Enter Night 《Cliff Burton》

15

             I sighed and cracked a twig in my hand, standing just outside my front porch. I was debated whether to go inside or not.

Cliff, who was right next to me, gave me a gentle push on the shoulder. "Go ahead, you should get in first. It's your house and your mother."

             We had both decided to meet my mom together. Apparently, Cliff wanted to talk to her too, but I couldn't get him to tell me about what. He didn't say anything more than "Wait and see."

             I threw the broken twig on the ground and squashed it against the frosty grass with my feet. Gulping, I stepped forward.

Talking to my mother was a lot harder than I thought it would be. After all, she had done some shit to me that neither of us could forget - the hitting and general abuse.

               I knew she still loved me, though. She just always thought she was doing what was best for me.

Which was what had essentially got me killed.

              No, no, I quickly pushed that thought away. It was no one's fault that I died. I wouldn't put that burden on even my worst enemy.

I'd always been forgiving, but it was also true that I never forgot.

              Taking a deep breath, I rang the doorbell. Cliff gave me an encouraging smile and a thumbs up.

I cleared my throat. "Um, I don't know if I'm visible. Should I be visible?"

Cliff let out a short chuckle. "You're visible. And you probably should be." He paused. "But, uh, I don't know if you're visible to living humans."

                 I rolled my eyes. "That's what I'm asking, åsna."

"Aus- what?" Cliff said, raising an eyebrow. I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could, he suddenly said, "Quit speaking ABBA for a bit, I can hear footsteps."

I held my breath. Moments later, the door opened, revealing my very tired-looking mother.

I watched as her eyes widened as she looked back and forth between me and Cliff. She looked... frightened.

           "M-mom? It's me."

"I'm sorry, leave me alone!" She burst into tears.

"Mom! Wait!" I called, but she closed the door on my face. I could hear running footsteps slowly fading away.

               After a long moment of silence, Cliff cleared his throat. "Uh, I guess we are visible."

I grabbed on to one of his mile-long arms. "Come on, we have to confront her!"

            Cliff didn't protest as I pulled him in to my house through the closed door. I looked around at the familiar surroundings. The staircase, the doorway to the kitchen, the smooth tiled floor.

And my acoustic guitar.

I felt my eyes sting with tears. I hadn't realized how much I missed being alive til now.

             The posters, the CD's, the guitar picks and T-shirts I'd collected, my bass guitar I'd saved up a fortune to buy, all those hours of practise...

All for nothing.

            "Hey!" I looked up at Cliff, who was leaning over at me, a look of concern on his face. He wrapped a denim-clad arm around my shoulder. "What's wrong? Your mom?"

"No..." I quickly wiped a tear that dropped out of my right eye. "I just want to be alive again."

               "C'mere," He said, pulling me into a big bear hug. Another tear fell out of my eyes on to his Misfits T-shirt, then another one. Soon, I was pretty much crying.