You're My Only Star

Chapter Four: Second Chance? More Like Dream Come True!

“I know it’s crazy, and a lot to process, but staring at me while burning a talisman isn’t going to change anything, Boomi.”

We sat cross-legged, facing each other, a small coffee table between us. I had cleaned up the broken pieces of the soju bottle while waiting for Boomi to regain consciousness. I also almost lost my head when she freaked out after waking up and realizing it wasn’t a dream or her imagination. She swung a frying pan at my head, but that is a story for another day.

“Did she set you up to do this before she…” Boomi paused, swallowing a lump in her throat and blinking back the tears. “I mourned her. I am mourning her. I… I had to see my best friend’s… disfigured body in a coffin, so please if this is some kind of prank… stop.”

The tears came without warning. One minute I am trying to make her believe that I am Amy, and the next, I’m bawling my eyes out and aggressively wiping away the tears.

In just the span of a day, my life had flipped completely upside down. I was in a body that didn’t belong to me, expected to live a life I knew nothing of, and the only person I had put my hopes in didn’t believe that I am still alive, and stuck in this goddamned, model thin body.

“It’s me, Amy, why won’t you believe me? Who else knows about your abusive dad… and, and… who else knows that you keep a stack of old comic books under your bed, that you’re too embarrassed to show anyone… you are the only person I have.” I sobbed, with violent hiccups pausing my speech. “I’m so lost and confused and scared… I don’t know what to do or how to live or…”

Boomi engulfed me in a bear hug, patting my back, and at the same time crying maybe even harder than I was.

“Oh my heavens, Amy… it’s you. It’s really you. Thank you for not leaving me alone in the world. Thank you, oh, thank you for this miracle! I’m so… I’m so happy. I’m so happy, I can’t…” She cried, crushing my thin bones and rocking me back and forth.

There were many moments in life when I had felt helpless and lost, but somehow, the universe always sent Boomi my way, like a guardian angel to save me from that black hole of misery and doom. And in a way, I felt like I was being selfish. She needed comfort too; mourning my death…

I imagined myself in her shoes.

Heavens, no… I couldn’t imagine myself in her shoes. If the situation was reversed and she was the one who woke up in Amelia’s body, and I the one who lost my best friend, let’s just say another coffin would have to be put to use.

Boomi finally let go, pulling away, and wiping her tears with the sleeves of her grimy pajamas. I did the same too. “But how? And why of all bodies, Amelia’s?” She asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. But I woke up after the accident as her, and the doctors didn’t believe me. They said there’s something wrong with a part of my brain, which made me forget her memories and think I’m someone else.”

Boomi stared at me for a very long time without saying anything. Finally, after minutes of silence had elapsed, she sighed. “What do we do now? I don’t think we can get you back to your original… body. And if you’re in her, does that mean Amelia is…?”

“Dead… yeah, I think so. I was… she was, in the hospital because someone tried poisoning her in the first place. It probably worked. For her, at least…”

I thought back to all the articles I had written regarding Amelia; criticizing her dressing, her attitude to her fans, her lifestyle, and literally every speck of dirt I could find in her life. There was a lot. Amelia was no saint, but I still felt pity and sadness for her. She didn’t deserve to die like that, and have her body taken over by another person.

But then again, I could be wrong. I could be very wrong. Waking up the next day and finding myself in the afterlife, or worse, in another body was still a possibility I hadn’t considered. I had been placed into her body without warning, and I could be removed without warning.

Who knows? Maybe the real Amelia herself is trapped in another body.

Is the universe trying to teach me something?

“It’s so weird.” She murmured under her breath.

“What?”

“It’s so weird. She, I mean you… well, technically she, looks exactly like she does.” Boomi said, reaching out to touch my hair and poke the surface of my skin. Well, Amelia’s skin.

“Yes, Kim Boomi. People usually look like themselves.” I replied, swatting away her hand, and smoothing down my hair. Distracted by the softness of the black tresses, I ran my hands through it a few more times, wondering how on earth it’s possible for a person to have such soft hair.

Boomi shook her head, as if getting out of a trance. “Okay, enough freaking out, let’s analyze our options –not that we have many, but… one; get plastic surgery, leave for Jeju Island and start life with a new identity.”

“How am I even supposed to… no, it’s too risky, too complicated, and too… no, what’s number two?”

“Continue your life as Amelia. I think you’ve been given a second chance to be, or more specifically to make Amelia’s life better. You know how in the movies people who die are sometimes assigned a calling, like a goal, which they have to fulfill to go to heaven? I think that’s what’s happening to you.” Boomi explained.

I stared at her uncertainly. “So you’re saying I’m not fit for heaven and have to do like, extra credit work to get in?”

“Well, if you put it that way, yes.” She replied with a small grin. “This is so cool… also very strange, but very cool. I feel like I’m living in a comic book. Anyways, I’m just glad you’re alive.”

“From my perspective, it’s not that cool; it’s just super weird and super freaky and super uncomfortable and super unnatural and super…”

“Okay breathe Amy, that’s it, breathe… inhale.” Boomi cut me off, gesturing with her fingers for me to take in air into my lungs and I breathlessly complied.

After a few minutes of breathing exercise, my anxiety subsided, as we sat there staring at the cluttered table in front of us. Boomi sighed, which prompted me to do the same.

The possibility of me dying –again, was now very clear to me. I think it was to the both of us. Naturally, everyone has the possibility of death meter invisible, on top of their heads for when the time runs out and one has to leave earth. But not everyone gets stressed about it.

For my case, it was quite different…

The ringing of my phone dragged me out of my train of thoughts, and I quickly rummaged through my –well, Amelia’s small purse, and found the little overly expensive device.

“Uh, Hi…” I murmured through the speakers, uncertain of who the caller was, because the number wasn’t saved on her phone.

“You escaped this time because you were lucky…” The voice at the other end of the line, monotonous and mysterious, said. It sounded more like a robot than an actual person because of the slight mechanical whir whenever the words ended.

Whoever it was, is trying to mask their real voice.

Confused, I looked to Boomi, who mouthed “who?” and I mouthed back “I don’t know…” before tapping on the little button that activates the loudspeaker.

“I’m sorry, what… Who are you?”

“Oh, so it’s really true your memories are gone. Well, at least the poison did something… now that I think of it; I should’ve added one extra drop. That would’ve been what does the trick. But it’s fine, there’s always a next time…”

Simultaneously, both our eyes widened. My heart rate sped up, realizing what was happening. I was speaking to the person who had poisoned, and probably killed Amelia.

I took in a deep breath, hoping and praying that my voice doesn’t shake. One thing you never show your enemies and those that want to hurt you, is weakness. And I know I’m not the person’s target, Amelia is, but I am stuck in her body and as I have found out from all the injections, what happens to her now happens to me, since I am arguably now Amelia.

“Listen up here you useless dirt-bag. I might have forgotten what your relationship was with her, erm… me, if we even had one in the first place, but I am not someone to be messed with, or poisoned. I will find out who you are and I will…”

The phone battery died.

Great!

I stared at Amelia, and she stared back at me.

I can’t believe I once thought the idea of body exchange or body swapping was cool. On top of Amelia’s horrible reputation, lost memories, failing career, and so much more crap that I possibly haven’t discovered, there is now a person who wants me –well, technically her, dead.

But at this point, I think the differentiation would have to stop. I just died a week ago, and my life is now in danger again.