Chapter 25

A soft voice calls out to me, trying to wake me up from my slumber. I can hear it mumbling but not the rest.

"Lisa..."

It's saying my name. Who is it? Who's calling for me? And on that note...where am I? I can tell that I was asleep on the cold floor. Now, try to open your eyes.

"Lisa. Wake up"

I open my eyes slightly to see a blurry figure kneeling in front of me. It's a boy. He somehow looks...familiar.

"Oh good! You're finally awake. We were starting to get worried" He utters with a smile.

As my vision begins to clear up, I recognise him. I quickly sit up straight and look at him to double-check if it's really him.

"...Alex?" I say. My heartbeat quickens as he looks back at me and smiles warmly.

"Yup. Rise and shine."

I lean forward and embrace him tightly. My eyes start to get teary as my head rests on his shoulder. Alex hugs me back. He's here...he's not gone and for some reason, I can touch him now. That was all just a horrible nightmare.

"I'm...glad you're ok," I say as I pull away and wipe my tears.

looking around, I realise that we're in some kind of a snowy forest. The cold floor was in fact snow. As visible warm breath escapes my lips, I gaze at the dark leafless trees that surround us like a big semi-circle. The sky above is grey and cloudy without a hint of blue.

This place is nothing but depressing.

I also notice some other people present here with us. People that I recognise.

I see Zoe, the ghost we met on the highway, with her beautiful red hair shining in the white snowy background. She seems to be kneeling and playing in the snow with someone who I recognise, is Valerie. There's something different about her. Her dress isn't white with bloodstains on it but instead, it's lavender coloured. And she's smiling genuinely. I've never seen her look this happy.

I spot Oslo resting under one of the trees with his hat covering his face. The twins are seen silently making a tiny snowman. The sound of laughter draws my attention towards Mitch, gemma and Nathan who are playing chase.

"Oh, she woke up?" I hear a woman's voice and look to my left to see Edith coming towards me from behind the trees. It is then that everyone looks at us and starts coming towards me.

"Lisa!" I hear my father's voice and quickly turn right to face him. Mom and dad are both coming out of the forest too.

"Mom! Dad!" I quickly get up and run towards them. I hug them so tightly as if they'd disappear if I let them go while my heart fills with joy.

"It's...really you...I've missed you guys so much!" I cry out as they hug me back.

"We've missed you too sweetie," my mom says and kisses my forehead.

"Wait...what's going on? Where are we?" I say and let go of them. Now that I look at it, I'm wearing some kind of thick black dress. How odd. Meanwhile, everyone except Valerie are wearing the same clothes as before.

"Don't know exactly but it's too cold here. We were waiting for you to get up so we can go" Mitch answers and rubs his hands to warm up.

I look past the trees and realise that there isn't a way out. It's just a more dense forest filled with complete darkness.

"Go where exactly?" I ask them confusingly.

Zoe points up ahead and to my utter surprise, I see a huge wooden bridge over a flowing river. Was this here this whole time? I don't think I would've failed to notice such a thing.

Beyond the bridge, I see a marvellous sight that seems so surreal. Unlike the cold forest on this side, the other side is bright and sunny. It's filled with lovely plants and flowers along with trees packed with different kinds of fruits. The ground is covered with lush green grass that dances in the cool breeze.

A beautiful garden.

"We wanted to go together with you. You're our friend after all." Gemma says with a shy smile.

Friends...I didn't realise I'd made any...

"I see. But where are we? How did we even get here?" I ask again.

"As Mitch said, we don't know. But hey, does it even matter? We're going to have fun and not worry about anything." Nathan says and starts to walk towards the bridge. The twins look at each other as if communicating telepathically and follows him.

"Come on, move it. You sure took your sweet time sleeping. It's so freakin cold here!" Oslo grunts and walks to the bridge too along with gemma and Valerie.

"We're all going to stay there together," my dad says and both he and mom follow everyone else.

"Let's go, Lisa" Alex grins and stretches out his hand for me. My face feels warm as I take his hand and he leads me towards the bridge. Zoe and Edith walk in front of us.

