Just Pretend With Me

1

~Athena~

Last night I dreamt I was at my funeral again.

It wasn't the first time I'd had this type of dream, but it was the most vivid.

I stood all the way at back of the church away from everyone's line of sight, in a patterned black dress, watching as my adopted family filled in the seats in the front, artful tears streaming down their faces. "My poor baby! She never deserved this!" My mother cried from the first row.

I never deserved your torment either.

I moved my eyes off my family and looked around, noticing there were people there who I didn't recognize. They were dressed in black and seemed to be genuinely mourning my passing, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out who they were. But their emotions, they were real.

My white casket sat at the front of the church as my funeral began. Surrounding my coffin were bucays of my favorite flower, the rose.

I was in there. Cold, lifeless and still. And the thought sent pure shivers down my spine.

My 'sister' gave the eulogy, talking about how heartbroken she was when she found out I'd died in a car accident and all the happy times we'd spent together, even if it was all lies.

I must say, it was a touching tribute, but a sense of detachment burned strongly in the pit of my stomach. My sister was a great actress.

It was like I was watching a movie of my own funeral, rather than experiencing it firsthand.

After the service, everyone quickly filed out of the church and made their way to the cemetery. I followed closely behind, still trying to figure out who the mysterious mourners were. And as they moved into the light and my vision cleared, I could make out a tall, toned dark-haired man with his fists clenched together and a pretty redhead following close behind.

I was certain they were no older than I was, but as we approached the graveyard, something even stranger happened. I reached out my hand for help but it was no use. The ground beneath me began to crack and buckle, and suddenly I was falling. It wasn't for long, but it hurt.

I tumbled down into a dark pit, and as I hit the bottom with a thud, I woke up, drenched in sweat. It took me a moment to get my bearings, to remember that it had all been a dream.

But as I lay there in the darkness of my room, I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe death was coming for me. I shrugged at the thought. Was life in hell truly better than death itself?

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