Book I: Near Death Experience (18+) ✔️

33.

I stirred, my mind straddling the realms of dreams and reality. As I slowly emerged from my 'slumber', the sights and sounds of my surroundings seemed distorted as if I had stepped into a surreal painting. Colours appeared more vivid, sounds echoed in an otherworldly manner, and even the air felt charged with ethereal energy, leaving me suspended between the tangible and the intangible.

A familiar voice cut through the ethereal haze, a whisper from the depths of my memories.

"Adelaide..." Mum's voice, gentle and tender, reached me in the surreal tranquillity of the dream.

"Mum?" My voice trembled with both disbelief and longing. I blinked, unable to trust my own eyes. Before me stood the unmistakable figure of my deceased mother, a radiant smile on her face as she reached out to touch my cheek. The air seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly presence as if the boundaries between the living and the dead had momentarily dissolved.

"Hello, my love," Mum's ethereal presence exuded warmth, wrapping around me like a comforting embrace.

"Mummy?" My voice quivered with a mix of disbelief and yearning.

"Sh... don't cry," Mum's soothing words tried to assuage the tumultuous emotions swirling within my heart.

"What is this place?" My voice, laced with wonder and confusion, cut through the dreamlike atmosphere. The meadow stretched out before us like a vibrant tapestry, adorned with a kaleidoscope of wildflowers in full bloom. The air carried the sweet scent of blossoms, while the grass beneath our feet swayed gently in the soft breeze. It was a place of serenity and renewal, where the boundaries between reality and imagination seemed to blur even further.

"I used to come here as a child. Your grandma would bring me to the meadows beside our home," Mum explained, her tone filled with reminiscence.

"But mum... you're..." I faltered, unable to bring myself to say the word 'dead'.

"I know, but I never left you," Mum's words were a balm to my ache, a reassurance that defied the boundaries of mortal existence.

"Why didn't you tell me?" My voice cracked with a hint of reproach, my longing for guidance and understanding palpable.

"I hoped I could've shielded you from this world. I didn't want you to live the life I did," Mum confessed, her voice tinged with regret.

"I can't control it, I can't," My despair echoed through my words, a sense of helplessness clouding my thoughts.

"But you can. My darling, you have no idea how special you are. And powerful," Mum's voice held a conviction that transcended the dream, imparting a sense of purpose to my confusion.

"I'm not strong, Mum. I am crumbling from the inside," my admission carried the weight of my insecurities and fear.

"Addy..." Mum's voice, filled with a mother's unwavering love, sought to reassure and comfort.

"Who's the traitor? I can't kill again, I didn't like who I became in that moment. I was just so angry..." My voice quivered with regret, grappling with the shadows of my actions.

"They didn't mean to. They were just doing what they thought was right," Mum's words offered a perspective, a glimmer of understanding amidst my turmoil. Her words only deepened my confusion, leaving me feeling even more lost and frustrated. It was as if she was speaking in riddles, offering vague clues that I couldn't decipher. The weight of the unknown pressed down on me, intensifying my longing for answers and clarity.

As the dream seemed to unravel, the world around me started to fade, slipping away like mist dissipating in the morning sun.

"Mum!" My desperate cry echoed through the fading dreamscape.