I'll forget the world that I knew
But I swear I won't forget you,
Oh if my voice could reach back through the past
I'd whisper in your ear
Oh darling I wish you were here

There comes a time after every person's death, when they know that they will not remain on this solid ground for long. Jade realises as she walks reluctantly away from the tributes by the roadside, that this time is now upon her.

"Say goodbye, Jade," she mutters to herself. "Say goodbye to everybody."

She chooses first to say farewell to her friends. It is a Monday, an almost ordinary school day for them, although it is one they must face knowing that Jade will not be with them.

"But I will be with them! One last time, one last time I'll be with them!"

Jade hurtles back through the street, in a manner that would surely send others flying if she were solid. She rushes through the school gates, through the doors, through a maze of corridors…

And they're here.

Madeline. Jenny. Vicky-Two. Sam. They're walking down the corridor towards her, chatting casually as they head off to their next lesson. They walk past Jade at first; too engrossed in conversation to notice a girl who is simply a shadow, a glimmer of the past waiting for them to remember her. It is then that Jade takes matters into her own hands, swivelling on the spot and running after her old friends.

"It's me! It's me, Jade! Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Madeline? Sam? I'm here!" she cries, catching up with Sam and placing one hand on his shoulder. The boy shivers, as if a cold wind had just passed through him. He turns.

"I suppose you think you're funny!" he yells. He stops. The corridor is empty, apart from… could it be a shadow? A reflection on the glass doors at the end of the hallway? Or a ghost?

"Jade?" he says, his voice little more than a choked whisper.

With these words, the three girls also turn. They too see Jade's transparent presence, and Vicky-Two steps towards her uncertainly.

"Oh my God," she breathes. "Is it a ghost?"

"I don't know!" Jade replies. "I don't know what I am! But I know what I will be…"

"What? You're not making any sense!" Jenny snaps, interrupting Jade.

"I haven't got long. I think I'm finally going!"

"Going where?" asks Madeline.

"I hope it's Heaven. Oh, that sounds so stupid, like it's one of those Victorian books we sometimes studied in English. Look at me, Jade the Almost-Angel."

"I can hardly see you," Sam points out. Despite the near joviality of his comment, his eyes are filling with tears.

"I know. But maybe you will again. But it could be goodbye… I'll miss you!" Jade throws her arms around each of her friends in turn, eventually engulfing them in a group hug that brings shivers down every human spine.

After what seems like forever, the friends break apart, all in tears.

"Goodbye," Jade says for the last time, before turning around and drifting off again. She leaves four sobbing teenagers behind her. But she cannot focus on them now.

"I have to see my parents…"

However, as Jade leaves the school building and hurries off to her old home, she is caught by a strong breeze that throws her off her feet. The trees remain rooted to the ground; the weather vane on a nearby church building remains stationary. This is not an earthly gale.

"No!" Jade gasps, realising what is happening. "I think it's time… I'm going… I have to say goodbye! No!"

But her battle against the gale is in vain. And so, Jade begins her ascent to Heaven, knowing that she may never see her family again. It is a bittersweet end to earthly life.

A/N: Yes, SilverLinings is back. *cue epic film music* She has braved rabid sheep, evil ducks, uncooperative canoes and the spiciest Chinese meal known to man, and still returns unharmed to bring another chapter! *music cuts out* Okay, it wasn't that bad. But at least I've finally updated!

SONG: Vanilla Twilight – Owl City