Chapter 3: Who am I?

It was 8:45 and the new girl had arrived, she looked to be about 25. She had long brown hair, brown eyes, and flawless skin, she was gorgeous.

"Hi! I'm Olivia, I'm your manager and I'll be training you today."

The girl smiled and held out her hand, "Hi, I'm Alice! Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," I smiled and shook her hand, "alright we open in 15 minutes, I'll show you the basics for now."

Alice followed me around the store as I showed her where to find certain things and what all to do, and then we unlocked the doors. It was a slow morning but by 10 we were really busy, luckily Alice had gotten the hang of things pretty quickly. When we started to slow down from our rush, I ordered us some food from the Italian place down the road and they delivered it pretty quickly. We ate and talked between customers and I found out that Alice had a pretty hard life too, her parents died when she was young and she stayed with her grandparents with her older brother.

The day went by pretty fast, and night shift came in at 3, and then we left at 5. While we were walking out to the employee parking lot, we heard something and she pulled out a knife, nobody was supposed to be back there, I pulled out my knife and pushed her behind me as we heard something come closer to us. We start backing up slowly toward the store and went back inside.

We both put our knives away and started walking toward the back office to see if someone could walk us outside.

"You guys okay, you look like you seen a ghost," asks my coworker, Jayden.

"Can you walk us outside?" I ask.

He nods his head and walks us both out. First, we walk Alice to her car and then he walks me to mine.

We stand outside my car and talk. Jayden is older than me, he's in his early 30s but he's really attractive. He's about 6' tall, chocolate brown skin, curly black hair, and golden brown eyes, they remind me of honey. His lips are perfect and they curve into the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. It's not just his looks though, he carries himself with confidence and he's funny and caring. Jayden was one of my closest friends at work.

"So when are you coming on vacation with me?" He asks. We always joke around about going on a long vacation and just getting away from work.

"I don't know, Jay. Are you paying? Because if you're paying for everything we can leave today."

He smiles at me and chuckles, "alright well go get your bags packed and tell Liz we're going on vacation."

"You already know she would kill me, I've gotta give her a heads up. How about next week?"

"Alright sounds good with me," he smiles, "I should probably get back inside, I'll see you later Olivia"

I smile at him, "have a good day, thank you for walking me out."

I get in my car and drive home. When I get home, I see my front door wide open and I always keep it locked. I pulled out my phone and called 911. While I was outside waiting for the cops, I started feeling dizzy.

———————

I was standing in the woods with the little boy and girl that called me mama. They seemed to be a few years older now.

I heard a whoosh sound, and the heard something hit the ground behind me. I turn around and see the same man I had seen last time, but this time he had huge, black wings.

"Give it a try, Joseph!" The man says.

The little boy looks around and then his eyes land on me and he smiles, "watch mama!"

I watch as light gray wings stretch out from his shoulder blades, they were beautiful. He runs toward a clearing as his wings start to move up and down. Finally his wings are moving fast enough to lift the little boy off the ground. We all stand around and watch as the boy flies around in circles, and then he starts coming back toward us as his body nears the ground. He lands on his feet but then falls to his knees.

"Good job my boy, we just have to work on your landing. Soon you'll be a pro, just like me and your mama."

The boy stands up and dusts himself off, grinning as he walks toward me, "I'm getting better mama!"

I smile down at the boy and he reaches out for a hug, "good job Joseph!" I say.

"Your turn mama!" The little girl says to me. I don't know how to do that, I don't even think I can.

"Oh not right now, maybe a little later" I say.

"Mama please! I like to see you fly!" She pleads. It's just a dream so I can't hurt or embarrass myself. I close my eyes and focus on wings, and then I feel them come out of my shoulder blades.

I start running toward the clearing, and somehow my wings start moving. I feel my feet start to lift off of the ground, and I panic but I keep flapping my wings. I get high enough to see over the trees and I can see everything, mountains and houses and water. Without even thinking I start soaring around in circles, dipping down to touch the water, and then I dip down and grab the little girl. She giggles and snuggles into me as we soar around the sky, and then we finally go back to land by Joseph and the man.

