The Things Left Unsaid

My memory gets fuzzy around here, I don't know why but everything was just so... surreal... it's was more like a dream than a memory. Who knows, maybe it was a dream.

At first I remember bright light and thick fluffy clouds all around. Above was a beautiful mixture of purple, pink and blue tinted clouds tangled altogether. The ground couldn't be seen, for it was covered in a swirling mist. It was everything I'd imagined heaven to be.

“Welcome” a voice whispered in my ear. I looked up, alarmed. And there she was, the most beautiful being I had ever seen. She was pure perfection. She must have been an angel. She was a girl and she didn't look much older than me, with long, wavy and thick pale blonde hair that flowed in a soft breeze. Her features were clean and soft with a warm and motherly look. Her dress was a half sleeve, one long and hanging down into a writhing cloud around her and one bare arm showing pale, while, glowing skin. Her eyes had a warm intense sky blue that reflected the sky. She approached me with a soft, compassionate smile.

Her perfect lips smiled with affection, “You have strong spirit.” she said with her angelic voice that sounded more like a song than a spoken word. “There isn't much time for us, so I must let you make a decision.” her gaze became sympathetic and she approached me

“You have the choice, to leave your world and come with me, or return to earth.” she said slowly, “Though you will be back, you will not be the same.” Confusion began to make me dizzy.

“Am... am... am I dead?” I whimpered.

The angel paused, giving a small, shrugging movement. “Partially… See, you have been killed by a cursed being. A part of his curse is that anyone he kills has the choice to come back, but because you have been touched by the darkness yourself, you too will be cursed. Not alive. Not dead. And if you choose to come back, you will be forced to make choices no mere human should ever have to make.”

I stood in silence for a moment. “Will-” I choked, my voice cracked with grief. “Will I ever live normally again?”

The angel looked as sad as me, “You will never be normal again.”

You will never be normal again. The words struck me like a tsunami. Everything... Everything in my life was finally starting to come together. I wanted to fall and just cry in self-pity, but I couldn’t, I had to be strong.

“What will happen... if... If I go back?” I asked, my voice shaky but much more confident then I felt.

“That depends. What do you plan to do?” answering my question with a question... great.

“I... I... I want to go back. I’m not ready to leave earth. I don’t want to give up life, even... even if I am cursed. Even if I... I have to start over.” to be honest, I wasn’t sure. But the more I thought about it, the more my head whirled. The angel smiled, as if it was the right decision.

“Like I said, you have a strong soul.” She looked to her right, “I am going to give you something... but you must promise not to tell anyone you have it.” she smiled warmly and reached clasped her hands together. She came closer to me and cupped them under my chin, clasping my necklace in her hands she looked right into my eyes. “Hold onto yourself, Sally Bell. Stay true to yourself, and you cannot go wrong.” The light began to become brighter and brighter until it blinded me. Then, nothing.

---

My first sensation was silence, complete and utter silence. My first instinct was I dreamed it all, I was home and I felt a rush of relief. That dream had startled me. I rubbed my eyes and sat at the side of the bed. Bonk. My head hit a wood board and I opened my eyes, but just saw fuzz. “What the...” this was NOT my room. As my eyesight focused I saw I was under a bunk bed-which was why I hit my head. It was made of a rustic wood and there were several other bunk beds stacked up against the wall of the room; Four in total. I noticed each had their own comforter, one with a fuzzy pink fabric, another with fluffy and white, they were all very unique. There were also several assorted dressers, all cheap and different. The walls were bare cement along with the floors, very plain and boring. “Where am I?” My shoes were placed at the food of my bed and I was in my sock feet and plain clothing. My head throbbed with pain and I stood up more carefully.

The room was dark, but light came from an archway in the center of the wall facing the beds. I walked over slowly, my pacing very wobbly as if I had not used my legs in days. I stopped at the archway and rubbed my head, my eyes adjusting to the light.
“Oh, my! Look, she’s awake!” a preppy voice sounded. My eyes focused just in time to see a short haired brunette girl heading straight for me. I tried to back away but lost my footing and fell back on the hard concrete floor. I gave a moan, now having TWO bumps on my head. I sat up and rubbed them, my eyes shut tight with pain.

“Han, give the girl some room. She’s only just woken.” it was a male voice, rather nasal as well and it reminded me of some of the geeky kids that hung around the computers in the library.

