𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍 | 𝟏𝟖+

𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐗 | 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓

"We tried a thousand times, he said, "let's try thousand and one."

❦

"Luka?" Gianna called out to her brother as she rounded the large bookshelves surrounding her. A smile graced her lips when she found her brother sitting on the large window seat with a book in his lap and his reading glasses perched on his perfect nose.

Luka was always the brother she looked up to more whether she knew it or not. Peace radiated off of him and made anyone feel safe when they were around him. Although their father him weak for it, Luka took his mother's word when she told him that he was every bit of strength-not with violence or power like his brother and father.

Gianna ran up to her brother and sat across from him, snuggling her bent legs between his. His deep blue eyes met her brown ones through his obsidian hair. "What is it, Solnechnyy svet?"

Sunshine, was the first thing Luka thought of when he first saw his baby sister in his mother's arms. Her golden hair, soft brown eyes, and even softer skin made her seem like an angel, and he wanted to be her guardian for as long as he could be.

"Where do we go after we die?" The question shocked Luka but he knew her curiosity had been growing as she's gotten older. He placed his book down and thought for a second, out of all the books he has read, all the myths he had heard about, and all of the religions he studied-there was telling the actual truth about where we go after death.

"I think when we close our eyes and take out last breath, our minds get stuck in a dream of past, present, and future. We dream about an alternative to what we wished could've happened while not knowing what actually did happen. But there is no telling what happens after death, really."

Gianna watched the way his brows creased and his lips puckered when he went deep into thought. She tried to mimic his expression as she leaned her cheek against his knee. "Well, do you know what I will dream about when I die?"

"What?"

"When I die and get lost in the fantasies in my head, I want to be surrounded by a thousand roses. I would walk through the gardens and eventually find everyone I love. Mamma, Papa, Leo, you, Axel, Lev, and Rowan. We would all be happy and free, dancing like souls in the sky," Gianna pondered. Luka hummed in response, leaning forward to place his forehead against hers.

"Well, although dreams are the greatest fantasy we could ever live in, they are not reality. Death is sudden and unexpected, sometimes people can control when they leave, and sometimes, they can't. You are not dead yet, you have too many people to live for."

"Of course, I'm not dead yet," Gianna chuckled, scrunching her small nose against his.

"But you're close to it, very close, and if you don't wake up now, you will be leaving and hurting the people who matter most to you."