My mother-in-law, Helen, was clearing new ground when her foot came down on a landmine, a ghost left over from the war. The town foreman told me to run and get my husband, a veteran EOD specialist, to defuse it. I just shook my head, refusing. In my last life, I ran six miles into town to save her. I dragged my husband, Liam, out of a diner where he was on a date with his "one true love." I begged him to come help. Helen was saved, but his lover was cornered in an alley by her ex-husband and beaten to death. To the world, Liam praised me for my quick thinking. But on the anniversary of her death, he used that same disarmed landmine to blow me to pieces. "Why wasn't it you who died?" he'd screamed. "Go to hell and apologize to Miranda!" Reborn into this life, Liam is finally enjoying his fancy meal at the town’s best diner with Miranda. But when he learns what happened back home, he will be shattered by regret. … "Jessie, don't you dare come any closer! Get away from me!" That familiar voice pierced through the fog, and my eyes flew open. My mother-in-law, Helen, stood before me, tears streaming down her face, yet she was still desperately trying to wave me away. "I'm an old woman, my hands and feet don't listen to me anymore. If this thing really goes off, I can't drag you down with me." Foreman Pete heard her and immediately pulled me back. "Jessie! Isn't your husband a bomb disposal vet? Where is he? Go get him, now!" The urgent pleas swirled around me. I dug my fingernails into my palms, the sharp sting a desperate anchor against the tears threatening to fall. "He's in town with Miranda," I choked out. "Even if I go... I don't think he'll come back." The young volunteers who had rushed over with the foreman all exchanged awkward glances. The affair between my husband, Liam, and Miranda was the worst-kept secret in town. Today was our wedding anniversary. He had taken every last cent and all our ration coupons, announcing he was buying Miranda expensive face cream and treating her to a steak dinner at the best diner in the county. The air grew thick and still. One of the young men, seeing the anguish on my face, sighed. "Jessie, we’re fast on our feet. We'll go get Liam back here!" "You just look after Helen. Everything's going to be alright!" Without waiting for the foreman’s order, a few of them took off down the road in a cloud of dust. I lowered my gaze, the raw reality of my rebirth finally sinking in. Helen, of course, knew all about her son's shameful behavior. She looked at me, her face etched with sorrow. "Jessie, what Liam's done… it's my fault. I didn't raise him right. I've failed you." "When he gets back, I'll make him break it off with that little harlot for good!" A fresh wave of grief washed over me, and a sob escaped my lips. Even after Miranda had abandoned him twice before, Liam was still willing to make me pay for her death with my own life, for a crime I didn't commit. A man like that? Break things off with Miranda? Impossible. As we tried to comfort each other, the group of volunteers returned, drenched in sweat. Every eye turned to the road behind them. But it was empty. Liam wasn't with them. They were still catching their breath, their faces flushed with fury. "That Liam is certifiably insane! He was in the general store with that phony, Miranda, buying her face cream and a brand-new shirt!" "We talked until we were blue in the face, but the bastard wouldn't believe us!" "And you know what he said? He said you sent us! Said you were cheap and made up a story about a landmine just to trick him into coming home so you could save a little money for yourself!" "What kind of son is he? That's his own mother standing on a goddamn bomb! Even if he had doubts, shouldn't he have come back to check?!" "And that Miranda! What a venomous snake! With just a few words, she twisted it around so it sounded like we were your secret lovers! God, it makes me sick! How can such a vile person exist!" After their unfiltered tirade, they remembered Liam’s mother was right there. Two muddy streams of tears flowed down Helen's cheeks. Her lips trembled for a long time before she could force out the words. "That ungrateful whelp… did he really say that?" "Jessie, I've wronged you in this life. I've ruined you. I'm a failure… let me pay you back with my life!" The shock was too much for her; she was on the verge of a complete breakdown. Under the silent, pitying gazes of the crowd, I gritted my teeth and dropped to my knees in front of her. "Helen, this isn't your fault! It's Liam! He's lost his mind! I have never, ever blamed you!" "If you hadn't given me a scrap of food to eat when I was a child, I would have starved to death long ago! I don't want you to pay me back with your life! I want you to live!" My parents died in a flood when I was very young. I was an orphan with nothing and no one. It was Helen who took me in, who gave me a roof over my head and food in my belly, who allowed me to grow up safely. Years ago, Liam and Miranda had been childhood sweethearts. But Miranda thought Liam, a simple army grunt, had no future. She left him a note and ran off with a wealthy man from the city. The blow devastated Liam. He turned his attention to me. Helen, who already doted on me for my hardworking nature, urged me to accept. I married him out of a sense of gratitude, but no sooner had we tied the knot than Miranda came back. Liam immediately demanded a divorce. Helen refused, dead set against it. The whole town was abuzz with the scandal. Miranda fanned the flames, and Liam became convinced that I was using his mother to sabotage their love. From that day on, he hated me. To punish me, he started taking Miranda into town every day, squandering our money on lavish meals and extravagant gifts. A storm of emotions churned inside me, but I forced it down to comfort Helen. When she finally calmed, I reached out and took her rough, calloused hand. "Helen, you're not well. You can't stand here for much longer." "Let me take your place. Please?" The moment the words left my