"That was fun mama!" The little girl says to me with excitement in her eye.

Suddenly the ground starts shaking under our feet, and and there's a rumbling sound coming closer and closer to us.

"We need to go!" The man says with panic as he grabs the kids, I start following him as he runs through the woods. We reach the hill and the wind starts to pick up, it starts to rain and thunder rumbles through the sky, "come on, hurry!"

Suddenly I'm stuck, my feet won't move and my body won't move. The man stops and yells something but I can't quite make out what he was saying. He starts running back toward me but he's got the kids in his arms so I beg him to run and finally he listens. He looks at me with sad eyes and starts running up the hill with the kids.

As the ground rumbles beneath me I hear a voice whisper in my ear, "Olivia you have to make it stop!" I turn my head to look around me but I don't see anyone, panic sets in and tears burn in my eyes and then I see him running back down the hill toward me, as he's yelling "Rose! Rose!" My vision starts to get blurry again before he reaches me.

———————

I blink a few times and look around to see myself standing in front of my house. I look down and realize it was only a few minutes again, I sigh and look around as the police officer drives up.

The officer walks up to me and smiles, I explain to him that I had left locked my door before I left and came home to it being wide open, and he went to look around my house for me.

He comes out a few minutes later with a smile, "everything looks okay to me ma'am, the lock on the door is fine, no broken windows, and it doesn't look like anyone was going through your stuff. My guess is that you left your front door unlocked and the wind blew it open, there was a window open. Someone could've gone in through a window and out the front door but like I said, it doesn't look like anyone stole or rummaged through anything. I searched through every room to make sure nobody was in the house, but don't hesitate to call if you're worried. Also if you notice anything missing, let us know. Are you okay ma'am?"

I had a bad feeling, but the cop said he had searched though my house and didn't find any sign of anyone, so I nodded my head yes and thanked him.

"You have a good day ma'am. Like I said, don't hesitate to call if you notice anything odd." He started walking off toward his car.

I walk inside and set my things down on the counter as I find something to eat, and then I notice a folded piece of paper on the counter, I unfold it and start reading:

Dear Olivia,

Do not be afraid of these visions you are seeing, they are meant to help you. I am not the one sending them to you, but I have received visions similar to yours. I know that they are exhausting your mind Olivia, but they will help you remember, and once you remember, they will go away. I wish that I could tell you the story, or at least tell you who I am, and who you are, but I can not. However I can tell you that we have met before. I can tell you that to remember me, you must speak to somebody, somebody that used to be your home.

Best regards, A

Who I am? I thought I knew who I was. And who is somebody that used to be my home? My head starts racing with so many questions. Who is A? And I've met him?

Somebody that used to be home. The only place I ever considered home was Beth's home. Maybe I should start there. I haven't seen Beth in 16 years, she probably wouldn't even remember me.

I pull out my phone and text Liz.

Me: Hey Liz, I have to take a trip out of state to see somebody. Is it possible for us to arrange for me to have a week off sometime soon?

L: Yes of course! Does next week work for you?

Me: Yes that works, thank you!

L: You're welcome hun, how did things go with Alice today?

Me: Things went pretty well, she caught on pretty quick and people seem to like her.

L: Good, thank you for today. I'll be out tomorrow, would you like to open the store again, if not I can ask Megan?

Me: Sure thing, I'll be there

L: Thank you, much love

Me: Much love

So it's settled, I'm going to visit Beth next week. If she still lives there, that is.

I spend the rest of the day cleaning and thinking about the note, and thinking about seeing Beth.

———————

I wake up on a couch, soaking wet. I hear footsteps walking toward me and I turn around to find the man that I've been having dreams about.

"Good you are awake my love, can I get you anything? Are you okay?"

"Wh-what happened?" I ask, my head spinning.

"They attacked us again. I got the kids inside and went back for you, they had paralyzed you and tried to take you. We must stay inside for a few days, my father will handle them for now."

"Who attacked us?"

"It was the fallen angels, Rose. They want you dead, and they do not want you to resurrect again. It will be okay, my dear."

I look at him shocked. Resurrect again? And why would they want me dead? What is going on?

