Chapter One

As I opened my eyes, my vision, which was currently blur, started to adjust to my environment. I had a splitting headache, and I couldn't recollect what had happened earlier. The floor where I lay had a pile of laundry scattered all over it. The bed was small and messy, and the window beside it was wide open, letting in a great amount of fresh air from the cool evening. My eyes continued to explore the room, object after object, and then it finally dawned on me...I wasn't at home. Where was I? The fire! What happened after the fire? Everything seemed so new and confusing. I stood up and walked around the room, trying to recover some memories. I couldn't. My gaze fell on the mirror and then my eyes widened as I stared at the reflection staring back at me. My stomach twisted into several turns. My eyebrows furrowed as I was confused as to what I was seeing in front of me. I had a whole different body. What was happening? My mind went through several places till it rested on one idea...transmigration. Had I entered another body? No! Transmigration was something that was found only in movies and dramas. It couldn't be real...could it? But what other explanation could there be to explain this other than transmigration? Fear gripped me. Did I die?Whose body was this? Where was I?

The questions continued to bombard my mind till a creak in the window beside the bed interrupted my thoughts. A handsome young man jumped in through the window and his feet hit the tiled floor with a thud. He wore a blue jean jacket over a grey shirt that was tight against his chest and his legs were covered with a pair of blue jeans. I was already utterly confused about where I was and who I was, apparently, that I couldn't handle the shock of seeing a strange man in the room. My knees almost gave in, causing me to stumble upon a damaged radio on the floor.

"Who are you?" I bellowed, trembling with fear.

"Stop playing around, Piper." He walked briskly towards me. "You have to return the necklace now!"

"Stay away!" I staggered back. Who was Piper?

"I'm not in the mood for games, honey." He grabbed my wrist. "Find it and let's go!" He began to pull me away.

"Let go!" I pulled my arm away. "Who are you?"

"Piper what's wrong with you?" His voice became more aggressive.

"I'm not Piper!" I snapped. The man started at me as if I had gone crazy. I'm pretty sure I had.

"Listen." He cupped my face with his warm hands and stared deep into my soul. He pressed his forehead against mine and attempted to kiss me. I tried to push away while he kept leaning in. "I'm sorry if I messed up the last time, but I already explained it to you. My temper got the best of me. I am very sorry honey. But now's not the time for this. You have to return the necklace and leave." I could sense the urgency in his voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not Piper." I tried to explain. Before I could say anything else, I heard loud bangs on the front door downstairs. They were aggressive, and the door would've burst open if it hadn't been locked securely.

"Damn it!" He walked over to the bedroom door and locked it quietly. "They're here."

Following the frantic bangs were loud yells from outside, "Come out, you thief!"

"Who are they?" I cried. My heart nearly ripped out of my chest. So many things happened within a fragments of minutes and I still couldn't process anything.

"Piper we have to go!" He was nervous. At this point, running away was the best option. This man seemed way nicer than the ones down there and I figured I could trust him a little. He walked over to a drawer beside the bed and opened it, scattering its content. He opened and scattered every single drawer.

"Where is the necklace?" He asked.

"I dont know what you're talking about. I don't know about any necklace." I whined. He glanced at me for a while and then grabbed my hand, leading me to the open window. I did not pull away from him.The bangs were heard again, a bit louder this time.

"Okay, hold on tight." His hand slithered around my waist firmly. I parted my lips to speak, wanting to ask him what he was talking about, but then, "Jump!", came his quick exclamation. Before I knew it, we were falling from the window. I almost screamed my lungs out because I had a fear of heights. I unconsciously threw my arms around his neck and hid my face in his chest. I could feel the strong wind rushing against us. In a flash, we landed harshly but snugly on a pile of wrapped up garbage. The adventure didn't stop there.

The man pulled me into a van that was parked on the other side of the road behind some bushes. We hopped into it and he drove off. I planted heavily for breath with my heart beating rapidly in my chest, and then on instinct, I put on my seat belt. I was scared to death.

"Wear this." He picked a bunch of clothes from the back seat and shoved then unto my lap.

"What?"

"Change now. We must wear disguises." He frowned at me.

"Look I'm not Piper or whoever you think. My name is Meredith." I tried. He kept his eyes on the road without saying a word.

"Piper what is wrong with you?" His voice was calm. He placed his hand on my thigh and squeezed it gently while the other gripped the steering wheel firmly. The sudden gesture made my stomach twist and I involuntarily thrust my leg away, causing his hand to fall harshly on my seat. He scowled at me for a short while and then turned back to the road. He was clearly upset.

"Why are those people after you? What's happening?" I asked, clutching unto the seat belt across my chest. He stole a quick glance at me and then turned back to the road. A quiet chuckle escaped from his lips, "They're not after me, honey." He replied. "They're after us."

"What? Are you a criminal?" My heart raced in my chest at the thought that I had transmigrated into the body of a criminal. How come I didn't get to live another peaceful life?