mouth, the crowd erupted. "Jessie, think about what you're doing! That's a live bomb from the war! If it goes off, you'll be dead or crippled! Your whole life will be ruined!" "You're so young, you can even read and write! Don't throw your future away like this!" Helen's tears were unstoppable now. "Jessie, yes, I raised you! But that was only because your parents saved me from that flood first!" "I'm an old woman with one foot in the grave! If I die, I die! Don't you make this worse!" I clung to her hand, refusing to let go. "No matter what, I can't watch you die. If you won't switch with me, then I'm not leaving either. We'll just get blown up together!" Under my tearful threats, Helen finally relented. Seeing he couldn't change my mind, Foreman Pete moved the crowd back for safety. Back when things were good between us, Liam had told me how to swap places with a teammate who couldn't hold their position on a mine. I coached Helen through the steps as I carefully slid my foot over to take the pressure. To say I wasn't scared would be a lie. My legs felt like they were about to give out. But my heart was already shattered. The only person in this world who was ever truly good to me was Helen. I couldn't let her die. After a silence so profound it made my teeth ache, we successfully switched places. She wiped her tears, looking at me, and then stomped her foot with renewed determination. "Jessie, you wait here. I'm going to personally drag that monster back!" Seeing that I had actually managed the swap, the crowd’s eyes filled with awe. The same young volunteers, having just caught their breath, offered to go again. "Ma'am, we'll take you! You need to give Liam a piece of your mind! What he's doing is just too much!" They helped Helen to her feet and quickly disappeared down the road. I waited with the foreman in silence for what felt like an eternity. When they finally returned, it was the same as before. Behind the small group, there was still no sign of Liam. The moment Helen saw me, her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the ground. "Jessie… I'm so sorry… that boy… he has no humanity!" She was sobbing too hard to speak, so the volunteers angrily filled in the gaps. "Liam's a complete lunatic! He won't even believe his own mother!" Through their overlapping, furious complaints, I pieced together what had happened in town. After buying the face cream and the new shirt, Liam and Miranda had gone to the diner. When my mother-in-law and the others arrived, the two of them were cooing at each other, lovingly placing food on each other's plates. At the sight of his mother, Liam slammed his fork down. "Mom, can you please stop playing along with Jessie's crazy games? She already sent people to tell me you stepped on a landmine. If you were on a landmine, how could you possibly be standing here in town?" "I just want to have one nice meal with Miranda! Can't you people just leave me alone?!" Enraged, Helen flipped the table over and tried to drag Liam back with her. Seeing the raw fury in his mother's expression, Liam finally seemed to believe her, at least a little. But just as he was about to leave, Miranda grabbed his other hand. "I know Jessie doesn't like me, that she can't stand it when you spend time with me," she whispered sweetly. "But Auntie, you can't joke about something like this." "The old battlefields have been cleared so many times. How could there possibly be a real bomb?" After that, no matter how much Helen swore on her life, no matter how she beat her chest and pointed to the heavens, Liam refused to believe. When Helen, in her fury, tried to lunge at Miranda, Liam shielded her and walked away without a single backward glance. Hearing this, the foreman's face turned ashen. And the last thread of hope I'd been clinging to finally, completely, snapped. Our town was in the middle of nowhere. Liam was the only one who knew how to defuse a bomb. If he wouldn't come, I was going to die. I stood there from dawn until dusk. Helen cried until she fainted several times and had to be carried home by the volunteers. When the moon reached the highest point in the night sky, I couldn't feel my legs anymore. My body was numb and heavy. I knew I couldn't hold on any longer. Under the tear-filled gaze of the few who remained, I parted my lips, my voice a dry rasp. "Could you bring me a piece of paper? I... I want to write a will." The foreman sniffled and sent one of the volunteers, who ran off with tears streaming down his face. Just then, a line of torches appeared in the distance. "Is this where the landmine was found? We're a military unit on maneuvers! We brought our EOD expert!" The small crowd rushed to meet them. A wave of relief, so powerful it almost buckled my knees, washed over me. I had been saved from the brink of death. Worried for my safety, the volunteers ignored the danger and rushed back to support me on either side. "Jessie, you have to hold on! So what if that idiot Liam won't come? There are plenty of good people who will save you!" "You're a good person, Jessie! The heavens wouldn't let you die like this!" They had been with me all day, wracked with fear. Now that help had arrived, their faces were lit with joy. But as the soldiers drew closer, every smile froze. "Liam?!" Liam was just as shocked to see me. "Jessie, are you out of your mind?!" he roared. "To get me to come back, you made this huge scene? You actually got my commanding officers involved in your little drama!" Beside him, Miranda, dressed in her new clothes, smirked triumphantly. "Jessie, there's really nothing going on between Liam and me. Did you make all this up just to get him in trouble with his superiors?" "You can't keep being so selfish. You have to think about your husband's career." Liam's face contorted with rage at Miranda's words. He lunged forward and grabbed my arm. I had been standing for a full day and night. My body was utterly exhausted. Liam's sudden pull sent me lurching forward, out of control.
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