chapter 2 - another life

Long ago before my life changed forever, my name was Haley Astor. I had grown up in a small farming town in the middle of fly over country USA, a place that truly inspired mediocrity. My parents were honest and hardworking people, something I took for granted during my early years when I romanticized the idea of moving to a big city and really making a name for myself. I worked hard and dedicated my early years towards getting an education and escaping my small hick town, and when I finally left for college I completely turned my back on everyone back home and kept my eyes on the big prize I so desperately desired.

I graduated from UCLA with honors in only three years and decided to pursue a career as a talent agent in Los Angeles, a city that seemed to be made for people just like me. I had the stunning looks that defined a modern Barbie. My shiny blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, tight body, and hourglass frame were more than enough to turn heads whenever I entered the room. If any of my female coworkers or competitors ever tried to step to me, I made sure they were made acutely aware that I was the smartest and most beautiful female in the room and willing to do anything to win.

Leveraging my natural beauty and wit, I quickly found myself rising among the ranks of my firm and securing critical accounts that landed me in the city’s “top women under 30” list. When I had finally built enough rapport with my clients and garnered a considerable following on social media, I left my firm and started my own business. Within a year the money was flowing in and I found myself making millions by the time I hit 29.

Naturally every male in the city was dying to be with me and only a few of the lucky ones ever had the privilege of sharing a bed with LA’s hottest talent agent. I was one of the hottest tickets in town and everyone was trying to stake a claim, including some of my friends and family back home. Every time I would receive a letter in the mail from my past life I would laugh and tear up the paper before ever laying eyes on the contents. Why would I ever want to talk to someone from the hick town that sought to trap me within its middling grasp?

What was odd at the time was just how much mail I was getting from back home. At one point it seemed like a letter was coming almost every day. Eventually I got so tired of it I told my assistant to trash anything that comes from my hometown. Hindsight of course is 20/20, and that decision ultimately lead to my downfall. Had I only taken a few minutes to read through the letters I would have foreseen the looming threat, but I was far too busy accumulating money and power to worry about such trivial requests for my attention.

The night everything changed was not unlike most of my weekends. I very much subscribed to the “work hard play hard” mentality, cramming in long hours during my work week and then partying it up over the weekends. That particular weekend just happened to be the weekend of my 31st birthday, and I was throwing a massive house party at my home in the hills as a demonstration of my success. The shindig was a who’s who of Hollywood, and I had invited all of my industry’s major power brokers to schmooze and mingle.

The night was going just as I had planned, with the initial polite society conversation devolving into a drunk rager in no time, but things took a turn for the worst when I least expected. I don’t remember when exactly it began, but at some point in the night my light buzz evolved into a spiraling nightmare. I felt my vision fading in and out as I lost control of my muscles. Excusing myself from conversation, I stumbled back to my bedroom in anticipation of my stomach expelling my last snack. I barely managed to pry the bedroom door open before collapsing to the ground in a heap.

With the world spinning all around me, I gazed at the vaulted ceiling above as I felt myself slipping out of consciousness. Just before everything turned to black, a dark figure loomed overhead as I heard a familiar voice from a world I had left behind long ago.

“Sleep well my Haley. We have much work to do.”

And just like that, I was out.