This was the first time Mia had ever ventured out entirely on her own, with no one knowing where she would go. It wasn't an escape, not exactly. It was something deeper—an aching need for clarity, for peace, for answers she couldn't seem to find in her apartment, in her job, or in the confused mess of her recent relationships.
The journey to the island was slow and deliberate, like a pilgrimage. She boarded a crowded bus at sunrise, her hoodie drawn over her head, sunglasses hiding her swollen eyes. The roads winding toward the coast blurred past her, but her thoughts ran even faster—looping over what she had done, what had happened with James, what she had destroyed with Mark.
When the bus dropped her off at the pier, she waited quietly for the boat that would take her across to the neighboring island. The ocean shimmered under the mid-morning sun, calm and endless, offering a stark contrast to the turbulence inside her.
By noon, she was on a narrow, dusty path riding a tricycle deep into a rural village known only through word-of-mouth. There, nestled among bamboo groves and coconut trees, stood the home of Leticia, a revered healer known for her deep spiritual work. Mia hadn't told anyone she was coming. Not her friends. Not her boyfriend. Not even James. Especially not James.
The healer's house was humble, with dried herbs hanging from the ceiling and a soft scent of incense lingering in the air. People had gathered—some waiting for physical healing, some whispering of broken hearts, others in search of relief from unseen torment. Mia sat among them on a worn bench under the shade of a mango tree, her name added to a list by a young girl who helped manage the visitors.
Hours passed. Time didn't feel real here. Birds called overhead. The wind rustled through banana leaves. Slowly, the crowd thinned. Finally, it was Mia's turn.
Leticia, the healer, was older than Mia expected—with skin like creased parchment and eyes sharp as river stones. Yet her smile was tender, knowing.
"Come, my child," she said, beckoning Mia with a crook of her finger. "It seems someone has reconnected a bond that you broke many lifetimes ago."
Mia froze. A chill ran through her arms. "I… I don't understand," she stammered.
Leticia only smiled and pointed to a thin mat on the floor.
"Lie down," she said gently. "We will see together."
Heart pounding, Mia obeyed. The mat was rough against her skin. She lay back as Leticia knelt beside her and placed her weathered hands lightly over Mia's forehead. Her touch was warm, yet it sparked a strange current. Leticia then pressed a single finger to the base of Mia's skull.
Suddenly, Mia's surroundings vanished.
A storm of images overtook her mind. Flashes of another world, another life.
She saw James—but not the James she knew. This James wore opulent robes of deep red and gold, standing over a grand balcony that overlooked what appeared to be a complex of ancient oriental palaces. His eyes gleamed with power, but also sorrow. In that vision, he wasn't just a man. He was a prince. And she—she had been his betrothed.
But something had gone terribly wrong.
There was a moment, a betrayal. James's past self had done something unforgivable—something so cruel that Mia had screamed a curse into the wind and fled the palace, leaving him and their union behind.
Then came another flash: Mark. He was dressed in soldier's armor, young and strong, his eyes filled with loyalty. But he had been taken—dragged away in chains, accused of a crime he did not commit. Executed.
The scenes blurred into one another—lifetimes overlapping like layers of transparent glass. One life after another where the three of them had met, collided, hurt each other, lost each other.
Mia gasped and shot up from the mat, drenched in sweat, her eyes wide with horror.
"What… What was that?" she whispered, trembling. "Was that real?"
Leticia calmly sat back and poured a glass of water for her.
"It is real in the way that the soul remembers," she said softly. "Your soul has crossed paths with theirs many times. Love. Betrayal. Forgiveness left unspoken. Curses left unbroken."
"What do I do with all of that?" Mia asked, her voice breaking. "I… I didn't ask for this."
"None of us ask," Leticia replied. "But we are given chances. Opportunities. This lifetime is one such chance for you, child. The cycle can end—if you wish it."
Mia sat still, cradling the cup in her hands, unsure if her tears were from fear or relief.
Leticia touched her shoulder gently.
"If you want to go deeper," she said, "you are welcome to come again. We will find the knots and unweave them. But know this—you hold the key to your own peace."
Mia nodded slowly. Something inside her had shifted.
She left the hut with peace in her heart, but still with many questions on her mind that she needed to be answered. This is a good start. At least she is one step further to the resolution she needs in her life.
She stayed on the island that night, sleeping in a small guest hut behind Leticia's home. She barely slept, but for once it wasn't due to guilt or confusion. She kept thinking about the prince and the soldier. About curses and second chances. About why James had always felt too intense, too familiar. About Mark's devotion that seemed to transcend even the pain she had caused him.
The next morning, she watched the sunrise over the horizon, a fiery blaze of orange cracking open the sky.
For the first time in weeks, Mia felt still.
Not healed.
Not whole.
But still.
And sometimes, that was the first step toward peace.
She would return to the healer. She needed to understand the deeper forces at play in her life. But she also needed to find her own strength again—apart from both men, apart from the past.
The journey wasn't over.
But she had finally begun.