“Here, let me help you up.” the first girl said, I flinched away.

“Where am I? Who are you?” I moaned, my voice slurred.

“Hannah, the poor girl needs dim lights and a hot beverage, back away.” said a firm, feminine voice. I felt an arm clasp mine and I had no choice but to get up. The new girl supported me like I had a sprained ankle so I could stumble along with her, “Someone turn off these damned lights and get on the floor lamp. I heard a few clicks of lights being turned on and off and I opened my eyes a tad. The girl led us to a small circular table, reminding me of a bistro. I sat in one of the chairs and instantly felt more comfortable sitting down. The lights were dimmer with just the floor lamp at the side of the room on so I could see everyone around me. There were five other people in the room, all about my age; the girl that had approached me was the shortest with dusky brown hair in a pixie cut and large, warm brown eyes. The boy that had spoken to me was definitely nerdy looking. He had messy strawberry blonde hair and large hazel eyes covered by glasses, but he had friendliness to him that I admired. The girl that had helped me was gorgeous. She was a nice height with clear, soft pale skin and sparkling dark blue eyes. She had features more beautiful than any supermodel I had seen. There was another girl; she had dark, flawless copper skin and large, dark brown eyes. Her hair was as black as night and done up in two low (but long) pigtails. The last boy was shy; he had short and straight blonde hair and shining grey eyes. He didn’t look at me much. I just realized that they all had abnormally... prominent eyes. Just like...

“Who are you?” I asked.

It was the brown haired girl... Hannah... that replied, “It’s... hard to explain.” she turned to the supermodel, who had sat beside me, “Should we wait for David and...”

“Just let her catch her breath. She’s been dead for over forty-eight hours...”

“I’ve been WHAT?” my eyes widened in shock. I felt as if I’d just been punched in the throat and I clasped it with my hand.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions and we can answer-”

“Hannah, let her catch her breath.” she said firmly, then turned back to me and let her gaze soften. “We should probably start with names, That’s-”

“I’m Hannah. That’s Charles,” she gestured to the geeky kid, “That’s Brittanya and Leon and...”

“My name is Calliope, after the Greek muse, but everyone calls me Calli.” the gorgeous girl said with a hint of pride.

“And who’s David?” I asked, still rubbing my head.

“Our caretaker, our provider, he-” Hannah began.

“Hannah...” Calli said in warning. “Let. Her. Rest.”

The preppy brunette nodded and took a step back. “I’m going to make some organic tea.”

Calli stood and entered another room through the archway. I studied the room more; there were three sets of bistro table sets, each with four steel chairs. On the other side of the room was a living room set, a sofa and a love seat with a television facing away from me, though the silence told me it was off. Between the two pieces of furniture was the floor lamp. On the sofa alone was the girl named Brittanya, she was reading a fashion magazine and wasn’t at all paying attention to me. Leon say in the love seat, now chatting with Hannah who joined him, her cuddling up to him hinted they were probably dating. Lastly in the corner there was a desk with a computer, on and glowing. Charles approached me and sat down in Calli’s empty seat, he greeted me with a smile.

“It’s nice to have a newbie, for once. I’ve been the noob before you came here.” Charles explained.

“How long have I been here?” I asked, my voice quivering.

“Only about twenty-four hours, but you’ve been moved a couple times.” Charles explained, “I’m not allowed to give too much away. David explains it better.”

“And I’ve been dead for over forty-eight hours?” I choked, my eyes watering. “H-how am I here n-now?”

Charles casually checked his watch, “Fifty five, actually, to be exact.” he gave me a sympathetic look “I’m sorry, I can’t be the one to tell this to you.” he got up and walked towards the computer. I propped my head up on the table and closed my eyes. I don’t know how long it was, but next thing I know Calli was tapping me on the shoulder. “I got you some tea.” there was a steaming tea pot, mugs and two cups, one with sugar and one with milk. “I wasn’t sure how you took your tea, so I made the works...” she placed a small plate of cookies on the table.

“So I still consume food? I don’t have to feed on blood or brains or anything?” I asked at a weak attempt at a joke. Calli didn’t like it; she narrowed her eyes and looked suspiciously like Jenna had when I joked about dating Brian. She took her tea and joined Bittanya on the sofa, handing her a mug as well. I made my tea of milk and two scoops of sugar and drank. It wasn’t like my mom’s tea; my mom made delicious tea, but it was still very good. A tug of homesickness pulled me and I rubbed away a tear. No one would tell me anything, I felt so alone... so... I stopped thinking in self-pity and took a cookie to dip in my tea.

