“Fat cow! Serves you right for falling!”

“Stop pretending you’re dead and get up already! Can’t you see you’re blocking the sidewalk?”

“If I’m late for work and my pay gets docked, you think you can afford to make that up to me?”

“…”

The noise grated on her nerves. Who on earth was yelling in her face, disturbing her peace—

No, wait. That wasn’t right. The plane she’d been on—flying back home—had been struck by lightning and crashed.

There was no way she could’ve survived that.

With a sharp gasp, Lily Summers’ eyes flew open as she abruptly pushed herself off the pavement, her dazed gaze locking onto the woman standing over her.

Carol Bishop—a primary school teacher at the local elementary and Lily’s next-door neighbor. They had just been arguing when Lily had somehow tripped and fallen… These strange, unfamiliar memories flooded her mind all at once.

“Ugh, just my luck to have you as a neighbor. Move it.” Carol wrinkled her nose in disgust at Lily’s bewildered expression. Covering her mouth and nose with one hand, she brushed past her. The strap of her bag grazed Lily’s cheek, leaving a faint, barely visible scratch.

Moving on autopilot, Lily staggered to her feet and retreated into the familiar yet foreign space of her house. She shut the door behind her before collapsing into a rickety chair, her mind blank.

Only when her legs began to tingle from sitting too long did her thoughts slowly start to settle.

In just under an hour, she’d come to a shocking realization—she had been reborn. Reborn into the early 1990s, inhabiting someone else’s body while somehow retaining the original owner’s memories. Strangely enough, the person shared her name: Lily Summers.

She let out a sigh of relief. At least the name hadn’t changed—she wasn’t sure how she would’ve coped otherwise.

But the surroundings…

The living room barely had any decent furniture. Even the stool she was perched on looked like it had been patched together with scraps of wood just to keep from collapsing. Old motivational posters peeled from the walls, and the floor was sticky with stains she didn’t want to identify.

Earlier, she’d been too disoriented to notice, but now, taking a deep breath, the foul smell hit her, making her nose wrinkle.

God, this place isn’t fit for a dog—let alone a human.

Rising from the stool, she walked to the bathroom door and froze in place. The tiny room was littered with crumpled tissues scattered across the floor—no explanation needed for what they were used for. Just thinking about it made her stomach churn with disgust. She turned and lunged for the sink, retching violently.

When the nausea passed, Lily looked up and caught her reflection in the grimy mirror hanging on the wall. It was like staring at a stranger—no, a monster. She gasped and collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud.

In that split second before losing consciousness, she silently begged the heavens to let her reincarnate all over again. If not, she might as well die right then and there.

When she came to, eyes fixed on the cracked ceiling, she realized with a sinking heart: there was no going back.

With a weary sigh, she pulled herself to her feet and forced herself to face the mirror again—this time, with slightly more composure.

Her greasy hair stuck out in every direction like a bird’s nest. Crusty sleep clung to the corners of her eyes, and her pudgy face nearly swallowed her features whole. A double chin melted into her neck.

An old, faded green tank top sagged on her body, while grimy sweatpants clung unpleasantly to her skin.