Angel and Devil

Last Chance

Suddenly I saw light above me. I looked up, and realized there was a light hole in the sky, and light beams were snaking around me.
This was a signal for me to return to heaven.
“NO!” I shouted, trying to beat those beams away, as they were carrying me towards the sky.
“Please, just let me stay for a bit!” I looked up and pleaded to the sky.
“No, (Yn),” I heard a familiar voice. It was Max, “It’s time to come back now.”
“Please, Max!” I shouted desperately, “He won’t get to go to heaven! I won’t be able to see him again! Please, let me stay until he dies, or just give me a little bit more time!”
“I’m sorry (Yn),” Max said, but sounded a bit hesitant.
“Please,” I whispered again, hoping that they would let me stay for a bit. Just a tiny bit more would be enough.
Now I was getting closer to the sky, and when I looked down at John, he was just a tiny spot in the alley, still next to my body.
I sobbed helplessly, and I was about to enter the opening in the sky.
“Please,” I cried, “I love him!”
All of a sudden I was no longer moving. I was hanging in the air, just like that.
“Umm, (Yn),” Max’s voice called, “I guess you can stay for a bit. We do understand your situation, and it’s not like you won’t come back ever again. It’s just a matter of time. So – you can stay until John passes away, but you’ll have to stay in the spirit form.”
“Really?” I could not resist smiling through tears, “Are you sure? THANKS SO MUCH MAX!”
“Okay, here you go now,” Max chuckled, “See you soo – whoops, I shouldn’t say that. Anyway, see you!”
“Bye Max! Thank you so much!” I called back, and I was now descending towards the ground.
Finally I was back in that dark alley. Billy’s body was lying in a pool of blood in the corner, and my body was also drenched in blood. John’s front was also scattered with blood – but luckily he was wearing black so it was not that obvious. He was holding my body close to him, crying and shaking silently.
Even in my spirit form, I could still cry. Tears rolled down my cheek, as it hurt me so much to see John like this.
“I’m so sorry (Yn),” John sobbed into my body’s neck, “I wish I could take every word that had hurt you back. I’m so sorry…”
“Don’t be sorry, John,” I kneeled down beside him, wanting to stroke his head, but my hand just passed through his body directly.
Suddenly, someone shouted from the end of the alley. John jerked his head up, and a woman was screaming uncontrollably. I jumped a mile, but was relieved to see that the woman was not looking in our direction; it looked like there were people fighting just right outside the alley.
John looked down at my body again, and I was silently pleading that he would quickly go away so nobody would notice what was happening here, or at least no one would suspect him or something.
John kissed my body’s lips for one last time, lovingly, before standing up.
“I’m so so so sorry (Yn),” he whispered, “I love you.”
And then he ran out of the alley, pushing pass people. I followed closely behind him, and in my spirit form I could easily catch up. I could even run faster than him.
Luckily, everyone was too absorbed in the fight on the street to notice John, who was acting extraordinary. John quickly got into his car, which was just across the road, with me jumping right inside through the door, and sped away. It surprised me that I could still sit on the seat – I thought I would just fall straight out.
John’s knuckles were turning white as he was holding too tightly to the steering wheel, and tears kept rolling down his cheek silently.
“John…” I whispered, stroking his hand, even though I could not touch him.
“I’m so sorry (Yn)…” he bit his lip, trying to hold back his tears.
It broke my heart into billions of pieces seeing him hurt like that. The heartache was even worse than the one I felt when he was mad at me, before everything bad happened.
“Stop apologizing John,” I stroked his cheek, “It’s not your fault…”
At last John arrived back at home. He got out of the car, and stood in front of my house. More tears rolled down his cheek, and without warning, he broke down and cry on the floor.
“John!” I exclaimed, running over to him, but could do nothing except kneeling down beside him.
“I’m so stupid!” He shouted, looking at the sky, and cried helplessly.
After what seemed like hours, John finally stood up and went into his own house. He did not turn on the lights, but just went straight to the sofa and sat down, burying his face into his hands. He did not even bother changing out of his blood-stained clothes.
He stayed in that position for a few minutes, mumbling “sorry” and “I love you” all the way. Then finally he got up to his room and took a shower, and then changed into some fresh clothes. He then burnt the bloody ones carefully.
He flopped onto his bed; tears began to well up in his eyes again. I lied down next to him, stroking his face. How I wish I could wipe his tears away.
After endless sobbing, John finally drifted to sleep. His eyebrows were knitted together the whole time, and he kept stirring. He was so restless that he sometimes mumbled my name. I really hope I could make him feel better again.
I stood up, and went over to the window. I saw something – or someone – moved from across the road. It looked like a man, moving near the corner of the house right in the corner. Suddenly he made a run to this side, and then disappeared behind another house.
He was acting suspiciously; I wonder who he was.
Then like he wanted to answer my question, he ran in full speed in my direction. He stopped in front of John’s house, and looked up.
It was a muscular man, who reminded me of Billy…
I gasped – was he a man of Billy? Why was he here?
Then he paced in front of the house, glancing around, just like he was observing the surroundings. He turned around the corner to the side of the house, and that was when I could not see him. I really wanted to follow him to see what he was up to, but I was not willing to leave John’s side, even just for a minute. I was not sure how much time I would get to spend with John.
And sadly, even if he was meant to do something bad to John, I would not be able to stop him. I was just a useless spirit.
At last that man appeared in front of the house again. He ran to the end of the road, and disappeared around the corner.
I was really confused – why did he come here and did nothing? He must be after something… But he did not hurt John, so I guess it was okay.
So I went back over to John and lied down again. His eyebrows were still pulled together.

It was morning finally. John was lying on his side, and he was reaching out his arms, as if he was searching for me. Sadness washed through my whole body. It was already bad enough for me to not be able to feel John’s warm touch – but at least I could see him. It must be a lot worse for John…
When John realized that I was not next to him, he sat straight up, looking shocked. He looked around frantically, his blond hair a mess, covering his eyes.
“John,” I choked.
Then realization hit him. Hard. He broke down and buried his face into him palms. I stroked his back, and again, my hand passed right through his body.
It was a quiet morning; all I could hear was John’s crying, so it startled me when the doorbell rang.
John bit his lip hard to keep from crying. His eyes were all red and puffy, and my heart splintered. He harshly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, and walked downstairs. He did not hesitate and opened the door straight away.
It was the man I saw from last night. And this time he was with a few other men. They were all huge.
I quickly jumped back, jerking John away – but of course, my hand passed through his arm and I fell onto the floor.
“You’re the one who killed Billy, right?” the man I saw last night asked.
John did not say anything. He just stared at them, wide-eyed, like a frightened child.
“Jack is asking you!” one of the men spat angrily.
“Hey hey, George,” Jack raised a hand to stop George, “Let’s not be rash.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” John said quietly.
I wanted to scream for John to run away, but no matter how loud I was, he could not hear.
So I could just stand there miserably.
“You’re definitely the one who killed Billy! I saw you having a row with him the other night! And then the girl who’s also dead interfered!” one of the other men said.
“STOP!” John suddenly shouted, startling everyone.
Everyone looked at him expectantly.
“(Yn)…” he mumbled, “(Yn)…”
“It’s him, I’m sure!” George said.
“Brothers, get him,” Jack ordered.
I screamed on top of my lungs, while I watched helplessly at the men grab John and took him to the minivan on the roadside. He yelled and screamed, and one of the men hit his neck, making me scream even louder. John got knocked out, and tied up in the car. I quickly joined them and jumped into the car, crying all the while.
The car sped away when everyone had got in the van.