Refresh (Stray Kids Hwang Hyunjin)

Six

Day 2: What's your favourite thing about the holiday season?

My Answer: I really like seeing Christmas decorations and playing Christmas songs at full volume around the house. I just really like how Christmasy things make me some much happier.

A cold wind blew in her face, instantly freezing it. Alex opened her eyes and saw a river. It seemed calm but she just knew it was bad news. Behind it was a sky full of clouds, either threating to rain or it just finished raining.

Another cold wind hit her body and she felt warm tears run down her face. She tried to wipe her tears but couldn't. She tried to walk away or shield herself from the wind but she couldn't.

Suddenly she began moving towards the water. She tried to stop but she couldn't. The steps were painfully slow and seemingly weak and tired. As if she had lost all hope in life.

She took one step into the icy cold water, and felt herself shiver miserably. She lingered on one step in for a moment, letting herself adjust to the feeling of the water against her warm foot.

Then it started.

She started to remember.

Bit by bit.

Travis, her parents' passings, being bullied by Lori, not having anyone but Mark, her multiple suicide attempts.

She remembered it all.

Alex took another step into the water, then another and another.

She gasped, understanding the whole situation.

She wanted to take control of herself, run of out the water and tell her she isn't in that state anymore. Lori and her are now best friends. Her brother didn't desert her, her parents were alive and loved her, Travis was just a classmate she couldn't care less about, and she wasn't a dropout. She was in school. In fact, she was even getting the best grades in school.

She remembered Mark's crying face from her past life. She saw his puffy eyes and red, swollen face. He looked vulnerable. Ironic, Alex thought. In this life, apart from when they were in primary school, she had never seen Mark seemed vulnerable. He seemed perfect in every way, shape and form.

But the memory was the polar opposite of him now.

"Please don't go," she heard his voice but didn't know where from. "I need you more than you realise. I care, Alex. Please don't ever hurt yourself again."

She could tell he was crying and it made her break apart. She wanted to pull him into a hug. Tell him she didn't plan to but then, once again, she realised what she was doing.

She was leaving him.

Before she could even react, she had submerged herself into the icy water. It burned. She screamed and cried like a little toddler but the sound was muffled by the water, which she had now swallowed. Her lungs stung and where losing air quickly.

Alex felt suffocated and knew she was to die soon but she still tried. She kicked, she punched, and she swatted at the water but all of her efforts were to no avail.

She started to lose consciousness, fall into a pit of darkness.

She began to wonder whether this was actually happening to her, as in the one with a different life. It all felt so real. But when did she ever approach the river?

Maybe she was drowning herself in her sleep or something.

It didn't make any sense yet here she was, drowning. Feeling the water fill her lungs. It hurt like crazy. And she everything was becoming darker and darker. Until it was pitch black.

Then she saw gold lines. They twisted and turned around until they made the outline of a boy wearing a crown.

That was went she heard a faint voice. It was hers but she wasn't saying anything.

The words seemed so familiar as if at some point she had actually said it.

The Fifth Prince.

Alex woke up abruptly, gasping at whatever amount of air her lungs could get hold of at that moment. She panted until finally she calmed herself down upon realising she was back in her room. It was fine. She was okay. Mark was okay. Her brother was okay and so were her parents.

She lay herself back down, taking deep breaths to put her heart at ease.

"The Fifth Prince," she voiced out, not wanting to forget it. "What does that have to do with anything?"

She ran a hand through her hair as she felt a cool breeze blow in from the window.

Wait, what?

The window was open. Wide open.

Immediately, she ran to it and closed then locked it again.

She sighed, mumbling that was close before turning around, only to meet a pair of eyes staring at her from one of the corners in the room. The corner was dark and where most of the shadows were casted. She watched as the eyes changed position and she just knew whatever it was was smiling at her.

Then she heard a loud bang. And it was gone.

Running to the light switch, she switched it on and gazed around the room until she saw a letter on the ground where the creature was.

With a trembling hand, Alex picked up the letter and opened it up.

The handwriting was messy but she could still read out what the black ink wrote.

She furrowed her eyebrows at the words and shook her head. This couldn't be happening.

The letter wrote: "This is only the beginning, sweetheart. You messed with fate in your past life, and now I plan to do the same. ~J"

Sorry I didn't update on time. I was busy. I'll try again tomorrow