- 10 minutes ago
Raising Nora Again
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00:001996, Texas.
00:00:02I suddenly jerk up from the sink, gasping for air.
00:00:04Water drips from my thick blonde hair.
00:00:06I stare at the mirror in shock.
00:00:07The face staring back at me is vibrant, beautiful, full of life.
00:00:10Vintage, smoky eye makeup framing a chalky teenage face.
00:00:1318. You young, healthy, cancer-free.
00:00:16I've been thrown back into the dead-end Texas high school years
00:00:19my mom spent her entire life clawing her way out of.
00:00:22Suddenly, the bathroom door swings open.
00:00:24A familiar grapefruit perfume hits me instantly.
00:00:27It's Valerie, my 18-year-old mother.
00:00:29Her hair is pulled into a high-tony tail,
00:00:31high-waisted jeans hugging her hips,
00:00:33a white tamtop straight out of a 90s teen magazine.
00:00:36Come on, the pep lolly's about to start.
00:00:37She yanks me forward hard enough to make me stumble.
00:00:39But instead of following her, I freeze.
00:00:42Stare at the young face in front of me,
00:00:44untouched by wealth, untouched by surgery,
00:00:46untouched by the years that twisted her into a monster.
00:00:48Valerie, we're... friends?
00:00:51Uh, duh, we're best friends.
00:00:53Why are you being so weird today? Come on!
00:00:55She turns and keeps pulling me towards the door.
00:00:57Half a step behind her, I stare at her back.
00:00:59The confusion in my eyes vanishes instantly,
00:01:01replaced by something cold, something vicious.
00:01:04The school's public address system drones on from the loudspeakers overhead,
00:01:07buzzing with the daily lunch menu.
00:01:09Pizza slices, tater tots, and chocolate milk.
00:01:12Valerie pulls me through the crowded hallway,
00:01:14her hand warm and dry in mine.
00:01:16And then it hits me again,
00:01:18that sharp grapefruit perfume.
00:01:20The scent wraps around me so suddenly, my breath catches.
00:01:24It was the smell I knew best as a child.
00:01:26Before I turned five, she used to hold me in her arms,
00:01:29humming old country songs and asking if I loved her.
00:01:32But after she ditched me to chase her high school sweetheart to the big city,
00:01:36that scent only ever showed up in my nightmares.
00:01:39Scarlet, you've been acting weird all day.
00:01:41Scarlet?
00:01:42God, even this body's name sucks.
00:01:44Carefully, I slip my hand out of hers.
00:01:47My eyes swamp across the hallway.
00:01:49The dented locker numbers,
00:01:50the faded football team pictures,
00:01:52the bulletin board plastered with fall semester 1996.
00:01:55Cheerleaders rush past us,
00:01:57ponytails flying while some varsity asshole
00:01:59has a scrawny kid pinned against a logger,
00:02:01shaking him down for lunch money.
00:02:02This isn't a dream.
00:02:04I'm really back in the 90s.
00:02:06That's when a tall, lanky guy with glasses started walking toward us.
00:02:10Hector, my mother's first love.
00:02:12The man who ruined all our lives.
00:02:13Hey, this is my Scarlet.
00:02:15She just transferred it in.
00:02:16Scarlet, meet Hector.
00:02:17Straight A student, total teacher's pet,
00:02:19basically tutoring half the school.
00:02:21Hey, I'm Hector.
00:02:23Welcome to East Ridge.
00:02:24The second I hear his name, my stomach turns.
00:02:27I ignore his hand completely
00:02:29and scan the noisy hallway for the one person who should have been here.
00:02:33Where's my dad?
00:02:35Austin should be at this school too.
00:02:37Wait, Austin's not in your class?
00:02:39Austin?
00:02:40There's no Austin in this entire school.
00:02:43Austin Walker, my dad.
00:02:45He's not, he's not here?
00:02:49Your dad?
00:02:50Just as I'm scrambling for an excuse,
00:02:52a roar erupts from the end of the hallway and saves me.
00:02:55The pep rally's starting.
00:02:57You coming or what?
00:02:58Sunlight spills across her shoulders.
00:03:00For a second, she looks nothing like the woman
00:03:02who would one day watch me die without blinking.
00:03:05The gym is loud, humilded, packed wall to wall.
00:03:08Football players in red jerseys charge onto the court
00:03:11while cheerleaders shake palm balls under the flashing lights.
00:03:14The bleachers thunder with stomping feet and screaming students.
00:03:17This Friday, let's show East Ridge who really runs this town.
00:03:22The crowd explodes.
00:03:24She's radiant up there.
00:03:25Beside me, Hector adjusts his glasses, eyes fixed on her.
00:03:29She's gonna get out of this town someday.
00:03:31He says it like he already knows the future.
00:03:33I don't answer.
00:03:35I just stare at Valerie beneath the spotlight.
00:03:37After the rally, students pour out of the gym.
00:03:40The halls fill with slamming lockers
00:03:43and overlapping conversations again.
00:03:45People argue about Friday's game.
00:03:47Girls debate who's gonna win prom queen.
00:03:50Last period is study hall.
00:03:51Valerie sits one row ahead of me by the window.
00:03:54Her notes neat enough to look typed.
00:03:56As she flips a page, something slips out from between her books.
00:04:01A pale green application packet.
00:04:03Harvard University.
00:04:04My breathing catches.
00:04:06She actually got an application.
00:04:08But later in life, she always says Harvard was never an option for someone like her.
00:04:11So that was a lie too.
00:04:13Valerie, your future turns out cheap and pathetic anyway.
00:04:15So why are you out here pretend to be some gifted golden girl right now?
00:04:18It makes me sick.
00:04:19I rise from my seat.
00:04:21Then, with one sharp shove of my elbow,
00:04:23I knock over the black coffee on her desk.
00:04:25The dark liquid spills perfectly across the application packet,
00:04:29soaking through the giant Harvard crest until the ink begins to bleed.
00:04:32I stare at her coldly, waiting for her to snap.
00:04:35Waiting for the mask to fall off.
00:04:37Waiting to finally see the real Valerie underneath all that fake sweetness.
00:04:41But her reaction throws me completely off.
00:04:46Oh god, Scarlet, are you okay?
00:04:48She grabs a stack of napkins and immediately starts swiping coffee off my hand.
00:04:52There's real concern in her eyes.
00:04:53No anger.
00:04:54No blame.
00:04:54Not even irritation.
00:04:56It's wrong.
00:04:57She's too nice.
00:04:58So nice it scares me.
00:05:00Nice enough to make me wonder if the woman I remember was ever the real Valerie at all.
00:05:04Just then, the classroom door swings open.
00:05:07A Latino teacher steps inside and walks over to Valerie's desk.
00:05:10Hey Valerie, something came up with Scarlet's family.
00:05:14Kind of an emergency.
00:05:15Your parents called and asked if you could bring her home with you after school.
00:05:18An emergency?
00:05:20What the hell happened?
00:05:21By the time school lets out, the Texas sunset looks like the whole sky's on fire.
00:05:26Stadium lights flicker on one by one around the football field.
00:05:29The cheer squad is still practicing while snippets of 90s pop songs crack through the loudspears.
00:05:33Valerie walks a few steps ahead of me, her ponytail swaying softly behind her.
00:05:37She suddenly stops and turns to me gently.
00:05:39I heard about your parents.
00:05:40Scarlet, don't be scared, okay?
00:05:42You've still got me.
00:05:43We're best friends.
00:05:44Then she pulls me into a hug.
00:05:45I'm sorry for what happened.
00:05:46If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'll always be here.
00:05:48That faint grapefruit scent wraps around me again.
00:05:51And just like that, I break.
00:05:52In my last life, there were countless nights when I would have given anything for this exact embrace.
00:05:57As I sob into her shoulder, I deliberately smears and snot all over her pretty shirt.
00:06:01Petty revenge.
00:06:02Pathetic, tiny revenge.
00:06:03But her arms are warm exactly the way I remember from childhood.
00:06:07So how the hell did someone like this become the woman who wouldn't even save my life?
00:06:12A bicycle bell rings behind us.
00:06:14Hector catches up, pushing an old bike with a paper box of cupcakes sitting in the basket.
00:06:17He adjusts his glasses awkwardly.
00:06:19Sugar helps.
