"Blessed" with a Curse

White…everything is white…

I stood up. The pain in my chest was gone.

The more I woke up, the more I took notice to the vast blank space around me.
It was somewhat cloudy, and partially lit.

Where the hell am I?

“Austin…”

I turned around, quickly.

No one was behind me.

I turned back around and quickly came face-to-face with someone.
He disappeared as I stumbled back in shock.

“H-Hello…?”

No response.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and nearly screamed out loud.

I turned around once more and started to cry at the sight of the person in front of me.

“M-Mitch…”

“Nice to see you again, Austin…although…I wish it were in better terms…”

I tensed up.

“W-what do you mean?!”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“As of now…you…”

He hesitated, a sad look on his face.

“…You’re dead, Austin.”

I froze in place…staring at him, wide-eyed.

“W-what do you mean…?! I-I can’t be dead! I—!”
“The bullet punctured your heart…with the condition you had…it was fatal.”

I couldn’t form any more words…I collapsed to the ground, tears running down my face.

“W-What….what about Alan…?”
I was afraid to ask.

“His mother was arrested shortly afterwards. Alan is okay. Just a cut on the side of his head.”

“He’s okay…?”
“I wouldn’t say he’s completely okay…he thinks it’s all his fault. Right now…he’s begging for your life back.”

He shouldn’t be blaming himself…I was the one who left…I should have listened to him and stayed with him…!

“Mitchel! Please tell me that you told Austin that he’s only temporarily dead! You’re scaring my poor baby!”

That voice…it…it couldn’t be…!

I stood back up and turned around, only to find that I was wrong.

“See?! You’ve already made him cry!”
She hugged me tightly and petted my hair gently.

“It’s okay, Aus. It’s gonna be okay.”

I hugged her back, tightly and continued to cry.

“M-Mom…”

“Shh…it’s gonna be okay, Aus.”
She pulled away and placed her hands on my shoulders.

“I’ve been watching you all this time, Austin. I wish I was still there to comfort you through the bad times, but you made it on your own. You’ve come so far, and I’m so proud of you.”

She gave me a huge smile and wiped my tears away.

“Also, please…enough with the ‘curse’ nonsense. I know there have been times of loss, but whenever you lose something, you gain something in return. When you lost me, you gained Mitchel. When you lost him, you gained Kellin. When you lost Kellin, you gained him back, but you also gained Alan. Am I correct?”

I nodded slightly.

“Now, I think it’s time that Alan gained back what he lost.”

“But I—”
“Don’t talk back to me, Austin Robert Carlile. I may be dead, but I’m still your mother. It’s time to let us go. It’s time for you to move on. But we’ll always be here, watching over you and we’ll never stop loving you.”

She kissed me on the cheek and gave me another hug.

“I love you, Mom…”
“I love you too, Austin.”

I pulled away and turned towards Mitch.

“I saw when you threw the razor away. I’m really proud of you, Austin.”
He pulled me into a tight hug and patted my back.

“I couldn’t have done it without you…”

He pulled away and gave me his trademark smile.
“I don’t want to see you here until you're ninety-eight! You hear me?!”
He chuckled and nudged me in the arm.

“I know! I know!” I smiled and nudged him back.

“It’s time for you to go, Aus.”

I sighed and nodded in agreement.

“Just close your eyes and you’ll be back home.”
I closed my eyes and let the darkness take over.

“We love you, Austin. We always will.”