What was Anna Thinking? Do something like that on her Med school graduation day? She simply couldn't bear the thought of seeing that child die in front of her. She had to do something. Her body moved only by instinct.
She felt relieved in her last moments, the child was safe. But then comes the truck, damn truck, that hurt. Her vision was blurred by the headlights of that thing, but soon everything became deep darkness.
So this was death? Eternity in darkness. At least now she knew the answer. Would she conform so easily to that? Why could she still think anyway? Was that hell? Because for her, staying awake for eternity in that darkness would be hell.
Her thoughts were blocked by a sudden white light. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she could see an old man sitting in front of her, serving her a cup of tea. Was he God, in person?
"I'm not 'The God' you're thinking of. But you could say that I am a kind of god." The old man spoke, but she had not spoken to the man.
"Oh, just bear that. For me, it is natural to read your thoughts," The old man explained, while mixing his tea. "Let not dwell in that subject. We've got some more urgent business to discuss."
What business would a 'kind of god' have with her?
"You could call me Medici, I think it would be easier than 'a kind of god'." The old man responded to her thoughts one more time. This was starting to get freaking.
But Medici? Was he some kind of God of Healing?
"Yes, this is an extreme simplification, but it isn't wrong at all. You haven't proved your tea".
She sipped a bit of her tea, it was delicious. He was a god, of course, he would have access to good tea. The man just smiled at her. He was hearing all her thoughts?
She had nothing against that old man in front of her, but wouldn't it make more sense for the God of healing to be a woman? After all, caring work has always been something more feminine in most human cultures.
"I could become a woman if that is better for you." The old man had not even finished speaking, and he was already beginning to transform.
Now in front of her stands an old woman who resembles her grandma. That figure was more cozy, but at the same time, it made her sad.
"Wasn't my intention to make you sad, sorry child." The god transformed again, now she was a middle-aged woman, whom Anna could not recognize, but for some reason, made her feel nostalgic.
"We are moving too far away from our goal. Let's talk about our business." The middle-aged Goddess began to speak and did not give Anna any more time to even think.
"I will need your help, if you could do me that kindness." The goddess was now totally in business mode. "In a parallel world of the multiverse, a Doppler version of you has died, and I can't save her life anymore. But I need her alive."
Doppler version? Multi-verse? Questions start to form in Anna's mind. But the goddess didn't care to answer.
"The death of the alternative Anastassia would bring devastating consequences to that world. That is something I can't permit to be. I had saved her body, but her soul is no longer in there. She had committed suicide, I couldn't prevent her soul from going back to the wells of reincarnation."
The Goddess made a pause to let Anna process the information. For some reason, she was sad. She hadn't known this other Anna; she wasn't her, but she couldn't let it be that sadness. What could lead the other Anna to commit suicide?
"She wasn't weak, she was a brave girl. But her situation was that desperate". The goddess spoke with sadness in her voice.
Why was she revealing all of that to Anna? What kind of help did the Goddess need?
"I need your soul. Is the only way to sustain the other Anna alive?" The Goddess responded.
She wanted Anna to assume the place of the other Anna? Be placed in the same mess that led the other girl to commit suicide?
"I know it is too much to ask. I wouldn't, if I didn't have confidence that you are capable of handling that." The goddess's speech was sincere. Somehow, Anna could feel that what moved her actions was love.
The Goddess responded to Anna's thoughts with a warm smile, then continued to explain:
"Think of that as a chance to continue with your life, at least to sustain your memories. I will not force you, if you refuse, I will only let your soul continue the natural course…"
"I accept," Anna said. She has nothing to lose after all.
The idea of having to deal with the mess that left the other Anna to commit suicide was disturbing. But at the same time, thinking of losing everything she knows was even more distressing. She wasn't prepared to forget her family.
She had passed through hell in six years of med school, for what? To lose everything because of a dam truck? Whatever awaited her in this new life, it would feel like a Sunday in the park in front of her anatomy classes.
Of course, the other Anna's situation was desperate, to the point of leaving her to commit suicide.
But Anna could end up reincarnated in a more desperate life. Accepting the goddess's proposal at least was her choice. At least she would retain her memory.
She would embrace her new life and honor the memory of Anastassia; she would take the place.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but there are things that you have to know before I send you out there," The goddess spoke with another of her warm smiles. Anna resumed her attention to listen.
"The parallel world the other Anna lived, is similar, but at the same time different from yours". Anna couldn't make sense of that phrase. "Her world is full of magic."
Anna's imagination began to wander, recalling all the fantasy novels she had read in her life. The Goddess just smiled at that.
