"I crave a bond so strong, that even death can't pull us apart."
When I woke up, I had purple flowered walls in my view instead of white walls of hospital. It was a stimulus strong enough for me to literally jump out of bed, and welcome myself back home. This place never felt home as much as it felt now. The doctors fixed me so well, that I felt strong enough to resume my daily activities. I picked green knitted sweater from the chair and wore it over my white tank top.
I heard mom's voice downstairs trying to make baby Aaron say that he loved his mummy. I went downstairs, and mom hugged me so tight.
"Welcome home, sweetheart."
"You brought me back home in sedated state?" I asked.
"We requested them to let you come home. Doctors weren't letting us but then David talked to them and they agreed."
Mom walked towards the table drawer, and took out a small box.
"You left this in hospital."
I took the box from her, and sat on the couch next to Aaron. I almost forgot about this present that Adrian brought for me.
Mom hesitated for a minute but then spoke.
"What's wrong with your music teacher?"
I stammered," S-Sorry?"
She picked Aaron and placed him in her lap.
"I mean, is there something going on that I should know about?"
I shook my head," He isn't my teacher anymore. Besides, when I first met Adrian, I thought of him as a fellow student...."
"I was wondering why your school would appoint someone as handsome as your music teacher." Mom smiled meaningfully.
I looked away, and spoke.
"There's nothing going on, okay?"
"Okay, if you say so, Lil."
She quickly added, "At least open the present. I want to see what he left you."
I pulled the strings of the red ribbon, untying them slowly. I picked the lid of the box.
Inside the box was a satin wrapped sterling silver butterfly pendant. The intricate pattern of the wings was so beautiful. At the end of the antennae on both sides were gemstones.
I picked the pendant up to show it to mom.
"Beautiful! There's something else there in the box." Mom said.
I placed the pendant in my lap, and picked up the box again. Under the red satin was a piece of folded paper.
"To,
The Melody of my life.
And
Light of my dreams,
Gabriella"
"Gabriella?" I whispered. I had heard that name before. Why had Adrian called me Gabriella that day? What if he had mistaken me for someone else?
Mom was eyeing me anxiously. She asked," What's written there?"
I folded the paper, and placed it in my pocket.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?" She raised her eyebrow.
I stood up from the couch.
"I'm going upstairs."
She nodded," Alright, take rest. If you needed something, let me know."
I was half way upstairs, when I heard mom calling my name.
"Yes mom?"
"I forgot to tell you that Chase came in the morning, he left you some flowers. He said, he'll come to see you after school again."
"Okay, Okay." I said aloud and went upstairs.
I stared at the butterfly pendant around my neck in my bedroom mirror. I had never seen anything like this before. I moved my fingers slowly on the silver wings.
"It looks beautiful on you."
The compliment made me jump. I hardly managed to swallow the scream that had reached the end of my tongue.
"What the..."
Adrian was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest.
"What are you doing here?" I muttered.
"You still haven't answered me, Lily?"
I quickly took off the pendant and placed it on my dressing table. His eyes followed the pendant like it was something too precious.
"What do you want from me?" I protested.
"I want you. I love you, Lily."
He walked towards me slowly. I felt my back pressed against the wall. He kept moving towards me, until his lips were few inches away from my face. He bent over me. My eyes met his, and I felt drowning in them. The smoky blue reminded me of the cold water that once I literally drowned in. He placed his hand around my waist softly.
My lips quivered, "Adrian... I don't know."
What I truly didn't know was the reason of such a strong attraction. Was I falling in love with his charms? I kept staring at his beautiful face.
His eyes moved to my dried lips, and he smiled.
"I know how confused you are, but I want you to trust me. I'll answer everything."
I hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Why do you call me Gabriella?"
His hand slipped off my waist and he straightened up.
"It's a very long story." He frowned.
"Who was she?" I asked again.
He picked up the necklace from the dressing table and turned me around towards the mirror.
"Right now, I just know who Lily Christensen is." He smiled.
He placed the pendant around my neck.
"Do you know why I gave you a butterfly?" He asked.
I shook my head, watching his eyes piercing the mirror and reflecting back onto me.
"Butterfly symbolizes mortality and freedom. Have you noticed how the fragile butterfly counts moments of her life not months or years? "
"What about that?" I asked.
"You are like that, Lily. One moment I will think that I finally have you, and then the very next moment you will disappear. This is why my immortality is a curse." He sighed.
I wasn't getting a single thing that he was saying. He understood the confusion on my face and smiled.
"I don't blame you for not remembering anything."
He placed his hand in his brown leather jacket and took out a tiny pick shoe.
"Remember this?" he asked.
"It's mine, but how you..."
I stopped in the middle of the sentence. Of course, how weird it might sound but I had met him before when I was a child. Adrian was the Grim Reaper. He must have come to take my soul away but he didn't.
"Why you didn't take my soul?"
"Because it wasn't your time to go. I wanted you to live, and grow up. I wanted you to enjoy your life at its fullest."
"But why is that so, Adrian? You couldn't have been in love with a little child, could you?"
"I am in love with your soul. I knew, I had another opportunity to find you and love you."
"Another opportunity?" I asked anxiously.
"Yes, I lost you once and I can't lose you again."
He held my hands in his and squeezed them softly. The way he held my hand, I felt a strange shiver in my spine. I felt a strong bond with him, something I had never felt before in my life.
Falling in love with death itself seems so unreal.
But here I was, dancing around my own death like a moth around burning flames. I wasn't oblivious of the fact that our relationship wasn't possible to exist. But there was something about Adrian that assured me that whatever he was saying was true.
"Adrian, tell me how you lost me before?" I asked.
"It's a long story, Lily. I'll tell you, someday."
"We have a long day ahead." I smiled.
I placed the pillow under my head, and lied down near him. He looked at me so intensely like he had never seen anything more beautiful than this moment.
He moved his fingers on my green knitted sweater.
"You have to bribe me for this story, Lily." He flirted.
I parted my lips to reply, but his lips touched mine. And I felt like I lost my voice. My body started getting numb, like I was immersed in ice-cold water for a very long time. I could feel my breaths coming in and out like little cubes sliding up and down in my throat. I could feel the goose bumps all over my skin.
As soon as his lips left mine, I felt a wave of warmth invading my body. I took a deep breath and he smiled.
"Let me tell you a story..." He began.