Love Never Dies

Chapter 1

I slowly blink my eyes open as I start to gain feeling in my body. Every single cell in my body feels stiff as though I hadn't moved in centuries. Once my eys have adjusted I look around and see an absolutely beautiful lake shimmering in the distance, a curtain of willow trees between me and it. Looking the other way I see I'm in the center of a small clearing that's completely surrounded by weeping willows.

Slowly I rise to my feet, noticing that I was barefoot and wore only a long, flowy white dress that hung loosely on my thin frame. I hear near silent footsteps behind me and whip around, my long brown hair flying behind me.

Coming from the western side of the clearing a tall, willowy woman with ankle length auburn hair steps out from the cover of the trees. She too is barefoot and dressed in white, though she has a moss green sash tied around her waist.

She walks towards me and stands arms length away from me. She has a kind twinkle in her emerald green eyes as she smiles gently, almost saddly, at me. She raises one ivory hand and places it on the side of my face, cupping my cheek.

"Winter Springsteen."

She speaks only my name but her voice holds infinite power just waiting to be discovered.

I nod silently too stunned by everything to speak. My memories are slowly coming back and the last thing I remember is the semi hitting me and my mother's car.

I look into the women's eyes and see the unspoken truth there but I refuse to believe it until I hear it.

"Am- Am I dead?" I speak the words barely above a whisper but they hang in the air around us as though the entire clearing has taken up a constant chant questioning my life status.

She closes her eyes and bows her head in a sorrowful nod. I stare shocked at this as I feel the tears fall down my faces. Suddenly it all feels like too much and my knees can no longer hold my weight and I fall to the ground, landing on soft moss.

The women kneels down infornt of me and pulls me into her arms, allowing me to cry on her shoulder.

"Winter, you have been called to the afterlife early because we need your help. You and three other souls have a special bond, you four are a triad, three from life, one from death. You are only able to communicate with one of the souls, this one being your soulmate, he will be able to explain this to the other two."

I shake my head back and forth, slowly getting faster as hysteria and shock settle in.

"No. No. This can not be happening. I'm only fifteen, I have my whole life ahead of me. I can't just be dead. I can't be."

Sobs wracked my body as the women hugs me again supporting me from falling and allowing me to cry into her shoulder.

"Winter, I know it hurts but you need to get it together. If you don't go back and do this bad things will happen. Very bad things."

She looks me dead in the eye, a firm seriousness in her gaze. I shakily step back, supporting my own weight and nod unsure.

"Ok, what do I need to do?"