A relentless blizzard had gripped the city for over sixty days, burying it under a suffocating blanket of ice and snow, bringing all life to a standstill. I volunteered to find supplies, only to be locked out by my family when I returned with them. I begged and pleaded, but they never opened the door. I froze to death right on my own doorstep. After I died, my dad dragged the supplies inside. My brother, Mark, then hauled my body out to the curb, kicking me one last time for good measure. “If you hadn’t been such a busybody, our Leo would have been born in the Year of the Dragon! This is all your fault! See? This is your punishment for messing with our true Dragon Child!” It was then I realized my whole family resented me for causing my little nephew to be born prematurely! When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the night my sister-in-law, Sarah, was about to go into labor. My mom, Debbie, was clutching my hand, her grip like a vice. “Our Leo is a true Dragon Child! He *must* be born in the Year of the Dragon!”
I was reborn on New Year’s Eve. “You stubborn girl, did you hear me? Leo *has* to wait until tomorrow to be born, no matter what!” My mom’s nagging voice finally brought me back to reality. The New Year’s Eve special was playing live on TV. I had…reborn? Back to the night Sarah went into labor! And half a month before the blizzard began. A wave of overwhelming joy threatened to sweep me away, but what little reason I had left screamed at me: I had to prepare, and fast, before the extreme blizzards hit. Since they loved the idea of a Dragon Year baby so much, I decided to let them have their way. “Mom, you’re absolutely right. So, I’m not taking Sarah to the hospital.” My mom stared at me, dumbfounded. She couldn’t understand why, just moments ago, I was so adamant about rushing Sarah to the hospital, and now my attitude had completely flipped. Of course, she couldn’t know. I had already died once. In my previous life, after Sarah got pregnant, my mom boasted everywhere, “We already have two Dragons in our family. Once this true Dragon Child is born, it will be a fated alignment of three Dragons! That’s an extremely auspicious sign, and Leo is destined for greatness!” In our family, my dad, Rob, was a Dragon, and my brother, Mark, was also a Dragon. They had been eagerly awaiting Sarah’s baby. But who could have imagined that Sarah’s due date would come early? Her water broke on New Year’s Eve – there was no way she could wait until midnight! To ensure their safety, I defied my entire family and rushed her to the hospital. She gave birth to a healthy seven-pound baby boy at 10:30 PM that night. It should have been a joyous occasion, but the atmosphere in the family was heavy. My mom complained more than once that I had ruined the true Dragon Child’s fortune. At first, I thought it was just minor family squabbles that time would heal. It wasn’t until they locked me out and left me to freeze to death that I finally saw the truth: they had always hated me! My thoughts snapped back to the present. I glanced down at Sarah, sprawled on the couch. Her water had already broken, and the intense pain made her forehead glisten with sweat. “Mom, it looks like Sarah’s about to give birth.” “What?! She can’t give birth now! She has to wait until after midnight!” My mom frantically let go of my hand and rushed to Sarah’s side. “Sarah, just hold on a little longer. It’s only five more hours until midnight.” Sarah cried out in pain. “Mom, I can’t hold on! Please, let Eleanor take me to the hospital!” My mom kept insisting she endure the pain. As for the other two men, one was glued to the TV, and the other was engrossed in a game on his phone. I watched the scene unfold with cold detachment, finding it utterly absurd. In my last life, I actually lost my life because of these cruel and poisonous family members! Thankfully, fate had given me another chance. This time, I wouldn’t interfere. It wasn’t until past 11 PM that my mom finally relented. “Eleanor, give me a hand. Help me get Sarah into the car and to the hospital.” While we were stuck at a red light, my little nephew’s head was already crowning. My mom, with a determined grimace, actually pushed his head back inside. Sarah’s face turned ashen with pain, her chest heaving violently. Hours of torture had left her too exhausted even to scream. By the time we reached the hospital, she was rushed straight into the delivery room. As the clock struck midnight, my mom cheered excitedly, “See? I told you Leo was a true Dragon reincarnated! He’s our family’s lucky star!”
