Every single moment I've had intense bad luck can undoubtedly be counted on one hand. From the very moment I was born, it was like God had been paving the way for me. Things just seemed to fall into my lap whether it be grades, awards, money, or whatever. I had been walking down an obstacle free path.
But as the saying goes: the higher they rise, the harder they fall. And I fell like a bomb.
Everything started a solid week ago.
All it took was seven days for my life to completely go up in flames. My ten year long career is now in the garbage. Why? Because of a scandal that is nonexistent. Because of a few pictures - clearly photoshopped - that have appeared out of nowhere. In reality, it wasn't out of nowhere and they didn't just mysteriously turn up. The unfortunate truth is that these photos were planted by my stupid ass husband.
Jameson Hargrove is a natural born piece of shit.
Though for the last five years of our marriage I thought we had a happy life. Despite his less than stellar reputation, I had decided to take a chance on him. Here we are, ages later and he's plotted my demise. A couple fake photos and he sheds a few tears at a press conference and I've become a bonafide villain. From America's Sweetheart to nothing overnight has caused me to flee from my comfortable home.
That's why if someone had told me five years ago that I'd be freefalling off a cliff, I'd have told them to shove it up their ass. Furthermore, if they'd have said that my husband would betray me... well, maybe I'd believe that bit. Humans are greedy creatures, no doubt about that.
My issue is not that Jameson planted faulty evidence of a supposed affair that I was having. It's not even that everyone has turned on me in the blink of an eye. My problem is that my vehicle is currently sliding down a cliff because now just had to be the moment for a rockslide. Each bump and tumble against the side of this mountain is causing my head to smack against either the wheel or headrest.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I grit my teeth before opening my mouth. "Dear Lord, I am so sorry for taking this wonderful life for granted. I've lived well for the past thirty years. Everything was a breeze and I'm so sorry for becoming arrogant. If you allow me to survive this," I take a deep breath before continuing, "I promise to live as a better person. I'll donate to charity, adopt a bunch of kids, and feed people. I don't know, but please let me live!"
The scenery passes in a blur and I'm not able to tell how near to the end I am. Squeezing my hands together and clenching my eyes closed, I hold my breath. What feels like an eternity passes by before I feel the car finally colliding with the hard ground. In an unbelievable moment of slow motion, I feel the vehicle smashing and crushing my legs. Something feels like it ruptures in my body and my head is forcefully pushed to the side. It collides with the window which somehow hadn't broken with the fall. Though as it meets my skull, the glass gives way, allowing for my cranium to break through.
And just like that, I've lost consciousness and maybe even my life.
***
It's anticlimactic, the way I open my eyes and glance to the side. There are only vast fields of nothing, but the sky is clear and beautiful, and there's a light breeze. Sitting up, I look behind me to the large tree that looks as if it's been standing for a millenia. If this is heaven, I hope I have made it to the afterlife and get to witness this for an eternity.
"You're close. This is what a lot of you humans would call purgatory. You're currently at a standstill between life and death," a voice says from next to me. Snapping my head to the side, I meet the dark eyes of a woman who's standing next to me. She smiles and lifts her hand to wave. "Hello!"
I take in her tall and slender form which is adorned in a white Bohemian style ankle dress. A thick gold bracelet hugs her wrist as well as a gold plated necklace. Dark hair rests at her shoulders and dark eyes peer at me.
Pressing my lips into a firm line, I glance up. "So this is what it feels like to fail three times in a row? I've rolled down a mountain and now I'm not even allowed to pass on? My greatest sin must have been marrying that idiot."
The woman next to me laughs. She plops down onto the vibrant grass. Her head tilts to the side as she presses her elbow into her knee and her cheek into her palm. The two of us sit in silence like this for a while. Perhaps if I was an ordinary person, her intense stare would have bothered me, but years behind cameras have made me immune to this.
"You know, I'm a huge fan of your works," she finally says. "When you were born, you were a being directly blessed by God. Man, it really sucks to see one of my blessed creations die in such a way."
"What was that?" I ask, disbelief coating my face and words.
"Since you're here, I'll explain some things for you." She smiles before leaning back and resting on her hands.
As it turns out, my world is not the only world out there. Well, obviously. Anyone who has taken a science class definitely knows that. What I truly mean is that in a world where trillions of galaxies exist, there are different dimensions in which worlds just like Earth exist. Rather than God only looking over my Earth, this omniscient being looks over multiple other planets.
There also exists multiple gods to get the job done.
In my case, I'm supposedly a blessed being that comes along only every couple thousand years or so. That would explain why my life was a breeze to get through until I met that dimwit.
"Ah, but don't worry, you're blessed until the very end," God tells me, patting my shoulder.
"I'm dead though..."
God chuckles before a holographic screen pops up in front of us. My mouth drops in shock to see something so futuristic. As if playing a movie, characters pop up. With everyone dressed in black and loads of crying faces, it's clear to see these people are at a funeral.
"It's been a week since your death here," God says. The being presses their cheek into their hand. "This is your funeral."
My heart clenches at the news. So I really am gone and now there's really nothing I can do to get back into my body. I press my lips together to suppress the tears welling up in my eyes. I should've known my luck would run out soon... and I did know. But I never thought it would be this soon nor did I think I would go out in such a way.
I never got to get my damn revenge.
"Don't worry about that," the being next to me says. With a smirk on their face, they point to the screen. The scene changes to a disgraced looking Jameson.
He looks haggard as if he hasn't slept in years. Once full hair has thinned out in so little time that I almost feel bad. That was something he took pride in. Jameson wears a suit and looks to be in a courtroom of sorts.
The scene changes again to him leaving the courtroom. Reporters swarm him and the panic on his face is all I can zoom in on. Well, that's until liquid flies through the sky and hits him smack in the face. The laugh that leaves me is one I didn't think I'd be able to do anymore.
"He's getting a lot of charges. Following your death, an investigation was made. Seeing as the cheating scandal had come out right before your untimely demise, it all seemed a little too planned out. It also came out that he lied about the affair. He might be getting charged with involuntary manslaughter along with some other stuff."
I look at the good and shake my head. "But it's only been a week since my death... how can all this happen so quickly?" I ask.
"Oh, I apologize. The first clip was a week after your death. In total, it's been a year since you passed away and all of Jameson's misdeeds have come to light." The being pats my shoulder again and gives me a smile.
My shoulders slag in relief. I had thought he would be able to get away with wronging me and indirectly causing my death. I'm so happy that's not the case, but that still won't change the fact that I'm no longer alive.
"So..." the god speaks up again. "How about we set you up with a new life?"
*I hope you have enjoyed the new chapter one. With this, we can officially close the door to the previous version. Please don't be afraid to like, comment, and share if you have enjoyed this first chapter!*