Seven

Chapter 56

LILIANNA'S POV

My grandmother stands with her back to me in our small kitchen. Her floral apron tied to her as she leans over a large pot heating on top of the stove. I expect to smell some amazing aroma from her cooking but instead I smell a slight chemically scent in the air. She must've just cleaned the kitchen.

Her small home isn't much to look at, but the amount of comfort I get from the faded patterned wallpaper that lines the walls and the checkered tiled floor is so nostalgic. A faint beep reverberates every so often in the background, maybe it is the washing machine signalling a load is complete. I walk towards the grey headed lady humming to herself quietly as she stirs the contents of her large pot. I recognise the tune, it's the intro song from the show Friends. I didn't know my grandmother knew it, or even watched such shows.

She doesn't seem to notice my approach so I begin to hum along behind her. Grandma Mera chuckles softly, the sound almost brings me to my knees. I haven't heard that sweet laugh for some time.

"Whatcha making?" I ask coming to stand next to her. She turns to me, grey eyes smiling over her thick framed glasses.

"Your favourite. Ribollita." She smiles at my reaction of me dramatically salivating.

"I can't wait." I grin but she shakes her head.

"You're going to have to. It won't be ready for quite some time, Lilianna." My grandmother says and I frown down at the pot she stirs.

"It looks ready to me?" I disagree softly and my grandmother turns to me.

"It will be ready for you my dear, when you are ready to stay here." Her hand comes to hold my arm and although her touch is gentle it feels strangely tight.

I glance down at her touch then back to her confused.

"What do you mean? I am staying Grandma." I insist but she just smiles that warm smile and shakes her head.

"No, darling Lilianna. It is not your time yet. But I'll be here, waiting for you. We all will be." She says softly.

We? What is she talking about? That faint beeping from before begins to get louder.

"What are you...?" I begin to ask but her hand drops from my arm even though I can still feel the pressure of her touch on it.

"It's time for you to go back now darling." She smiles and I shake my head. Go back where?

"No. No I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you." I contend but she just stays smiling at me.

"We love you." She says as two other figures join us in the kitchen while the beeping gets louder in my ears. I get a quick glance at the people who have joined us and my heart flutters as tears begin to form in my eyes.

"Mum? Dad?" I ask even though I know it's them. Evangelina and Jacob Kapley stand together holding hands right before me. My knees shake as they both smile at me and there's nothing more I want right now then to hug them both but something is happening that stops me.

"No!" I protest as some kind of force begins to drag me away from them all.

"It's okay baby. We're always with you." My mother says to me, hearing her voice for the first time since I was very, very young has all kinds of emotions rushing through my body but I'm unable to properly processes them as my family fade away with the surrounding of my Gran's kitchen right in front of my eyes.

Everything is dark.

I can still hear that rhythmic beeping, along with other noises as my ears slowly tune in. Laughing? I can hear laughing. Canned laughter I think, it's like the type you hear in the background of television sitcoms. The beeping is prevalent, in fact I can hear multiple machines ticking and humming away in the dark.