Reborn: I Saved My Dog, Not Your Kid

Synopsis

The apartment building was already vomiting smoke when every cell in my body screamed: Get back inside and grab the dog who'd slept at my feet for seven years. Sally Thompson rammed her body into my path, shrieking that her grandson was still upstairs and I was the only one close enough. Flames sprinted down the hallway. I needed to choose. On one side was my beloved pet who'd shared years of my life. On the other was a living, breathing child. I hesitated. Yet with a chorus of neighbors yelling at me, I caved, rushed in, and carried the boy out. I staggered into daylight soot-black, sure I'd be hailed a hero. Instead, all I got was blame. "If you'd moved faster, my baby wouldn't be in the ICU!" "Exactly. Who hesitates between a kid and a freaking animal?" Later, the Thompson family sued me for the boy's medical bills. The kid's parents were social-media influencers. They twisted the story, whipping millions of clueless strangers into an online mob that trashed me daily. The cyber-bullying drove me into depression. Coupled with the guilt over my dog, I finally ended my own life. I died full of rage. But the universe hit rewind. This time, I was saving my dog.