"She was a citizen of a country named Brazil, like you. She has to, born in a city called Rio. But a very different one from yours." The goddess continued to explain, "The existence of magic made her world history and technology took a different path, but you will still be able to recognize a lot of similarities."
Anna couldn't understand how this was possible. "That, my child, is a multiverse's mystery that not even we gods have been able to answer." The Goddess didn't seem to understand either.
"Anna was the first, in centuries in that world, to be born with a rare talent. This talent, in the future, would make her descendants become a beacon of justice in the world." The Goddess's expression once again showed sadness. "But with her suicide, she left before she could leave any descendants."
So, what the goddess wanted was for her to be a mother in that other world? What was so special about this talent of the other Anna?
"You nailed it, child," The goddess responded to her Thoughts again. "You can live your new life, the way you think is better. The only thing that I expect from you is that you leave descendants. And, for now, you don't need to know more about Anna's talent, it would cause only damage if you learn that too soon".
Well, that somewhat hindered the purpose of living according to her own choices, but it was a condition that Anna could accept. She wasn't that confident that the goddess wasn't lying about the necessity of secrecy about Anna's talent, but she chose not to confront the Goddess.
The Goddess just smiles warmly again and continues her explanations. "Anna has committed suicide because her father had gone bankrupt, and the only way to save her family was by marrying an old, despicable man."
Anna could understand her Doppler. But what kind of world was that? Was arranged marriage still a thing there? In her world, there were still places that maintained that tradition, but in Rio, where she grew up, that had not been a practice for almost a century.
She was no longer sure if this new life would really be a Sunday in the park, with that new information.
"I can't interfere much, you'll have to think of something for yourself. But I will give you a gift." The goddess gave Anna a brooch, a needle with a coiled snake. "This will summon a protective spirit, who will help you throughout your life."
The Goddess pinned the brooch to Anna's lapel as she said her last words. "Unfortunately, our time is up. I wish you a happy life. I will always be watching, ready to help you whenever possible. Now go, my child, you have a long road ahead of you."
The Goddess spoke that words and everything become darkness again. When Ana woke up, she was in a bedroom. She could smell beeswax candles. She could hear the distant sounds of crickets being overshadowed by steady footsteps on a wooden floor.
The room was beautifully decorated, a mix of Victorian and French neoclassical, typical of the Rio nobility at the end of the 19th century in Anna's original world. The opulence of the decoration hides the reality that the Goddess had already warned about: her new family was bankrupt.
When she saw the large oil painting of a little girl who was her but wasn't, hanging on the wall, the memories of the other Anna began to merge with their own.
Sadness was the only thing she could fill the moment with. She was bombarded with a whirlwind of feelings that weren't hers, but at the same time, they were, even though it didn't make any sense.
It was a strange experience, feeling everything at once. Happiness, sadness, pride, shame, all at once. Her head hurt so much. Tears streamed down her face. She was still mourning her death, while accepting her new life; it was a strange feeling.
The footsteps approached his room. The door suddenly opened.
"You woke up, Anna. I was so scared of losing you." A strange man invaded the room and hugged Anna with affection.
No, he wasn't a stranger, he was the other Anna's… no, he was her Father.
"Sorry, Dad, it wasn't my intention to cause you any trouble," Anna said softly.
Her feelings were still a mess, but that was her father hugging her. The other Anna doesn't exist anymore. That was her life now.
After a long hug, her father changed to a sad expression. Anna could tell, by the memories of the other Anna, that he was uncomfortable with something.
"I'll ask Benta to bring you some soup. Then you'd better rest. Sir Alphonse will come to visit you tomorrow, he was worried when he heard the news that you had an accident."
Of course, Sir Alphonse, the reason the other Anna committed suicide. That dark smile of that despicable man in the memories of the other Anna sends goosebumps down Anna's spine.
She learned from Anna's memory that he wasn't her fiancée yet. But he had bought all his father's debts, and the deadline to pay them was getting closer and closer to running out.
Her father could be sent to the gallows for bringing shame to the name of the empire's nobility by not paying off his debts. The other Anna hoped that with her death, the empress would grant her father some leniency. After all, she had been the cause of his bankruptcy, or so she believed.
Anna couldn't understand her Doppler plan, but she knew that it was a desperate act of someone who had no hope. She would have to think in another way to save her father. She would not agree to marry Alphonse either.
Anna was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't seen her father leave her bedroom. What brought her back to reality was the brooch she received as a gift from the goddess, which started to shine.
Suddenly, a golden snake was flying in front of her. "Great, he left quickly," the thing could speak. Seeing Anna's shocked face, the snake continued:
"What do you expect from a guardian spirit?"