FATE

94. Nine Lives

Death is only tragic to the unlived life.

I've always wondered if that were true. Death was never tragic to me. I wanted it, I thirsted for a taste of it. I was curious and intrigued by the thought of it. If heaven or hell is real, I've always been sure I would go to hell. Or would I be reincarnated?

Questions.

They swarm my head for a long while, buzzing like bees in a hive. They're the first indication that once again, death has rejected me and it appears I'm still alive.

For the first time, I'm glad about that. I have a second chance. I can see Hailee, Francis, and Aunt Wendy again. I can be blessed by Brooke Collins' smile again, even if I'm not the reason behind it.

Second chance.

Or is this my third or fourth chance?

I feel like a cat with nine lives and I fear I may not have any more left because I've used them all up. I need to be more careful.

"I don't care!", an urgent voice says loudly, "this is my son we're talking about"

When I focus on the sound, I hear him clearly. My father's strained voice fills the room. He's talking to someone and he sounds angry so he's yelling. It's too loud so I have to focus on something else.

That doesn't work as well as I thought it would. My head starts to ring again and my body awakens on its own, vibrating and shivering. It's been happening a lot lately. I'm not sure what it is but I can't seem to help when it happens. There's someone by my side in an instant, a hand on my arm trying to stop me and the voices are closer but muffled.

The only thing I can hear is the ringing.

Everything goes black again.

My eyes flicker open to meet familiar bright blue eyes. I can almost feel her breath on my face from how close she is. It smells like candy, lots of candy.

She doesn't seem to notice I'm awake yet as she pats my head lovingly, "Jonah, wake up", she says softly, "I miss you"

Her fingers running through my hair is ticklish and it makes me chuckle. My mouth is dry and my tongue feels as heavy as a rock. The pounding in my head is hell-bent on killing me and my body is numb.

Also, I'm hungry, very hungry.

Lauren gasps and she's off the side of the bed in an instant, running away. I can hear her scattered footsteps leave the room as I stare at the ceiling. The light is so bright so I close them again.

I'm awake. That's a relief. I thought I would be stuck away from my body for longer, or that I was already dead.

"Is he awake?", a voice asks.

"Just let me do my job Phil", another voice answers. I've heard them before. My dad and Jeanne.

I force my eyes open to see Jeanne next to me. Stressed creases are formed on her forehead and under her eyes are tired bags of air. She notices my gaze and sighs in relief. I think she's more relieved than I am- and I'm the one who almost died.

The tiredness seeps back in and my eyes close again. This time, everything doesn't go black. It's just sleep, which puts my mind to rest.

In my dreams, I see a lot of things and people- first, nine-year-old Hailee and I at the amusement park, shooting out of our water guns at each other. Then four year old me and Francis at the beach together, with our moms whom we can only tell apart by the clothes they wear. That summer, they decided to get matching hairstyles which confused us sometimes when they weren't speaking.