The Day I Died

The Day I Was Told The Truth

Chapter 31
The Day I Was Told The Truth

"Since you're only going to be here a few hours, I'm going to put you in the lobby. It's a little noisy dear, but you'll be fine." Steph tells me, hurrying me into the elevator.

After we arrived at her office, she immediately began telling me that I should prepare for what would happen after the next 3 hours.

That I should decide how to save Maisie, whilst simultaneously saving myself. It seems pretty simple if you don't actually think about it too much.

I'm trying really hard not to think about it.

I was almost expecting the number 3 to appear on my wrist but now; instead of a number, there is a small band of shimmery gold.

A halo.

Steph says that everyone gets one if they succeed - and that I can keep the wellies. (Lucky me!)

"See you in 3 hours! Don't be late." She says with a smile and a wave before the doors click shut.

I press my finger to the shiny button labeled "Ground" and feel my stomach drop as the elevator begins to descend.

I hate that part.

The doors ping open several seconds later and I walk into the lobby, my eyes instantly zoning in on a comfy looking chair in the window.

My legs carry me towards it and I find myself looking around. The room is buzzing with noise; two girls are currently having a dance off in the middle of the room, other people are chatting, sleeping, laughing.

It's nice, nicer than I thought being dead would be. Nobody seems sad or lonely or afraid, just comfortable.

One thing catches my eye though, there are several old women at a glass table in the corner, playing a game of cards. The main thing that I notice is the small boy hiding behind a potted plant, mouthing the card numbers of the woman in front of him to the others.

She's shaking her head and the boy is holding a hand over his mouth, grinning from ear to ear.

I smile to myself and sink down into the plush red seat; almost immediately sighing with relaxation.

I peer out of the polished glass window and all I can see is a pale blue blanket spotted with fluffy white clouds. It's quite nice to look at, peaceful even and I kind of feel like I'm in an aeroplane.

Before long, I find my eyes fluttering closed and before I know it, everything goes dark.

"YOU'RE HOT THEN YOU'RE COLD YOU'RE YES THEN YOU'RE NO YOU'RE-"

"Stop!" I groan, opening my eyes.

"Hey, Sis. Did you sleep well?" Sam asks, pulling the pair of headphones off his head.

"Yes, until you came along." I say with a grin, it's good to see him.

"Congratulations! You're nearly alive again!" He cheers, clapping me on the shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks..." Something pulls at the back of my mind and I frown, remembering the last time I saw him.

"What were you going to say? You know, just before I disappeared?" I ask him.

He looks confused for a second but then he nods.

"I was going to warn you, that things don't happen as they should." He must notice the absolute confusion on my face and continues.

"The numbers, for a start, are complete rubbish. They skip, they stop... Did that happen to you?"

I nod and he continues.

"They don't die in the way they tell you they are going to either, it's to make you think. Second chances are rare, they can't just give anybody one." He ends, wrapping the long headphone cord around his fingers.

I think back and remember that Liam was meant to die in a drunk driving accident.

Heaven is sneaky.

"What about my powers?" I ask him, curious. "Steph said that I didn't have any powers..."

He just shrugs, "That, I don't know. You can talk to her yourself though. It's time to get you're life back, you ready?" I nod and he smiles.

"Good, lets go."

It takes us a few minutes to get back to Stephs office and I wave goodbye to Sam before I knock on the door.

"Come in!" She yells and I enter the room, heading for one of the chairs.

As soon as I sit down, I ask her the same question I asked Sam.

"Urh, why did I have special powers?" I ask, and she looks at me and frowns.

"Maybe you were imagining it, nobody gets powers or it wouldn't be fair-"

I frown, well that explains nothin-

"Or maybe," she continues, "I had something to do with it."

She winks and stands up from her desk, walking over to the chair next to mine.

"Thankyou," I tell her sincerely, "I couldn't have got through that without you..." I give her a hug and she begins to giggle.

"Can I just tell you that using a frying pan as a weapon is literally the most hilarious thing I've ever seen!" she exclaims and I smile.

"Well, it's all I had!" I defend and she glances at her watch.

"It's time to go, you're a little late. Good luck, I'm rooting for you Scarlett. You're a lovely girl... And as for you and my son-" she smiles and grabs the golden remote off the desk, "-I completely approve."

Before I can respond, she is clicking the rewind button the the remote and mouthing 'Bye!'.

The world begins to blur and fade and I screw my eyes up, feeling dizzy.

They're still closed when I begin to feel the rain on my skin; and that's when my eyes fly open.

Let's do this.