00:06:21A little, anyway.
00:06:22I watch the two of them walking side by side beneath the football field lights, and something bitter twists in
00:06:26my chest.
00:06:27What, Hector?
00:06:28You gonna pick her up like this every day?
00:06:30Keep her stuck in this town and make her your wife someday?
00:06:32Hector stops walking, but when he looks at me, his expression is completely open and sincere.
00:06:37Valerie's meant for bigger things than this place.
00:06:39She's too talented to spend her life shrinking herself for some guy.
00:06:45That'd be...wrong.
00:06:45I freeze, because I never imagined Hector would say something like that.
00:06:52I'm not getting stuck married with kids at 18.
00:06:55I want to see what's out there first.
00:06:56But you did have me at 18.
00:06:58You ended up trapped in a rotting trailer park full of violence and screaming and broken walls.
00:07:03Valerie, did your dreams betray you?
00:07:05The whole walk there, something about this timeline feels off in a way I can't explain.
00:07:11And then Valerie opens the front door.
00:07:14The smell of home-cooked food hits me instantly.
00:07:18So you're Scarlet, huh?
00:07:20Hi, Mr. Wyatt.
00:07:22Thanks for letting me stay over.
00:07:24He bursts out laughing and pulls me inside before I can even finish.
00:07:29The house is warm, spotless, lived in.
00:07:32There's a brand new pair of slippers waiting for me by the entryway, along with folded pajamas set out they'd
00:07:36been expecting me for days.
00:07:37The living room walls are lined with plaques, commendations, and framed Federal Service Award.
00:07:41On the TV, a local news station is covering a major drug trafficking case near the Texas border.
00:07:46A photo flashes on screen of two fallen narcotics agents.
00:07:49Your parents were good people, kiddo.
00:07:51Best partners I ever had.
00:07:53Real heroes.
00:07:54And from now on, this house is yours, too.
00:07:56You hear me?
00:07:57That's when it finally hits me.
00:07:59The parents belonging to this body are already dead.
00:08:02Dinner is loud and warm and painfully alive.
00:08:04Grandpa keeps piling food onto plates.
00:08:06Grandma laughs at everything.
00:08:08A dog nudges against my legs beneath the table.
00:08:10The kitchen light glows so warmly it almost hurts to look at.
00:08:13And across from me sits Valerie, laughing freely while her parents dole on her like she's the center of their
00:08:17universe.
00:08:18My chest tightens so hard it feels unbearable.
00:08:20This is insane.
00:08:22Like some cruel cosmic joke.
00:08:24She grew up surrounded by this much love.
00:08:26So how the hell did she become someone who could watch me die without a single shred of kindness?
00:08:31Late that night, Valerie and I lay side by side in the dark.
00:08:35There's been this huge cartel case near the border lately.
00:08:38I keep having nightmares something's gonna happen to my parents.
00:08:41At 18, she looks so young.
00:08:44So fragile.
00:08:45Before sunrise, I wake to the sound of movement in the living room.
00:08:49Grandpa is sitting by the door, pulling on his police boots.
00:08:51I run out barefoot and grab onto his sleeve before he can leave.
00:08:54Mr. Wyatt, please be careful out there.
00:08:56He smiles and ruffles my hair.
00:08:58I will, kiddo.
00:08:59Promise I'll come home safe.
00:09:00Then he and Grandma disappear together into the pale border fog of early morning.
00:09:05And the dread in my chest only grows heavier.
00:09:10Valerie stumbles out of bed, half asleep the next morning, and stands in front of the mirror,
00:09:15completely lost, trying to fix her ponytail.
00:09:17God, she's hopeless.
00:09:19I walk over and quietly redo her hair for her.
00:09:22It's the first time in both my lives that I've ever been this close to her.
00:09:26Scarlett, how are you so good at this?
00:09:27And suddenly I remember how, when I was little, she always hacked my hair off into awful tomboy cuts.
00:09:33Maybe it wasn't coldness after all.
00:09:35Maybe 18-year-old Valerie just barely knew how to take care of herself.
00:09:38A bicycle bell rings outside the yard.
00:09:40Hector, right on schedule.
00:09:41He hands me an ice-cold soda, then stares at my face for a little too long.
00:09:47Scarlett, is it just me or are you starting to look more and more like Valerie?
00:09:50A chill shoots straight through me.
00:09:52Right before I died in my last life, I was barely recognizable, skin and bones from the cancer.
00:09:56But the last time I looked in a mirror, I realized something horrifying.
00:09:59I hadn't taken over someone else's body.
00:10:01I came back wearing my own 18-year-old face.
00:10:04Pretty girls always kind of look alike, right?
00:10:06Surrounded by all this warmth, I start wavering.
00:10:09It gets harder and harder to connect this version of Valerie to the woman from my last life.
00:10:13This girl is kind, bright, alive.
00:10:16I finally begin to understand why my dad, Austin, spent his whole life loving her even when she never truly
00:10:21loved him back.
00:10:22Part of me even starts thinking that when I finally meet him in this timeline,
00:10:25maybe I should tell him to fall for somebody else.
00:10:27But I never imagined that just as I started letting my guard down,
00:10:30hell was already opening its doors.
00:10:33School lets out early that day.
00:10:35Hector and I stop by a taco truck on the corner.
00:10:38Valerie says she's tired and asks us to grab her a baked potato before heading home ahead of us.
00:10:43We're almost at her house when an old pickup truck with no plates
00:10:47suddenly comes flying backward out of the driveway.
00:10:50Several tattooed men in masks jump into the bed of the truck.
00:10:54Then a scream tears through the air.
00:10:57It's Valerie.
00:11:01Hector and I sprint toward the house so fast my lungs feel like they're tearing apart.
00:11:06The front door hangs crooked on its hinges, creaking heavily as it swings loosely against the broken frame.
00:11:12The second we step inside, the smell hits me.
00:11:14Blood, sweat, whiskey.
00:11:16The living room looks like a battlefield.
00:11:17Furniture overturned.
00:11:18Glass shattered everywhere.
00:11:19Family photos ripped from the walls.
00:11:21Blood smeared across the wooden floorboards in long streaps like someone had been dragged.
00:11:24Grandpa and Grandma lie motionless on the ground.
00:11:27And in the middle of the room,
00:11:28Valerie, covered in blood, curled up on the floor.
00:11:32A tattooed man stands nearby, calmly fixing his belt like nothing happened.
00:11:37Hector roars and charges at him, only to get kicked hard across the room.
00:11:41The stranger turns toward me slowly.
00:11:43Then he grabs my collar and jerks me forward so violently my feet leave the ground.
00:11:48Hector!
00:11:49The stench of blood and cigarettes floods my nose so hard I nearly gag.
00:11:54Well, damn.
00:11:55If it isn't Officer Miller's kid.
00:11:57Lucky day for you, sweetheart.
00:12:00Boss already told us to pull out.
00:12:02Otherwise you'd have been a lot of fun too.
00:12:04He spits onto the floor beside me and turns to leave.
00:12:08Behind him, Valerie curls tighter into herself, desperately clutching the ripped fabric over
00:12:13her chest.
00:12:14A broken sound escapes her throat.
00:12:16Something inside me snaps.
00:12:17I throw myself forward and grab the man's pant leg with both hands.
00:12:21Moonlight spills through the shattered window, sliding across the side of his face.
00:12:25That jawline.
00:12:26That scar near his mouth.
00:12:27That voice.
00:12:28My entire body freezes.
00:12:30The world goes completely silent around me.
00:12:32Because he isn't some random cartel thug.
00:12:35He's Austin.
00:12:36My father.
00:12:41Hector scrambles to the wall and grabs the landline.
00:12:44But the phone cord has already been cut.
00:12:49You brought this on yourself, you little bitch!
00:12:52He lunges at me and starts ripping at my clothes, yanking violently at my collar.
00:12:57Trying to save me, Hector throws himself at Austin again, without a second thought.
00:13:01In the chaos, I catch a flash of murder in Austin's eyes.
00:13:05He suddenly pulls a hunting knife from the back of his waist hand.
00:13:08And in that instant, I completely lose it.
00:13:10Without thinking, I grab the blade with my bare hand.
00:13:14My dad?
00:13:15How could this be my dad?