The change came just over ten minutes later. My mom’s eagerly awaited Dragon Child was barely out of the delivery room before being whisked away to an incubator. Due to prolonged oxygen deprivation, the baby suffered from respiratory distress and nearly suffocated. My mom’s face was chalk-white as she repeatedly mumbled, “Impossible.” She insisted Leo was a true Dragon reincarnated, that his body couldn’t possibly have any problems. But the fact was, because of her outrageous actions, the baby was in an incubator right after birth. I didn’t respond to her. I just said I needed to go home to get toiletries to stay with Sarah, but it was really an excuse to escape. They all wanted to stay at the hospital, not wanting to lift a finger, which gave me the perfect opportunity to make a break for it. Back home, I quickly packed my bags. The blizzard was still half a month away. I had to prepare as quickly as possible. In my last life, my mom constantly called, complaining she wasn’t feeling well and worried she couldn’t care for Sarah during her confinement period. Out of concern for her, I took a month off from work and specially returned to help. This time, I wouldn’t be so foolish. Since they all believed that child was a true Dragon reincarnated, I was sure he’d protect them. As for me, I was obviously going to run as far away as possible and prepare for the upcoming blizzard. I drove for ten hours until I reached a completely unfamiliar city. The good thing was, no one knew I was here. I could stay without worry, but first, I needed to find a place to live. I scrolled through many listings on secondhand housing websites. Houses in the city center, though convenient and well-equipped, would be just as useless as a rundown shack in the mountains once the blizzard hit. Houses in the suburbs, both in price and condition, met my requirements better. Soon, I contacted a real estate agent and rented a two-story self-built house on the outskirts for a deposit of one month’s rent and three months’ upfront. The house was old, but thankfully, it had everything I needed. Since it was in a colder region, the house came equipped with a wood-burning stove and a coal furnace, which was a huge relief. Seventeen days into the last blizzard, the heavy snow had snapped power lines, crippling the city’s electricity grid for an entire week. So, neither central heating nor air conditioning would be my first choice. Things like coal, which were slowly being phased out, could actually be put to good use. I cleaned the house from top to bottom. By the time I finished, it was completely dark. My phone had rung over a dozen times. I checked the caller ID before slowly answering. The moment I picked up, my mom’s angry tirade blasted through the phone. “I told you to go home and get some things! Did you die on the way? Why aren’t you here yet? “Don’t you know Sarah just gave birth? Do you expect an old woman like me to take care of her?!” I used to think my mom had a harsh tongue but a kind heart. Now I know… she was all venom. A viper’s tongue, a scorpion’s sting, through and through. She had only ever seen me as a compliant tool. But I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with her now. With less than fourteen days until the blizzard, I had to procure massive amounts of supplies. After all, an extreme blizzard was coming, with no end in sight. “Mom, you’re right. I did die out here. Don’t call me again.” I didn’t wait for her to continue yelling. I just hung up. After hanging up, I thought about it and blocked all their numbers, swift and decisive. I needed to prepare for the impending blizzard, and I couldn’t let them distract me. Even with the heating facilities in the house, I lacked the raw materials. The wood stove needed dry logs, and for the coal furnace, honeycomb briquettes were the best. Checking the time, it was already past 7 PM. I drove back to the city, booked a room at a guesthouse, and enjoyed a luxurious hot bath. In the later stages of the blizzard, forget about showering. The sheets and duvet on the bed would be too cold to even pull off, and with temperatures plummeting below freezing, water would turn to ice instantly. No one would even dream of bathing. I slept soundly. The next morning, I drove to the town and bought a massive amount of lumber and honeycomb briquettes, arranging for delivery to my house. The delivery driver looked puzzled but didn’t ask too many questions. I paid an extra hundred dollars to have some of it moved inside, and the rest stacked right next to the window, within easy reach. In the later stages of the blizzard, temperatures would drop to minus sixty degrees Fahrenheit. Even stepping outside would require extreme mental preparation, as the brutal cold could freeze a person solid in moments. I certainly wanted to avoid that. Heating was sorted. Next up: stockpiling supplies. It was still the New Year’s season, and most families had plenty of food. But as the blizzard continued, these would quickly run out, and supplies would become scarce. A single head of cabbage could fetch an exorbitant price of five hundred dollars. In the later stages, even money couldn’t buy anything. So, I had to stock up now. I had saved a considerable amount of money over my years of working. Originally, I planned to buy a house. After all, I didn’t even have my own room at home, sleeping on the couch since childhood. So, I always dreamed of having my own place. Thanks to that dream, I had been frugal, working multiple jobs a day, accumulating six figures in my bank account. That money might not be enough to buy a house, but it was more than enough to stockpile supplies.