"I don't understand what's going on," I admit.

He looks at me for a moment, and then he realizes something. "You are not Rose, you are her next life." His eyes sadden, "that means Rose will die eventually."

I look at him confused, "what? Her next life? What is going on?"

"What is your name, my dear?"

"Olivia."

"Let me tell you a story Olivia. There was an angel, she was beautiful. Her name was Ida. She fell in love with a fallen angel, Arcadia. They had wished to live on earth so they could live a human life, and God favored Ida so he had granted her that wish, but that also meant that they could die. Ida and Arcadia were happy and in love, they had a child and a house, until one day a neighbor had set their house on fire, with them and their baby inside. Ida had made it out but Arcadia and the baby had not. Ida felt horrible guilt, as Arcadia had made her leave instead of staying to help her family. Ida had lost everything, and it made her start turning evil. Ida was God's purest angel, so he brought her back to heaven and brought Arcadia and their baby back to life, and then bound Ida and Arcadia's souls forever. He made it so that if they died, they would resurrect in a new body and since their souls were bound together, they would always find their way back to each other. God had to add a balance of nature though. If Ida killed or was killed by a fallen angel she would not come back, and if Arcadia killed or was killed by a regular angel, he would not come back. Meaning that if either of them had caused the other to die, they wouldn't come back to life. The fallen angels were mad about Arcadia getting special treatment, and they found out about the balance of nature, so Ida spent a lot of her life running from the fallen angels. One day, Ida and Arcadia were in their hidden cabin, deep in the woods, and Arcadia sensed the fallen angels. They had the entire house surrounded and started using their power to set it on fire. If the fire killed Ida, she would not come back to life, so the one thing she thought to do was go into the bathroom and slit her wrists, and she bled out and died before the fire reached her. Arcadia and their child made it out and Arcadia hadn't heard from Ida again for a long time. 10 years after her death, Ida resurrected into a new body, and she became a woman named Charlotte. Arcadia searched the earth for Ida, and then him and Charlotte started having visions about each other, much like the ones that you've been having lately. Angels do not age after they turn 25 so Arcadia was 25 and Charlotte was 23 when they met, when the fallen angels found out Ida had resurrected as Charlotte, they started looking for her. Arcadia and Charlotte found a bunker to hide out in until one day, the fallen angels found them. Arcadia fought the fallen angels until they had killed him, but Charlotte survived. Arcadia resurrected, but his name never changed. They had both died and resurrected a few times now."

"So you and Rose are... angels? And the kids?"

"Yes dear and so are you, and it is time for you to start your destiny, that is why you have been brought to learn from me. It is a shame that you can not meet Rose too."

"What do I have to do?"

"There is a man that you keep having visions about, you must find him and your destiny will come naturally once you are together. You have been brought to meet me, which means I will die before your lifetime."

"But how do I find him? The visions don't even show me his face and I can't hear his voice. Will he look like you?"

"He will be getting the same visions, and Arcadia is always the first to remember the past and learn his destiny, so he will try to help you find him. Keep track of anything he tells you or writes you and piece it together, that will give you the answer. The next Arcadia will have a resemblance to me, but he will not look exactly like me."

"How long did it take you to find Rose?"

"Rose and I met when we were young, and we were friends since we were kids. Our parents knew the story of Ida and Arcadia, and they knew who we were but they were not allowed to tell us, we had to figure it out on our own. The visions started when we turned 20, we must have died together in our past life because we were the same exact age, born on the same day. When the visions started, I could not talk to Rose for a while at first, I felt differently about her. We were friends our whole lives and when the visions started, my feelings grew strong for her and I fell in love with her. It took me 2 weeks to understand the visions, but that was only because my parents had known and they were allowed to help me once I started to understand. I could not tell Rose so I started giving her notes and visions, it took her a few months to find her destiny. Once you find your love and start to understand everything, all of your memories from your past lives will play though your head and give you knowledge you need."

"What if I can't ever find him?"

"You will find him. The universe will draw you toward him. Now you've got a big day ahead of you, get some rest."

"Thank you, goodnight."

"Goodnight dear."

And with that, my vision blurs.