Cricket: Ember's Story

Peace

It feels like no time has passed when I open my eyes next. And just like the last time I did, West is there, only he isn't frantically begging me not to die. Now he is sleeping in a chair beside the hospital bed. I assume that's where I am anyway, a hospital. All I can hear are machines beeping, voices, and the humming of electronics.

"West!" I say in a whisper.

He wakes up instantly, sees me and lunges forward with a grin on his face.

"Hi, Beautiful! How are you?" he asks.

"Um... you tell me," I say in a voice scratchy from not being used.

"You've been here for four days, three nights. You got shot. The gun went off or maybe he did it on purpose, I don't know. All I know is there was a shot and you were on the ground."

"I know that part. How fucked up am I?"

"Pretty bad, but could be worse. They did surgery and tons of other stuff to get you stabilized. You'll be okay. Just give it time, they say," West says.

I look out the window next to the bed, see the bright, hot morning, humidity from the lake running in silver rivers down the glass.

"West, I saw it happen," I say softly. "I saw it all. I even went back to our room and saw Cricket. Cricket! Oh my God where is he?"

"Here," West says. He nods down at his feet. "In his carrier asleep. I've been taking care of him. Thank God for Google because I felt pretty lost. But we made it in the end, me and the little dude."

I smile. "Thank you. That means everything to me."

"What do you mean you saw it happen?" he asks me curiously.

"I mean Adam was right. It's all real," I mumble.

"What's real?"

"Everything! Spirits! Ghosts! The afterlife!"

"What did you see?"

"I think I saw the Grim Reaper, as stupid as that sounds. It was like a shadow. It spoke to me."

"You're freaking me out now," West says, but there's a playful tone in his voice that tells me he doesn't believe me. I continue on with my story anyway, feeling a little irritated.

"It asked me what I wanted, like a last request, and I said I wanted to see Cricket."

"Well I never pictured the Reaper being so friendly and accommodating," West said with a soft chuckle.

"West... the Reaper was real, I swear. And It was... kind. I felt such peace from It, almost like love. I saw our bedroom just like it is, and I saw Cricket sleeping in his crib, and I was ready to die, but then I opened my eyes and saw you over me," I say, and I realize I'm crying. I brush away the warm tears on my cheeks.

"And after that?"

"After that there was nothing. I didn't see the Reaper again or anything else until I woke up just now. I know you don't believe me."

West looks away from me, leans back in his chair, and doesn't reply for a couple of minutes. I can tell he's trying to come up with something to say that won't offend me. He crosses his arms over his chest. Then, finally, he says,

"It's not that I don't believe you. I believe you really did see all this. I just know that all kinds of stuff happens to your brain as you're dying, and... that might be another explanation for what you saw," West says carefully.

I shake my head even though I know it's no use. He's just like I used to be when Adam talked about all this. At the thought of Adam, I suddenly feel warm inside. Now that I know Death isn't scary, it's comforting to think that Adam was carried away as tenderly as I was, with as much peace and kindness and gentleness.