Alisha’s quest for answers.

Alisha sat cross-legged on her bedroom floor, staring at her reflection in the full-length mirror. The small, phoenix shaped birthmark on the upper side of her left back seemed to glow under the soft morning light filtering through her curtains. It had always been there, a part of her she'd never thought twice about—until now. Her dreams, vivid and recurring for days, had grown increasingly strange.

Her heart raced as she tried to make sense of it all. It's just a birthmark, she told herself. But deep down, she knew this wasn't just a random coincidence. The dreams had started to feel too real, as though they weren't merely figments of her imagination but fragments of a life she had forgotten.

Determined to seek clarity, she picked up her phone, her fingers hovering over her mother's number. As Alisha debated calling her, her phone buzzed in her hand. Maddie's name flashed across the screen.