"No! It can't be!" Loretta cried.

Dead?

No, she couldn't. That damn container had jumped her not crushed her to death. She couldn't be dead like the beautiful lady said. She had to leave this place, to meet with her husband and go home to her kids.

Loretta wasn't dead.

However, there was a crack in her faith and doubts started infiltrating her mind. If she wasn't dead, where was she? She had been in her car then but it was no where to be seen and neither were the roads and other cars.

The lady with Loretta sighed. It never ceased to amaze her how death was joy and sorrow to others. Experience taught her being blunt in telling souls that their physical body was dead was better than coaxing them to get it. However, there were souls like these where bluntness wasn't enough to get the point home.

"I can show you." She said and didn't wait for a response before working her magic. She touched Loretta's forehead with her hand.

Everything happened too fast.

Loretta was just coming out of a long meeting when her phone chimed, indicating she had received a message. A huge smile lighted up her face and a second later, she was running through the building and out of it to her car. Being a Friday, she had dismissed her driver after lunch hour so she had to drive herself.

Her husband, Jett, had sent her a message to meet him at their favorite restaurant for dinner. Loretta thought going home to change would make her late. He wasn't that worried about her appearance because she made it to look stunning every second of the day, so her work clothes would do.

It didn't take Loretta long before she was on the road. She couldn't wait to see her husband after a week of absence, since Jett was away for work. Jett had told her he would be back on Saturday but here he was, on a Friday evening, texting Loretta to meet at their favorite restaurant.

Unfortunately, traffic was bad which was unexpected due to the time. Loretta took out her phone to text her husband that she's going to be a bit late. She was going to also send one to her eldest son to cancel their plans.

Just as Loretta's eyes left the road and focused on her phone, an accident happened a few metres away from where her car was. A small pickup truck had oil leak which caused a big truck to slip on the oil and the driver lost control. The truck's tailboard had a loaded container which rolled when the vehicle fell down.

People shrieked and cried which prompt Loretta to look up and what she saw froze her. The container would jump a few cars before smashing on whatever it landed on before rolling on. Loretta looked on as the container came closer and closer to her car. She was still frozen on her seat when she realised she wasn't going to make it to dinner. She wasn't going to have any plans with her kids, not ever. She wasn't going to wake up to Jett's handsome face, let alone tell her husband how much she loved him.

Just then, the container smashed her car as well its occupant, taking Loretta's life with it as it rolled away.

Loretta couldn't believe it. She was really dead and a very cruel death at that. Why did it had to be her?

"I'm glad we are at an agreement. Now, the headmistress is ready to see you."

Loretta didn't care were she was being taken, she just followed. Only when a door closed behind her, she realised she was alone in a strange office-like room. She was awed with the view too much to notice the woman in the room.

"Hello, Loretta." A voice called out and Loretta looked in its direction. A gasp left her lips in wonder at the creature in front of her. The beauty of the lady with her before didn't hold a candle to this ones beauty. She was more than beautiful, looks fitting a goddess. Who was she?

The woman smiled, "welcome home my daughter."

Those words brought everything back to Loretta. She was dead. "Where am I?"

"This is were you will spend your afterlife as my daughter. You will train and then join your sisters in bearing souls to me." The woman explained.

"What?" Loretta asked. "Why?"

"Because you are dead and here, which means you are my soul to do with as I please. Now, I'll call back Aurora to take you to-"

"Please," Loretta begged. She wasn't sure what she was begging for but when the woman paused to listen, she continued,"I don't want to be dead. I am not ready to be here and do whatever it is you want me to. Please, can you give me back my life?"

"That's not how things go. And your physical body was crushed, even if I could give you life, you have no body to go to."

"Please. I have children and a husband. I can't be dead, not now." Loretta was in tears then.

"So does everyone, my dear. You will get over that and I'll call Aurora-"

"Just a moment, please. I should at least say goodbye to my family. There are things I've wanted to do but never did. I promise I'll be whatever you want me to be once I'm back here again."

The woman sighed. She didn't like being interrupted but Loretta seems to be doing it often. Nevertheless, she couldn't deny that there was something about Loretta's soul that seemed odd. She had too many emotions a soul could posses.

Loretta waited with baited breath as the woman seemed to consider her proposal. The woman closed her eyes and Loretta gasped when her body started glowing. A few minutes passed before she opened her eyes and her body stopped glowing but her eyes shone a brighter pink. Loretta had not noticed she had pink eyes until then.

"Her Highness has considered your proposal but you have three months of life. You are going to have a new body, so you can't return as Loretta."

"Yes! I mean that's okay. I don't mind it at all."

"Aurora will escort and help you out filling all necessary forms." The woman snapped her fingers and Aurora, the lady before, came in. She beckoned Loretta out the door and she followed her. Just as she was about to leave the room, the woman called her.

"Yes?" Loretta answered.

"I forgot to say you will be returning to life, in a man's body. There were no women bodies to spare." The woman smiled at Loretta who simply nodded, the excitement of being alive overriding any thought of what the woman had said. To her, at the moment, nothing else mattered but the word life.

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Author's Note

Hi guys!

This story is rated r due to some activities and language that will be present.

I own this story and all characters in it. Any copying is prohibited and punishable by law unless you get consent from the author, 'me'. I do not own any image, song or picture found in or on this story.

Other activities, places and names are just results of my imagination.

***
A new book to second the Once Upon Series. I really hope you love it.

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Until Next Time!!

:)