No sooner said than done, I immediately drove to the city’s largest wholesale market and went on a shopping spree. Seeds, nuts, dried fruits, instant noodles, frozen dumplings, sesame glutinous rice balls – and of course, rice, flour, and cooking oil. Anything long-lasting, I cleared off the shelves. As for other daily necessities, I bought whatever I saw. And most essential of all was water. So, I bought every single bottle of mineral water, completely clearing the stock. It was the holiday season, and the normally laid-back vendors, expecting a slow holiday, were shocked to see such a massive customer. They immediately called in their off-duty colleagues to help load the goods. After all, who would turn down a chance to make money? “Miss, what are you buying so much for, especially during the holidays?” One boss, curious, couldn’t help but ask. I smiled. “I plan to donate it to disaster areas after the New Year. Didn’t you hear about the earthquake a while back?” The boss’s expression was complicated. He probably thought I was some kind of saint, or maybe just incredibly naive. But since he’d stumbled upon such a big spender, he certainly wasn’t going to let me go. So, he flattered me: “Such a kind heart for a young lady!” Funny, I just made up an excuse, and they actually bought it. Wholesale market prices were much lower than supermarkets. Even after buying all that, it cost less than two hundred thousand dollars. I wasn’t familiar with the area. After loading up the supplies, I asked the boss if there were any generator sellers nearby. In my last life, the blizzard caused power and water outages. To avoid fumbling in the dark later, I needed a generator. The boss’s gaze on me grew increasingly strange, but adhering to the “customer is king” principle, he honestly told me the address. Following the directions, I bought a small generator and a complete set of cold-weather gear. The northern weather was harsh. Though not as extreme as the deep freeze during the blizzard’s peak, it was still in the single digits Fahrenheit outside, a natural giant freezer. Considering the inability to get fresh fruits and vegetables later, I made another trip to the farmers’ market. It was the eighth day of the New Year, and most people had already returned to work. The farmers’ market was bustling with people. Looking at the scene, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of melancholy. When the apocalypse came, none of this would exist anymore. “Miss, what can I get for you?” “Everything but the bitter gourds, please. Pack it all up.” The stall owner thought she misheard me. She looked at me, a little disbelieving, and asked, “Miss, you want *all* of it?” I nodded. While I could still go out, of course I needed to prepare more. Later, it would be impossible to buy. “Spring is almost here. Won’t stocking so much spoil?” Northerners are warm and simple. The vegetable vendor lady tried to dissuade me, but I was determined, so she could only comply. After loading all the vegetables into my car, the lady didn’t forget to remind me, “You can keep these outside for a few more days, but once it gets warmer, put them in the fridge, or they’ll all spoil.” My heart felt a little warm. I said goodbye to the lady and headed back. Everything was almost ready. All I had to do now was wait. Less than six days until the blizzard. Since I had blocked all my family’s numbers, no one bothered me anymore. The world was much quieter. I was about to lie down for a nap when my phone suddenly rang. It was an unknown number. I slid to answer. “Hello, who is this?” No sound came from the other end. Thinking they hadn’t heard me, I repeated, “Hello, can you hear me?” As soon as I finished, I immediately heard my mom’s shrill, piercing voice blare through the speaker. “You black-hearted witch, how dare you block all your family’s numbers? We couldn’t even find you! If someone hadn’t tipped me off, I wouldn’t have even known!” After more than a week, hearing my mom’s voice again, I no longer felt anxious. Instead, I was somewhat curious, wanting to hear what else she could come up with. “Why aren’t you talking? Are you mute?” “I’m just listening to you scold me. Done now? Then I’ll hang up!”
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