My family is dead. And I am left with a choice: to stay, or to leave. If I stay, I'd only feel pain—not the pain of the wounds I got or from the bones I cracked during the crash, but inside my heart. Three huge, gaping wounds, one for Mom, one for Dad, and another one for Teddy. Three wounds that would never heal. Three people that are not coming back. Three parts of me that are now lost. Even though Gran, Gramps, Kim, Willow and the others are there, it just won't feel the same as my family.

I sat into the chair next to the bed where my body lay, with tubes interconnected, like a spider's web luring unwary insects. I stare at the blood pumping on the tubes, and I hugged my knees. I can't feel if it's cold, I can't even feel anything, yet I feel cold. Everything was quiet except for the steady beeping of the machine that read my heartbeat, and the occasional murmurings of nurses who came to check on me. I stayed at that position for a few more minutes, wondering how much longer until I made my choice. I was awoken from my daydream when Willow walked in, with Adam. He had left a few moments ago, in a hurry. He came back and I just felt so tired. I wanted to sleep but I also wanted to hear what he has to say.

"Stay." he suddenly blurted out, his voice was cracked and husky and his eyes were swollen from crying. "Just stay, Mia. I can't bear to lose you...I just..." And he finally burst into tears. I wanted to hug him. Could he feel me if I did? Would it let him know that I was there? That I could hear everything he said?

He gently placed his hands on mine. I couldn't feel it. But I knew in that moment that I still had something to hold on. I had to stay. Not for Adam or Kim or my other relatives, but for Mom, Dad, and Teddy. They would want me to stay.

But I couldn't. I was afraid of all the possibilities. I was afraid of living as much as I am afraid of dying. Staying here would mean facing the great unknown. But staying would just remind me of all the things I would've left behind. I thought of Mom and Dad and Teddy and how I wish I could go back to that moment when everything was fine, when we were just eating Mom's slightly charred yet delicious pancakes or talking about school getting cancelled or listening to music.

But life's not that easy. You can't turn back time by chanting silly incantations from a "magic" book or clicking your heels three times. I know that now. I know this will hurt Adam and Kim and the others, but they would get over it. I can't leave them behind, but I can't go back either. This is my choice.

And I chose to leave.