00:13:16Tears crash into the growing pool of blood beneath me.
00:13:19The man I loved most growing up.
00:13:21The father who raised me in that trailer park with nothing.
00:13:24How could it be you?
00:13:26You're a rapist now.
00:13:27A murderer.
00:13:28I can't take it.
00:13:29I feel like I'm losing my mind.
00:13:31But the sharp pain slicing through my palm and Vallier's desperate sobbing remind me this is real.
00:13:37I clamp down on the knife with everything I have and scream hysterically at Hector.
00:13:42Hector, run!
00:13:43Go get help!
00:13:45Go!
00:13:45Now!
00:13:46Blood streams down Hector's face as he staggers toward the door and bolts outside.
00:13:51And the second he's gone, Austin completely snaps.
00:13:55With a vicious twist of his wrist, he jerks the knife free and points the blade straight at my throat.
00:14:03But just then, my grandmother, who had been lying motionless in a pool of blood,
00:14:08somehow forces herself back up with the last bit of strength she has left.
00:14:13Austin turns, ready to stab the next.
00:14:18No!
00:14:19I slam into him with everything I have.
00:14:21The blade plunges straight into my stomach.
00:14:23Warmth explodes through my body.
00:14:25Then comes the pain.
00:14:27Endless, crushing pain.
00:14:28I press both hands against the wound,
00:14:31holding onto the knife with everything I've got so Austin can't pull it back out.
00:14:35You can't kill them.
00:14:37You can't.
00:14:39I'm crying, choking as blood pours from my mouth in heavy bursts.
00:14:44But Austin just twists the knife cruelly inside me.
00:14:48The agony sends me collapsing to my knees in the blood.
00:14:51That's when Grandma suddenly wraps both arms around Austin's neck from behind
00:14:55and drags him to the floor with every ounce of strength she has left.
00:14:58My grandfather, already covered in blood, grabs onto Austin's leg and refuses to let go.
00:15:04Realizing he's about to get caught, Austin curses violently, kicks himself free from them,
00:15:08and climbs out the window, disappearing into the darkness near the border.
00:15:12Scarlet!
00:15:14Scarlet, stay with me!
00:15:15Please don't close your eyes!
00:15:18Through my fading vision, I feel Valerie pulling me into her arms.
00:15:22My consciousness is already slipping away.
00:15:25Sobbing controllably, with tears and blood all over my face,
00:15:28I still try to take off my jacket and cover her with it.
00:15:30But I'm too weak.
00:15:32My arm barely lifts halfway before it drops limply into the blood.
00:15:35In the distance, sirens scream through the night.
00:15:38I hear Hector crying as he rushes back inside with the police.
00:15:41Then everything goes dark.
00:15:43Somewhere far away, voices echo around me as I'm lifted onto a stretcher.
00:15:47She's flatlining!
00:15:49Move!
00:15:49Get the defibrillator!
00:15:50Now!
00:15:52When I finally open my eyes again,
00:15:54all I see is the pale white ceiling of a hospital room.
00:15:57Sitting beside my bed is Hector.
00:15:58When he ran for help, Austin's men caught him and beat him half to death.
00:16:00The second he sees me awake, arrogant genius completely falls apart.
00:16:04He wipes his eyes while gripping to entail Soteli.
00:16:06You were the last one to wake up.
00:16:08Do you have any idea how close you came to dying?
00:16:10You scared the hell out of us!
00:16:12He's crying so hard, it's a complete mess.
00:16:14Tears, snot, everything.
00:16:15At one point, he even spits on my face while talking.
00:16:17I let out a weak laugh.
00:16:18The anesthesia still hasn't fully worn over.
00:16:19I can't really feel pain yet, just heavy numbness all over my body.
00:16:22I look at him anxiously.
00:16:23Valerie's parents?
00:16:24And Valerie, are they okay?
00:16:27Her folks made it to the hospital just in time.
00:16:29If that knife had hit either of them, any worse.
00:16:32I struggle to sit up, desperate to see her, but before I can move, the hospital room door
00:16:36slowly opens.
00:16:38Valerie is standing there.
00:16:39Her eyes look hollow, and when she looks at me, there's something shattered in them
00:16:43I can't even begin to explain.
00:16:44I say her name softly.
00:16:46She nods faintly and walks over.
00:16:47Her cold fingers are on my shoulder.
00:16:49Does it hurt?
00:16:50I shake my head.
00:16:51Looking at her red-rimmed eyes, I force a small smile.
00:16:55Have you been crying?
00:16:56She doesn't answer.
00:16:57She just holds my hand tighter and gently squeezes my cheek like she's afraid I'll disappear.
00:17:01And suddenly, she lowers her head and tears drip onto the back of my hand.
00:17:04Thank you, Scarlet.
00:17:06If it weren't for you, I would have lost my parents.
00:17:10I look at the 18-year-old version of my mother standing in front of me, her fate already completely
00:17:14changed because of me.
00:17:15I sniff hard, holding back tears.
00:17:17I don't say a single word.
00:17:19I just let her tears soak into my skin, before slowly lifting my free hand and placing it
00:17:23softly over the trembling hand resting on my shoulder.
00:17:28Valerie looks down at my hand covering hers, as if she understands the comfort in my eyes.
00:17:33She takes a deep breath.
00:17:37Tears still cling to her lashes, but for the first time in forever, her voice carries a
00:17:42little relief.
00:17:43I've got good news.
00:17:44The case is over.
00:17:45The cartel operation finally got busted.
00:17:48Every single person involved in the attack was caught near the border.
00:17:51My parents can finally rest for a while.
00:17:53The moment I hear Austin and the traffickers were all arrested, my entire mind goes blank.
00:17:58Relief crashes over me so hard, I almost shoot upright in the hospital bed.
00:18:01Wait, seriously?
00:18:02They caught all of them?
00:18:05Yes, seriously.
00:18:06Now stop moving before you rip your stitches open.
00:18:09The crushing weight that haunted me through both lifetimes finally disappears at that moment.
00:18:13Meanwhile, Hector, who has been sitting nearby this entire time, calmly peels a banana like
00:18:17nothing's happening.
00:18:18Doctor said you should eat this.
00:18:19You've already woken up a few times these past couple days.
00:18:22You've managed to pass gas, so now they're just waiting to see if you can finally have
00:18:25a bowel movement.
00:18:27Coming from someone usually this serious, it's so absurd I completely lose it.
00:18:30Unfortunately, the second I laugh, pain rips through the stitches in my abdomen.
00:18:33I immediately hiss in pain, clutching my stomach.
00:18:35Valerie starts laughing too, but after a few seconds, her laughter fades.
00:18:39Tears suddenly begin falling again without warning.
00:18:41She tries to cry quietly.
00:18:43She doesn't want either of us to notice.
00:18:44Hector's smile slowly disappears too.
00:18:47I wrap both arms tightly around this 18-year-old girl.
00:18:50At that moment, through my chest, is no longer the hatred I carried in my previous life.
00:18:54Mom, if I had known my biologed father was the monster who destroyed your entire family,
00:18:59how could I ever have hated you?
00:19:01I would have only hated myself for ever being born, since fate gave me another chance.
00:19:06Then this time, I'll set you free.
00:19:11After surviving the nightmare, the little Texas town slowly comes back to life.
00:19:15Once I'm discharged from the hospital, my grandparents take me home.
00:19:18Grandpa proudly hands me a limited edition Barbie doll he brought back from New York.
00:19:21In my previous life, it was the only toy my mother had ever given me, but this time,
00:19:25somehow, it heals me first.
00:19:26Then Grandma completely hijacks what was supposed to be an emotional family dinner with giant
00:19:30sizzling Texas steaks, oversized cowboy hats and boots that look straight out of a Hollywood
00:19:34audition, and enough chaos to turn the whole night upside down.
00:19:36Even Hector, who normally acts way too composed for his age, finally laughs without holding back.
00:19:43But beneath the warm yellow glow of the dinner lights, the conversation eventually turns to
00:19:47goodbye. Hector's mother lifts her wine glass, eyes red and swollen, and quietly announces that
00:19:51they're moving back to Boston before Thanksgiving. She can't handle the danger near the border anymore.
00:19:56And in that moment, a misunderstanding from both my lifetimes finally unravels.
