Chapter 5

Paige found herself in an infinite, endless world of bright, white light. Endlessly glowing.

Endlessly shattering.

A white that completely shattered your heart because just looking at it made your eyes hurt and made you remember the loneliness in you. The loneliness which was an empty ache in you; and it grew and grew in this white world, which was loneliness itself.

The white covered the entire place and gave it that touch to make it unreal for Paige. For anyone who had the fortune and misfortune to have laid eyes upon it.

Paige blinked slowly as if in a trance. Where was she?

She felt unnaturally numb. Her senses were asleep; as if there actually was a thick veil of numbness covering them.

She looked around in her dream like state. It seemed to her as if time was slow in this beautiful, alienated world. Minutes never seemed to pass. It was as if eternity had entered itself into mere seconds and made its home there, refusing to leave.

Paige wondered about all of this with the expected amount of confusion. Why was she here? Why did this frozen world make her so utterly sad and so utterly lonely?

She closed her eyes in weariness, but the white had seared itself even into the back of her eyelids; refusing to leave its only companion.

She didn't know how long she lay like that, surrounded by loneliness and the white light, but it was long enough to make her senses return.

And long enough to make her remember.

Theo. He was the cause of her loneliness. Paige remembered everything, more clearly than she would have wished. She jerked up. What was wrong with her?

That was when the whispers started. First, the sound of whispers were so undeniably low that Paige wondered if it was a figment of her imagination just like everything else.

But gradually the whispers grew to muffled echoes that Paige could not distinguish.

Then, as abruptly as they had started the eerie whispers stopped, as if their cynical conversation had come to an end.

All but one whisper.

And this one whisper was constantly whispering that one word. That one word that Paige could always clearly hear.

Theo.

"What's wrong with her?"

Athena looked up from Paige's sweaty face into Chia's frowning one. She shrugged helplessly, not knowing what else to say.

She had been wondering the same thing from ever since Paige had collapsed on her at school. Needless to say she had been scared. Paige was someone she barely knew. The school was new to her. She didn't know what to do. After all, she did not have a degree in nursing.

It was fortunate that the guy who helped her had passed through that corridor right the moment Paige had fainted. Otherwise, she would have panicked. He had been nice enough to carry Paige into the medical room but had left without receiving any word of gratitude. It had been a strange encounter. But Athena was thankful for it nonetheless.

Athena was glad that she had gotten Paige home safely. The weather had been of no help; it had been hard for Chia's dad to drive them to their house when he came to get Paige from the school.

Athena had insisted on staying even when someone had told her it was 'going to be alright'.

Well, she was worried about this girl who had partly befriended her. Athena told herself she was just being a good potential friend as a good potential friend should be- but she knew that the reason she had stayed was partly something else.

It had been Paige whose bitter words had pronounced Athena's brother dead. Her bitter words that had sounded as if they had hurt her to say and not just Athena to hear.

Athena was not angry with the senior girl- she was just curious as to what had evoked such emotion from this girl she barely knew and over such an unrelated topic as Theo, her brother.

Maybe Paige was just generally sensitive on the subject of death, but there was something about the horrified look Chia had given Paige, that made Athena think otherwise.

It was not only Athena's curiosity that kept her at Paige's side, it was also the word she had uttered before she had fainted.

Athena thought she had heard something…but she wasn't completely sure. The thunder had been pretty loud and Athena could have easily misheard Paige.

But then again…how many other words sound exactly like Theo?

It had been barely a whisper, and something coming out of a fainting girl. Maybe Paige hadn't known what she was saying. Maybe she had been delirious. Or maybe Athena was finally going insane from her burden of grief and hallucinating words out of an unconscious person.

Athena sighed. She needed some kind of assurance; a clear thumbs up sign, to show her completely sane and untouched by her family's death. She needed something.

Athena felt someone sit beside her on the floor, and felt momentarily uncomfortable. This wasn't really any of her business just because she thought she needed a shrink. She hoped Chia wouldn't feel as if she was intruding since after all she was just being a good potential friend.

"Are my parents home?" asked a quiet (and Athena notice no longer bubbly) voice beside her.

