At The Edge Of Oblivion

- Gone But Not Forgotten -

      10:14 pm, September 11th, 2014
    My eyes were still open when I drifted back into life and.. I don't know how. I certainly don't know why. I was supposed to be dead. I have been unconscious enough to know that this wasn't it. I was dead, but somehow I was back. My everything hurt. Even worse than before. Time felt like it had all but stopped. I moved my head enough to see that I had been gone for all of six minutes. Six minutes of bliss. I tried getting up a few times, but eventually just settled on my back looking up at the ceiling. Until suddenly something happened that sent a shiver down my spine and froze me in place. "Hey stranger" A look of horror covered my face as the voice spoke again "You look like hell." Allison was sitting on the end of my bed looking at me. It was too much for me to process. I hadn't slept in three days. I just watched my best friend die. I almost killed the kid who caused it. And I literally just came back from the dead, understandably I have had enough. So I passed out.
    I became aware of the sun glaring in my eyes. I took a deep breath and pain surged through my entire body. The fire that was my anger and despair had been reduced to embers. It had been replaced by a feeling of complete and total brokenness. I moved my head ever so slightly to look at my clock.
    "Well," I croaked. "So much for school." I found out later that in a bittersweet set of circumstances for me— school was canceled the next day. On account of the death of Allison. Allison who was still sitting on my bed. Allison who was talking to me. At first I was hoping that this was all some bizarre dream. Some horrible nightmare. Unfortunately I had no such luck. Something was different about her. Though I'm sure that her dying and all the night before had something to do with it. I was still laying on the floor where I had given up the night before. I was attempting to get a handle of everything that had happened when her voice called out again. You should probably get out there. I ignored her for the time being. There was more than enough for me to deal with as is. I struggled for a bit, but eventually made it to my feet. I felt— I don't exactly know how to describe it. I felt different. Numb? Empty? I felt different. It was around this time that I smelled bacon. I'll admit, for a brief moment I wondered if the smell was me. Unfortunately not, I heard my mother rummaging around in the kitchen. I looked over at Allison. I knew that she was dead, I didn't know how it was possible for her to be sitting here. She looked at me with that look that she had given me on the bus what felt like lifetimes ago. "Listen, I get this is all a bit much, but you should probably nab that note before your mother finds it." I panicked. Possible haunting aside, she was right. I couldn't let my mother find the note. I moved as quick as I could, which wasn't very fast. I had just grabbed the note when my mom saw me. She walked over and gave me a hug. I asked her what it was for and she said that she heard school got canceled because someone in my class had died. She asked if I knew her. I lied.
    "I saw her around, but no I didn't know her." It felt wrong to say, but at the same time it was one of the easiest lies I ever told. I turned to go back to my room and Allison was standing in the hallway. She looked crushed. I steadied myself and walked past her. I shut the door behind me. Her brother called me a few days after everything. He said that he had purchased a small parcel of land that she had always told him about. He said that he was going to busy her there. He knew her and I were close. The funeral was small. There were only a few people there. Her brother and I, Claire and a few others. He had her put near the tree. Then he had it fenced off. It was the perfect place for her. I'd go visit every once and awhile. I'd make an extra PB&J and leave it for her. It took me awhile to get there after it happened. I would catch glimpses of her the first few weeks after. I would make it halfway there then turn and go. Over time she would come around more and more. Not even at the tree. She would show up in my everyday life. Sitting next to me on the bus. Standing at the end of a hall. Walking through the aisles at stores. One day she just stayed. I was laying on my floor and she was just there next to me. I was hesitant to talk to her. It was all a bit much. I don't think we spoke for a few weeks. I ignored her until it became clear that she wasn't going to leave. Everywhere I went she was there. I don't believe in ghosts. I was probably just hallucinating. After everything, I think I was allowed to be a little crazy. It all scared me at first,then it just annoyed me. I was angry at her. It took me awhile, but after a few months I grew less bothered by her presence.