Reunion with Sandy

Danny woke up grasping the bed... his body pillow. He wasn't... sure...

"Danny Danny."

"Sandy? Is that you?"

"Lay back down, Danny. It's time."

Danny felt hands enter his body. Change him from within. Healing without pain. A memory...

"I don't remember how you look... Sandy..."

"Hearts never lie, they just feel the love."

Danny lay back and allowed whatever force was within him to manipulate his flesh. It felt good. Like something was getting better. But somewhere within him, something fought to stay.

"It's killing you. Let it die."

Danny closed his eyes and his brain pulled him into a dark dream...

Daniel's Death #2

I dreamt of my second experience with death.

I was sitting on the toilet, as all humans of my time did. It's really one of the most humiliating aspects of the human condition. Your body forces you to eat, then doesn't even do you the courtesy of using all the food you eat. You're forced to crap out the leftovers. Some more optimistic people would point out some circle of life nonsense, but for lovers of beauty like me, that's all it would ever be - disgusting.

I stared at my hand and wondered why I even bothered.

Next thing I know, I'm in my mom's bed and they're telling me they called 911. Later I find out that my brother heard my body fall. He busted the door down, and looked into my vacant eyes, which were normally brown. They were orange. He wiped my body down, cleaned up the toilet, and called the ambulance. The doorway to my bathroom is still broken from him busting it down.

I was brought to a prison of a hospital. The toilet there was right next to my bed. No privacy. I was told it was the intensive care unit. All I got were people scratching their heads wondering how I had a seizure. That's what I had. A seizure.

I later find out it was from an overdose of Epogen, an anti-anemia drug. Apparently, in the dialysis clinic I went to at the time, someone gave me Epogen and then forgot to write it down. The next nurse gave me an extra dose. I don't know how long it took for the overdose to sink in, but thank the Lord, I was out of that clinic in a matter of months.

My parents still worry I'll seize again. Frankly, I do, too.

Danny awakens

Yet again, Danny felt pain as he arose. Why...

Julie was gone, and Ruby was with him. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"...for what?" Danny moaned as he got up.

"Something's wrong with your body..." Ruby sighed. "And I don't know what it is. I've been trying for the past hour to see, but your spirit is so..."

Danny took Ruby's hand and squeezed it. "You believe in me, right?" he asked.

"Mmhmm."

"I believe in you, too," Danny whispered. "You're my sister Ruby."

Ruby snuggled close to her brother and put her hand on his stomach, round his back. She then blinked.

"Another..."

"Another?"

"There's another spirit in you," Ruby said. "An evil one."

Danny gasped.

"Wait here..." Ruby said. "I need to prepare myself..."

Daniel's Death #1

The first time I died, I had fallen in love with a girl who didn't love me back. It was the worst loneliness any man... no, any person, can know. To have all these tender feelings, that aren't returned, and just echo back onto you. It's like being alone.

At one point I just lay on my bed and was ready to die. I didn't want to hurt any more people. My eyes closed, and then there was nothing, so...

I just remember everything exploding, and then I woke up and my parents had food for me. And then the world looked beautiful again.

But the girl still didn't love me.

So in time, things once again became ugly.

Danny's dream

He was in a shopping mall holding the hand of his mother. His birth mother. The one he'd always think of as 'mommy', no matter what Lilith did.

"She's your mother, you know," she said. "I just adopted you."

"Mom... why did you leave," Danny sighed.

"I said you weren't gonna see me again but I couldn't stay away," she replied. "Let's go buy some toys."

"Mom, did I die?"

"Yes baby, you did. Don't you understand yet? You're with her... forever."

"W...wait..."

"Don't be scared. I'm with you."

"Dad, too?"

"Of course. We're going to see him, when he gets off of work."

"Oh, okay..."

Danny's consciousness swam away and he was back in the room, Julie still asleep next to him. He wondered what she dreamed of for a bit, before closing his eyes and drifting into another dream.

In the Morning

Danny's body hurt again when he woke up, but the pain slowly faded. He curiously remembered dreaming of someone from his past. He felt sad that he couldn't fully remember the dream.

Julie was sleeping next to him.

"She missed you a lot, so I said she could sleep with you," Ruby said. She was standing in the doorway.