This moment couldn't be more perfect. I feel so complete. I have everything. I'm going to live in a gorgeous place. I'm going to be with my new friends. And best of all...I get to be with my parents and Alex. The people I love with all my heart.

I hold his hand tighter as we reach the bridge. Crip snow crunching beneath our shoes. The faint scent of roses fills the air around us.

Just then, I feel something cold and hard clasp onto my left wrist. This stops me dead in my tracks. I look down at it and to my horror, it's a black shackle with a long chain emerging from somewhere deep within the forest.

"Wait...what?" I let go of Alex's hand and try to get the shackle off.

"What's wrong?" Alex asks which causes everyone to stop and look at what's going on.

"I don't know! This suddenly appeared on my wrist" I answer worriedly. It's tight and there's no lock on it.

"If you can't get it off, you won't be able to come with us," Nathan says and shockingly, turns his back to me and walks towards the garden.

"Wait! Help me, guys!" I say and desperately try to get it off. Just then another shackle and chain emerges out of the forest and quickly locks on to my right foot.

"Mom?Dad?...Alex?" I cry out to them. Oddly enough, everyone just stands and stare at me with a grim expression. Where did all that friendliness go? They were waiting for me so we can go together moments ago, and now no one coming to help me.

"I think you weren't meant to be with us," Oslo says walks away, followed by the twins.

"That's a shame. We'll always remember you though." Says mom. She and dad then turn around and walk away.

"No! Wait! Please, Alex! Take me with you!" I look at Alex as tears roll down my face. He looks back with a sad smile.

"I love you, Lisa. And I'll miss you" He says and everyone turns their back towards me and walks forward, leaving me behind. Another shackle and chain locks onto my right wrist.

"WAIT!PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME!" I yell but none of them looks back. I try to walk forward but the shackles prevent me. Despite that, I keep moving, eager to get to them.

"I beg you...I don't...I don't wanna be alone!" I cry out as a shackle locks onto my left foot. They reach the end of the bridge and still don't look back at me.

All of a sudden the chains on the shackles pull me back towards the forest. I try to resist but to no avail.

"PLEASE! HELP! GUYS, DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE! COME BACK! ALEX!!!" I yell as I anchor my foot in the ground and move ahead ignoring the hard pull of the chains. Before I can say anything else, a shackle appears and locks on to my neck. This catches me off guard and the chains manage to drag me towards the forest.

I let out a scream and close my eyes as they drag me back into the dark dense forest where everything goes pitch black.

I wake up with a start. My breathing is heavy and I'm sweating all over. Reaching for my side table, I turn on the lamp and grab the glass of water. As I drink, I realise I've been crying too.

That was a ridiculous dream...

Tick.Tock.Tick.Tock.Tick.Tock

The piercing silence in the room with only the sound of the clock reminds me of Alex's annoying humming. What I'd give to hear it again...

I get up and push aside the blankets. The new cast on my foot is plain in sight. I was afraid they'd amputate it but luckily it wasn't that serious and was just a broken bone. Even more luckily that I had an extra set of clothes in the car so I wouldn't have had to go to the hospital in bloody clothes last night.

Picking up my white crutches from beside the side table, I get up and struggle to walk out of the room and downstairs towards the kitchen. The light from the window tells me it's close to afternoon and I confirm it after looking at the clock.

Was my house always so...big and spacious? It feels so empty it's haunting.

Opening the refrigerator, I take out a plate of half-eaten sandwich and put it in the microwave. As I sit on the dining table, blankly staring off into space with the humming of the microwave in the background.

The sudden noise of the telephone outside the kitchen makes me flinch. I let it ring for a few seconds then get up, and stumble out of the kitchen to grab it.

After Picking up the receiver, a panicked voice reaches my ear. I remember this person as the new girl in our class, Madeline, with who I'm seated with. Where'd she get my number?

