Reborn

Ruin

"Malik, get up. For me. Please." Malik slowly jerked his torso and head upright to see who was speaking to him with such a gravely familiar voice. Another voice bellowed from in front. "I'm pretty sure people don't wipe their feet before they come into Limbo, so I advise you to— קום, ילד!" His body flew upright, standing him on his feet to face the speakers. His eyes gradually widened to his realization that it was his girlfriend and an unknown figure. He didn't know how, who or where to commit his now sinking fear into; the endless white space of nothingness, his deceased lover, him not being in the hospital anymore, or the tall fully metallic, faceless being with glowing crimson eyes and a scroll in hand.

His mouth twitched and trembled, finally forcing words to escape from his mouth. "What the hell is going on? Am I dead? Has my time come? Please don't tell me I'm dead. Sasha?" His eyes darted back and forth between the two figures and the scenery around them, to his realization that Sasha was snickering the entire time. Sasha attempted to regain her composure and signaled the being to answer Malik's questions. It motioned forward pass Sasha and directly in front of Malik, towering over him by a total of 8 feet and 3 inches. It knelt. "Shlam'alokhon, yalah. I am Uriel, the archangel of death. You're in a place renowned as Limbo; where usually unbaptized infants and those who died before Christ are sent, however, I altered this space so that your soul would stay intact and wouldn't have to go to Purgatory. No, you are not dead, just transported. Your time is far from nigh. Unfortunately, your loved one has perished from the mortal world. Have no worries, she shall be safe in cherubim hands. Any other questions before I speak again, yalah?" Malik shook his head in disagreement. "Tov. Elyon bestowed upon me a message to send to you for your future. Gabriel wasn't tasked for this because he doesn't have the ability to control realms in the afterlife nor souls like I. Tama." Uriel handed the scroll to Malik. He immediately opened it and skimmed through it. With each line his facial expressions cycled between horrified and confusion.

"What... what is this? All of this can't be real." Malik paced back and forth in shock. Uriel froze his body and turn him forward to speak. "That is you and your family's future. You have a choice: you can change it or let it happen freely. There is no pressure. That scroll is also yours to keep in your dimension. I will give you a sacred box only divine beings can see and open as well as give you the authority to do so." Uriel summoned a 3x9 marble box with Aramaic engraved writings on it and bestowed it to Malik. As he shook his head and sighed in a stressful manner he peered over to Sasha. His heart began to warm as he made small steps towards her and finally meeting her face to face. "This sucks. I have to spend the rest of my life without you and two children who I barely know sleeping in the house rent fr—." Sasha interrupted his sentence with a jab to his right arm. "Malik, shut up before I let Uriel smite you." Uriel peered over his shoulder in excitement that he desperately tried to hide. "Now, yes you won't have me physically but you'll have the legacy we made together; the time we spent, the food we ate, the gifts, the memories, the pictures, my blue panties you stole I don't forget these things you know. Anyway, point is, you'll be fine and I'll be watching." Sasha smiled and winked at him as his image started to fade away. Before he disappeared completely they kissed each other one last time and said to each other, "adios mi amor."

Malik woke up in a daze in a hospital room. When he fully came to, he saw Sasha's parents as well as them holding the babies. He rolled over and felt the box in his back pocket thrust into the right portion of his back inflicting a small amount of pain. He slowly took it out and rested it under his pillow. Sasha's mother Benita turned, realized he had awaken and ran to embrace him. Tears streamed down her face the longer and tighter she hugged him. She took a step back to wipe her tears away. "I'm glad you're okay, we had a long three days huh?" Malik looked at her in disbelief. Three whole days had passed since the birth. Time really does go by quickly in Limbo. "Yeah, yeah we did. W-w-where are the twins?" Malik replied with an anxious smirk. The parents came over with the twins and placed them in his arms, one crying sporadically and the other quiet and mean-mugging. He couldn't believe it. Him and Sasha made them. Two beautiful little twin girls. 

The midwife kindly interrupted the graceful moment by speaking up. "Um, I know everyone is having a moment, but I need to write the names down on the birth certificate. Did you guys figure out any as of yet?" Everyone looked at each other in daze thinking what could they possible name two twin girls. Malik spoke up. "Milan and Mya. Milan is this one with her face screwed up and Mya is miss drama queen here." Dwight kept a straight face as usual. But the more he looked around at such a miracle curves formed at the sides of mouth. A smile. Rare as a ruby. He turned around in embarrassment and began to pack clothes signaling it was time to leave. 

The room filled with mixed emotions from every person. A double miracle for one life. How will life be now that Sasha has passed on? Two children without a mother. As a father, how will Malik find the strength to answer questions like: "what happen to mommy?", "is she coming back?", "what was mommy like?". Love in their lives will be incomplete. A mother's love is like that apple pie after a hearty Sunday dinner. It's a dessert that no matter how much you've had it, it always surprises you and makes you smile. 

If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again. Mi amor te extraño. Sacrificaría una manada solo o tú para que regreses. Por favor. Por favor. Regresa.