Danny put an arm around his best friend and sister.

"Are you that tied to her?" Ruby said, raising an eyebrow. "You know, this could be a dream."

"I'd know if it was..." Danny said, to which Ruby chuckled. She found herself smiling a lot more than usual lately.

"You can watch over her if you like."

"Thanks... I will."

Ruby shook her head, still smiling, and left the room. Danny became entranced with the rise and fall of Julie's chest as she breathed...

Dreamtime

Danny had tears in his eyes when he and Ruby were done being together.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked.

"I had an evil thought," Danny replied. "I usually... I have nightmares when..."

"You win."

"What did you say?"

"You win." Ruby closed her eyes and smiled.

Danny's eyes widened. "You... you said that? Back then?"

"Mmmhmm!" Ruby's smile was wider.

Danny blinked and touched his lip.

"Oh, and I have something for you," she went on, and held out his teddy bear... the one from back then. "Mommy got it from the hospital. She got it back just for you."

Danny instinctively took the bear and held it in his arms. "Thank you, Ruby," he whispered. "Thank you."

"Thank me in the morning," Ruby said, getting up off the bed. "You sleep now, and have good dreams. Mommy's taken away all your nightmares. Let Her worry about them."

"Yes, Ruby," Danny said, and took his regimen of pills.

"You don't have to use my name, if you don't want to," Ruby whispered. "Goodnight, Danny boy."

Ruby's Entrance

"Let's spend some time together," Ruby said to Danny as he emerged from the shower.

"Hm?"

"You look lonely," Ruby said simply and smiled, patting a space on the bed beside her.

Danny snuggled next to his sister and sighed.

"Does it get easier?" he asked.

"No," Ruby said plainly. "But it gets better."

And they just held each other.

On the way to New Years

Danny groaned as he woke up. It hurt all over, and he felt as though he had to go. There were no toilets in this place, and he remembered Ruby's words from some time ago: "You have to think of this part of your body as an appendix". But that didn't stop his feeling.

"It is perhaps a latent memory," Ruby had said. "It's possible that you'll find a place to go in your dreams. But here... you know where this is, right?"

"I'm dead, aren't I..." Danny groaned.

"No one here's told you that," Ruby said. "Nobody dies, they just change form."

Danny looked at his scarred arm and murmured to himself.

"Your bones are in pain," Ruby explained of Danny's pain. "You've been overdoing the soda."

Danny sighed and hugged his knees. "Why does it taste so good when it's bad for me?" he asked his sister.

"We all have our vices," Ruby said. "That you recognize it's one is good. I wouldn't worry about the future, Danny boy. I'm just here to wag my finger at you for a little bit."

Danny looked down.

"I do it because I love you," Ruby said, and kissed Danny's forehead. "You have a good day, and forget about everything I said. We'll meet again tonight."

Sleeping

"I'm sorry, Danny, but you'll have to sleep by yourself," Ruby said. "But don't worry. We're all always in your heart."

Danny nodded and took his teddy bear in hand.

"It won't always be like this," Ruby went on. "I promise. Your body is just very weak now. I'm not going to mess up with you like I did with..."

Tears came to her eyes.

"You didn't mess up," Danny encouraged his sister. "If it weren't for you, she wouldn't be here."

He felt a sudden shot of pain up his arm.

"You just sleep now, Danny," Ruby said, and kissed his cheek. "Tomorrow will be another day for us both."

With that, Ruby left the room, turning off the light behind her.

Day after Christmas

Danny woke up with his body lagging behind him. He felt chest pains.

"Still?" Ruby said, her hand touching his chest. "You need to be more responsible for yourself, Danny. If you're not careful, you'll end up like Glynis."

Danny looked down and sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know... you're right. It's just... my body is so complicated. I'm always worried I'll do the wrong thing."

To this, Ruby gave a rare smile.

"We're still going to work on your heart," she said, touching Danny's chest lightly with her fingertips. "We'll get to your kidneys in a week, unless something else comes up. I've sensed your lungs are a bit weak too, so we may have to get to those first."

Christmas Day

"Stop thinking about your kidneys so much," Ruby urged Danny. "Your heart is my primary concern right now. It's off rhythm. You don't trust your Mother."

"I... I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Relax. Today, think of Her."