00:20:00In my previous life, Hector never left because he looked down on my mother's reputation.
00:20:04His mother had simply watched her son nearly die. Any parent would have wanted to run from this
00:20:09place after that. As an old country song crackles through the radio in the background,
00:20:13we start talking about the future. Valerie asks where I want to go to school someday.
00:20:18I look at her, the girl whose entire future was crushed fate in my previous life,
00:20:23an answer without hesitation. Harvard.
00:20:25Under the endless Texas night sky, with the Milky Way stretched above her like a dream,
00:20:29I finally understand the suffocating pain she carried in her previous life.
00:20:31I turn my head slightly and whisper so softly that only I can hear it.
00:20:34Mom, this time go live your life. Chase your dreams. Be yourself again.
00:20:38As for me, I'll stay behind in the darkness of this timeline.
00:20:41The day Hector leaves, the boy who has always been calm and restrained completely breaks down
00:20:45the moment he steps onto the bus. Clinging to the window, he cries so hard he can barely breathe.
00:20:50And then the bus slowly pulls away, kicking up clouds of Texas dust before disappearing at the
00:20:54end of the highway. Watching the bus vanish into the distance, I think life might finally return
00:20:59to normal. But fate still isn't done with me yet. Something happened to Valerie.
00:21:05After seeing Hector off, we head home through the bitter Texas winter wind.
00:21:08I cling tightly to Valerie's arm, trying my best to keep the mood light while talking excitedly
00:21:12about Christmas dinner plans.
00:21:12Mr. Wyatt's brisket has to be there. And Mr. Wyatt smoked pulled pork too.
00:21:16No argument. This year, we are eating like royalty.
00:21:17I'm still rambling happily when Valerie's expression suddenly changes. Without warning,
00:21:21she jerks her arm out of my grasp. Like a frightened deer, she stumbles towards a trash can on the
00:21:26side of the road, bends over, and starts violently throwing up. She vomits so hard there's eventually
00:21:30nothing left except bitter dry humps. By the end, she can barely stay standing. She grips a freezing
00:21:36telephone pole for support, her whole body trembling violently, her face drained completely white.
00:21:41My mind goes blank. The smile freezes on my face. Watching her clutch her stomach and reek in pain,
00:21:49a terrifying cold realization crawls slowly up my spine like ice water.
00:21:55No symptoms. No. No way.
00:22:04You... you're pregnant?
00:22:08Valerie instinctively places a hand over her stomach. Her eyes are filled with the kind of
00:22:13panic and confusion no 18-year-old girl should ever have to carry. What happened that night may
00:22:18have been stopped halfway through, but some nightmares had already rerouted themselves deep in the dark.
00:22:24She looks at me helplessly, tears trembling in her eyes.
00:22:29I... I don't know, Scarlett. I thought maybe it was just stress lately.
00:22:35I haven't had much appetite, and I kept feeling nauseous. Come on. We're going to the clinic. Now.
00:22:41I don't even let her finish speaking. I grab her hand and practically drag her down the street toward
00:22:47the town's small community clinic.
00:22:50The doctor on duty is an elderly Cuban-American woman with silver hair, Dr. Ramirez. She isn't just the only
00:22:57general practitioner in town. She's also one of Grandma Wyatt's oldest friends, and her child's
00:23:01alongside her years ago. The second Dr. Romero sees Valerie's face and the sheer panic in my eyes,
00:23:07her sharp, battle-wurned gaze immediately narrows. Wasting another second, she starts ushering every
00:23:13remaining patient out of the clinic. The entire room falls into suffocating silence.
00:23:20Tell me what's going on.
00:23:21My scalp precles with dread as I quickly explain Valerie's nausea and vomiting.
00:23:25The old doctor says nothing after hearing me out, but a deep, piercing sorrow flashes through her
00:23:31eyes. She quietly takes Valerie into the examination room in the back.
00:23:35The moment the door closes, all the strength drains out of me. I collapse into the cold metal
00:23:40chair outside the office, shoving both hands deep into my hair. More than anyone else, I know exactly
00:23:46where I came from. And because of that, a horrifying truth finally pieces itself together in my mind.
00:23:50In my previous life, Austin, the man who raised me after destroying Valerie's life, was actually
00:23:54released from prison early. After committing crimes like that, he still got out in less than 20 years.
00:23:59Back then, when the case went to court, Valerie must have stayed silent. Maybe to hide the shame of
00:24:04being pregnant as a teenager. Maybe to protect the Wyatt family's reputation. Whatever the reason,
00:24:09her silence helped set a monster free. The guilt of my own existence tears through me like a dull blade.
00:24:13This nightmare destroyed a brilliant girl who was supposed to go to Harvard, and the one thing it
00:24:17gave back to the world was a demon. Half an hour later, the exam room door slowly creaks open.
00:24:24Dr. Ramirez steps outside, looking exhausted. She gently pats my shoulder.
00:24:31Scarlet, go get Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt for me.
00:24:36The moment the truth comes out, the house, which had barely survived one nightmare already,
00:24:42falls into dead silence all over again.
00:24:53Grandpa sits heavily on the couch. This massive, hard-nosed cop who once stared down cartel gunfires
00:25:00now looks hollowed out, like a man aging 10 years in a single night.
00:25:07He buries his rough, caliphate hands over his face and says nothing.
00:25:14Meanwhile, Grandma holds 18-year-old Valerie tightly in her arms, sobbing so hard she can barely breathe.
00:25:22We're packing tonight. We'll go straight to Boston and stay with Hector and his mother.
00:25:30I won't let that monster's family lay a finger on you ever again.
00:25:36Valerie stays curled up in the corner of the bed the entire time, silent as a porcelain doll.
00:25:41She doesn't say a word. She just keeps staring at me with those shattered, empty eyes.
00:25:47But somewhere inside them is still this helpless instinct begging for someone to save her.
00:25:51The sight tears me apart inside.
00:25:55I lower my head immediately, too ashamed to even look my own mother in the eye.
00:26:01And then things somehow get even worse.
00:26:04Austin's trashy parents, the grandparents I had in my previous life, somehow hear about Valerie's pregnancy.
00:26:10Right after the attack, those two cowards vanished completely to avoid being dragged into the police investigation.
00:26:15But the second they hear Valerie is carrying Austin's child, they swoop in like vultures smelling blood.
00:26:20To them, this pregnancy is leverage, the perfect weapon to destroy the Wyatt family.
00:26:25We've barely made it back home before the two of them show up outside the house with some sleazy lawyer
00:26:30they hired.
00:26:33The smell of cheap cigarettes and stale alcohol hits before they even step into the yard.
00:26:41My former grandfather, Silas Walker, doesn't show even a trace of shame.
00:26:46No guilt. No apology.
00:26:50Just this disgusting, smug arrogance.
00:26:56Standing in the yard, he bellows toward the house like he owns the place.
00:26:59Officer Wyatt, don't hide in there.
00:27:02My son Austin may be in prison, but he still has parental rights.
00:27:06That maybe is part of our family.
00:27:08And you're not taking our grandchild anywhere.
00:27:11The sleazy lawyer beside him adjusts his glasses and smirks coldly.
00:27:18If Miss Yight refuses to drop the charges, we're fully prepared to drag this through family court for years.
00:27:23And trust me, once the media gets involved, everybody in Texas is going to know exactly what happened to your
00:27:29daughter.
00:27:32Then Mayabelle Walker, my former grandmother, blows out a stream of cigarette smoke and starts screeching in the house.
00:27:39You go testify in federal court and we'll swear Valerie wanted it.
00:27:45We'll tell everyone you cops framed our son.
00:27:50We'll make damn sure every police department in Texas knows what kind of girl your daughter really is.
00:27:57You think those badges are going to survive this?
00:28:01We'll ruin your whole family!
00:28:07The police had kept the details of that night sealed tightly.
00:28:11Nobody in town knew what Valerie had actually suffered in the dark.
00:28:14But now, these two shameless monsters are ripping open her deepest traumata in public just to save their worthless son
00:28:20from federal prison.
00:28:21They stand outside with a damn megaphone, turning a survivor's private nightmare into some sick public spectacle about protecting the
00:28:28family bloodline.
00:28:29Before long, the whole town knows.
00:28:31But they don't actually want the baby.
00:28:33That's never been the point.