"Hey, Lisa? Hope you're OK. I was so worried when I watched the news! It was so awful. I can't believe you had to go through-" I put the receiver back. This is all meaningless. The police will be coming for questioning any moment now. I look at myself in the big round mirror next to the phone. I look like a mess. Unkept hair, bags under my tired eyes and overall I look lifeless. Like an empty puppet. I notice a picture of my parents pasted on the mirror.

My mother was a beautiful lady with a heart of gold. Kind and caring. While my father was really a smart and rational person. I remember the day this picture was taken. I was colouring in my book, drawing what I wanted to be when I grow up. I wanted to be kind like my mom and intelligent like dad.

I wanted to be a teacher. A doctor. A pharmacist etc. I wanted to be a lot of things. My parents had laughed and said they'd support me in whatever I decided to become.

My hand tightens on the crunches as I look back at myself in the mirror. In the end, all I became was a worthless person.

The phone rings again. Its sound echoing through the house. I ignore it and walk back into the kitchen. The sandwich is heated up now. I take it out and place it on the table. The telephone stops ringing and the house goes quiet again. A few seconds later, I'm hearing my smartphone ring in the bedroom. Where the heck is she getting my numbers?

'So, Lisa. I see you have no friends. You're the lonely and preserved type! That's not good. You should learn to make friends or else you'll end up being a lonely old lady'

Alex's words and laughter rings in my head and I feel like a heavy rock has been placed on my chest. Carefully, I bite onto the chicken sandwich and chew on it. After swirling it around in my mouth, I get up and reach for the sink. I spit it out and wash my mouth.

Why is that? It used to be my favourite food. But now...it's just tasteless and bland. The knife set stand next to the sink catches my attention. The smooth black handles poking out of the holes waiting for me to pick them.

No. It'll be too messy. I need it to be quick.

'And here I thought you'll be able to make another friend '

'I already told you Madeline isn't my friend and I don't need any

'Dummy, I was talking about myself '

'You? Nah, hard pass'

Alex...I'm sorry...

I grab the sandwich and dump it in the trashcan. With my crunches, I walk out of the kitchen into the living room. I take one last look at the house. Memories of my childhood flood my brain, I can see my parents sitting on their spots on the sofa. Dad reading a book and mom knitting a pink sweater for me. A 1-year-old me walks inside, excitedly, holding a drawing of a cat. The image fades and in its place, I see a now 6-year-old me getting ready for school.

I wake out of the room and start to go up the stairs. The upper floor just consists of my bedroom, a guest bedroom, a bathroom and a storeroom. Looking at my bedroom, I'm reminded of when I was in middle school. The changes I went through due to Irma's crime. The slow descent into madness. The scene shifts to the time when I first met Alex. He was annoying beyond words and I wanted to do anything to get rid of him and be alone again. All the good and bad times. I will never forget them.

I walk back down and then after a few minutes, I'm out of my house and walking towards the big apartment building across the street.

With each step, I remember the time I spent with Alex, our journey and the people we met on the way. Another thing that I remembered last night as I was driving back, that shock me to the core was what happened two days ago before I met Alex. Even though it was an assumption, it made me sick to my stomach that I had to stop the car and throw up on the side of the road.

'By the way, where was your body buried?'

'I was cremated'

The fact that he didn't elaborate should have rung the bells but no...I didn't realise. I was too focused on the mission.

I enter the lobby and make my way towards the elevator. I press a button and wait for it to come. I can see some people staring at me and whispering. News sure spreads fast. The empty elevator arrives and I step inside. After pressing the top floor button, I wait in the corner. My hands are shaking and my heart beats fast but...it is what must be done.

I remember the night I was returning from a new bookstore. It was kind of getting late and I had decided to take a shortcut. There wasn't anyone on the street. But as I was passing by an under-construction building, I saw a bright orange light coming from inside the building. My curiosity got the better of me and went inside. It was basically empty, just construction stuff. But in the middle of the darkroom, there was someone tied to a chair with a rice sack tied to his head. I remember the sharp smell of gasoline and 3 big floor candleholders surrounding him. The person seemed to be unconscious. I was so afraid of what I was witnessing. I inched closer to him in an attempt to set him free. But as soon as I reached him, his head suddenly moved which surprised me. I let out a scream and accidentally made me knock down a candlestand. The flame from the candle quickly turned into a blazing fire due to the gasoline. Scared and tense, I ran away from there. Although I had remembered seeing two men outside somewhere and thought that they'll save him. When I heard nothing in the news about this I was relieved that he's been saved.

