C11 S11:When Death Meets Life

'Safiyya!'

A voice calling out my name can be heard echoing through my head. The voice is familiar and yet unfamiliar at the same time. It keeps calling me over and over again and when it finally does reach my ears, I open my eyes only to see white colors around me. I slowly sit up from where I was lying, to take the chance of getting a better look of this place I'm in.

At first, everything looks empty but when I focus my vision, I can see misty fog floating all around me. My skin feels neither hot nor cold. Rather it feels like there is some kind of warm air surrounding me that I could barely feel.

I start to stand up but as soon as I do so, I see a small ray of light forming in a vertical line but it looks far away. Almost too distant for me to notice.

When I saw that light, the memories started flooding back into my mind. All the memories from when I was born until the day I died flashes before me. The images were still blurry, but I could clearly recall every single detail.

I let out a heavy sigh, trying to calm down.

"Looks like I'm somewhere in the afterlife ."

A small laugh escaped from my mouth.

The last thing I remember before I entered this place was Naura trying to save me from the fall but I was too far for her to reach.

What surprised me the most is when she made a risky decision by jumping off the building, only to take my hand. After that, there were no more images. It became a blur and then, nothing.

I stared down at my hand.

"Why was she willing to risk herself to save the one person she hates the most?"

My question lingered in the air, causing me to frown once more.

"But... since I didn't see her here. Maybe she survived that fall. Maybe not. Either way, she tried to save me but now, I'm here. I guess her sacrifice will be rewarded later."

I shrugged.

"I don't care anymore. It's better off if I was just dead than continue living in that hell alone. At least, I can finally meet with them."

Somehow, the memory of Ariel and I having a short conversation before bed time replayed through my mind.

'Safiyya, do you believe in reincarnation?'

I furrowed my eyebrows.

'That's just fiction. Everyone knows about it. Reincarnation is not real.'

'Hm? Then how about the afterlife? What's the difference?'

'Reincarnation is about having second life chances while afterlife is about being in limbo for eternity. Why are you asking?'

She smiled lightly, her cheeks becoming rosy red at the thought.

'But if... Only if you are given a chance to live again after death, what are you going to do?'

Her question made me think deeply.

If I was going to have another chance to live again...

'Then I'll just live alone till I die again.'

Ariel gasped.

'But you're going to feel lonely.'

I stroke Nash's head, who's sleeping soundly with his arms hugging my side. He must have thought his big sister was a pillow.

'It's true being alone is not a good thing but to have a peaceful life without worrying for other people is something I wish for myself. Every human, no matter how good or bad they are, is still a burden to me. Good people want to see the best in us but the bad ones want to see the worst.'

Her eyes grew wider at my words.

'But still... At least, you need to have someone on your side.'

I smiled at her persistence.

'Don't worry, I will be fine even if I was left alone. I know it may sound selfish but when it involves your own happiness, it's okay to put yourself first. Besides, when we die, we'll end up alone again.'

I chuckled slightly after recalling the short but heartfelt talk we had.

"I guess you're wrong, Ariel. There's no reincarnation or second life chances exist here."

I looked at the light in front of me again.

"What exactly is that? Should I go there?"

I was about to take a step forward but stopped when my eyes caught something flowing down to me.

I frowned.

'A white petal?'

I kept watching it's moving pattern that I didn't realize I was turning around to look at behind me.

As I turned around, I immediately saw something lying on the ground but in the opposite direction from where I stood.

'Is that a human?'

I walked closer to see more details about the body laying there. It seemed like a person laid down, both her face and body were covered with blue and white rose petals.

Before I knew it, I knelt down and my hand reached for the petals on their face.

'Huh? My hand can't touch them. That's weird. It feels like they are invisible.'

I bent down, trying to look at their faces in an upside down position more closely.

Suddenly their eyes opened and stared straight at mine. I froze in shock.

"ARGH!"

The person screams in surprise and abruptly gets up. Her head accidentally bumped with mine. We both stumbled onto the ground together with a loud thud, helding in the pain due to our sudden contact. I closed one eye tightly while rubbing my forehead. Feels like I got bumped onto a brick wall.

Slowly I opened and focused on the person who was panicking in front of me.

"What? How? Where? You… Who are you?"

When she turned to face me, I froze once again. This time I was shocked beyond measure and I can't help but stare at her in awe.

Her wavy hair is cerulean blue and flows elegantly down to her waist while her silver eyes shine beautifully like a diamond.

"An angel?"

I mouthed silently.

It was my first time seeing such a gorgeous girl and I felt myself getting overwhelmed by the beauty she held.

"Um... Forgive me for hurting your head. I didn't mean to. I was a bit surprised and panicked at the sight of you appearing right in front of me when I just opened my eyes and...-"

I blinked.

'So, she's the type to babble when panicking?'

I look around me.

"Well, as you can see we're in... hmm. We're not in the afterlife yet because we're still in the state of consciousness. You may call this place 'Limbo'."

