Chapter Twenty: Second Chances

She was souring through the sky… up, up, higher than the clouds. Suddenly, there was an extremely bright light in front of her, so bright that she had to shield her eyes.

A woman came down from the cloud she was below. She was dressed in all blue, and had the bluest eyes that she had ever seen.

She smiled down at her, but all she could do was look down at the scene that she had left just mere moments before. She could see Will and Beth, sobbing with their arms around each other, and Jack walking down to that room, looking like he didn't know where he was. The three people she cared about the most were the saddest she had ever seen, looking like they were forever changed.

The mysterious woman was looking down there too. "I can see why they miss you, Lissie," she said in a musical voice. She lightly touched her hand.

Lissie looked back up at her.

"You were courageous, humorous, loving and caring."

"I'm sorry," Lissie said, "But… I don't know who you are—"

"Oh, where are my manners? I am Ariel, the Angel of the Sea."

Lissie just looked at her, still not really understanding. What could this angel do for her? Why did she want to see her so desperately?

Ariel smiled again. "You may be wondering why you didn't go back to the future after you died. Well, I'm sorry, but that can only happen once. But for you to die so soon without saying goodbye just wasn't fair, in fact, your death wasn't fair. Life is extremely valuable, and what you have is extremely valuable. You have friends that love you, and a fiancee that loves you more than anything."

Lissie felt a twang at her heart when Ariel mentioned Will. He had been so devastated…

Ariel continued. "You may be wondering where I am going with this, and why you are not entering Heaven. Since you are from the future and died in the past, you get another chance at life."

Her heart leapt when she said this. She would see everyone again…

"But be warned. If you should die again, you will not get another chance. No matter if it was fair or unfair, you will not return to Earth."

Lissie nodded and smiled. "Thank you SO much…"

The angel smiled and hugged her. "Now, go back down there, and remember these words: Live every day as if you were to die tomorrow."

And with a flash, Ariel was gone.

Lissie turned around and flew back down to the ship, she could see everything coming closer as she sped down… she thought she would slam into the deck but she just sailed right through it… she couldn't stop…

~*~
Jack had suggested that everyone have some alone time in the room where Lissie lay. He and Beth had gone up to speak to the crew and tell them what happened on the ship, since they were all "traitors", as he called them. So, since Will was supposed to marry her in less than 2 months, they let him stay in there first as much as he wanted.

He plopped down in a chair that was next to her bed, just looking at her face that was once so full of life, laughter, happiness, and love.

"Why did you have to leave me?" he whispered. "This is all my fault," he moaned, putting his face in his hands. "If I would've seen Elizabeth for what she really was then she wouldn't have killed you… if only you could come back…"

Suddenly, a bright flash of light filled the room, so bright that he had to shield his eyes. It lasted for about a minute until finally, the room's lighting had gone back to normal. Slowly, he removed his hands from his eyes and looked at the bed.

Lissie was still laying there, but something was different.

Will hardly dared to believe it. He just stared at her.

Was she… breathing?

No… said a voice inside him. She's dead… she can't breathe…

Lissie opened her eyes. She turned her head to look at him. "Hi, Will," she whispered as she sat up and swung her legs over the side.

His mouth slowly fell open. "Oh…" Tears were running down his face, but they were tears of happiness… she was back…

In an instant, he stood up so fast that his chair was knocked backward, jumped on the bed and kissed her, pulling her as close as he could.

"How… how…?" his head was bursting with questions. He looked at her stomach, and noticed the wound was gone.

She put a finger to his lips to silence him. "Long story. But, let's get the others."

"Why? Can't we have some alone time?" asked Will, smiling a bit.

"I just came back from the dead. They'd want to know."

Before Will could object, she had yelled as loud as she could, "BETH! JACK! GET DOWN HERE!"

~*~

"So, once we got back up there, we saw 'er—" But Jack was suddenly cut off. Him and Beth looked at each other, then bolted out of the room, raced each other down the stairs and to Lissie's room. Jack got there first, and in his excitement, ran into the closed door.

"Oof!" he exclaimed as he fumbled for the doorknob.

"OUCH!" said him and Beth together once she had whammed into him because she was running so fast.

Completely disoriented, Jack finally managed to bang open the door.

"LISSIE!" they yelled together as they ran forward.

She sprang up and Beth beat Jack to get to her, so she flung herself at her and hugged her as tightly as she could.

"YOU'RE BACK!" she screamed.

"I MISSED YOU SO MUCH…" said Lissie just as loud.

Beth stepped to the side to let Jack see her. He jumped up and down excitedly, then picked her up and spun her around. "YOU'RE BACK!" he screamed, just as Beth had. "YOU'RE BACK!… Wait, that's supposed to be impossible…"

"Yeah, uh, Jack?" asked Lissie in a somewhat muffled voice.

"Yes?"

"I can't breathe…"

"Oh! Sorry…" and he hastily put her down, as if he thought she would suddenly die again.

Jack turned to Will. "Mate, you are so lucky…"

"We all are," said Beth. "You want to tell us exactly how you miraculously came back from the dead?"

She smiled. "Gladly. Well, first…" she explained about Ariel, the angel that granted her the chance to come back, and everything she told her.

"So, if I die again, then there's no second chance. Then, I'm gone."

"Well, we have to keep you safe until then," said Will. "No going outside with one of us—"

"Be careful aroun' sharp objects—"

"Don't talk to strangers—"

"And someone will always have their eye on you," said Will.

"Relax, you three! I'm not going to die for a LONG time," said Lissie.

There was silence for a moment, then Jack broke it, as usual.

"This calls for a celebration! Where's me rum…"

The others rolled their eyes as they watched him stumble out of the room, as if he was already in one of his drunken stupors.

But Lissie didn't care, she was glad that she came back. Now, every little thing made her grateful that she was back. Even if it meant watching Jack get drunk.

~*~

YAY! SHE'S ALIVE!!!!! Faked ya out, didn't I? *Grins* MOOHAHAHA!!! Please rejoice (lol!) and REVIEW!!!