Chapter 3

Emily Johnson stared at the smartphone in her hand, her heart racing. This phone had somehow traveled through time with her to the 1980s!

"Could this be my golden finger?" she murmured, swiping her fingers across the screen.

Hunger gnawed at her, prompting her to test the online shopping feature first. With practiced ease, she opened the shopping app and selected a box of bread.

"Fingerprint payment..." She held her breath as she pressed her finger to the screen.

"Payment successful!"

Emily's eyes widened as a cardboard box materialized out of thin air beside the bed.

"It really works!" Trembling, she tore open the packaging, and the aroma of fresh bread filled the air.

She devoured two slices before ordering a carton of milk. When the milk appeared before her, she finally accepted that this wasn’t a hallucination.

"Mom..." A timid voice called from outside the door.

Emily suddenly remembered—the original owner of this body had two children. Quickly hiding the food, she smoothed her clothes and went to open the door.

The moment the door creaked open, her elder son, David, darted back into the room like a frightened rabbit.

"Am I that scary?" Emily touched her face, puzzled.

Inside the room, little Tommy rubbed his stomach. "Brother, I'm so hungry..."

"Don't go out!" David clutched his younger brother's sleeve. "I'll get us something to eat."

Emily sighed and retrieved the bread and milk. Now she had to figure out how to explain the modern packaging.

"Kids, dinner's ready," she called softly.

Through the crack in the door, two pairs of wary eyes studied her. Emily placed the food on the table and took several steps back.

"Mom bought these from town. Come and eat."

Tommy's stomach growled loudly, but David still held him back. Watching the pitiful brothers, Emily felt a pang in her chest.

"Winning their trust won't be easy," she thought to herself.