She tilted her head at my statement.

"Limbo? What is that?"

"It's like an imaginary space between life and death. I'm sure you know what I mean."

She blinked, looking so confused.

"You... don't know what I mean?"

"Past life? Does that thing exist?"

I sat up straighter, looking at her in disbelief.

"Wait. You don't know anything about both past life and afterlife? But how? Don't you have your memories?"

She frowned before shaking her head.

"I'm afraid I don't have this thing called 'memories'. Do you mind explaining it to me please?"

I sighed.

'Why do I have to explain all of this? Maybe she doesn't remember anything about her past life. Feels like I'm interacting with a new baby who just came out from a newborn stage-'

My thoughts were cut off when I realized something.

'A newborn...?'

I looked up at her.

She's busy playing with the flower petals that fell from her body.

"Before that, can I ask you something?"

"Oh, yes please, you may."

She smiled at me and gestured for me to continue.

"Did you see anything behind me?"

"Hmm?"

She tilted her head at me in confusion before shaking her head.

"Is there something behind you? How about mine?"

She turned to her back.

"Oh! I saw something!"

I raised my eyebrows before looking behind her. But there's nothing.

I focused my gaze back on her.

Something felt strange here, especially this mysterious girl.

She doesn't have any memories unlike me. She can't see the light behind me and I can't see what she saw. And, the way she speaks and acts is similar to those nobles on the stage play. To sum it all up, I could only think of one conclusion.

This girl... is not dead. More like, she was born into this world. But I still didn't understand how that happened. It's not like she has past lives since she has no memories.

"What did you see?"

She turned back to me.

"It's a bit far but it looks like a light."

'Hmm.… It's similar to mine.'

"Is there anything else you see other than the light?"

She stared at me before pointing at something right above us.

"That black petal."

I looked up and saw the petal but it's not black. The color is still white, the same as the one I saw before.

'A black and white petals. That was odd. Wait…"

The girl flinched a bit when I let out a small laugh.

"Is there something amusing you?"

I covered my mouth before looking at her with a mischievous smile.

"Indeed. I have found something amusing. You shall not worry. I was only testing you."

She stared at me in confusion.

"Testing?"

"Yes, it looks like you lost your way and somehow you ended up here. Don't be afraid. I can help you."

"Oh! Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. But why do you want to help me?"

A smile crept on my lips.

"Because I am your guardian."

"Guardian?'

"Yes. You may call me Safiyya."

"Safiyya..."

She mumbled under her breath for a few seconds before finally looking at me again. A bright smile formed on her face.

"It's a pleasure to meet my guardian. I mean, Safiyya."

"Me too. You don't need to worry. If you ever encounter any harm, I will protect you no matter what happens. If you ever need help, just call my name. I will always come for you. Just so you know, I will always be by your side. In return..."

I held out my hand towards her.

"... You only need to hold my hand."

"What? You would do all those for me and this is what you want?"

"It's not something I want. It's something I need. And yes. This is more than enough for me."

"If you insist."

Her hand went up to grasp onto mine and intertwined our fingers.

Just as I expected. I can't touch her because I'm already dead. On the other hand, she could touch me without any problems. Because she's alive.

I don't know what's going to happen after this but I'm ready for whatever comes. If what Ariel said was true. If second life does exist. Then, shouldn't I try to achieve my wish?

~ ~ ~ ~

One hour ago.

The door from the entrance slide opened and a figure of a boy stepped in rushingly. His black hair had grown since he last saw Safiyya a month ago due to the incident.

For the last time, he couldn't control his temper. Not after hearing Safiyya's classmates talking behind her back, insulting Safiyya's name including her own family and that made him angry.

Too angry to care when he walked into the upperclassman and punched all the students whoever talked bad about her, leaving them with bruises on their face. He could still see the fear in their eyes but he didn't care anymore. He didn't even care what happened after his fight.

What he cared about was that the people responsible for hurting Safiyya weren't going to get away easily. If there was anyone who needed to punish them, it's him.

His rage made three male students get hospitalized while five female students were left bruised and bleeding, including one of Naura's friends. It wasn't his fault they're bullies. They should have learned not to mess with someone who he really cares about. Safiyya doesn't deserve any of them.

After the fight rumors got spread, he got suspended from school for one month just like what he expected. His mother had been so angry she wanted him to be grounded at home and focused on his studies. His father also agreed because he didn't want more trouble for his son so he complied.

A month has already passed by and everyone has forgotten about the incident. Finally, he's free from being grounded and the very first person that comes to mind is Safiyya. He really wanted to meet her so he tried to visit her house.

But when he got there, he was shocked to see the one-story house had been demolished. There were many burnt holes around the place and the roof was completely destroyed. The ground is covered in dirt. It looks pretty normal except he knew it wasn't.

He tried to ask the neighbor for some details. An old married couple who lived not far from Safiyya's house told him about the accident and also about Safiyya getting hospitalized. He couldn't wait so he quickly excused himself.

