Reflect // Van McCann

33. Goodbye

*Van's POV*

I let my words sink in and could feel the tears coming. She had a whole life ahead of her. She's supposed to earn her medical degree, get married, have a family, and grow old with someone she loves. Instead, she's dying. Amy stared at me, confused. She was trying to understand but had no idea what was going on.

"Amy, when I first got here, I had so much to learn. I went to the library and read books about paradise just like Adam did with limbo," I started. "One of the things I learned is that we can dream about people who are still alive but only if they're near death. This only works for people in paradise and not the other way around. The dreams serve the same purpose nonetheless, helping us find each other when they arrive." Amy stared at me with wide eyes. Her mouth was open but she wasn't saying anything. "Amy, I saw her! I don't want her to die." I could hear my voice crack and I quickly wiped my tears.

"Van, tell me what you saw," she finally said.

"She was reaching for her phone to call 911 because she couldn't breathe. And then she passed out. Probably from lack of oxygen," I said quickly, out of breath.

"Van, you need to breathe. Everything will be okay. She called 911. Help is on their way. They will help her."

I slowly knelt down and Amy did the same. I was feeling a wave of emotions and felt unsteady on my feet. I was unable to form coherent thoughts. All that was on my mind was Jess passing out. The image replayed in my mind over and over again.

I'd love to think that she's okay. That they find her and help her breathe. But there was something in the back of my mind telling me that dreams make no mistakes. Despite help being on its way, she was going to die regardless.

.

.

.

*Ryan's POV*

I was in my dorm studying when I heard my phone buzzing. I answered my phone without seeing who called.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Ryan! Thank God you answered," my mom sighed into the phone.

I was suddenly on edge. "Why? What's wrong?" I could hear her hesitating to answer.

"I've—I've got some bad news," she said, sniffing. Was she crying? I waited for her to continue and literally wanted to shout at her to continue because the silence was killing me. "Jess is in the emergency room. She had respiratory failure due to COVID-19 and it caused her to go into a coma. She is unable to breathe on her own and the doctors don't think she'll make it. They gave us a few days to say goodbye."

I stared straight ahead. This must be a mistake. There's no way this is happening—not to Jess! I remember seeing her a few weeks back and she was fine, albeit tired and stressed from medical school. What happened between then and now?

"Are—are you at the hospital right now?" I questioned.

"Yes. I'm with Sarah. They won't let us in because she has COVID-19 but we're outside her room."

"Mom, I'm coming right over," I said, standing up and closing my books.

"Let me—"

"No. Stay there with her mom. She needs you right now. I'm going to get an Uber."

I didn't want to think about how much it'd cost but I honestly didn't care. Money is something you can always make in life. If someone's dying, that's the last time you'll ever see them. I grabbed my jacket and quickly packed my belongings and scheduled an Uber to come pick me up. As soon as I connected with a driver, I messaged him warning that the trip was a long one but that I'd tip him well. Luckily he accepted.