00:28:35What they want is pressure.
00:28:37They want to weaponize this conservative little town.
00:28:41The gossip, the judgment, the victim blaming, until the Wyatts have nowhere left to run.
00:28:46And their terms are crystal clear.
00:28:48They want Valerie to change her testimony in federal court.
00:28:52They want her to claim Austin was just the driver and knew nothing about the attack.
00:28:56In exchange, the walkers will stop harassing the family and leave them alone.
00:29:01Hearing the whispers rising outside the fence.
00:29:04Seeing neighbors stare with that fake sympathy hiding disgust underneath.
00:29:10Everything suddenly clicks into place inside my head.
00:29:15Now I understand exactly how Austin got that early release in my previous life.
00:29:19There had been a deal.
00:29:21And Valerie had been crushed into accepting it.
00:29:24Looking at those two smug bastards standing outside our home acting righteous.
00:29:28Every ounce of humiliation from my previous life and every drop of rage from this one finally explodes inside me.
00:29:33To hell with staying calm.
00:29:35I grab grandpa's Louisville slugger from behind the front door and storm outside,
00:29:39gripping the bat so hard my knuckles go white.
00:29:41By then, all I can see is red.
00:29:58Right in front of everyone, I swing the bat.
00:30:00Crack, crack.
00:30:01The heavy end of the Louisville slugger smashes straight into Silas and Mabian's faces without a shred of hesitation.
00:30:06The sound of teeth breaking mixes with their screams as both of them stumble backward, clutching their bloody mouths before
00:30:11collapsing into the dirt.
00:30:13Your son is a convicted rapist!
00:30:15I point the bat directly at the two of them, shaking with rage.
00:30:19Where the hell was all talk about the law when your psycho son was pointing a gun at federal officers?
00:30:24And now you want to come here and black rail cops?
00:30:28Gripping the bat with both hands, I swing as hard as I can into the lawyer's sedan parked by the
00:30:32curb.
00:30:33The windshield explodes instantly into a spider web of shattered glass.
00:30:36Then I whip around towards the neighbors gathering outside the fence, all of them whispering and staring.
00:30:41What are you all looking at?!
00:30:43Anybody else wants to stand here screaming at a victim with these two pieces of trash?
00:30:47I raise the broken bat, splintered wood jouting from the barrel.
00:30:51I swear to God the next swing straight goes through your skull!
00:30:54Get the hell away from the Wyatt house!
00:30:56All of you, move!
00:30:58The hot border wind tears through the street.
00:31:00One look at the shattered bat in my hands is enough.
00:31:03The neighbors pale instantly and start backing away in fear.
00:31:06And then suddenly, Silas runges at me with a rusty switchblade in his hand.
00:31:10Drop the charges or I'll kill every last one of you!
00:31:16The gunshot detonates through the street like thunder.
00:31:19The bullet slices past Silas's ear and blasts apart one of the wooden fence posts behind him.
00:31:23Everyone freezes.
00:31:25Grandpa Rick stands there gripping a cold python revolver.
00:31:27The barrel pressed directly against Silas's forehead.
00:31:30His voice is low and deadly.
00:31:32Officer Miller's daughter took a knife for my family.
00:31:34You touch her again and see what happens.
00:31:38The ringing echo from the gunshot leaves everyone stunned.
00:31:41Silas drops the knife immediately.
00:31:43It clatters onto the dirt beside him as he collapses in terror.
00:31:49He's gonna kill us!
00:31:51The cops are trying to murder us!
00:31:54But before she can say another word, another figure comes flying down the porch steps.
00:31:58Grandma.
00:31:59She moves like lightning.
00:32:01Grabbing a fistful of Maybella's brittle yellow hair, she yanks her sideways so hard the old woman nearly falls.
00:32:07Slap!
00:32:08Grandma backhands her across the face hard enough to send her crashing into the dirt,
00:32:12then plants a boot against her chest.
00:32:14Her eyes are pure steel.
00:32:16You think you can threaten my daughter's name?
00:32:18I'll go to prison smiling before I let your family destroy her life.
00:32:22Now get the hell off my property before I bury all of you out in the desert myself.
00:32:27Rick cocks the revolver once, never taking his eyes off Silas.
00:32:31You assaulted my family.
00:32:33As a police officer, I have every right to arrest you right now.
00:32:36Next time, you won't walk away this lucky.
00:32:39Now get out.
00:32:40The sheer violence radiating off the two retired narcotics officers terrifies everyone into Silas.
00:32:46The gossiping neighbors scatter immediately.
00:32:48Silas and Maybelle scramble to their feet and flee down the road like stray dogs.
00:32:52But then suddenly, Grandpa Rick doubles over coughing violently.
00:32:57Fresh blood begins soaking through the white bandages wrapped around his torso.
00:33:06Grandpa's stitches tear open again, so Grandma rushes him back to the hospital.
00:33:09I stay behind to take care of Valerie.
00:33:11Standing outside her bedroom door, I force myself to breathe through the panic crushing my chest.
00:33:14I wipe the tears and blood off my face over and over with my sleeve until my skin burns raw.
00:33:18I can't let Valerie see me falling apart.
00:33:20Right now, I have to be strong for her.
00:33:21I shove the bedroom door open and lock it tightly behind me, shutting out the chaos outside.
00:33:26Then I walk straight towards her bed.
00:33:28The second I see her sitting there, pale, hollow, motionless, something inside me finally breaks completely.
00:33:38Valerie, let's leave.
00:33:40We can start over somewhere else.
00:33:42New York, California, anywhere.
00:33:45Please, just pack a bag and come with me, okay?
00:33:48I almost sound desperate.
00:33:49I grab her shoulders gently, trying to pull strength from the girl who, in another lifetime, would become my mother
00:33:5519 years later.
00:33:57But Valerie never says a word.
00:33:59She just stays curled in the corner of the bed.
00:34:02The fading sunset filters through the blinds, strip by strip, dying slowly across her face.
00:34:08Then she finally lifts her head.
00:34:10And once again, she looks at me with those same shattered eyes.
00:34:13Empty, helpless, but still quietly begging someone to save me.
00:34:18The sight crushes my chest.
00:34:19For my entire previous life, I thought I had been born unwanted.
00:34:22But now I finally understand the truth.
00:34:24My birth was never love.
00:34:25It was a chain.
00:34:26A weapon crafted by a monster to trap my mother and destroy her family forever.
00:34:30I have never hated myself more than I do right now.
00:34:35Valerie, listen to me.
00:34:37This baby.
00:34:38Before I can finish, Valerie suddenly covers my mouth with her hand.
00:34:44I look up at her.
00:34:46And suddenly the dam inside me completely breaks.
00:34:50Tears pour down my face as I collapse to my knees beside the bed.
00:34:54I pull her hand away from my mouth and finally scream out the truth
00:34:59that destroyed me for an entire lifetime.
00:35:01This baby is a stain that monster left on your life.
00:35:06You'll hate it forever.
00:35:09Every time you look at it, you'll remember him.
00:35:12You'll wish it had never been born.
00:35:16My voice cracks apart completely.
00:35:19It's better to end this now than let that child grow up trapped in pain and misery.
00:35:24I can barely breathe through the sobbing.
00:35:27No one can calmly beg their own mother to erase them from existence.
00:35:31But at that exact moment, Valerie, who has been sitting there lifeless and hollow this whole,
00:35:36whole time, suddenly trembles violently.
00:35:39It's like something inside her finally snaps awake.
00:35:41She bolts upright from the bed and throws her arms around me without warning, crushing me against her chest.
00:35:48She holds me so tightly, her fingers dig painfully into my back.
00:35:51Hot tears spill onto my neck, burning against my skin.
00:35:55And then she completely breaks down.
00:35:57I never wanted you dead.
00:35:59Nora.
00:36:02Her voice is raw and shattered from crying.
00:36:06Not once, not for a single second, did I ever wish you were dead.
00:36:15That single sentence crashes through the room with the weight of two lifetimes behind it.
00:36:20Every ounce of pain, resentment, anger, and loneliness I carried inside me shatters instantly into dust.
00:36:28Because she called me Nora.
00:36:30Not Scarlet.
00:36:32Nora.
00:36:33In this timeline, nobody knows that name.
00:36:36Nobody except my mother from my previous life.