However when he arrived at the hospital and asked for her name, the nurse told him that there's no patients with the name of Safiyya Hamarsya.

"What? Her name is not in the list? Does that mean she already got discharged? Then where can I find her?"

"Sir, I'm sorry but there's still no patient named Safiyya Hamarsya in the discharged list. We have done checkups and checked her family as well as other hospitals. But we found out nothing."

Asher felt a huge weight on his chest. He wanted to say something but no words were coming out of his mouth.

'Then, where did she go alone by herself? Please, don't make me worried, Safiyya.'

He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Pardon me for intruding, but may I know what's your relation with the patient?"

A man's voice startled Asher who snapped his head towards the doctor that addressed him.

"She.... she is my long-lost cousin! I'm here to see if she's alright."

The doctor's face changed slightly then returned to an expressionless state. He nodded.

"Please follow me Mr. Hamarsya."

The man led Asher to the ground floor. Both of them walked in silence until they stopped in front of a room with the label on it.

Asher read the label and froze.

'Mortuary room?'

His hands started shaking. He turned his head to the doctor. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the doctor left him alone. All his attention was drawn to the room that the doctor pointed at.

Asher gulped. He took a step forward. Hesitantly, he raised his hand to press on the door knob. When he heard the click, he pushed it open. And that's when he saw it.

Safiyya's body was lying on a casket, looking beautiful with her long brown hair and pale skin.

He stood frozen in his place and stared at her lifeless form. Then he placed his palm softly against the cold casket. It took a few seconds before he felt tears falling silently. The sight made his heart ache.

It hurts and it felt like his heart broke into pieces. It was hard for him to believe what just happened.

Asher begins to break down and fall on his knees. His entire body shaking from grief. His eyes are red from holding his cry and his lip quivering in pain. Feeling numb all over and unable to do anything except sobbing uncontrollably.

He thought it was only a dream but sadly it isn't. He will never see her again. She's gone.

Asher didn't know how long he stayed there crying till he noticed the doctor standing beside him. Slowly lifting his head, he met the eyes of the doctor.

"I'm really sorry for your loss sir. But there's something you need to know about Ms. Hamarsya. I'm sure that you'll understand it if you follow me outside."

Asher wiped his tears with his sleeve and stood up following the doctor. While they went out, two other nurses entered the room.

"We found this in Ms. Hamarsya's body."

The doctor handed out a paper filled with medical reports from the autopsy.

Asher grabbed the paper and skimmed through the report. His brows knitted together trying to make sense of all the information.

"What does it mean? She's... positive?"

"Yes."

Asher let the paper fall from his fingers and covered his face with his hands.

'What is this? What's actually happened to you, Safiyya?'

Suddenly the door flew open revealing one of the nurses.

"Doctor! Th-The patient!"

Both Asher and the doctor looked at her in confusion before rushing inside the room.

Once they got inside, the other nurse who held Safiyya's wrist, looked up at them with teary eyes.

"The patient... She is still alive."

The doctor was the first one to react and ran to Safiyya's side, placing a hand on her chest and checking her pulse. His expression remained serious though, and his eyes showed relief and disbelief.

"There is something wrong with Ms. Hamarsya's condition but we don't know what exactly yet. For now, we need to move her from this room. The only thing that's important now is making sure she stays alive."

The doctor explained before turning toward the nurses.

"Get everything ready to send her to the ICU right away. Also inform the doctors in the ICU."

Both nurses replied and rushed out the room.

"Let me help."

Slowly Asher lifted Safiyya's body in his arms. He carried her out of the room along with the doctor and the nurses.

On their way to the ICU room, Asher just focused on Safiyya's small frame in his arms. He could feel her cold skin. It hurt him to see her unmoving while he tried to keep himself from breaking down.

Once he entered the ICU room, he laid Safiyya down carefully on the bed. His eyes remain on the girl while the nurses busy themselves with medical equipment. After they're done, Asher turns to leave. Only to be stopped by the doctor.

"Mr. Hamarsya, you can stay with her for a moment if you'd like. But don't forget to take care of yourself and come back here again once you're feeling better."

"Thank you..."

He said softly.

The doctor nodded before leaving him alone in the room. Asher closed the door behind him then sat on the chair next to Safiyya's bed. He put his hands on his lap feeling nervous and scared.

He really wanted to hold Safiyya's small limp hand that lay beside her pillow but he was too scared to touch it. Afraid of the coldness he felt before, afraid of the idea of losing her again.

Asher brought his hands to his mouth while his gaze remained fixated on Safiyya's sleeping form. He continued staring at her for several minutes before whispering.

"I've broken my promise with Ariel once. But this time, I will never break them again. No matter how long it takes and no matter if I grow old, I will never leave your side. I will keep on waiting for you until you wake up again."

A soft sigh came from Asher as he lowered his head, closing both his swollen eyes.

"I love you, Safiyya..."