My Purgatory Hell

Chapter 7

"You just have to have the guidance to lead you in the direction until you can do it yourself."

- Tina Yothers

"Please, wake up," I sobbed uselessly, but I knew my efforts were wasted. I cupped the cheek of my physical body in my hand. "Why did I have to do that?" I asked myself, referring to the moments of stupidity leading up to the accident. What if I hadn't looked at my phone? Would I have spotted the stop sign? What if I hadn't left that party--would I still be alive?

"You might as well save your energy," a little girl spoke from behind me. I froze and looked around to see a young girl who looked familiar. She looked to be about ten or twelve years old and had a faint haze around her. The girl gave me a small smile. "It's useless." She shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal, turned, and started walking away from me, leaving me dazed.

I brushed myself off, got to my feet, and hurried after her. "Excuse me? Who are you?" I questioned as I caught up to her.

"I'm your guide." The response was vague and made me even more confused and a little frustrated.

I sighed in exasperation. "I meant, who are you? You look familiar," I stated. I caught her wrist and we both stopped in the middle of the road.

"Of course I look familiar--a couple of years ago my face would have been all over the news." Her statement was somewhat cynical, but she gave me a small smile and shrugged. "The name is Samantha Amelia Turner." Her brown eyes were sincere and saddened, and she spoke as if she weren't discussing herself. Samantha's long curls hung perfectly around her soft-shapen face.

Samantha Amelia Turner.... The name sounded familiar. It took a few minutes, but finally it clicked. "You drowned in that one lake," I stated out loud in awe. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?" I looked around as if someone would pop out from hiding and shout 'Gotcha'!

Samantha nodded in confirmation. "I am dead, and so are you." The last part stung more than it should have--clearly she was kidding, right? I opened my mouth to speak, but then shut it. I didn't know what to say to Samatha's comment. We were both living, but dead? The thought was both humorous and scary, but my emotional response could be due to the shock I was experiencing. Samantha raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you okay?"

"You seem oddly mature for your age," I whispered, not wanting to answer Samantha's question, because I wasn't sure if I was okay. I felt empty inside and like the world was out to get me. I knew this reasoning was flawed, but I wanted to reverse time to correct the bad decisions I've made, leading to my death.

"Technically I'm almost fifteen, even though I still look the way I died." Samantha's voice was still saddened as she stated this. Then she pulled on her white sundress. "If I would have known this is what I would be stuck in, I would have worn something different." She scrunched her nose up in distaste, but shrugged the comment off.

"Have you talked to others before me?" I asked, curious as to how Samantha spent the last couple years since her death.

Samantha nodded with a wry smile. "Only a few, though. I have yet to find my peace, and it's exhausting." She sighed.

"What do you mean by that statement?" The words were out of my mouth before I had time to stop them from escaping my lips. I didn't want to prod her with all of my probing questions--she's probably dealt with a lot of these similar questions before me. I couldn't help myself, though, because I felt very disoriented, and I was still getting my head around the fact that I was dead. Shock helped with keeping my turmoil of emotions at bay. Oddly enough, I could hear sirens roaring in the mere distance, reminding me of the accident because they were on their way to address the scene of the accident. My accident.