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