Confessions²

Almost Death

Madison wakes up in her bedroom to the smell of food in the air, which confuses her because the last thing she remembered was overdosing on prescription pills. She pulls the covers off of her body and walks out of her room, down the stairs and into the kitchen. Her eyes widen as she recognizes the back of the head and the song that’s playing on the radio. 

“Dad?” She asks the person, her voice giving away how shocked she is. He stiffens as he drops the spatula in his hand before turning around, making eye contact with Madison. “What the hell is going on?”

“You are not supposed to be here,” her dad says to her, sounding scared. 

“And where is here?”

Her dad hesitates as he walks up to her, revealing an apron that says World's Best Dad, which made Madison smile at the sight of it. “It’s the afterlife, sweetie,” He finally answers. Madison’s eyes widen in fear as her hands start to shake. 

“I’m dead?” Madison asks as her voice breaks and her eyes start to water. 

“Well you could also be in a coma. Comatose people come here all the time, but not here because they aren’t family.” Her dad looks down at her and sees the fear in her eyes. “Oh, Madison, I’m sorry.” He pulls her in for a hug and holds onto her tightly, but Madison hesitates before wrapping her arms around him, slowly. “How’d it happen, anyway?”

“I overdosed on Sarah’s anxiety meds,” Madison answers bluntly. Her dad pushes out of the hug and looks Madison in the eyes, seeing the hurt and pain in them before pulling her back to his chest.

“Oh, sweetie,” her dad says as he rubs her back in comfort.

“I miss you so much, dad,” Madison admits before sobbing into his chest. 

“I miss you too, munchkin, but you need to get back.” 

“How do I do that?” She asks as she looks him in the eyes.

“Think of that one person that’s making your life worth living. The person who’s always there for you and that you absolutely love. The one person that’s still alive will always bring you back.” Madison smiles up at her dad with her puffy, red eyes before pulling him back in for a hug. 

“I love you dad, so much,” Madison says to him with her eyes closed and hanging onto him for dear life. 

“I love you too, munchkin, so much,” her dad replies before she disappears. 

°°°°

Madison wakes up in the hospital and sees her sister sitting in there with her. She looks down and sees that she has her head down on the bed while crying.

“Sarah?” She asks, her voice sounding dry and low. Sarah lifts her head and looks at her with tears and hope in her eyes. 

“Melissa, she’s awake,” Sarah shouts out to the room before wrapping her arms around her sister. “Oh, never scare me like that again, understand?”

Madison wraps her arms around Sarah as she chuckles before saying “Yeah, I understand.” Melissa walks in and Sarah pushes away from Madison so she can do her check up. 

“How are you feeling, Madison,” Melissa asks her with a small smile on her face. She grabs the flashlight out of the pocket in her scrubs to check her pupils. 

“A little tired, but other than that, I’d say I’m good,” Madison replies. 

“Well I’ll see what I can do about that,” She replies before putting her flashlight in her pocket and goes to check her blood pressure. As she does that, Madison’s mom walks into the room and it makes both Madison and Sarah tense up. Melissa notices and makes eye contact with Madison, who just smiles at her.