Second Fiddle

Have you ever wondered; what happens when you die? What if you got a second chance? A chance you never expected to receive. What if you weren't done living? In Odessa Jones' case, she didn't expect her car's sudden collision with a stone fence to send her flying through the windshield of her car. She didn't expect the accident to send her flying all the way back to 1514 and into the arms of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. "I fell in love with the man, not the title," I say the words, dreading how they sound and dreading the response. "I ... I can't lose all that I have built ... I can't lose the King's friendship ... So, if he asks it of me, I will marry his sister ... I'm sorry," His words are hollow. He is avoiding the words I've just spoken. They hang in the air, waiting for a response that won't come. He ignored it. I told him, I'm in love with him, and he says ... nothing. That is all I need to know. It is a stab in the heart. "No, I am; I have a track record of loving people who don't love me back ... ." "Odessa, I ... " I interrupt him. "You never once lied to me; I've always known here you loyalties lie... I still fell in love with you anyway, knowing in my heart you would never choose me, but I deserve to be loved, and if it means risking my own heart to find that, then I don't mind. Eventually, I will find it ... Eventually, I will find love, and I don't care how many times it takes ... I will open myself to heartbreak and pain, if only to feel what it is like to be loved, just once ... " I pause for a second before I gather the bravery I need to finish my rant. "I will continue to try, once, twice, thrice ... or however many times it takes,"