The Line Between Living and Dying

Seeing Through the Veil

Dani tossed and turned in her bed. The past few nights she had gotten barely an hour of sleep. Every night flashes of purple light danced across the inside of her eyelids, keeping her awake.

Dani rolled onto her back, holding her pillow tightly to her face in a desperate attempt to keep the lights out but it was no use. Dani sighed, facing the ceiling with contempt.

Giving up, Dani stumbled into her living room to watch tv. Within minutes, she was passed out in a restless sleep full of emptiness and purple.

* * *

The next morning, Dani stopped by Jitters to grab a coffee when she ran into Iris.

"Dani, hey, how's your mom?" Iris asked as she cleaned tables.

"Slowly dying," Dani answered, too tired for small talk.

"Are you okay?" Iris turned to Dani with a hand on her hip.

"I'm fine. Just tired." Dani rubbed her eyes. "It's been literary impossible for me to sleep lately."

"Yeah, I've hardly been sleeping myself," Iris informed. "Dr. Wells took Barry to S.T.A.R Labs the other night. He said that he was more helpful than the doctors. It's just so scary, not knowing what's wrong."

"Yeah," Dani sighed. A moment of silence passed before she spoke again. "Well, I have to get going. My boss only gave me a week off of work because of my mom."

"Wow, that's cruel." Iris scoffed.

"It's better than nothing." Dani shrugged, grabbing her bag. "See you tomorrow?"

"I'll be here," Iris said with a smile. "Oh, wait, Dani! Do you want to come by S.T.A.R Labs with me later this week? To see Barry?"

"Of course. Text me what time." Dani smiled, finally leaving for work.

* * *

After a long day of curating sculptures and paintings, Dani drove to the home to see her mom. A few days ago the hospital released her and now she was fighting cancer within the comforts of her home. On the way there, Dani stopped by a Thai restaurant, picking up dinner for her and her mom.

"Hey." Dani smiled brightly at her mother entering the living room.

"There's my girl." Marianne returned the smile.

Dani held up the takeout bag in her hand. "I brought dinner."

"And just like that, you're my favorite." Marianne laughed.

Dani set the bag down on the coffee table. "Where's dad?"

"He's still at the gym," Marianne answered, opening one of the to-go boxes. "There's this one kid he's teaching to box that literally has no muscle."

"Let me guess, its a nerd who's tired of being shoved in a locker." Dani grabbed her own to-go box.

"Probably." Marianne sighed. "It's so horrible that some kids have to go through that."

Dani didn't respond. She sat on the couch, staring off into the distance. She had zoned out thinking about how to bring up what's been going on with her to her mom.

"Dani, what's wrong?" Marianne placed a hand on her daughter's arm, snapping her out of her trance.

"Sorry, what?" Dani turned to her mom.

"Is something bothering you?" Marianne's eyebrows furrowed.

Dani took a deep breath. "Yeah, actually. I haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately because every time I close my eyes, all I see are these weird purple lights."