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  “Athen I’m so gd to see you again”

  “Oh, Me too. It’s really surprising we ended up in the same pce, I guess I can call myself Lucky. Although…” Athen looks at my arm which is wrapped around her back. “I didn’t know we were this close”

  “Oops sorry”. I let go of her. I didn’t realize I had made her uncomfortable. I shouldn’t have gotten too familiar.

  “No need to apologize, I… never mind”.

  She really doesn’t like finishing her sentences does she? Athen sits down at the corner next to me and looks at me. She doesn’t say anything, she just observes me which makes me a bit uncomfortable.

  “Something wrong?”

  “Oh” That seems to wake her up. “No, nothing, just thinking. Say Beatrice right? I’m just wondering what your backstory is. Do you mind telling me?”

  “My backstory well…” Should I really tell her? How would I even put it?

  ‘I was hit by a truck and suddenly woke up in an unknown pce, kidnapped and sold to svery’. Even I wouldn’t believe that. Wait a minute I was reincarnated wasn’t I? It’s like all those reincarnation stories I heard about in my past life. So is this true or did it just happen to me? There are so many questions I have to answer, maybe I should write them down somewhere. For me to have reincarnated I must've died in my past life. I… I died. I was hit by a truck while crossing the road to get to- wait where was I even going? Where?

  I tried to remember but nothing was coming to me. My parents, who were my parents? I couldn’t remember, why? If I truly did reincarnate, why do I remember dying? Why do I even remember reincarnating? If I was to reincarnate shouldn’t I have been a baby? At least let me forget about my past life. I know about it but can't access my memories. So how am I meant to know the kind of person I was? This is so frustrating! I grab my head with my two hands and bury my face in my knees. I need answers-

  “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer”

  “Huh”. That snaps me back to reality. Athen has been waiting for my answer.

  “Don’t worry I know-”

  “I don’t remember”

  “What?”

  “I don’t remember my backstory. All I know is that I woke up somewhere I couldn’t recognise, got kidnapped and next thing I knew I was here”

  Athen looked at me in disbelief. “W-what? You really don’t remember?” She gave me a look of suspicion which quickly turned to sympathy.

  I looked at her and she looked at me. I felt a pat on my shoulder. It was comforting.

  “Hey Beatrice, it's okay. I know that we just met and this isn’t really the pce for these kinds of things but…”

  “But?”

  “Let’s be friends or acquaintances. Plus I think you would need it, what do you say?” She stretches out her hand

  I took her hand. “Of course! I was even going to ask you the same thing and your right I do really need this”

  While shaking her hand I thought to myself, ‘this is the start of a beautiful friendship and how can anyone ask to be friends with such a straight face. She’s a weird one’.

  “You can let go of my hand now”

  “Oh sorry”

  “You apologize a lot”

  “Sorry- hey!”

  *sigh* ‘I hope I don’t regret this’

  “Anyway now that I’ve told you my cough backstory,how about you tell me yours?”

  “...”