SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 11- Bittersweet

It's as if I'm a newborn seeing the world for the first time. But soon, I see myself grow old and pass away, then again, and again. The memories flood my mind as I reconnect with my past. A few seconds feel like decades after watching everything happen. Then finally, after my mind feels as though it's going to burst, I begin to wake up.

"Aurora, talk to me." Nanea shouts nervously "Is she okay? What did you see?"

"Patience, Lolani. She's alright." Aurora states calmly as she brushes my hair.

"Where the hell is Nixi?" Roxie asks frustratedly "I have no idea where Arsen was, but she should have been back by now."

"Would both of you calm down already, she's waking up," Aurora says as she notices me start to fidget. As I open my eyes and slowly sit up, the world feels brighter than usual. Everything is hard to process, every sound I hear feels sharp as a knife. No wonder we usually do this on a mountaintop at night, it's so much calmer that way.

"God, this never gets any easier, does it?" I sigh as I rub my forehead.

"Breeze?" Nanea asks as she rushes to kneel in front of me.

"Yeah, it's me." I state exhaustedly "You could have waited until it was dark out to do this, you know."

"You're gonna have to forgive me for that one, kid." Roxie sighs, then starts to smile "How are you feeling?"

"No idea, my head hurts too hard to think right now. Ask me again in ten minutes." I try to laugh, but my head is pounding.

"Just relax, you'll be fine after a little bit," Nanea says calmly, then suddenly, I come to an important realization.

"Wait a minute, Nanea?" I ask as I look at her in disbelief "Aunt Lily?" As I say this, she smiles and starts to giggle.

"Are you really that surprised?" Nanea asks curiously "Orphans are always more likely to be one of us, so Jake and I decided to stay under the radar to keep an eye on things."

"Holy shit..." I say, completely at a loss for words.

"Where is she? Where the hell is my daughter?" I suddenly hear Arsen shouting from down the hall.

"Dante, slow down! You're gonna hurt yourself!" Nixi shouts from further away. Suddenly, he turns the corner and comes in, abruptly stopping when he sees me. As I look into his eyes, I slowly stand up and begin to approach him.

"Daddy?" I ask, tears beginning to fill my eyes. He seems to do the same as we rush into each other's arms, embracing for the first time in over thirty years. Even with a new face in a new body, being in his arms still feels the same.

"I've missed you so much, little warrior." He cries, and we both fall to our knees.

Waking up in my old room feels bizarre after all this time. My belongings are still exactly where I had left them, now coated in a thick layer of dust. I stand up carefully and begin to walk around the room, studying everything. The familiarity of it all is comforting, but also foreign to me somehow. I lived in a home with roommates now, it was what I had become used to. Last time, I was born into the family again, so I haven't experienced this kind of disconnect since Mckenna.

"Good morning, sunshine," Daddy says as he suddenly appears in the doorway behind me.

"More like evening, how long was I out?" I ask as I gaze at the setting sun out the window.

"Maybe four hours or so. I'm glad this awakening wasn't as rough this time, I was worried that the nightmares were going to take over again," he explains as he comes in and sits down on the bed.

"Well, they didn't go away." I sigh "I've been having them most of my life. I guess Nanea and Aurora felt that waiting until I was sixteen would have been too risky."

"I agree with that, that's for sure." he explains "So, tell me; how have things gone this time around? I know that Lolani has been taking care of you your whole life, but, being an orphan must have still been... well, you know how I had it last time."

"No, no, it was nothing like that." I smile reassuringly "Believe it or not, it was really nice. I have a great family there, my friends are like sisters to me. And Alex... Well, he's a moron but we love him anyway." I begin to laugh.

"That's good to hear." He smiles back at me as I come back to the bed to sit beside him "As you can see, not much has really changed around here since you've been gone." he explains as he looks around the room.

"I noticed. Same halls, same people, and the only thing that has changed is how we all look." I giggle as I look around at my dusty room, then turn to look back at him "Although, there is one thing that I'm curious about."

"Hm?" he asks.

"How old are you?" I ask inquisitively, and he starts to think.

"Twenty four." he answers, then looks at me, starting to realize what I was getting at "Holy shit, I think this is the closest we've come in age."

"I'll say." I laugh "Kinda creepy when you really think about it, but stranger things have happened."

"I'm just glad that you came back." he sighs, suddenly sounding solemn "I wasn't sure if I would see you or Veronika, and the longer I waited, the worse my gut was feeling thinking about it."

"I'm so sorry." I sigh, leaning on his shoulder "I miss her too." I say and we both stare out the windows. This reunion was bittersweet knowing that someone incredibly important to both of us is still absent from our lives.

"Maybe she's out there somewhere." he states as he watches the birds fly off toward the horizon.

"God, I hope so." I sigh.