Dream for the Dead (Completed/Editing)

49 - Pushing up...Cyclamen?

The last thing I remembered was the blinding white light before I blacked out. I woke finally in a confused and disorientated state. I rubbed my eyes, and I could feel something familiar below me. I was sure I could hear something similar to faint sobs nearby, but I didn't really know.
"I don't want to be hear..." A voice I thought I recognised whispered, followed by a sniff. "I really don't. Not now."
I checked my wrist to make sure my bracelet was still there. If I was never going to see Seth ever again, I wanted to at least have something of him. I was relieved to see that the bracelet was there: intact and in perfect condition. My watch was also still there, so I looked down to check my dress. That was still on, too, and there was no tear in it.
I sighed and felt ready to be sick as I pulled myself up, my eyes squeezed shut, prepared for the worst. Where would I be? When I pulled myself up, I opened my eyes, surprised by my surroundings. Was I where Seth had been sent? I was in our forest. I looked at what I was lying on, and there, were the millions of cyclamen we always sat in. I checked if I still had Samantha's necklace, and I did. Then, the sobs I was sure I'd heard earlier became clearer.
I looked around to see where the sound was coming from. What was going on? Was I in the real forest, or the one in the afterlife? My eyes landed on a silhouette of a person hunched over, and I cautiously moved over. Even if I was dead, I could still be hurt.
When I got close enough, I recognised the figure. "Wait a second...Seth?"
"Tab-" he turned slowly. "Tabitha?"
His entire face brightened when he saw me, and he pounced.
"Ah!" I screeched. "Calm down!"
"But, I thought I'd lost you forever. And before..."
"Before?" I asked, not caring that he was lying directly over me.
He sighed. "Happy birthday, Tabitha."
"Thanks." I grinned. "But is this even real? Or is this my Heaven?"
He smiled widely. "Why would this be your Heaven?"
"Oh, you know. I looked around us. "The pretty cyclamen, the trees, the water..."
We laughed and I looked back at Seth, right into his eyes. "...and you." Those two words came out quieter and squeakier, but I knew he heard me. I knew because he dipped his head down...and kissed me.
I curled my hands in his hair, my heart pounding in my chest. This had to be Heaven. I felt a few tears drop from Seth's eyes, and hoped they were tears of joy and not caused by how painfully awful kissing me was. When he pulled away, there was a tiny bit of sadness in me.
"Wow." He smiled. "Sorry."
He jumped off me, flustered and blushing.
"Why are you sorry?" I laughed, sitting up beside him. "And, yeah, wow."
"Well, you don't..." He buried his head in his hands in his embarrassment. "I'm in love with you, Tabs. Okay?"
My whole body tingled with excitement. "Okay, Seth, this has to be Heaven."
He looked at me, disbelief in his eyes.
"Because..." I paused, just to torment him. "I'm in love with you, too. Elias has known since Halloween night. That was when I truly realised...when we lost you."
He kissed me once more.

The walk back to the Manor was quite awkward: Seth's fingers laced with mine and hardly any words were spoken. Seth explained what had happened whilst I was gone, and that Mum had left town with my Uncle and Auntie for a few nights.
"Your body is in the morgue." Seth told me. "So, there's no chance of Kyle cooking up up, fortunately."
"I can't believe what I've done to Mum. But this was my destiny." I let a few tears trickle down my cheeks. "I bet I've destroyed her."
Seth didn't speak, presumably not to hurt me. He refused to tell me how Mum had been, and he told me that he was worried about taking me back to the mansion. Carver was still angry, and he was smashing the entire basement to pieces.
"Stay close to me, alright?" Seth pulled me closer to him as we entered the mansion.
"It's so strange, Seth. I feel exactly the same. Yet, I have that new thing."
"New thing?" He looked at me, confused.
"The ability to decide who sees me. It just feels like...blinking, I guess? I know exactly how to do it without thinking about it."
"It is pretty weird at first."
My eyes lit up when I saw Elias dragging himself along the hallway.
"Elias!" I yelled, running for him.
"W-what? Tabitha?" He began laughing and grabbed me around my waist, spinning me in the air. "Tabitha!"
"Elias, shh!" Seth hissed. "Carver might hear."
"He's been crying his little heart out over you." Elias whispered into my ear. He had to add, however, "and so have I."
"Oh, Tabs." Seth grabbed my attention, and - though I could see he wasn't exactly pleased - Elias left us alone.
"Yeah?" I smiled widely at him, unable to control myself.
"I have something for you. You know, since it's your birthday and everything." He produced a tiny wrapped box from his hoodie pocket.
"I was planning on telling you how I felt, and..." He passed the box to me and nodded at it.
When I opened it up, it was a little silver ring with an infinity sign etched onto the inside. On the outside was a single, tiny topaz: my birthstone.
"It's a promise ring." He took the box from me, and slipped the ring onto my ring finger. "It means I promise to always love and protect you. No matter what."
I was mesmerised by the beauty of the ring. Quickly, without thinking, I kissed Seth on the cheek. "Thank you."
I was quite amused at the same time, though, as I thought: what is it with boys and jewellery?