"I'm not sure about this, Lilly."
"Reason being?"
"Hmm, let's see. It just rained, hence the railings are slippery. Now let's add a skateboard to that equation and what do we get? A girl with a broken neck."
"Hence?"
"That's what you got from all that?"
"Relax, Oliver. I've done this a million times. I'm a pro."
She kicks up her board and hops on top of it gliding across the skateboard park ready to make the jump from the ground to the rail. Now normally, she would've taken Oliver's advice but at this particular moment her mind was cluttered with family problems and a fight with Miley. The only thing she wanted to concentrate on was her board. Oliver stood by some bleachers gnawing at his knuckles, silently cheering for Lilly to make the jump without breaking any of her limbs. As she prepared to make the jump Oliver's heart beat faster, unknowingly in sync with Lilly's own heart. A few moments of suspense and she had done it.
"See, Ollie? I told you I was—
But before she could finish, one of the wheels on her skateboard came in contact with an especially slippery piece of cement and Lilly was thrown back.
"Holy shit! Lilly!" Oliver ran to her as fast as he could. The fall did not look pretty.
Lilly awoke to find herself in the middle of the skate park, completely alone. The sky was so gray it was haunting, however there was no sign of rainfall or even the slippery cement that was to blame for her current position on the ground. She removed her helmet and found a soft spot, bleeding. She jumped up, startled at the scarlet liquid on her palm.
"Oliver!" she called out to the desolate park. "That's weird…"
Lilly began to walk towards the sidewalk expecting to head to her house when her name was called out by a vaguely familiar voice.
"Hey Lilly, where do you think you're going?"
She turned and found herself facing a young man, just a few inches taller than her. His hair was a sandy brown, and his smile mischievous but special. Her head began to throb as her brain searched for clues to figure out who this boy was and why he knew her name.
"You don't know my name, do you?" He spoke again and her head throbbed once more.
"Am I supposed to? How do you know mine?" She held her head and remembered she was bleeding. "Holy crap, I should really get to a hospital or something. Bleeding from your head is never a good thing." She began to rush and turn from the boy but he spoke once more.
"There really is no point to that now, Lilly."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you're dead." He smiled at her, a genuine and sympathetic smile.
Lilly's eyes filled with tears immediately and her head felt like it was expanding as the last moment of her life played in her head. She was skating, Oliver told her not to do something so naturally she did the opposite, and the next thing she knows she's talking to this guy while holding a bloody helmet in her hand.
"You're joking."
"Nope. I don't really have a sense of humor." He chuckled and began to walk away from her.
"Are you like… an angel or something?"
He turned to face her again. "Not quite. I'm just here to bridge the gap between what just happened and what will happen."
"You mean like, Heaven or Hell?" Lilly gulped loudly. This was the first time she ever considered eternity.
"Maybe." He continued to walk away from her. "You're coming aren't you?"
"Where are we going?" She tentatively stepped forward.
"Look, it's not time for your "Judgment" just yet. I want to show you what you've been missing out on these past few weeks."
"Weeks?" The park was suddenly filled with a blinding light, which was then replaced with a fluorescent light. There was an audible buzz in the room. Lilly's eyes struggled to adjust to the changing brightness, until they settled on a bed. There was a boy sitting next to it, holding on to a girl's hand. He watched her conscientiously, as if by doing so his own eyes would trigger a response. Lilly moved closer to the bed and discovered to her own horror and yet relief, that she was the patient.
"You know, even in hospital light you look good." Lilly jumped and looked back to find that same boy from the park standing behind her. He moved over to the opposite side of the bed the living boy was on.
"Nice. I thought you said I was dead." She reached out to touch her own forehead but the living boy beat her to it. Lilly felt his warmth on her own cold, ghostly skin.
"Lilly," he breathed out wearily, "I miss you." He laid his head on her forearm, and the sounds of light snoring were heard.
"Ollie…" Lilly's eyes filled with tears once again, and this time they did not stop at the brim.
"So you remember him, then?"
"Of course, I do. He's my best friend. Why wouldn't I remember…" Lilly suddenly realized that she had no recollection of anyone else. Even when she first began to walk home, she didn't know in which direction to continue. Her head throbbed once again and her memories were hazy and felt pilfered from some other blonde girl's life.
"Do you think, maybe, you blocked everyone else out on purpose?" He smiled again, that same twitch at the corner of his mouth that seemed to mock Lilly, and yet she did not feel the need to punch him in the face. Not yet, anyway. His teasing was brotherly, if there was a word for it.
Lilly kept crying silently, while trying to recall how she could make that happen.
"You can't blame me for not remembering! I'm half-dead! I'm not responsible for my subconscious, or in this case my unconscious. As far as I can tell, the only person worth remembering was Oliver." She stomped away from the bed and faced the corner, like a child who was just told to take a timeout.
"Ouch. Imagine telling that to the people who've been taking care of you since your little "Evel Knievel" stunt at the skate park." Lilly continues to ignore him while he takes a seat next to Oliver.
"He's just one person out of the thousands that care about you."
"Thousands? C'mon, I'm not an idiot."
"Alright, a dozen. Is that better? Is twelve a much more realistic number for you?"
"You were right." Lilly turns to face him, her cheeks stained with tears.
"I am?"
"You don't have a sense of a humor," she turns back to her corner.
"Oh, that's mature."
There is a sudden knock at the door, barely perceptible, but Oliver immediately picks his head up.
"Come in." Oliver gets up and straightens out his shirt, anticipating Mrs. Truscott. The door opens to reveal a tall and lean brown haired girl. She looks in and smiles kindly at Oliver.
"Hey." She walks in and puts her hand on the comatose Lilly's forehead.
Lilly jumps once again at the sudden chill that runs through her, and the headache commences.
The hospital room vanishes within a shadow this time. In the darkness there is a gradual hum of music. It's a soft sound, the voice creating it progressively getting stronger and the obscurity fading away. Lilly is now standing in a girl's bedroom. The pinks and purples give it away immediately. There's a picture of that tall girl and Lilly herself, hugging. Lilly's headache returns briefly as she looks upon the happy portrait.
"Miley..." And then she remembers why she might have blocked her out.