00:36:38I freeze in her arms, my mind going completely blank.
00:36:43She isn't just the 18-year-old Valerie who knows nothing about the future.
00:36:47She remembers too.
00:36:50In this broken, twisted timeline, a near my find, my mother was reborn alongside me.
00:36:57I know.
00:36:59My entire body shakes as I cling to her shoulder-her-shoulder like a lost child.
00:37:07I know I was never supposed to be born.
00:37:10You had every reason to hate me because of that monster.
00:37:15Valerie suddenly grabs my face with both hands and forces me to look at her through her tears.
00:37:19How could a mother ever hate her child?
00:37:22After two lifetimes, inside this old Texas house in 1996,
00:37:26she finally tears open the truth she buried for decades.
00:37:29And through uncontrollable sobbing,
00:37:31my mother finally tells me why she stood beside my hospital bed and watched me die in my previous life.
00:37:39The reason I couldn't donate bone marrow was because I had terminal cancer too.
00:37:45I wasn't eligible to donate.
00:37:48I wasn't abandoning you, Nora.
00:37:50How could I ever abandon my own daughter?
00:37:54Outside, the winter wind screams across the Texas borderlands.
00:37:59But inside this cold little room, a mother and daughter separated by two lifetimes,
00:38:04finally find each other again in the ruins of everything they lost.
00:38:09Valerie clutches me so tightly she's shaking.
00:38:12I never gave on you, Nora.
00:38:14I begged everyone I could for help.
00:38:16I borrowed money from anybody willing to listen because I wanted to save you.
00:38:21Every word tears out of her throat like it physically hurts to say it.
00:38:24Your bastard father wouldn't pay a single dime.
00:38:26The ICU bills kept piling up every single day.
00:38:29The hospital kept mailing notices until my bowel box was overflowing.
00:38:33In the end, I sold every apartment and every piece of property I owned in Boston
00:38:36just to barely cover your medical bills.
00:38:39Then her breathing completely falls apart.
00:38:41And Austin.
00:38:42That monster wanted to pull your ventilator out himself back at the trailer park.
00:38:45He lied to you.
00:38:47He actually convinced you that I was the one who abandoned you.
00:38:50She cries so hard she can barely breathe anymore.
00:38:52Decades of humiliation and buried motherhood finally exploding out all at once.
00:38:56Back then, I left with Hector's mother to work in the city because I needed money.
00:38:59I was trying to build enough of a life to come back and take you away from that rotting border
00:39:03town.
00:39:04But the second I left, Austin cut off every possible way for me to contact you.
00:39:08He guarded the trailer park with a gun and wouldn't even let me get near you.
00:39:12The only thing I could do...
00:39:16Her voice breaks completely.
00:39:19...was stand outside your school at the beginning of every semester and watch you from across the street.
00:39:27I bite down so hard on my lip I taste blood.
00:39:31My vision is completely blurred by tears.
00:39:35And finally, I understand everything.
00:39:39Back then, she was only 18.
00:39:42A girl who had survived something horrific, whose mind was already hanging by a thread.
00:39:46There was no way she could go back to that monster.
00:39:49For her, every step towards that trailer cramp was like walking back into hell itself.
00:39:54But fate has always been cruel.
00:39:56By the time Mom finally saved enough money and came back to fight for custody of me,
00:40:01Austin had already sensed something was coming.
00:40:03He grabbed me in the middle of the night and disappeared.
00:40:06And in the 1990s, before cell phones, databases, and internet tracking connected the world,
00:40:11we vanished into countless forgotten trailer parks scattered across America.
00:40:16She never found us again.
00:40:19Valerie cups my face with trembling hands.
00:40:25When you turned 18, you finally tracked down my private number.
00:40:29Her voice cracks apart.
00:40:31But by then, I'd already been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
00:40:38I didn't have much time left, Nora.
00:40:43Her tears mixed with mine as they streamed down our faces together.
00:40:47My body was falling apart day by day.
00:40:49I didn't want to drag you into that.
00:40:51I couldn't bear the thought of you watching me die in a hospital bed,
00:40:54or inheriting all my debt after I was gone.
00:40:57That's why I acted cold on the phone.
00:40:59That's why I pretended I didn't know you.
00:41:02Everything inside my head goes completely blank.
00:41:07The mother I spent my whole life hating never abandoned me.
00:41:11Not once.
00:41:12With a body and soul shattered by a monster, she still fought through the filled and hopelessness
00:41:17of the 1990s with everything she had left, just to keep loving me.
00:41:21And then, we cling to each other in that dark little room and cry until there are no tears left.
00:41:27Finally, I wipe my face hard and force myself to look straight into her eyes.
00:41:33Mom, if we've really both been given another chance, then don't let me become your chains all over again.
00:41:39We can still fix this.
00:41:41We'll go to the hospital.
00:41:42Without me, you can finally live your own life.
00:41:45Valerie instantly shakes her head in panic.
00:41:47Stop!
00:41:48Don't say that!
00:41:48I can't do it!
00:41:49Nora, you are part of me!
00:41:52I will never let you go!
00:41:54She covers her face, crying uncontrollably.
00:41:57And seeing the pain and determination in her eyes, I can't force her anymore.
00:42:02The sunset over the Texas border paints the entire sky blood red.
00:42:06Hot wind rolls through the yard, carrying dust and dry heat that makes my chest tighten with unease.
00:42:12Grandpa fires up the smoker in the backyard using a stash of oak wood he's been saving for years.
00:42:17Before long, the air fills with the smell of smoked brisket and ribs.
00:42:20Grandma and I spend the entire afternoon preparing dinner,
00:42:22wanting to give Mom, the girl who suffered so much in this timeline,
00:42:25the happiest 18th birthday possible.
00:42:27But just as Grandma wipes her hands clean and starts heading inside to call Valerie at a dinner...
00:42:39Officer Wyatt, we've got a problem.
00:42:42Austin escaped during transport to federal prison.
00:42:44Austin, he killed two federal marshals and stole a shotgun.
00:42:47Dispatch intercepted a report 10 minutes ago.
00:42:49He's heading straight for town in a stolen pickup truck.
00:42:52The second I hear Austin's name, rage destinates inside my body.
00:42:56Every ounce of blood in my veins feels like it catches fire.
00:42:59He's coming here for revenge!
00:43:06That monster ruined my mother once already.
00:43:09Why the hell should he get another chance to destroy her life?
00:43:18While Grandpa and Grandma rush back inside in Scotch to grab their Remingston shoe dunes,
00:43:23I move first.
00:43:31Without hesitation, I snatch up the heavy cleaver sitting beside the cutting board in the kitchen.
00:43:46I don't even look back at the house.
00:43:48Eyes burning red with hatred, I run straight into the blood-colored Texas dusk.
00:43:53Austin, even if this drags my soul straight into hell,
00:43:56This time, I'm going to kill you myself.
00:44:03Night falls fast near the border.
00:44:06Freezing wind filled with sand cuts across my face like blades.
00:44:11I crouch silently in the shadows near the edge of the neighborhood,
00:44:15my palms slick with sweat around the handle of the clemver.
00:44:20But no matter how long I wait,
00:44:23Austin never appears.
00:44:24Then around midnight, a horrible instinct suddenly clenches around my heart.
00:44:29Valerie should have returned from the clinic hours ago, but she still isn't home.
00:44:33Headlights suddenly tear through the darkness.
00:44:36Grandpa's old pickup truck skids to a stop beside me.
00:44:39Scarlett, get in!
00:44:46Grandma and Grandpa both look pale with fear,
00:44:49gripping loaded Remington shoot guns tightly in their hands.
00:44:52We immediately start tracking tire marks and crushed brush along the bide side.
00:44:59Following every sign we can find, the search leads us all the way to the edge of town.
00:45:04Then the pickup engine dies.
00:45:05Silence.
00:45:06Nothing but cold desert wind and darkness.
00:45:09In front of us sits an abandoned trailer park that's been empty for years.
00:45:12We split up to search for Valerie.
00:45:14Let go of me! You're insane! Let me go!
00:45:18Let go of me! You're insane! Let me go!
00:45:23My mind goes blank.
00:45:26I know instantly there's no time to turn back for Grandpa.
00:45:30So I run toward Valerie's screams alone.
