Survival Has a Memory

"Ms. Hedge found the water source, Seraphina! How dare you steal her credit!" My boyfriend, Shawn Grayson, scolded me.

So, it really was happening. I had been reborn, and Shawn was standing there, belittling me. "Ms. Hedge is special, Seraphina. You can't just steal her credit because you're jealous of her. You would've stolen her credit if she hadn't told us about the water first!"

I couldn't care less about my soon-to-be ex-boyfriend's insults. My eyes were on Queenie Hedge. "How did you find out?"

I had to walk three hundred feet, and the path was covered in more thorny plants than I could count. The summer heat was scorching, and the thorns drew blood from me. The sweet scent of that crimson liquid attracted swarms of hungry mosquitoes.

And now this woman was telling me she could see what was happening 300 feet away just by standing there?

Queenie smiled politely and explained, "Actually, I'm an Elf Queen, and I can talk to nature. Nature will protect me and tell me where its bounty is.

"This tree told me about the water source 300 feet away." She pointed at a tree. "That place used to be a hillslope, but then the lower side caved in. There's another tree standing right above, and it's this tree's friend.

"The root's exposed, and the soil acts as a natural filter. There's a boulder underneath that has a little crater in its center. The soil filters the water, and drinkable water trickles down the roots and collects in the stone basin. It's enough for us."

The world around me started to spin. That was the exact same thing I'd gleaned from my exploration.

Queenie bowed to the tree solemnly. "Thank you."

I clenched my fists and glared at Queenie with enough intensity to burn her up. My colleagues bought her lies in my previous life just because of this trick. They defended her like she was the avatar of a goddess.

I didn't share their thoughts. If she really were the Elf Queen, then her results shouldn't be identical to mine. To prove myself, I kept searching for resources and shelter as hard as I could, but she still took all of my rightful credit in the end.

My colleagues would eagerly sing her praises even when I was the one who had set up traps to catch fish from the sea. "I can't believe the Queen predicted the catch!"

"Yeah, this isn't your work, Seraphina! If the Queen hadn't talked to the sea god with her astral projection, your flimsy trap can't even catch anything!"

I tore up the traps in a fit of fury, but Queenie wasn't done. She sighed. "I'm sorry. I have used too much healing power along the way, causing damage to my own body. I could no longer help other injured plants and animals. The island god is furious, and he let go of the catch."

Then, she shot me a knowing look. Shawn jabbed a finger at me and sneered. "I've had enough, Seraphina! You changed our trip to wilderness survival just because you wanted more fun, and now you made the island god mad! We're dead! Dead because of you!"

Getting starved for three days could make anyone go crazy. True to form, my colleagues became furious as they vented their rage on me. They pounced like hungry lions and beat me up until I was nearly mangled. Finally, they tossed me into a deep basin in the ground.

A ship passed by at that moment, and Queenie proclaimed that the island god had forgiven them. She then announced that it was the perfect time to board and leave this island. All of them followed her lead and left me here to die.

And now here I was, reborn. This time, I would make this woman pay.

Just like in my previous life, my still sane colleagues were now all shooting Queenie dubious looks.

"Elf Queen? Is that a joke?"

"Yeah, this isn't Lord of the Rings, you know."

Shawn defended her. "How else could she have found out there's water 300 feet away without even moving a muscle if she weren't the Elf Queen?"

Then, he continued, "Seraphina's an expert in wilderness survival, and she pointed in the same direction as Ms. Hedge."