I reach the top floor and walk towards the entrance to the roof. The sudden brightness upon opening the door makes me squint my eyes. The roof is so big with laundry hanging a few feet away. I lock the door behind me and move towards the edge of the roof. Luckily there's no railing. From here, I can see the police walking out of my house. They couldn't find me.

Did you know, Alex? Did you know that it was actually me who killed you? I'm sorry...I'm sorry

Tears fall from my eyes. That's right...all I do is cry. All the good people vanish from my life. I thought that wasn't fair but now...I know that I have always deserved it. I don't want to stay in this world. Being eaten alive by my crimes, loneliness and guilt. I want to be with you Alex, I want to be with my parents and our new friends. I have nothing in this world. I don't want to be left alone. I'm sorry I'm not brave enough to face my mistakes.

"Aren't you a bit overdramatic?"

The familiar voice suddenly snaps me back to my reality.

Mitch sits on the edge, letting his pale legs hang down.

"Mitch...? How'd you-?"

"We're free spirits remember, we can go anywhere" I turn around to see all of them here.

"He wouldn't have wanted that," Gemma says with a concerned expression.

"It's too late...I've made my decision" I answer and look back down at the ground far below the building. I see the police asking the guard about me and him nodding his head.

"Do you regret helping him?" Edith asks. I see the policemen enter the building. I feel like Alex had asked me this before too.

"I...don't know. It would have been better if I didn't and ignored him. At least that way I'd have stayed oblivious to how I truly felt and my inner desires. But helping him made me closer to him. And now I'm unable to live with the guilt that I'm the one responsible for his death. You guys...probably don't know anything." I say to them as I wipe my tears.

"Yeah. Maybe we don't. After all, we just met recently. But we do know that he knew it was you." Oslo says and walks up to the roof door that I had locked shut.

"He...knew!? There's no way" I manage to say. That's absurd. Why would he follow me and ask me for help if he knew I was the one. The entire time, none of his actions indicated that he hates me or holds a grudge against me.

"He told us everything after the fight. Even where you lived. He...wanted us to stick with you so you don't get lonely. Well sure, we also kinda had nothing better to do. He told us how you're way too stubborn to make friends on your own. Lisa, he never hated you" Nathan says with an apologetic smile.

Even though he knew all along it was me. He never held a grudge.

My chest tightens and I start to sob. Why...? It's not fair. I want to be with you even more now.

The handle of the door suddenly turns. They're here.

"Hey, open up. This is the police!"

"We can just tell you not to jump. In the end, the decision is yours. Your life story isn't over, there are many empty pages that need to be filled. So don't close the book just yet" Mitch says as he stares back at the door like everyone else.

"Are you going to run away again? Or are you going to face your mistakes head-on?" The twins finally say in a synchronised manner.

I look down at the ground below. Just a single leap and I can be with him. I get to free myself from this troublesome world. If I don't, I'll be rotting in jail for who knows how long.

They keep banging the door until finally, the two policemen manage to break in with their guns pointed at me.

"Freeze! Put your hand in the air and turn around slowly!" One of them yells.

"So...what will it be?" Oslo asks and I can feel everyone's stares on my back.

I take a deep breath and look up at the sky. The blue sky is so clear today. Unlike how cloudy it was in my dream. A gentle breeze passes by me and I look at the streets beneath me.

Now, no shackles are holding me behind. It's all up to me.

Mom, dad, grandma and Alex...thank you for being there for me. The memories I made with you guys are irreplaceable. I wish...I could be with you guys again...

I slowly raise up my shaking hands and turn to face the policemen with a sad smile on my face.

"I'm ready to go"