Death and Escape

Annalise stood alone, fully aware that everyone had cast her aside, turning their backs on her without a second thought.

To her, life felt like it had ended. The cold night loomed around her, and with no money and no one to turn to, despair settled in.

In that moment, her heart felt crushed, and for the first time, she understood what it meant to cry while feeling her heart bleed.

Until now, tears had been foreign to her; her parents had raised her with love and care. But now, those same parents had abandoned her, along with friends she thought were loyal. Their sudden disappearance left her incredulous. She had been naïve, believing they truly valued her; instead, they viewed her as nothing more than a foolish, weak girl.

She was effectively nothing now—no money, no fame, nothing of value. What was the point of continuing in a world that had turned so cruel, where hate seemed everywhere?

The very idea of starting over was unbearable. How could she, raised amidst luxury, imagine starting from scratch in the slums, wearing thrifted clothes?

No, that was inconceivable. Death seemed a better path than degrading herself to that extent.

In that moment, her mind was made up. She resolved that ending her life was the only option left. If she vanished, everyone would finally be satisfied—her parents, her so-called friends. The individuals who had turned against her would find relief in her absence.

That singular mission consumed her thoughts: to die and escape everything this world held for her.

She stepped onto the pavement, her heels echoing as she advanced until she reached the center of the road.

She halted, poised to confront death, convinced that her existence had become unbearable, surrounded by insincere people. Leaving it all behind felt like freedom.

She stood still as a truck approached. As it drew nearer, she remained steady. Her legs wouldn't budge, her eyes locked onto the blinding headlights. Her heart raced, and she felt certain that this was the right decision. She was done suffering, ready to relinquish everything.

"What's this?" The driver, drunk and disoriented, squinted into the night, trying to understand the figure before him.

The truck struck Annalise, her body flying to the ground in an instant. She lay there, eyes fixed skyward, finally noticing the beauty of the stars above—something she had overlooked until now. She believed she would never see them again, a bittersweet thought. As her eyes fluttered and her heartbeat slowed, she prepared to say goodbye to the world.

She was gone.

Finally.

Now, everyone would receive the news of her death and find happiness in it.

But then, Annalise jolted awake, gasping as she found herself back on the pavement, the cold night air biting at her skin. Confusion clouded her thoughts. How was she back here? After feeling her heartbeat fade, how had she survived the truck's impact?

Her head throbbed from the fall, a clear reminder that this had been real. Just what had happened? Why was she still alive?

Her heart raced again as she watched the same truck pass by, now. An icy dread ran down her spine. This was incomprehensible. What was going on? Why couldn't she just die?

Determined, Annalise plotted her next move. She refused to accept this existence. No family, no friends, no fame, no money? She saw herself as utterly hopeless. Death was all she craved.

Annalise refused to accept her situation any longer and began plotting her next death. No, she wouldn't endure this world again. No one was here for her, so why should she remain? With no money and no fame, she felt utterly hopeless. The only desire consuming her was death; it was time to end it all. No one could stop her from making that choice.

Or perhaps the death she experienced before hadn't been devastating enough, and that was why she was still here. Annalise contemplated this possibility.

She needed to devise a plan that was far more brutal than anything she'd faced, something that would guarantee she wouldn't return.

Her decision was clear: a skyscraper.

As she stood there, she barely registered the chaos in her mind; everything screamed at her to put an end to this miserable life. Before she knew it, she was on the rooftop, on the edge, her leg lifted. How she got there was lost in the haze, but one thing was certain: death.

Annalise stared down at the bustling street below, where people were wrapping up their day, closing their shops, and heading home. She wished desperately that everything unfolding around her was a nightmare, that she would wake up in her princess bed, her mother there to stroke her hair and whisper 'good morning'.

But that was nothing more than a distant fantasy now; reality was a harsh contrast to those dreams.

Her mother and father were gone, and those who claimed to be her parents had cast her out long ago, erasing any trace of the bond that was supposed to exist. A bitter scoff escaped her lips as she recalled her biological parents' rejection; the truth was, she had been abandoned at the orphanage, left to fend for herself.

The life of a princess had faded into oblivion, and this was her new reality. Annalise felt a crushing weight gnawing at her soul. She longed for escape, seeing death as the only option.

"If I do this, it will finally end," she thought. Plummeting from the building felt like the only release from her torment; she was certain there was no coming back from such a fall.

Yet, as she prepared to leap, fear seized her. Heights terrified her, freezing her in place. She inhaled deeply, attempting to visualize a clean jump, but the moment slipped away.

She took a shaky step forward and then stumbled back, paralyzed by the sheer drop beneath her. This wasn't the way; she needed another means to confront her fate.

Just as she turned away, a sudden gust of wind slammed into her, and she tumbled off the edge. "Arghhh!" she screamed as the ground rushed up to meet her.

This was death, the end she had sought. Shouldn't she be relieved? But even in that chaos, as she closed her eyes and felt her body suspended in the air, she sensed it—the moment of impact.

Annalise hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Pain erupted in her head and back, blood spluttered from her mouth, her head had broken, blood flowed endlessly from it.

Voices filled the air around her, frantic and panicked cries breaking through the haze. "Someone call 911!" a woman shouted in desperation.

Yet, as life began slipping away, Annalise felt herself drifting, surrendering to the dark embrace of oblivion.

Despite the agony, a small smile flickered across her lips; she was going to die. There was no way she wouldn't die after this fall. The people around her all made it seem real, their voices, their panicking voices. It had to be the biggest lie she would ever witness if this turned out to be false.

Death was finally claiming her, she thought as she passed away.

Until... she found herself back at the tower, right at the point where she wanted to jump. With all the memories of before. With all the pain.

What in the world had happened to her?

Was this a time loop or what!?

How the hell didn't she die from such height!?