To The Grave

1. He Stole My Heart

     DANIELA SOLIS AWOKE TO the pitter-patter of midnight rain; the same relaxing sound that had lulled her into a deep sleep that most people only dreamed of having.

Her long charcoal coated lashes fluttered like butterfly wings as she blinked rapidly. She let out an uncontrollable and desperate gasp for air, as if she was finally being pulled out of murky water after being submerged for too long.

It took her a minute or two to gain back the feeling in her finger tips, then her toes, and eventually her whole body. In a languid daze, she somehow managed to stand up on her feet.

It felt like she was waking up with sleep paralysis, something in which she was all too familiarized with. Tall, dark, menacing shadows would dance across her bedroom walls. Back and forth. Taunting her. They'd scatter and regroup, but would always end up sitting in a standstill as she laid in fear and distress; unable to move, speak, or scream.

In this case, she wasn't dealing with looming shadows and delusive make-believe demons. The real demon before her had deteriorating chalky white skin, full pouty pink painted lips, long raven hair, and a pretty face that was shamefully wasted away as she rotted in a coffin.

"Oh yeah, I'm fucking dead." Daniela muttered under her breath as an unflinching hand found it's way to the corpse's eyes.

She gently pulled open her eyelids to reveal a pair of hazel eyes that have lost their effervescent sparkle. These eyes were muddied, sad, and soulless. They weren't Daniela's eyes.

She looked around at her lux surroundings. Her family crypt looked more like a sleek hotel room reserved for a CEO rather than a room reserved for the dead. The last thing that she remembered before she "woke up" was weird; something that she felt when she was still in her decaying body.

It was a large hand that grasped onto a piece of jewelry on her chest- a rose gold heart necklace. She felt the fingers delicately work the precious necklace off of her neck.

The smell of fresh lemons and mint had overwhelmed all of her senses that could work. A hearty cough was the last thing she heard before the invigorating smell became fainter and fainter, and then the sicko who stole her necklace seemed to have left the crypt.

Daniela massaged her temples with an agitated groan. Her memory was hazy. It caused strain to try to remember specific details, and a sharp pain shot through her head afterwards.

She remembered the basics about herself. Her name was Daniela Lynette Solis, former heiress to the Solis Corporation. She was twenty-two years old when she died. She couldn't remember when she died exactly, but it had to be recent based on her "fresh" looking corpse. She had a screwed up family and an even more screwed up lifestyle.

The things she did in the past didn't matter anymore. It was all gone now. Her new body, or whatever was allowing her be in the physical world, felt strange and light.

What was she now if she wasn't in her real body?

An idea popped into her head. Daniela faced an open wall space dimly lit by hidden lightbulbs. She stepped closer in-between the coffins of her Grandmother Ellis and great aunt Paula. They were next to each other because Grandma Ellis would have rather worn fake diamonds than be dead next to Uncle Hector.

Maybe Daniela
should've thought twice about taking a running start and dashing straight into the wall if she wasn't sure of her new abilities yet, but she was glad she did.