Just then, I heard a door open, then two sets of footsteps coming down the stairs. The first person to appear was a tall man with dark blonde hair, he was older, but only seemed to look about twenty to twenty-five years old. David, I assumed, greeted me with a nod, and nothing more as moved towards me. Then behind him was Tyler. My eyes tripled in size and I stood, pointing “You!” I shouted in outrage, he was responsible. He was the last face I saw before... Tyler’s face darkened and he strode across the room and into the bedroom. I sat down, my face in clear, pure, emotional pain. This wasn’t fair. I hadn’t realized David was beside me before he was clasping my hand.

“It’s not Tyler’s fault.” he turned to Calli, Hannah and the rest of the group, “What does she know?”

“Not much, Dave. Just start with the beginning and work your way up.” Brittanya said, flipping through her magazine. She looked oddly... annoyed; as if my presence was interfering with her day.

I felt tears silently fall down my face and I couldn’t believe how calm everyone was; as if this was a normal thing. David took a cookie and gave it to me, “Sweets always help.” he murmured. I clutched in my hand but didn’t take a bite yet.

“So what do you want to know first?” he asked, his voice eerily soothing.

“What happened? The last thing I remember was seeing Tyler and...” I gave a small sob and rubbed my eyes. Dave rubbed my hand in an oddly soothing way and I took a shaky sip of tea.

“Well, from what we know, you were killed by an agent of... of our enemy. Tyler was sent there to try and prevent it but...” David began, trailing off.

“He didn’t do a very good job of it.” Calli chimed in from the corner, behind her own magazine now.

“I’m sure Tyler did his best!” Hannah protested. Tyler said nothing, just sulked in the corner by the door.

“Well obviously his best just wasn’t good enough!” Calli argued.

“He brought her back, at least!”

“Both of you, shut up and let David get on with it!” Brittanya barked, her eyes narrowing to both of the girls. Calli just rolled her eyes and Hannah just talked quietly with Leon, whom didn’t seem to notice anything except the girl cradled in his arms. I thought they looked very romantic.

“So... If I was killed... how am I here? Is this some sort of purgatory?” I asked, knowing it wasn’t.

David shook his head, not meeting my gaze. “You’ve been given a gift; a second chance. You’ve bee-”

“It’s not a gift, Dave. It’s a curse. Don’t sugar-coat it for her.” This time it was Brittanya that spoke up. “She’s got to learn to deal with it and if she is gonna learn, she needs to be taught the truth-not all this gift crap you try and shoot up our...” she stopped, catching herself. She stood and threw her magazine on the couch, walking over.

David looked speechless as Brittanya took a chair and sat on the other side of the table. “The sooner you tell her, the sooner she can deal with it.”

David shook his head, “Okay, yes. You’ve been cursed. But it isn’t a life sentence. You can learn to live with it, like we all have.”

"You’re all cursed too?” I asked with my eyes wide with surprise while my stomach churned and felt sick.

“Yes.” he said simply, as if there was nothing more to it.

“So... who is this enemy?” I asked, the initial shock passing.

“That’s... That’s not important now...” David stammered. I turned to Brittanya, hoping she’d protest again but her gaze had gone unfocused, as if she was thinking very deeply.

“So... where am I?” I looked around and blinked.

“This is the sanctuary, a place we are safe and can learn to deal with what has happened.”

“Are there others like us?” I asked.

“A few, across the globe, but they don’t gather like we do.” I nodded understanding.

“So... What do I do?”

“Just relax, there is nothing you can do right now except learn about your new life.”

“W...Will I ever go home again?” The question had been buzzing in my head since I had awoken, but I already knew the answer.

He was silent, I watched as his gaze darkened and he turned away, “Not…” he tripped over his own voice, “Not in the foreseeable future.” I nodded wearily and took a long gulp of tea, finishing off the mug. David got up and left, going through another archway into a dark room. Brittanya also left, giving an apologetic and sympathetic look and went back to her magazine. I gazed into a dark corner, zoning out from my world and letting my mind wander. Time seemed to speed around me and I let it, my soul weeping for my life lost.