Still Here [Fillie]

The Death

Millie's POV

"This sucks!" I scream as I was now flipping through the pages of a book I got from the library. I've spent two months trying to find any information on that dark place Finn keeps dreaming about. Why can't he just dream about video games and hot girls like every other teenage boy? I slam the book shut with a frustrated moan and throw it on the ground from my bed. That was the fifty sixth book I had read. Time to move on to the next one.

I lift my hand up towards a pile of books on the dining table while glaring and concentrating. The book slowly levitates and I bring it closer with my mind. Once it hovers over me, I just let it go and it falls into my lap. I read the cover. 'Beyond the Spirit World'. Certainly it must have something on that dark place. I open it up and start flipping through pages.

The front door opened and I gaze up to see Noni holding bags of groceries. She took a look around the room as she shut the door and slowly walked towards the counter in the kitchen. "Wow, looks like you got through most of the books." She comments. I shut the book I had in my hands and groan. I wish I hadn't died. I would have spent this summer interacting with my friends instead of watching them and reading books that are useless.

"This is all such crap. I've spent two months researching this stupid place and haven't found squat. I'm starting to think that this place isn't real and it's all just in Finn's dream." I rant. Noni put a head of cabbage in the refrigerator and sighed. She's probably sick of hearing me talk about this stuff. "I would tell you to stop what you're doing and go return those books if you're so mad, but you seem really committed and it's up to you if you wanna end this wild goose chase or not."

I rub my forehead and lie back in my bed. It's all just so hard. What does it all mean? None of these books say anything about a dark, cold, windy place surrounded by glass or whatever. Why would Finn be there anyway? He did say he could hear my voice. Maybe it's here in the spirit world and I just haven't found the place yet. I sat up and look at Noni, who was putting a bag of rice away.

"Could we maybe go for a walk? I've lived here for a few months now and I've never actually seen what's here." I ask. The woman nods as she was still putting food away. "Of course we can, right after I get put this stuff away." She responds kindly. I smile.

-

Winona and I were walking downtown. Everything was so white and bright while Noni and I were the only ones who were dressed colorfully. It's only because there's some sort of filter in this world that makes you see everyone else's clothes as plain and boring, along with other things like nature and buildings. Yep, even the trees are grass are white. I hate this place.

My guardian angel and I now stood in the middle of the town. We've been walking for an hour and a half and still haven't found anything. The darkest thing here is Noni's clothes. This walk was pointless as hell. "Damn it, where is it?" I ask looking around again. There was nothing but big ivory buildings and people wearing the same shade of clothing.

"Millie baby, calm down. I'm sure you'll figure it out, you're a very smart young woman." The short woman with dark hair says. I cross my arms and sigh. I just wanna go home now, we've been out here for awhile now. "What time is it?" I ask. Winona looks down at the watch around her wrist. "It's five thirty two. We should get home so I can make dinner." She sighs. I nodded and we shuffle back home with sad faces.

Once we got back to our neighborhood and went inside our home, Noni told me to clean up. I neatly stacked up all my library books by my bed using my mind while the woman was in the kitchen chopping vegetables. After cleaning, I sat at the dining table with a sigh and watched Noni. I've had this one question in my mind for awhile now, but I was too scared to ask her about it. I need to get it off my chest though.

"Why did you avoid me that night I called you mom?" The woman stops moving her knife for a moment and just stares at the cutting board. Does she not like it? "Before I died, I had a daughter." She stated. I turn my body to face her and listen to her story. She slowly continued to cut celery. "Her name was Jane and she was about your age. She kind of looks like you, actually. She meant the world to me and she'd always call me mama, nothing else."

I smile at her story. I noticed tears built up in Winona's eyes as she spoke. "One night we went bowling because she said that the bowling alley was where all the popular kids from her school would go on Friday nights to hang out together and she wanted to talk to them and make friends. The kids laughed at her because I was there and I guess parents don't stay with their kids. Jane got really upset and told them that I wasn't leaving her and then she said that she didn't want to hang out with them anymore, so we played by ourselves."

"We bowled all night until it closed and when we left, there was a man outside the building with a knife. He held the tip of the knife at her head and told me to give him my purse or he would hurt her. I was so scared in that moment and worried about my daughter. All she could do was cry and say 'mama please. I'm scared'. I told her to run and she did, but I didn't. The guy stabbed me about four times in the chest while I heard Jane screaming that name over and over again like a broken record."

"Obviously she got away and she's safe now. I haven't visited her out in the real world since her fifteenth birthday. I just go so emotional every time I see her or think about her and that night you called me mama...it brought back so many memories of my little girl. Good memories and bad memories. I wonder how she is now."

Tears fell out of my eyes as I stood up and hesitantly walked over to the crying woman to wrap my arms around her. She stopped what she was doing to hug me back and cry. "You can call me mama if you want. I'm sorry for making it seem like you couldn't." She apologized as she rub circles on my back. I can't imagine going through something like that. I'm glad Noni opened up to me about this.

----------------------

Sorry for this sad chapter.

So now we know how Winona died and that's lit I guess. Next chapter will be better, I promise.❤️