An Affair with Death

At the end of the day, my colleague, Melody came to find me. She wanted me to cover her night shift.

I turned her down because I had commitments after work.

That night, she was caught abandoning her shift and she got fired.

Melody blamed me for it. Just when I was almost going into labor, she pushed me down the stairs.

"Do you know how hard I worked to get this job? If it was not for you, I wouldn't have been fired! If I'm going down, I'm taking you down with me!"

I died, and my baby did not survive either.

When I opened my eyes once more, I was back to the same day when Melody asked me to cover her shift. Only this time, I knew the truth.

Turns out, she had left her shift for a rendezvous with my husband.

——

Looking around at the familiar yet strange environment, I could not believe my eyes that I had returned.

The pain in my abdomen reminded me that I was not in a dream. I was in the place where I worked.

While I was still thinking about my tragic death, Melody Christie approached me. I looked at the time on my phone. I knew what she would ask.

It was the peak of summer. The city council required every unit to work round the clock. Our bureau was no exception.

Coincidentally, the city council inspection team came for an inspection that night. Melody was busy having an affair and was not at her shift.

She was caught red-handed and fired the very next day.

That was the only time the city council inspection team ever made an inspection, so I clearly remembered the date—the 25th of July.

After getting fired, Melody blamed me for it. She reckoned all that had happened because I would not swap shifts with her.

Just as I went into labor, she came to my house. She cornered me by the staircase and pushed me down the stairs.

Since I did not have my phone with me, when my husband came home and took me to the hospital, about seven hours had passed.

I had lost too much blood. I did not survive.

Thankfully, the universe was fair. I was brought back to life, returning to the time before everything had happened.

This time, I would never put myself in danger again.

As I was thinking, Melody approached me and asked to swap shifts.

I said, "Melody, can I discuss something with you?"

Melody asked, seemingly on guard, "What is it, Lucy?"

"Melody, I want to buy a house. Can you lend me 30,000 dollars? I know you have the money. You'll surely help me, right?"

Melody was stunned. Her reaction was a mixture of confusion, annoyance, and bafflement.

Before she could say anything, I picked up my bag and left. I said, "Melody, you have to help me! You know my bank account. Just wire the money to me. I