00:45:35But somewhere during those few desperate seconds,
00:45:38hearing my mother crying inside that trailer,
00:45:42something strange happens.
00:45:45The panic inside my head suddenly disappears.
00:45:48Something strange happens.
00:45:50The panic inside my head suddenly disappears.
00:45:52Completely.
00:45:53As I sprint through the freezing dark, I grip the heavy meat clever hidden beneath my coat so tightly my
00:45:58hand aches.
00:45:59My palm is slipped with sweat.
00:46:01But my eyes hold no fear anymore.
00:46:03Only calm.
00:46:05And certainty.
00:46:06In that moment, I finally understand why I came back to this world.
00:46:10I wasn't reborn to keep living as that monster's unwanted child.
00:46:13I crossed 28 years of time for one reason only.
00:46:17To set my mother free, even if it cost the life I was never supposed to have in the first
00:46:21place.
00:46:22I stare at the battered trailer door glowing faintly under the moonlight.
00:46:27And I never slow down for even a second.
00:46:30You sick bastard!
00:46:36Without hesitation, I slam my foot into the flimsy aluminum trailer door.
00:46:42Using the momentum, I throw myself straight at Austin from behind.
00:46:46Under the pale moonlight, I raise the heavy cleaver high over my head and bring it down with every ounce
00:46:52of hatred from both lifetimes behind it.
00:46:56Austin lets out an animalistic scream, but I underestimated what kind of monster he really is.
00:47:05I'm gonna rip you apart!
00:47:07A man who survived years of cartel violence along the border doesn't go down easily.
00:47:13The pain only drives me insane.
00:47:15Before I can swing again, agony shoots through my arm like the bone is about to snap.
00:47:21I'm gonna kill you!
00:47:24The clever is ripped out of my hands instantly.
00:47:27Clang!
00:47:27The weapon crashes to the floor as Austin slams me hard against the ground inside the trailer.
00:47:35Clang!
00:47:36Under the dim moonlight leaking through the broken trailer walls, Austin finally sees my face clearly.
00:47:44You little bitch again.
00:47:47You just keep ruining everything!
00:47:50He roars hysterically and raises the clember over his head.
00:47:53Then it comes down.
00:47:55Again.
00:47:56And again.
00:47:57The blade flashes silver through the cramped trailer.
00:48:00Each strike tears violently into my stomach and chest without mercy.
00:48:09Warm blood immediately floods from my mouth, soaking my clothes.
00:48:15And strangely, I can't feel pain anymore.
00:48:23My mind is terrifyingly clear.
00:48:25Only one thought keeps screaming inside my head.
00:48:28Don't let him go.
00:48:29Don't let him get to Valerie.
00:48:31No!
00:48:32No!
00:48:33Stop!
00:48:34Let her go!
00:48:37No!
00:48:40Please stop!
00:48:49And the second I see him turning toward my mother again, something inside me snaps,
00:48:54using every last ounce of strength from both my lives.
00:48:58I throw myself onto him from behind and lock my arms around his body like a steel trap.
00:49:12No matter how violently he punches me,
00:49:16no matter how many times the blade carves into my flesh,
00:49:20I grit my teeth so hard I taste blood and hold on anyway.
00:49:24Even as blood pours from my mouth,
00:49:26I use my dying body weight to keep him pinned in place.
00:49:30You want to hurt her?
00:49:33Then you'll have to cut me into pieces first.
00:49:37Then you'll have to cut me into pieces first!
00:49:40A deafening shotgun blast erupts through the trailer.
00:49:44Austin!
00:49:46Blinding police spotlights flood the darkness as Grandpa storms inside, roaring.
00:49:51The blast tears straight through Austin's skull.
00:49:54The impact stops the monster cold.
00:49:57His body jerks violently before collapsing to the floor like dead weight.
00:50:01Scarlet!
00:50:02Finally, the demon falls silent,
00:50:04and with the last bit of life draining from my body,
00:50:07I collapse into the blood beside him.
00:50:14Scarlet!
00:50:15Scarlet!
00:50:19Scarlet, wake up!
00:50:21Please!
00:50:23Mom's begging you, please wake up!
00:50:26My mother's screams tear through the freezing Texas night.
00:50:30Raw, desperate, sharp enough to rip the sky apart.
00:50:34I want to lift my hand.
00:50:36Wipe the blood off her face, like I always do.
00:50:39Pull her into my arms one last time.
00:50:41But my arm feels filled with concrete.
00:50:43My body is getting colder by the second.
00:50:45And the voices around me sound farther and farther away,
00:50:48like they're trapped beneath deep water.
00:50:50The whole world is slowly drifting out of reach.
00:50:52I lie there helplessly in the cold, moldy blood pooling across the floor of the abandoned trailer.
00:50:56I see grandpa and grandma rushing toward me.
00:51:00Grandpa's hands, the same steady hands that held a gun his entire life without trembling once.
00:51:06He presses so hard his knuckles turn white, but the blood still keeps pouring through his fingers.
00:51:12Grandma collapses beside me, covering her mouth as sobs wreck her body.
00:51:19The whole world is slowly drifting out of reach.
00:51:23I know then, I'm never gonna wake up again.
00:51:29That monster who haunts both of my lives, like a curse carved into my bones.
00:51:36Austin Walker is finally killed that night by grandpa's shotgun.
00:51:40The blast tears straight through his head.
00:51:42His blood, his violence, his evil.
00:51:45All of it splatter across the rusted trailer walls and sinks into the mud of the Texas borderlands.
00:51:51Justice comes late.
00:51:52The law never even gets the chance to put him on death row.
00:51:55Fate beats it to the punch.
00:51:56Brutal, bloody, and absolute.
00:51:59After two lifetimes of suffering, the debt is finally paid.
00:52:03But the devil's death doesn't bring life back to our family.
00:52:06A few days later, an unusual storm rolls across the border.
00:52:08Cold rain mixes with sand and dirt, turning the whole town gray,
00:52:12muddy, and bitterly cold as if the sky itself is mourning everything we've lost.
00:52:16The Wyatt house falls silent.
00:52:17The kitchen that once smells of barbecue and fresh coffee never lights up again.
00:52:21Valerie becomes a ghost.
00:52:23She barely speaks.
00:52:25Barely moves.
00:52:26Like someone winds her up once and then forgets to do it again.
00:52:30Late one night, after the rain finally stops,
00:52:33she stumbles into my room alone.
00:52:35Dust has already settled across everything I leave behind.
00:52:37With trembling hands, she folds my faded jeans,
00:52:41picks up my unfinished notebooks, smooths out the wrinkles in the blanket on my bed.
00:52:45And the moment her fingers touch those cold sheets,
00:52:48the ones that will never hold my warmth again,
00:52:51something inside her finally breaks.
00:52:53Tears hit the hardwood floor one after another.
00:52:55Soft. Heavy.
00:52:58Nora, can mom come find you in heaven?
00:53:04Valerie drops to her knees beside the bed.
00:53:06She buries her pale face deep into my old pillow,
00:53:09the one I never get around to washing.
00:53:12There's still the faint smell of cheap shampoo lingering in the fabric,
00:53:16the last trace of her daughter left in this world.
00:53:19She clutches the sheets so tightly her fingers cramp,
00:53:23crying like a child who loses everything in the middle of the desert.
00:53:28The news of the border shooting reaches Boston overnight.
00:53:32Hector and his mother immediately cancel everything and drive back to Texas.
00:53:38Neither of them asks questions.
00:53:41They simply stay beside my grandparents and help them hold themselves together,
00:53:45long enough to bury me.
00:53:48The funeral is held in the little cemetery outside town.
00:53:53For once, there is no sandstorm.
00:53:56White roses cover my grave.
00:53:59Hector stands at the very back of the crowd.
00:54:01The boy, who once looked so calm and untouchable,
00:54:05now has eyes darkened with grief and rage.
00:54:09He stares at the photo on my headstone,
00:54:12my 18-year-old smile frozen forever in time,
00:54:14and clenches his fists so hard his knuckles turn pale.
00:54:21After the funeral, the atmosphere inside the Wyatt House feels suffocating.
00:54:26Grandpa and Grandma sit silently at the dinner table,
00:54:29exhaustion and grief etched into every line on their faces.
