The Black Dahlia (Cartel Series #1) ✔️

62. Blood Bonds

Gabriella

I find myself standing on the shore of a familiar beach. The golden sand stretches endlessly before me, kissed by the gentle caress of the waves. The salty sea breeze fills my lungs, and for a moment, I feel at peace.

Beside me, my parents and my brother stand, their smiles radiant and their laughter echoing in the air. It's been so long since we've been together like this, so long since I've felt their comforting presence.

"Ella what are thinking?" my mother's voice gently pierced the veil of my thoughts.

"Nothing..."

We walk along the water's edge, the cool foam tickling our toes as we share stories and reminisce about days gone by. It's as if time has stood still, frozen in this perfect moment of bliss.

As my brother strolled over, his gentle hand tousling my hair in an affectionate manner, I couldn't help but shoot him a glare filled with frustration.I feel like I am living the same moments again.

As the sun begins to set, casting a fiery orange glow across the horizon, I feel a sense of peace wash over me. In this moment, surrounded by the ones I love, I am whole. And for the first time since the accident, I allow myself to let go of the pain and the fear, if only for a little while.

As I stand on the sandy shore, the realization dawns on me like a gentle whisper in the breeze-I am not just dreaming of my family; I am one with them. The weight of this revelation settles over me like a heavy shroud, and I come to understand that I am no longer of the living world.

My heart skips a beat as I look upon my parents and my brother, their ethereal forms shimmering in the soft light of the setting sun. There is a serene beauty to their presence, a tranquility that envelops me like a warm embrace. And yet, beneath the surface, a sense of sorrow lingers, knowing that our time together is but a fleeting moment in the vast expanse of eternity.

As we walk along the water's edge, their voices mingle with the sound of the crashing waves, and I am filled with a profound sense of peace. Here, in this liminal space between life and death, I am free from the pain and suffering of the mortal world. Here, I am whole once more, reunited with the ones I love most.

But even as I revel in the beauty of this moment, a nagging doubt tugs at the edges of my consciousness. Is this truly paradise, or merely a figment of my imagination? Am I truly at peace, or simply deluding myself in the face of my own mortality?

As the sun dips below the horizon, casting long shadows across the beach, I find myself grappling with these existential questions, searching for meaning in the vast emptiness of the void. And yet, even as doubt threatens to consume me, I cannot deny the overwhelming sense of contentment that fills my soul.

For in this moment, surrounded by the love of my family, I am at peace with whatever fate may come. Whether I am truly dead or merely dreaming, it matters not, for in the end, love is the only truth that truly matters. And as I close my eyes and surrender to the gentle embrace of the ocean breeze, I am filled with a profound sense of gratitude for the precious gift of life-and love-that has brought me here.

But even as I bask in the warmth of the fading sunlight, a distant voice calls out to me, pulling me back to reality.

"Gabriella....please.....wake....up" The sound of sobbing pierced the silence, but as I strained to identify the source, the voice remained unfamiliar, a haunting lament that echoed through the emptiness around me.

Slowly, reluctantly, I open my eyes, I squinted my eyes a bit rough, shutting them tightly once before opening them again, blinking away the remnants of the dream as the sterile walls of the hospital room come into focus.