I'll Catch You

The child from the apartment upstairs fell from the 12th floor, landing on my window awning.
I grabbed her hand and held on for dear life.
For forty agonizing minutes, I clung to her until the firefighters finally pulled her to safety. Only then did I let go.
But afterward, the girl's parents demanded I pay compensation because her arm was dislocated.
"The doctor said the ligament and joint capsule damage is severe. She's going to have chronic dislocations for the rest of her life."
"This is your fault! Why are you trying to shift the blame?"
During the argument, they shoved me. I lost my balance and fell from my own balcony.
The little girl didn't die from her fall. I died from mine.
When I was reborn on the day of the rescue, I, a natural homebody, decided to go out for the entire day…

1
My phone buzzed on the table, the screen flashing with the caller ID: "Jenna Miller - Apt 1201."
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
I sat in a corner café, leisurely stirring the foam of my latte, with no intention of answering.
I knew exactly why she was calling.
And I knew that right now, she must be frantic.
Just a short while ago, I had been reborn.
In my previous life, on this very afternoon, I was napping at home when I was jolted awake by a series of piercing screams and a sickening thud from outside.
I rushed to my balcony to find my neighbor Jenna’s five-year-old daughter, Lily, dangling from the edge of my stainless-steel awning. Half her body was suspended in mid-air, a hair's breadth from a fatal plunge.
Without a second thought, without even putting on shoes, I scrambled barefoot through my balcony's security bars, stepped onto the narrow awning, and seized Lily’s hand.
The girl's body was heavier than I expected. The downward momentum sent a searing pain through my shoulder, feeling as if it were being torn from its socket.
"It's okay, Lily, I've got you! Don't be scared…"
I soothed her, pulling upwards with every ounce of strength I had.
But for a woman of my slight build to pull a fifty-pound child back to safety from a dead hang was a near-impossible task.
All I could do was hold on, gritting my teeth, feeling the muscles in my arm shred and my bones groan under the immense strain.
Time stretched into an eternity.
A crowd gathered on the street below. A cacophony of gasps, murmurs, and shouts to call 911 rose from the ground like boiling water.
Ten minutes later, Jenna finally realized what was happening. She leaned out of her window, her voice a desperate wail, begging me to hold on.
"Ms. Price! Please, I'm begging you, hold on to my Lily!"
"I'm coming! Don't you dare let go!"
Her voice was so sincere, so desperate.
And I believed her.
I thought I was saving a family's hope.
I stared into Lily’s small face, twisted with terror, as sweat and tears blurred my vision.
"Auntie… my hand hurts…" Lily cried.
"Just a little longer, sweetie. The firefighters are on their way."
My voice was a hoarse whisper, as much to comfort myself as to comfort her.
My arm had gone numb, a dead weight I could no longer feel, held in place by sheer willpower.
Ten minutes. Twenty. Thirty…
My mind was a blank slate. My vision began to tunnel, the world turning black at the edges. The only sounds were my own ragged breaths and the frantic hammering of my heart.
I was at my limit. Each breath felt like it could be my last.
Just as I was about to fail, a firefighter appeared from my apartment window. Strong, capable hands took Lily from me.
The child was safe.
My body went limp, and I practically rolled off the awning and back onto my balcony.
Forty minutes.
My right arm hung uselessly at my side like a broken branch. I couldn't even lift a finger.
Jenna clutched her daughter, safe at last, and showered me with gratitude.
I thought that was the end of it. I had done a good deed. It was hard, but it was worth it.
I never imagined it was only the beginning of a nightmare.

2
The next day, Jenna and her husband showed up at my door with a medical report.
Not to thank me, but to condemn me.
"Hannah Price, look what you've done!"
Jenna threw the doctor's report in my face.
"The doctor says Lily has severe ligament and joint capsule damage! She has chronic dislocation! The slightest bit of force, and her arm will pop out of its socket for the rest of her life!"
I was stunned. "But… that was from the rescue…"
"It was your fault!" her husband snarled, jabbing a finger in my face. "We asked Lily. She said you were squeezing her hand so hard it hurt! You're an adult! Couldn't you have been more gentle? Did you have to be so rough? Were you trying to hurt her?"
I couldn't believe my ears.
I had risked my life to save their child, and now they were blaming me for an unavoidable injury that occurred during the rescue.
"I was losing my strength! I was lucky to even hold on to her! How could I possibly control the pressure? Could you have done any better in that situation?" I trembled with rage.
"How do we know you didn't do it on purpose? Maybe you're just jealous because we have a child and you don't!" Jenna spat, her words turning venomous.
The argument escalated.
They demanded I pay for all of Lily's medical bills, future care, and emotional distress—a total of fifty thousand dollars.
I refused.
"It was your wife who wasn't watching her own child! That's why she fell! I saved her, I didn't harm her! The fact that you're not thanking me is one thing, but to try and extort money from me? How dare you!"
My words pushed them over the edge.
"You still won't take responsibility!" her husband roared.
The argument grew more heated. They started shoving me, screaming insults.
In the chaos, from the very same spot on the balcony, they pushed me.
Then, a dizzying, weightless plunge.
The wind roared in my ears. The screams of the pedestrians below became distant and blurry.
I fell from my sixth-floor balcony like a broken doll.
In my last moment of consciousness, I had only one thought:
How absurd.
The girl who fell from the twelfth floor survived. But me, the hero who saved her, was pushed from the sixth and died.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back. Back on the day it all went wrong.
The sun was shining. It was noon.
For the first time in years, I, a notorious homebody, got dressed, put on a little makeup, and left my apartment.
I went shopping, saw a movie, had afternoon tea… I did everything I would normally never do.
I had to be far away. I had to be unreachable.