00:54:34Hector sits alone on the old bench near the living room window,
00:54:37staring out at the empty Texas highway.
00:54:39He struggles with himself for a long time
00:54:41before finally standing and walking over to Valerie.
00:54:43He crouches down in front of her carefully,
00:54:46like he's afraid she might shitter if he moves too fast.
00:54:53Valerie, come with us.
00:54:55Leave this place behind.
00:54:57We can start over somewhere else.
00:55:00Okay?
00:55:01His voice is barely above a whisper.
00:55:03He doesn't even dare touch her.
00:55:05He just looks at her with quiet heartbreak in his eyes.
00:55:08Valerie doesn't answer.
00:55:09She sits there in the shadows, clutching my faded denim jacket against her chest,
00:55:14like it's the last oxygen left in the world.
00:55:18That night, after everyone finally falls asleep from sheer exhaustion,
00:55:22the old house sinks into silence.
00:55:31And Valerie wanders back into my room again.
00:55:49She doesn't turn on the lights.
00:55:51In a room without me, even the light feels like a mockery.
00:55:59She kneels alone on the cold floor,
00:56:02organizing my belongings one piece at a time under the pale moonlight coming through the window.
00:56:14My textbooks full of notes.
00:56:19My erasers worn down to almost nothing.
00:56:23Then finally,
00:56:25my old backpack.
00:56:26The cheap one with frayed edges and fading fabric.
00:56:30She pulls it into her arms and buries her face against it,
00:56:34breathing in what little remains of my scent.
00:56:40Then her hand brushes against something hidden deep inside the torn inner lining.
00:56:53Paper.
00:56:54A folded envelope slips loose and falls softly into her lap.
00:56:58On the front is only one word.
00:57:02Those are the words I want to say across two lifetimes.
00:57:05The words I never managed to say out loud before I die.
00:57:17Valerie freezes.
00:57:18Her whole body stiffens as her trembling fingers slowly tear the envelope open.
00:57:24She's shaking so badly.
00:57:26Her fingernail slices the edge of the paper and draws blood.
00:57:30But she doesn't even notice.
00:57:32Then she sees the first line.
00:57:34And the moment she reads the name buried deepest inside her heart.
00:57:42Her breathing stops.
00:57:51Mom.
00:57:53If you're reading this,
00:57:55I'm probably already gone.
00:58:02Don't cry for me.
00:58:06From the first day I came back to this timeline,
00:58:10I already make up my mind.
00:58:12I'm going to trade my life for your freedom.
00:58:18Under the moonlight, Valerie's eyes instantly turn red.
00:58:22She covers her mouth tightly to stop herself from sobbing out loud and keeps reading.
00:58:31During those 28 filthy years in my first life,
00:58:35I hated you so much sometimes.
00:58:38Living in that moldy trailer park,
00:58:40I wonder every day why everyone else has a loving mom except me.
00:58:44Why you left me alone in hell.
00:58:46But in this life, I finally learned the truth.
00:58:48My mother loves me more than anyone ever could.
00:58:52You burn your whole life away trying to protect me.
00:58:55And honestly, Mom, being loved by you like that is already enough.
00:58:59You're brilliant.
00:59:01Beautiful.
00:59:02Grandpa and Grandma love you so much.
00:59:06Hector's mom once says you're meant to soar high above the clouds.
00:59:09Not rot away in border town dirt because some rapist destroys your life.
00:59:14Please let me go, Mom.
00:59:15Don't give birth to me again.
00:59:17As long as the name Nora exists,
00:59:19Austin Walker's shadow will always haunt you.
00:59:21This time don't look back.
00:59:23Promise me.
00:59:24Go somewhere cleaner, higher, better.
00:59:27Go live the life you're supposed to have.
00:59:29Be free.
00:59:31By the end of the letter, Valerie has completely collapsed onto the floor.
00:59:34She presses those pages against her chest like they're the last pieces of my heartbeat left
00:59:39in the world and cries so hard she can barely breathe.
00:59:42Curled up beside the bed in the darkness, she breaks apart completely.
00:59:46And in that winter night of 1996, in a world without her daughter,
00:59:52my mother lets out the most shattered, guilt-raden, heartbroken sobs of both our lifetimes.
01:00:02That night, the Texas winter wind howls so hard it nearly tears the old wooden house apart.
01:00:09Valerie clutches my letter against her chest and cries until her voice gives up.
01:00:17In that letter, I beg her to let me go, beg her not to look back,
01:00:21beg her to chase her dreams, and finally become the free person she deserves to be.
01:00:27But staring into my empty room, something reignites in her hollow, lifeless eyes.
01:00:34A fire.
01:00:36A stubbornness stronger than grief itself.
01:00:41Valerie whispers hoskily into the darkness.
01:00:45You silly girl.
01:00:48How could a mother ever stop loving her child?
01:00:51She can't do what I ask.
01:00:55Because she had already told me once before.
01:00:59I will never let you go.
01:01:03You are part of my body, part of my life.
01:01:09A few days later, Hector and his mother help my exhausted grandparents finish arranging everything.
01:01:25Then carrying unbearable grief with them, the entire family leaves Texas for Boston.
01:01:38The day the bus pulls away, kicking up yellow dust behind it,
01:01:44Valerie stands by the window and takes a deep breath of cold New England air.
01:01:52This time, she isn't running as a victim buried under shame.
01:01:57This time, she's a mother determined to rewrite fate itself,
01:02:01and bring her daughter back into the world with every ounce of love she has.
01:02:09Time moves quickly beneath Boston's blue skies.
01:02:14Valerie throws every ounce of grief and pain into studying.
01:02:21Fueled by the determination of two lifetimes, she works through endless nights,
01:02:26until she's accepted into Harvard with near-perfect scores.
01:02:32And Hector, the boy who once cries for me at that Texas bus station,
01:02:38finally achieved his own dream too.
01:02:42Earning a place at one of the country's top medical schools.
01:02:47Textbooks become Valerie's shelter, and the child growing inside her.
01:02:52The child, once used by monsters as blackmail, is finally being nurtured in warmth and love.
01:02:59The following autumn, beneath golden maple leaves, and the bright lights of a Boston maternity room,
01:03:06a baby girl enters the world with a loud, healthy cry.
01:03:11Valerie lies exhausted against the hospital bed, tears blurring her vision as she smiles wider than she ever has before.
01:03:18With trembling arms, she holds the tiny newborn against her chest, and kisses her forehead gently.
01:03:25Noma, welcome to the world, baby.
01:03:29This time, there's no moldy trailer park, no violence, no shadow left behind by monsters.
01:03:35Sunlight pours through the hospital windows onto a warm nursery crib.
01:03:39Grandpa and Grandma show up crying and carrying brand new Barbie dolls.
01:03:43Hector adjusts his glasses and smiles softly beside him, and this version of Nora is finally born into love.
01:03:53After that, life slowly finds its way onto the right path.
01:03:57Without the suffering and burdens of the first timeline, Valerie and Hector both reach the futures they are always meant
01:04:03to have.
01:04:05Hector becomes one of the country's leading surgeons, saving countless lives.
01:04:09Valera becomes a legendary attorney known across America,
01:04:15dedicating her career to protecting women and children through civil rights law.
01:04:20And the new Nora grows up in Harvard's golden autumn trees, surrounded by love instead of fear.
01:04:27She is bright, confident, happy.
01:04:32The cancer that once destroys my body, never appears in her arms.
01:04:41As little Nora grows up, she watches Valerie and Hector eventually fall in love and build a quiet, beautiful family
01:04:49together.
01:04:50Their life isn't glamorous, but the love they give her overflows far beyond what most families could ever offer.
01:04:58And somewhere inside the golden evening light, the version of me that crosses time itself.
01:05:04The wandering soul, carried away by the wind, finally smiles.
01:05:08At the end of her autobiography, my mother writes one final dedication.
01:05:14Every achievement and honor in my life belongs to a girl named Nora.
01:05:18My daughter once tears open the darkness with her own life, and I spend the rest of mine bringing her
01:05:24back into the light.
01:05:25I lean quietly against my mother's knee in that final memory, and whisper softly in my heart,
01:05:31Mom, this time, you get everything right.
01:05:36And at last, those two wounded souls walk hand in hand towards the endless stars waiting beyond the clouds.
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