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Chapter 2: Chance?
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Today the forecaster predicted that stormy weather was occurring. Today is also the 25th birthday of the girl. Although she had not feasted her birthday since she was seven, she regrettably remembered the date.

She shut her eyes gently, inhaling the cold air. She immediately began walking steadily down the busy road, looking for a flower shop.

After a minute, her heartbeat rose drastically. She could sense her bones shudder, and her blood runs cold. Her eyes skittered around, making sure that no one was stalking her.

She was paranoid that her step-brother was going to discover her after she may or may not have "borrowed" some of his money. She hoped he would not notice the missing money because of his daily trips to the club.

He always came home late, and her parents weren't ever back, giving her time to flee. Still, her brother did have sharp eyes, so things rarely got past him.

Because of her parents' absence, her stepbrother was mostly in charge of the house. In his hands, the house was in perpetual chaos.

The girl beamed as she finally made it to the flower shop. As she entered, a slight breeze moved past her, making her shiver. Inside, the shopkeeper smiled warmly at her.

"Be careful of the weather, it's going to rain today," the young woman softly said. Feeling happy, the girl smiled in return and ordered a bouquet. As she was about to pay, she recognized that her brother's blue money clip was still holding the bills together.

When she went to take the clip off, a peculiar, ominous feeling abruptly dispersed throughout the air. Glimpsing through the shop window, her eyes stretched dramatically.

Time seemed to have stopped, much like her mind, which did not seem to be working.

Her stepbrother stood there, scrutinizing at her with sinister intent.

Quivering, she dropped the money and bolted out of the store. The moment she set foot outside the shop, the rain began pouring down gradually.

Despite the rain, she ran for her life. She didn't dare stop.

She peeped behind her briefly and noticed that nobody was following her. Yet before she could ease her breath, blinding bright beam came to her view, knocking her brain blank.

With no time to move, the girl violently crashed into the front of a bus. Taking one last breath, she sealed her eyes and thought about finally being reunited with her grandmother.

"What an amazing birthday gift," she mused.

With that, she conceded herself to be consumed by darkness. Her soul strayed away from her body, separated from the final tears that would ever fall from her face.

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Around amid the darkness, the girl arose with intense pain. Her head was pulsating, and her body stung like it had been stabbed all over.

Still, she refrained from screaming and opted to quietly hiss in discomfort, while struggling to stand. Suddenly, her memories started to play on some sort of white screen in front of her.

She would have more concerned if not for the fact that she knew she was supposed to be dead.

Memories played as a timeline--from the moment she was born, through all her suffering, finally ending with her death. Once it was finished, a blinding light took over the area where the memories had just been played.

She squeezed her eyes shut with the anticipation of seeing her grandmother. She opened her eyes again to see that the light had begun to shift towards her.

Nervousness erupted in the girl's brain but soon lessened when she saw the light shifting still again.

"Would you like a second chance?" a booming sonance greeted out.

This caught her off guard, and she grappled with speaking for a moment.

"What do you mean?" she doubted.

"I can grant you anything you crave. Anything you've ever desired can become a reality," the voice replied.

She then recognized where and who the voice was getting from. In a burst of rage and disbelief, the girl yelled.

"Where were you before!? Where were you when I was grieving?!"

"Why, kamisama? Why did you never help me?!"

There was no longer holding back. The female let out everything she had been feeling for the past 25 years.

"Why, why, why...why now...?" her voice crack as she wept.

"My child, because of the pain you have gone through, you will gain many blessings," the light responded.

"I've long lost hope of receiving blessings," she mocked, feeling an itch to punch the light in front of her.

"I just want to be with my grandmother. Can you not grant one simple wish?"

Kamisama addressed once more, "If one walks through a life of pain, then they are given compensation. It's the same concept as No Pain, No Gain."

She chuckled hysterically. A portion of it was because she did not anticipate an all-powerful god to make jokes. The other part of her chuckled because she felt only resentment and hatred for the god who only appeared to ridicule her.

"So you're saying all that pain I went through was just so I could receive some blessing?"

The pure rage kept grew, waiting for a push so it erupted.

"I was assumed to live a life full of grief before I could have a good life? No Pain, No Gain. That's your justification?!"

Stillness followed her outburst.

"Yes," the light acknowledged after the perpetuity of quietness.

"It's true."

At the confirmation of its words, she descended to her knees and wept. She sobbed for everything she went through and the things her grandma was obliged to suffer because of her.

"Child, everyone goes through this. We call it the Balance. Your path was one of two. Those who begin with a blessed life must endure the pain the next and vise versa," the kamisama stated.

"Balance is a test of nature. We conduct it to see if a person will take their own life."

"Once a person successfully goes through Balance, they earn their place in heaven," the light proceeded.

"Because you have already lived through grief, you will be given a blessed life. Using your mind, you will be able to achieve any task. What I mean is--,"

The light stopped mid-sentence because the girl vanished into thin air.

Kamisama sighed, frustrated that he wasn't able to finish explaining to the girl what she required to know. She would be granted power--

A godly power to give to a mortal. However, kamisama had no control over that now. It was in fate's hands now.

Too late, he realized he had forgotten something crucial. He had forgotten to wipe the mortal memories!

"Well," he reasoned, "at least it'll be interesting to watch! Moreover, fate has taken the wheel now."

Unbeknownst to kamisama, fate didn't take the wheel. The girl did.

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End Of Chapter 2
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