missed

sharing this part of her life with him. This was who she

was now and Michael had to accept all of her.

He had taken it pretty well, especially after she had

told him about what she had done to him. He was there

when she needed him, even taking her at odd times in

the day to do her work. But now his silence felt almost

like a betrayal. Michael knew her powers were getting



stronger, but she wished he had told her it was not her

fault, rather than say nothing at all.

It was only when they reached at Aunt Rosalind¶s that

he spoke. ³Do you really want to tell her?´

Talia took a deep breath and nodded. ³I need her

guidance.´ she said, but what she really needed was for

Aunt Rosalind to tell her that she hadn¶t killed a man

today.

She got out of the car and closed the door behind her.

She pulled her jacket closer to her and hoped that her

Aunt was home. She should have called first of course

but somehow her senses told her that Aunt Rosalind

was at home.

She knocked on the door and was relieved when her

Aunt appeared at the doorway.



³Talia!´she cried. ³How nice to see you. I was just

about to call you!´

Her Aunt was dressed in an elegant silk blouse and a

pearl skirt and Talia groaned. That meant that Aunt

Rosalind had company. Her Aunt usually dressed in

casual jeans and a sweater and her hair was always tied

up in a pony tail. But today, she had let down her hair in

ringlets. After her divorce, her Aunt had lost custody of

her daughter Mila, and her enthusiasm for life. The only

way Talia could help her Aunt out her depression was

getting her interested in fashion and clothes, and ever

since then, her Aunt was an avid viewer of all modelling

shows.

Talia hugged her Aunt and winced as she heard

voices from her living room. ³Are you busy? I could

come by later.´



Her Aunt smirked at her. ³It¶s your mother.´Didn¶t you

recognise her voice?´

Talia felt her heart sink as she heard another voice. It

belonged to her mother¶s boyfriend Sam. She had

avoided meeting him, making excuses about her

studies, but today she was trapped. Talia smiled

inwardly. Considering what her job was, she thought at

least she wouldn¶t have to face the burden of having a

bad day. But here she was having the worst day of her

life. Where was her counterpart when she needed him

or her? Wasn¶t it their job to ensure she had a nice day

every now and then?

³Talia!´her mother said, appearing beside her Aunt.

³How nice to see you.´

³Mom, hi.´ She said awkwardly and hugged her.



³Ms. Silverwoods.´Michael said coming from behind

Talia.

³Michael, how nice to see you.´ Her mother said and

gave him a brief hug. Talia walked in and prepared

herself to meet Sam.

³Sam¶s in the kitchen. He¶s making lunch.´ Her mother

said and led her to the kitchen.

She saw a tall man with sandy hair and dark eyes

stirring something in a pot.

³Sam.´ her mother called and the man immediately

looked up. His sharp features melted into a smile and

Talia felt she could understand why her mother had

fallen for him. He looked the complete opposite of what

she had imagined when he smiled and although she had

felt she would feel some sort of awkwardness at meeting



him, she couldn¶t help but smile back as he shook her

hand.

³This is my fiancé, Michael.´ she introduced and

Michael offered his hand.

She turned towards her mother who was looking at her

expectantly and she smiled back at her.

³I hope you like spaghetti.´ he said as he walked back

to the stove.

³Sure.´ she said and took off her jacket.

³Sam¶s a great cook.´ her mother said as Talia took a

chair. ³He¶s opening his own Italian Restaurant next

week.´

³Ours´ Sam corrected and sprinkled salt into the

tomato sauce.



Talia turned to look at her mother. ³I¶m one of the

partners.´ She said.

Talia looked down at her hands. Sam didn¶t really look

like the kind of guy who would exploit people, but her

mother should be more careful.

³We were going to invite you for dinner.´Aunt Rosalind

said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. ³Sam wanted to

meet you for so long and said he would cook lunch and

dinner for us.´

³Were you in the area?´ her mother asked and sipped

some water from her glass.

Talia looked at Michael who leaned against one of the

kitchen counters and looked at her. Why was he still so

quiet?

³I...was just shopping here. Couldn¶t find what I was

looking for.´ Talia said and looked at her Aunt. She



hoped her Aunt would understand how much she

desperately needed to talk to her.

When her Aunt started to chat with her Mom about the

new handbag she had seen in the store the other day,

Talia sighed.

³Aunt Rosalind.´ she said, interrupting their

conversation. ³You said you had the sweater I wanted to

borrow. It¶s in your room right? Could you show me?´

Her mother looked puzzled and Talia realised she

couldn¶t have been any more subtle. The guilt inside of

her seemed to be building.

³Of course, come right with me.´Aunt Rosalind said

getting up from her chair.

Talia felt her chest feel lighter. It would feel so good to

finally talk to someone about her secret life and put her

mind at ease.



She quickly followed her upstairs into her room, and

once there, closed the door behind her.

³What¶s wrong?´ her Aunt asked sitting on her bed.

³You look really anxious about something. If it¶s about

Sam...´

³It¶s about my job.´ she said and sat down on the bed

beside her Aunt. ³Something went wrong today.´

³Well, this usually does happen. ³Her Aunt explained.

³You are expected to do your best everyday and

complete your assignment on that very day, but you are

given a leeway. You can complete it tomorrow.´

Talia felt a tear roll down her cheek and she wiped it

off with her sleeve. ³He¶s dead!´ she said.

