by V_L_Archer
I wake up grasping the heavy blanket, my breath loud in my ears. A dream, it was only a dream. But my mind still lingers in the past, reliving the deadly car accident I was in, hearing my friends scream my name. I press the palms of my hands into my eyes, trying to push the gruesome pictures aside. Terran, the god that created the Otherworld, told me that something like this could happen. When I first came to the Otherworld I wasnât aware of my death or even how I died. It was a shock when Terran told me the truth. Now, half a year later, I slowly star to remember what happened. A car crashed into me and my friends when we were crossing the street on a Saturday evening. The man in the car was looking at his phone. I can hear the car squelching as the man tries to stop the inevitable, but it is too late. Luckily I lost consciousness when the first bones started to crack. âNo, no, no,â I murmur and jump out of bed. Suddenly my head is filled with my parentsâ screams and I think I will lose my mind.
âMake it stop!â I scream to no one in particular. I just want to be louder than the voices in my head.
âBrie! No, not my little baby!â, âBrielle, wake up!â
âNo,â I whimper and fall to the ground, grasping my head between my hands. Unconsciously I start rocking back and forth, back and forth. Even behind closed eyes I can see the hospital lights above me as they bring me into the ER. My body hurts. So many of my bones are broken, and I can barely breathe. My mouth tastes of blood and I know that that is not a good sign. Just as the memories start to swallow me whole I once again taste the tang of blood and my hearts starts beading wildly. I jump to a stand, wanting to run to the bathroom but a tall, muscled chest stops me. I look up, up, up and see Terrans shocked face. His brown eyes are widened and a muscle on his jaw twitches. âI am dying,â I tell him, tears suddenly falling down my cheeks. Or maybe they have been falling ever since I had the first memory. âI am dying.â Without thinking I wrap my arms around Terran just as he opens his to embrace me. The coldness that started to take over my body immediately disappears as I take in his body heat. His familiar smell reaches my nose and I can finally breathe again. In a corner of my head I wonder about this situation. About the fact that his mere presence and touch are able to drag me from the edge. Isn’t that crazy? Should he really be able to have such an effect on me?
âYouâre not dying, Brielle. This is real. You are here and alive.â I can hear him smirking as he adds, âWell, as alive as one can be here, considering the circumstances.â His hand cups the back of my head as a broken laugh breaks out of me. Terran lowers his head and presses a kiss to my hair.
âSince when are you having those nightmares?â He gently pulls my head back, so I can look into his eyes. The line between his black eyebrows deepens as his gaze wanders over my face. This up close I can see the freckles on his light skin. I want to touch them but withstand the urge. âBut they arenât nightmares, are they? They are memories.â
© V_L_Archer 2023-05-06