Chapter 3

"This is strange..."

"Why does heaven look like a hospital?"

"Is this even heaven? Maybe I landed in hell..."

Not that I cared where I was, as long Mom was there, I would be happy.

"But if this was really hell... isn't it odd to be a hospital?"

At the same second a thought, I didn't want to believe crossed my mind.

"There is no way... right?"

"I mean my mom is going to pick me up, isn't she?"

I closed my eyes, trying to get back to the reality where I felt connected to my mom.

It did not work.

I tried so many times.

It did not work even once.

"No need to freak out, Aaron...My mom was always a bit tardy, after all...", I assumed.

"Yeah, she is a bit clumsy when it comes to that...I suppose this didn't change in the afterlife"

"Where are you... mom?"

***

I don't know how long I already was waiting for mom to come.

"How many hours passed already?", I thought half asleep.

The doubt of not being where I expected to be, kept increasing.

As soon as I opened my eyes again, I heard a voice that wasn't strange to me.

In fact, I could recognize this voice in an instant, but I just didn't want to conceive and believe it at this moment.

"Don't tell me it is her. I beg you."

I was afraid.

Afraid of not being able to reunite with my dear mother.

Because I knew once I was back, I wouldn't be able to gather the strength and put an end to it all.

"Mom! Mom! When will Mister wake up?"

I could distinguish this angelic voice in an instant.

Annabelle, the girl whom I literally gave my life, now appeared in exact this life, which should have vanished.

Instantenous I started crying.

The tears started to flood all over my face as I couldn't process anything.

In fact, I was paralyzed, only my lacrimal glands functioning.

As if was looked into Medusa's eyes, I turned into stone.

I was now sure.

I was back.

Back to life.

I was not dead.

There was no kind of afterlife whatsoever waiting for me.

Heaven nor hell.

Only the coldest and most frightening of all realities.

My life.

Normally people would be happy and frantic after surviving such an accident.

"A miracle", they would refer to this.

But I?

I have already enclosed my life.

I had no reason to go back nor to continue living.

I was fully prepared and expecting the afterlife, be it hell or heaven, with my mom.

Now, this expectation started to crack and fall apart.

And so did I...

***

The little girl entered the room I was staying, unable to process what was going on.

She did not know what was happening with me nor if she should feel happy or disgusted.

After all, I was crying and shouting out loud.

A pain not even I could keep up with.

My heart was aching and throbbing as if thousand of hot needles were penetrating it at the same time.

My fingers were peeling off the skin of my face.

My eyes were felt like they were about to explode in millions of pieces.

The only thing I could really comprehend was my soul, which was crying out loud.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAHAHAHAH"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

"AHHHHHHHH"

These painful and sorrowful cries kept on going and the little girl was just standing there.

Standing in front of a weak and broken man.

A man she thought off very highly.

Her mother, who was standing right next to her needed some time to process this situation herself.

Only after when the nurses held me on the bed and gave me some kind of narcotic to put me to rest, she was able to move.

"Mom... What is happening?" the little girl asked in concern.

"The man needs to be helped you know? He is scared..."

"Then let's help him! I want to help him as he helped me!"

"Yes my sweet child, let's do that!" she looked at her with nothing but pride.

She was indeed a child whose parents definitely felt nothing less than proud.

"But before we do that, let's go visit your sister yes? She is waiting to see you again, you know?"

"Let's go to visit Amanda, then!"

***

I could vaguely remember what happened after they left my room, as the narcotic took effect right at that moment.

But one thing I am sure of.

I did not want to open my eyes.

I hoped that this was just a bad dream and when I would open my eyes again, I would see something else.

At the same time, I was scared if this what was happened was real.

It was so painful, that there is actually no way for it to be "just" a dream.

I knew the truth all time long.

But kept clinging to my delusions and hopes...

Eventually, I gave in to my human needs.

The urge to urinate came over me.

I could not hold it off any longer as my bladder was stinging.

So I decided to go to the toilet in my room.

How ironic.

I, who did not want to wake up from the dreams of mine, gave in to my own body.

The epitome of irony.

I did not know how, but I was able to walk.

"It seems that only the area from my waist upwards was hurt", I thought.

"Well not that it matters..."

I reached the toilet in my room and tried to open the door.

It was closed.

Strange enough, as I was the only person in this room.

"Maybe a nurse is using it?"

"Unlikely, they do have their own toilet, I think."

"Is it not working?", I questioned.

"Either way, I have to find another toilet."

"Need to hurry..."

I walked outside the room, looking for a public toilet in the hallway.

I did not see a single entity, not a nurse nor doctor, heck not even a patient.

The lights were turned off, only the moonlight shining through the windows.

As if I was the only person in this entire world.

"Must be early in the morning, huh?", I affirmed with a rather concerned gaze.

A scene straight out of a horror movie.

I did not believe any kind of those scary stories, but it still gave me some goosebumps.

Continuing my desperate search for a place to pee I encountered a direction sign, showing where the next toilet was.

It looked like the next toilet was a woman's toilet, while men's is still further away.

I was nearly losing control, about to burst all out, so I promptly decided to go to the woman's toilet.

"No one is here to stop me, guess I will take a piss in the woman's cloaca today.... nature's calling after all."

A grave mistake.

***

Without any kind of strain, I took a "piss", how I used to call the act of egestion, and it was a good one to say at least.

I stood up from the toilet bowl and wanted to leave the box when I heard a rather girly voice.

I slowly opened the door to see if I was mistaken, but unfortunately, I was not.

The girl entered the toilet and was looking into the mirror as if she was observing herself.

"Guess I will have to endure here until she leaves..."

At this very moment, I remembered that the nurses do a nightly check up on me and this night was still due.

Dammit.

What terrible timing.

I have to get around this girl, without her taking notice of me.

The girl, was around my age, maybe a bit older 17ten, 18ten?

We were, at this point, complete strangers.

"Can't risk a tumult after all..."

Something I would have not thought I could utter over my lips, but that's something for later.

She left the toilet, without peeing or whatsoever.

"This is my chance!"

I waited a little longer, to minimize the risk of being seen by her and sneaked out.

As soon as I opened the door, the girl stood there.

Shining bright in the moonlight and reflecting it as if I was looking at a ghost.

A beautiful ghost.

A ghost with beautiful and silky long hair.

She had a flawless face, as in many princess tales.

No, it would be an understatement to compare her face to a princess.

Her eyes were brimming bright and looking deep into the eyes of mine.

One was green, the other blue.

Probably a case of heterochromia iridium. An ilness, where affected are born with 2 different eye colors.

I have once this read in a magazine.

I could not say much about her body, as she was wearing the same "hospital dress code" as me, a full-body pajama, but I was sure she was very appealing to a guy my age.

Her lips, which were looking extremely soft, were moving slowly up and down.

No, rather they were moving only up.

When people scream they do not move back down.

I realized that she was about to scream and rapidly put my hand on her lips.

They were, soft, extremely soft to say at least.

No this was not the right time for such thoughts.

She immediately bit my hand and I withdrew it because of pain.

I was about to hear and witness something I would rather not have experienced.

Truth be told...

This girl shook my entire world.