³What?´ her Aunt asked and Talia told her everything.

Her Aunt listened to her patiently as she related the



events of her day and when she was finished telling her,

waited for her Aunt to say something comforting.

³I was afraid this would happen.´ she said and got up.

³Your powers are getting stronger.´

³But I didn¶t do this!´Talia cried.

Her Aunt walked towards her desk and opened a

drawer. She took out an old newspaper and brought it to

her.

Talia took the newspaper and unfolded it. ³What am I

supposed to be looking at?´

Her Aunt tapped an article on the bottom, with her

finger and then let out a sigh.

Talia read and at first couldn¶t comprehend the

contents of the article. It was about a patient from the

mental asylum who had died due to bizarre



circumstances. It was only when the name of the patient

was revealed that Talia felt her jaw drop.

³Stanley!´ she asked.

Her Aunt nodded and took the newspaper from her. ³It

happened last week.´

³He died?´Talia asked, unable to believe it had

actually happened. Her nemesis had passed away and

she could feel nothing but a strange calm descend over

her. Stanley had tried to murder her and if it hadn¶t been

for Aunt Rosalind¶s spell and amulet, she would have

died and never repeated her life.´But then why was Aunt

Rosalind showing her this?

³Stanley was found in his bed dead.´Aunt Rosalind

said. ³Through my sources, I learnt that Stanley looked

as if he had his soul sucked out.´



³What are you implying?´Talia said and choked on a

sob. ³You think I¶m doing this?´

³Your powers are getting out of control.´ her Aunt said.

³You have twice the powers than you should have had

and it was all because you had a repeated life.´

³It¶s not my fault.´ Talia interjected. ³Besides, my life

was nothing like it was before. If I was really become

that powerful then I would have been able to restore al

lot of things from my previous life. I used to have so

much fun then. Now it¶s like I¶m stuck in a rut!´

Aunt Rosalind put her hand on Talia¶s shoulder. ³This

is what I¶m talking about. You shouldn¶t be able to

remember anything about your previous life, but lately,

you¶re starting to remember every single detail.´



Talia rubbed her temples and shook her head. ³I¶m not

killing people with my mind, if that¶s what you¶re

inferring.´

³The man you were supposed to work on died and so

did Stanley.´

Talia started to cry. Why did no one believe her? ³It

wasn¶t me!´ she said and burst out crying.

³Then who¶s doing this?´Her Aunt asked.

³I don¶t know.´Talia said. ³I know it¶s not me. But Talia

felt she couldn¶t even convince herself. What if it really

was her?



CHAPTER THREE

Talia walked back downstairs and saw Michael

chatting affably with her mother. She was so glad that

her mother approved of him for her. She couldn¶t

imagine what she would do, if her mother hadn¶t

approved of him. Sam was serving his spaghetti while

her Aunt offered to help him. Talia stood in a corner and

realised that her appetite had vanished. She desperately

wanted to know what was going on and even more so

for someone to show a little faith in her and tell her that

she wasn¶t killing people with her powers.

Talia started to chew on the inside of her cheek. She

had been having nightmares for the past week along

with her headaches. In one of her dreams, she had seen

Stanley. But that was all she could remember when she



had woken up. Was it possible that she had become so

powerful that she had killed Stanley just by dreaming

about him?

As they sat down for lunch, Talia kept forking her

spaghetti without actually putting it in her mouth.

³It¶s not that bad.´Sam remarked and Talia gave him a

weak smile.

³Oh, I¶m just tired.´ Talia lied. ³I have an exam

tomorrow.´

³Maybe you should get some rest.´Michael said. ³Why

don¶t you stay with your Aunt tonight? I could come pick

you up tomorrow.´

Talia took a sip of water and tried to hide how

disappointed she was with his suggestion. What she

really needed now was Michael¶s support and he was

finding excuses to distance himself from her.



³That¶s a great idea.´Aunt Rosalind said. ³We haven¶t

had a gossip fest in quite a while now.´

³I¶m jealous.´ Anne said. ³I haven¶t been invited to this

exclusive club.´

³Your membership was declined on the basis of

having too little time to attend the club¶s activities.´Aunt

Rosalind said and Talia noticed how her Aunt¶s smile

didn¶t reach her eyes. Her Aunt was worried to and she

was glad of this unspoken support.

Her mother grinned and the conversation moved on to

other topics.

*****

³Call me, okay.´Talia said as Michael walked to his

car.



³Sure.´ he said quietly and opened the car door. He

sat down and Talia noticed how he still avoided looking

at her. She wanted to talk to him but realised she was

too tired to try to convince him. She had an exam to

study for tomorrow. She walked back and waved at her

Mother and Sam as they drove off.

She stared as Michael too drove off without even

looking out the window towards her. What¶s his hurry?

Talia walked back inside and found her Aunt clearing the

table.

³Do you want a snack?´She asked.

³No, I¶m going up to study.´Talia said and walked

towards the stairs. Her head still felt heavy and she

wondered of her Aunt had any aspirin. She really

needed to study for her exam. She covered her mouth to

stifle a yawn and walked towards the guest room. She



was glad she had kept some extra clothes in the guest

room cupboard. She couldn¶t wait to get out of her

clothes that reminded her of the day¶s events.

She opened the door and felt her mouth drop open.

³Oh no.´ she said.



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