Juniper...

As I tried to figure out where on earth I heard that name before, memories of when I was Bianca came flooding in.

It took all my willpower not to start bawling. Not because I missed my past life, but because I never got to say goodbye to my family.

I really did love them. Even though we rarely spent time together. My parents were always out on trips, and Felix started college when I was halfway through middle school.

That's when my life took a turn for the worst.

The person my parents hired as my babysitter was clearly only in it for the money, and in the interest of keeping my life private, we had a mutual agreement to pretend when my parents were around.

It was stupid of me. I should have let them know about the bruises.

Shivering, Juniper... no... I rubbed my arms as goosebumps erupted across my skin. Even though this happened in another lifetime, the memories still haunted me.

After defending the new transfer student. the bullies started to pick on me too. It went on for weeks, but I figured I could wait it out until high school. especially with my new friend.

The poor kid wasn't as strong as me, so I did whatever I could to ease the burden. from taking the brunt of the abuse, to giving him a portion of my allowances each week. despite whatever else I needed the money for.

It wasn't until the first day of high school did my already fragile world finally end.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Trying to drown out the horrible memory. I slowly took in deep breaths as I tried to calm down. I got up and managed to make it to the bed before collapsing.

On the first day of high school.... that memory was as clear as day. Despite how I wish it weren't so.

...

"Please, STOP!"

The boy in front of me laughed. Big and burly, his huge arm holding on to the neck of a fragile-looking boy, whose tears slowly ran down his cheeks. his eyes shut in defeat

"Why are you so set on saving him? didn't he betray you?"

That reminder was like a punch in the stomach. and when I faced the kid in question. he turned away, guilt and sadness clouding his face.

That kid... My only friend, Leo. Why...

The older kid laughed at my expression.

"That's right? Weren't you suspicious of how he KEPT needing money? Did you not wonder how he was able to find his way to us, no matter how much you tried to avoid us? That's because he struck a deal. and it's been going on for almost 2 months now!"

Two months... that's about a week after we became friends... Has it really gone on for as long as he claims?

Apparently so, because that speech just caused a fresh wave of tears to fall down Leo's face.

I sucked in a deep breath. That may be true. But I decided to help him. it was MY kindness he took advantage of. And I was the one being thrown away, seeing as Leo was moving soon. So...

"What gives YOU the right to decide his punishment? you're worse than he is!"

The guy (Acacius, such a dumb name, right?) Just laughed at me, slowly pushing Leo's trembling form closer to the edge.

"LET HIM GO! YOUR GONNA KILL HIM!"

Acacius snorted.

"Why should I care?"

The worst part was, I was only half sure he was bluffing.

My breath caught in my throat as I realized what I had to do, I nearly threw up my breakfast at the mere thought of the risk I had to take.

All for that idiot.

But as I stared at the trembling, guilt-ridden form of Leo, I calmed down. I would've done this for anyone, I'm sure. Besides, whatever the reasons, Leo was my friend.

I sighed, accepting my decision. Trying to fool myself into thinking that things going wrong wasn't that big a possibility

Being a good person sucked

With a scream. I rushed over towards the edge of the roof where they stood. taking advantage of Acacius's surprise to pry open his hand. in a matter of minutes, Leo was free.

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"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Leo shouted at me, and Acacius roared in anger. "I'M NOT WORTH IT. YOU SHOULD'VE JUST LEFT! DO YOU KNOW WHAT MIGHT'VE HAPPENED!"

Before I could remind the dumb kid of our situation, Acacius, His thoughts clouded in anger, pushed me off the ledge.

I grabbed his arm, desperate to hold on. Leo grabbed my other, desperate to save me. we almost made it.

I almost sighed in relief.

Stupid. Clumsy. Me.

I managed to slip the same moment Acacius twisted his arm free. I feel down, dragging Leo along with me.

The last thing I saw before dying was Acacius' horrified expression, as he realized what he'd done.

....

I rubbed my temples, the annoying headache coming back in full force.

I wasn't sure what to feel about the memory. Was it possible to take it back? I sighed as the memory flashed again through my mind. Guess not.

The more I thought about the memory, the stronger it was. So I tried to distract myself. My mind wandered to the little boy who came in a while ago, and Felicia's strange reactions towards him.