3
My phone started buzzing again, relentlessly. This time, it was an unknown number, likely the fire department or the police.
I ignored it.
Some parents deserve to pay the price for their own negligence and stupidity.
And in this life, I had no desire to be the hero.
I just wanted to live, for myself, for once.
I slowly sipped the last of my coffee. It was about time.
I opened an inconspicuous app on my phone, one I had installed a few days ago. It connected to my smart doorbell camera.
A clear video feed popped up.
A group of people was clustered outside my apartment door.
A frantic Jenna, a few curious neighbors, and several grim-faced firefighters.
The fire captain was explaining the situation to Jenna.
"Ma'am, the child is on the sixth-floor awning. We've assessed it from below. The structure seems stable for now, there's no immediate danger of collapse."
"However, due to the building's unique design, the awning extends too far out. We can't perform a rescue from the fifth or seventh floors. The only way is to go through the sixth-floor apartment, cut through the security bars, and pull the child in."
"Then what are you waiting for?! Break down the door!" Jenna shrieked.
"We can't do that," the captain said, his tone firm. "This is a private residence. We do not have the legal authority to force entry without the owner's presence and consent. We've had our team set up an airbag on the ground, but from this height, it's a long shot."
"Legal authority? A child's life is on the line! If anything happens to my daughter, are you going to take responsibility for that?!" Jenna railed.
"We are doing everything we can to contact the resident. Please be patient."
Jenna's voice rose to a shrill retort. "She has to be home! This Hannah Price is a total recluse! She never goes anywhere! She must be ignoring my calls on purpose!"
The fire captain's brow furrowed. "Ma'am, please calm down. First, you are the guardian. It is your responsibility to supervise your child. Second, we are doing our jobs. Please do not interfere."
Jenna was momentarily silenced but remained defiant. She pulled out her phone and dialed my number again.
Through my doorbell camera, I watched her face, contorted with rage and anxiety. I could hear her curses, picked up clearly by the device's microphone.
"That damn Hannah! Is she deaf or dead? Why won't she pick up the phone?!"
"I swear, when they get Lily down, I'm going to skin that heartless bitch alive!"
Her words, her tone—it was all so familiar. The same venom she had spat at me in my past life as she pushed me towards the edge.
Only this time, I was watching from a place of perfect safety, enjoying her panic like a show.

4
I calmly watched the timer on my phone screen.
In my last life, I held on with all my strength for forty minutes.
In this life, I would make them feel every second of that same forty-minute agony.
The moment the timer hit "10:00," I answered the call.
"Hello? Jenna?" I feigned confusion, my voice laced with the perfect amount of bewilderment. "What's going on? You've called so many times. I was in a movie, my phone was on silent."
Jenna's voice, sharp and strained, crackled through the phone, a desperate attempt to sound polite while seething with rage. "Hannah! You finally answered! You have to come back! Lily… Lily fell onto your awning! The firefighters are waiting to get into your apartment to rescue her!"
"What?!"
I let out a theatrical gasp, my voice filled with shock and concern.
"How did that happen? Is Lily okay? Don't worry, Jenna, I'm on my way! I'll grab a cab, I'll be there in twenty minutes, tops!"
Just before I hung up, I heard her say to the firefighter, "She's on her way! Of all the days for that jinx to crawl out of her hole!"
I smirked, left the café, and hailed a cab.
"The Veridian Apartments, please."
As the car pulled away from the curb, I thought to myself:
Saving a life isn't so easy, is it?
On the way, Jenna called again.
"Where are you? Why aren't you here yet?!"
"Almost there, Jenna! There's a bit of traffic, I've asked the driver to hurry!"
I placated her, but I was in no rush.
By the time I casually strolled up to my building's entrance, a full thirty minutes had passed.
Coincidentally, I saw a notice taped to the door: "ELEVATOR UNDER MAINTENANCE."
Perfect.
And even more perfect was the bright pink child's walker parked right in the middle of the lobby entrance.
I recognized it.
In my last life, Jenna would always leave Lily's walker and other junk in the hallway to save herself the trouble of carrying it upstairs. The neighbors complained, but Jenna was so aggressive that everyone eventually gave up.
I looked at the walker, and a flawless plan instantly formed in my mind.
It seemed fate was on my side.

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