"No! And what do you mean by 'you'?" The man's face crinkled at my question. "Why are you acting as if you don't know what's going on?"

"Because I don't!" After a long pause, I continued, "Do you believe in transmigration?"

He looked at me puzzled. "I've heard of it, yes." I was glad he knew about it. Explaining it probably wouldn't be a problem. "What has it got to do with this?"

"I'm not the Piper you think I am. My name is Meredith Avery. I live...lived at Bliss Lake before I died and entered your Piper's body. I don't know why, though."

"What are you trying to say? You are a different person in Piper's body?"

"Exactly." I was glad he was beginning to understand. He stayed quiet for a long time.

"Stop playing." He frowned.

"I'm not! It's the truth."

"How do I know you are telling the truth?" He asked.

"Well, first off, I don't lie." I said. He snickered at my statement. "Second, you might have noticed a behavioural change. I wasn't so open to you in the beginning. I presume Piper is someone who is supposed to know you and be comfortable around you. I wasn't." He was again quiet. He was processing everything I said.

"That explains it. For a second, I thought Piper was angry or something. I guessed wrong."

"I'm surprised you understood so quickly." Anyone would have called me crazy for trying to explain all this. He was different. "Why is this happening?" He furrowed his brows. Even I wanted to know how and why all this happened. Why did I die in my previous life? Why did I enter Piper's body...whoever she was?

"I don't know." I said. He was quiet throughout the ride.

"So, where's Piper?" His question came off guard. "Is she in someone else's body?" Within this short period and from my observations, I got to know that Piper was someone he loved and cared for, and I couldn't bring myself to explain that she might be dead. It would be a rare case if she entered someone else's body, and I doubted she had. "She'd dead, isn't she?" He asked, his eyes still fixed on the road.

"I'm not sure."

His lips twitched and he blinked several times as if he was holding back tears.

After a long silence and a wide stream of thoughts going on in my mind, I finally became conscious of my environment. I didnt know where we were going, and the fact that I didn't try any form of escape from this man was surprising.

"Where are we?" I asked, after he parked the car in front of a tall storey building.

"My place." He undid his seat belt and sighed, long and depressing. He held on to the door in an attempt to open it but stopped and turned towards me. "You have to change. Those thugs might still be after us." He was referring to the clothes he had given to me. Change? I felt chills run through my spine as I imagined living with someone I barely knew. Noticing my discomfort, he smirked, "Not here, of course. You can change in the bathroom." He got down from the car and began to walk towards the apartment building. I frantically followed suit with the clothes in my hands, and in less than ten seconds, I found myself entering an unknown building, oblivious to the people and things around me. Why did I trust him so much to go with him all the way here? It was probably a state of survival. After all, if I ran away, where would I go? I might eventually be caught by those men and killed on the spot.

We climbed a couple of stairs which led to a toned brown door. 'It must be his place', I thought. He opened the door and stood aside, signalling for me to enter. I did, and was welcomed by a Bichon Frisé. The dog excitedly ran towards the man and pawed his calves. Then it ran towards me, licking my feet excitedly. The scene made me smile and I felt a little warm inside. Closing the door, he crouched and pet the dog.

"I didn't know you had a dog." I smiled. This made me gain a little more trust for him. A person who owned a pet definitely had to be caring.

He looked up at me from below, "What do you expect? We just met, didnt we?" His tone sounded satirical and mocking. "It's not mine. It's Piper's." He continued. My smile faltered instantly when he mentioned her name. I refused to ask any more questions.

"The bathroom's upstairs. The first door to your right." He stood up and removed his jacket.

I quickly walked up the stairs and spotted the bathroom. I entered and shut the door behind me, locking it. For a split second, I got frightened when I saw my reflection in the large mirror on the wall. I had almost forgotten that I had occupied a different body. I then took my time to admire Piper's physique. She was indeed a beautiful girl. She had sharp and pronounced features. I would have never imagined experiencing transmigration myself. As my fingers traced my neck, I noticed two wide scars across one side of my neck. What happened there? Accident? I ignored the scars and proceeded to undress, wearing what the man gave me. They were a brown zip-up jacket and a pair of black skinny jeans. All I had to do was wear the jacket over my tight tank top and change the blue jeans into the black ones. It wasn't so comfortable in the beginning.

* * *

"What do we do now?" I sat opposite the man on one of the couches. He was strangely quiet after I spoke about the transmigration.

"I dont know." He sighed, and then looked at me. For some reason, his gaze made me feel a little uncomfortable. His look was intense as if he was still doubting all I told him. I could hardly keep eye contact. "We could do a little introduction." He leaned against the back of the couch with his legs widely spread. His shirt traced his body and stuck to it, emphasizing his muscled arms and chest.

"We could." I replied, trying to muster some courage. "Well, you know my name. I'm Meredith Avery." I said and waited for his turn.

He silently stared at me intensely and then with a smirk, finally said, "Well, Meredith, my name is Mason. Mason Parker."