REVENGE: I Reborn to My Past to Change Everything!

Episode 3 - The Boy Who Once Cried for Me

The sky had turned a soft shade of orange when Elara left the school gates.

The wind was calm now, brushing against her hair gently, almost as if the world itself had slowed down, as if it knew she was no longer the same girl it once destroyed.

She walked along the familiar path home, her mind replaying the faces she had seen again, Mira’s fake laughter, Axel’s smug smile, Clara’s condescending tone. Each of them was alive, laughing, unaware that the girl they had killed once had returned.

Elara’s lips curved slightly. Enjoy your peace while it lasts.

As she turned the corner of the park near her neighborhood, she froze.

A tall figure stood beneath the old oak tree, the one where she used to spend her afternoons as a child, drawing and reading books. The boy’s back was to her, his hair catching the sunlight, messy yet familiar. Her heart skipped a beat.

That silhouette... she knew it. She could never forget it.

“Joshua...?” she whispered.

He turned.

And for the first time in years, or rather, in lifetimes, she saw Joshua Hale, her childhood friend. The one who had once been her light in the darkness.

His brown eyes widened in disbelief before softening into warmth. “Elara? Wow… it’s really you”

The corners of his lips lifted into the same smile she remembered, honest, gentle, untouched by cruelty.

She couldn’t speak at first. Her chest felt tight. The memory of him crying at her grave flashed vividly in her mind, his trembling voice saying he was sorry for not protecting her.

And now, here he was again, alive and breathing, standing before her as if fate had given her another miracle she didn’t ask for.

“You still come here?” she managed to ask, her voice low.

Joshua rubbed the back of his neck, a little shy. “Yeah. Guess I never grew out of it. This place just… feels peaceful, you know?”

Elara smiled faintly. “You’re still the same”

He laughed softly. “And you… you’ve changed. You look… stronger somehow”

She tilted her head. “Is that a compliment?”

Joshua chuckled. “It is. You used to hide behind me when we were kids. Now you look like the one who’d protect me instead”

Elara’s heart warmed at his teasing, though behind her smile was a shadow of sorrow. If only you knew how broken I really became.

They walked together toward the park bench beneath the oak. The moment felt surreal, as if the universe was trying to remind her of what she had lost… and what she still had the power to change.

“So,” Joshua began, looking at her curiously, “what brings you here? Haven’t seen you around this park in years”

Elara hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “I guess I just… wanted to revisit some memories”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. This place holds a lot of ours, doesn’t it? Remember when we used to build forts here? You always insisted yours was better”

She laughed softly. “That’s because mine was better. You just didn’t want to admit it”

Joshua smiled at the sound of her laughter, a sound he hadn’t realized he missed so much. “I’m glad you’re smiling again, Elara. I don’t know why, but I had this feeling something bad happened to you before… and seeing you now, it’s like the world’s back in color”

Her heart stuttered at his words.

If only he knew how painfully close that feeling was to the truth.

She turned to him, her expression softening. “Joshua… have you ever felt like life gave you a second chance?”

He blinked, surprised by the sudden seriousness in her tone. “Hmm. Can’t say I’ve ever thought about it that way. Why?”

Elara looked up at the fading sky, her eyes distant. “Maybe because I feel like I’m living mine now”

Joshua’s gaze lingered on her, something about her felt different, deeper, almost fragile beneath her calmness. “Whatever happened, Elara… I’m just glad you’re here”

The sincerity in his voice hit her harder than she expected. In her first life, she had been too blinded by false friendships and toxic love to notice the one person who truly cared for her. The one who never once hurt her.

In this life, she wouldn’t make the same mistake.

“Joshua,” she said softly, turning toward him. “Thank you… for being you”

He smiled, a little confused but touched. “You’re welcome, I guess? Though I’m not sure what I did”

“You existed,” she said simply.

That made him laugh. “You always say weird things, Elara”

She smiled back, though her eyes shimmered faintly. “Yeah, maybe I do”

---

As the sun dipped lower, they walked home together, just like they used to. The air between them was filled with the kind of warmth that Elara hadn’t felt in years.

For a moment, revenge faded from her mind, replaced by something fragile, something she thought she had buried long ago: comfort.

Joshua stopped in front of her gate. “So… see you tomorrow?”

Elara blinked, caught off guard. “Tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” he said with a grin. “I pass by your house every morning anyway. Might as well walk together. You don’t get to say no”

Elara laughed quietly. “You haven’t changed at all”

He shrugged, his grin widening. “And I hope you don’t either, at least, not too much”

She watched as he waved goodbye and walked down the road, the sunset framing his silhouette like something out of a forgotten dream.

When he disappeared from view, Elara placed her hand over her heart.

“Joshua…” she whispered. “In my last life, you cried for me. This time, I’ll make sure you never have to”

Her eyes hardened slightly, the softness in them now lined with purpose.

> “But before peace… there must be revenge”

\>To be continued to the next episode ඩා