Was he Juniper's little brother? And while I was on that topic, who is Juniper? Before I could puzzle it out, the doors to my room opened again, and the Father came back in.

"My darling daughter, are you all right?"

I guess... it makes since that Juniper would have parents but... Tears welled in my eyes as I thought of my old family. I didn't want to just replace them! My 'father' seemed to notice, because he embraced me tightly.

"Are you ok? do you need more pain killers?"

I stopped him before he could call for any maids. With a deep shaky breath, I shoved the useless emotions in the back of my mind. I needed to figure this out...Or at least, i wanted to. However, the moment I looked back at my new 'Father' the tears came back.

He patted my head, Unknowingly making me feel worse with every bit of loving parental affection that he gave me. It wasn't hard t see how much this man must've loved Juniper. And for me to just replace her like this... I don't think he'd be very happy if he found out.

I grabbed his hand to make him stop, and he instantly let go. I tried not to flinch at his quiet inspection. How long would it take for him to realise the situation?

it might not be a permanent solution but for now...

"Are.. Are you my Faa- Father?"

He blanched grabbing my shoulders. Fear mixed in with is already intense concern. He grabbed my sholders in a clearly unconcious way. I felt bad for what i was about to do but....

"I'm really sorry, but I can't remember anything."

It wasn't as if it was a complete lie. I don't know any of Juniper's life. Even if all the people here (This man too, actually) where somewhat familiar.

I'm starting to understand that the familiarity is part of the old Juniper's conscious. Not that there was enough of it left, I otherwise would've let her take her body back. ...What happened to her?

The Father's eyes widened with fear. He immediately got up and rang a bell. After a moment, Felicia re-entered the room.

"You called Master?"

"Call the doctor, IMMEDIATELY,"

His voice was so frantic, another wave of guilt washed over me. I didn't say anything though. This was the best course of action. Im sure of it.

The poor Father stayed with and asked questions while the doctor took his time getting here. Everything from Juniper's favorite color to the names of all her friends.

I silently shook my head to every question he asked. it wasn't hard as i really didn't know the answers. Soon, the doctor came, and I got showered with MORE questions. Although these sounded more professional, so I answered these the best I could.

"Well doctor? What happened," The Father said?

The Doctor frowned and looked at me. "Does your head still hurt?"

I gave him a slightly annoyed look and nodded. No need to remind me.

"Well..." he looked nervously at me. "Do you remember what manifestation is?"

Again, I shook my head.

"Well, " He said thoughtfully "I wasn't planning on telling you, but I guess it couldn't hurt. Manifestation usually happens when a child is 14, It''s when they gain a special ability. "

He glanced at me again before continuing "I've never seen it start up so early. You're only 10 after all! but all the symptoms match..."

Wait... Juniper is only 10?! The girl in the reflection DID look pretty young, so why am I just realizing this?

Also, I was 14 when I was Bianca. So its not that surprising this... Manifestation is happening now. Not that I could tell them that. so instead I said

"Why do you make this sound like a bad thing? And why weren't you going to tell me?"

The doctor and The Father glanced at each other, before the Father gently told me,

"The Manifestation ceremony usually happens at a hospital, no visitors allowed so the doctors can focus. So for it to happen to you this early without prior warning...Its a miracle you're still alive!"

I gulped and ducked my head so they couldn't see my face. Sadness overwhelmed me, because Juniper WASN'T alive.

"We needed too keep this a secret, so we weren't planning on telling you... but you can see why that might be futile now," The Father said, gripping my hands tightly.

I nodded. Who was I supposed to tell? I cant remember anyone.

The doctor looked at me. For some reason, I knew he was gauging my emotional state. And that he was about to leave. I needed answeres though, so I sucked at deep breath and tried to look as calm as possible.

The Doctor nodded to himself and started talking. "Four days ago, you hit the back of your head on the stairs. I think the injury might've jumpstarted the Manifestation,"

The Father grumbled something about it being 'that boys' fault. Was he talking about the kid from before?

The Father stood up and started talking to the doctor in hushed whispers. I dunno what they were saying but the Father looked frantic and on the verge of tears. so it wasn't hard to guess who the subject was.

After what seemed like a long debate, they both came back. The Father looked reluctant and the doctor sympathetic.

"I'm sorry to spring this on you on such uncertain times," The doctor said. "But you're going to have to relearn everything about society as soon as possible,"