"The school called your dad and he came to bring Paige home," she paused slightly- should she try to comfort her?- "…and I came along to make sure, you know, that everything was alright."

Chia smiled slightly. "Thanks."

Just then Chia's dad came in with some water in a bowl, thermometer and a cloth. He began to vigorously shake the thermometer, as if, if he shook it hard enough Paige would awaken from her unconscious state.

"Chia, check her pulse," he said distractedly as he peered at the thermometer.

Obediently, Chia took up Paige's wrist and felt for the pulse.

It was then that Athena noticed that Paige's breathing was strange. There was too long a gap between each breath she took, and when she eventually did, it seemed desperate and certainly not normal. Athena was no rocket scientist but she knew enough to know that that was definitely not good. Chia's voice broke her grim thoughts.

"Dad, her pulse is too slow."

His name now sounded out of the boundary of just Paige's mind. It danced across the white walls, that weren't really walls, echoing where it pleased and disappearing where it pleased.

Paige was kneeling on the white ground, clutching her hands on either side of her, clenching them into tight fists.

Now with her loneliness came the despair.

And it hit her where it hurt her the most. Because it knew all her weaknesses and why she hurt, and it used her emotion and memories as a lethal weapon against her. Punishing her for thinking. For feeling.

Her throat was burning. Paige imagined the red/orange flames licking and crawling its way up her throat, singeing everything in its way. It felt raw to the limit.

At first, Paige thought this was because of the despair. That it was just a small part of the ache, pain and hurt that despair brought with it but soon she realised the real cause of her sore throat.

It was her who had been screaming Theo's name. It was her cries that echoed in the lonely world. Her screams of loneliness that awoke the dead.

"THEO! THEO! THEO…"

It had started off as an audible whisper but had reached to desperate screams.

The whisper she had heard had long stopped, maybe aware that Paige would take over, and Paige had been screaming his name out loud for a long time.

It was no longer abnormal for her though. It didn't even seem stupid. In fact, for once in her life Paige felt as if it was right. As if she were doing the right thing by calling his name. She felt natural when she screamed his name over and over again.

Paige had set aside her confusion, her questions and her loneliness and set her mind on calling Theo. And she called him with her mind and her soul. With everything she had, because she knew that this was her last chance.

Somehow, she knew that if he didn't come now, he would never come.

It hadn't worked. No one had come. Paige was alone yet again. And she was tired. No longer screaming. No longer calling for Theo. Just tired.

Despair had been cruel. As one final move in the fight with Paige, it had sent its strength as a strong wave. And the wave had pierced straight through Paige's determination and left her bare. And utterly tired.

She lay defeated on the ground, as a tear escaped her. He wasn't coming.

The knowledge of her failure was slowly driving her to the edge. Slowly and painfully. Enjoying tormenting her to the end.

Her attempts had been futile. And with that thought Paige closed her eyes.

Despair was closing in on her. Loneliness had wrapped itself so tightly around her that she was no longer aware of her surroundings. Something was hovering over her, coming to claim her and she never noticed.

And then as suddenly as the world had grown dark, it grew light again. Loneliness loosened its hold on Paige. Despair was shunned away. And still Paige did not notice.

She did not even notice when that someone came. She didn't feel the presence.

She never felt his presence there even though he was the other half of her soul.

She had lost her fight so greatly that she was once again numb, and she was slipping away.

The only thing that brought her back, snapped her eyes open, drove her loneliness away and replaced it with disbelief was a small whisper.

"Paige."

Kale watched the house from the shadows.

He had seen his prey in there, followed her right to the door and she hadn't even noticed. Typical human. Not even noticing when its life was in danger.

He had ignored the other people in the house, tried to focus on his prey, but he found that his vampire senses were drawn to the unconscious girl in the house. She had a strong aura. A night world pull.

Kale smiled. This could prove to be more interesting than he had thought.

The thunder and lightning had stopped. Even the rain had stopped. In contrast to the weather before, now everything was deathly still.

Kale's supernatural senses could not even detect any animal movement. Just the occasional rustle of leaf and left over rain dropping from trees, but apart from that the natural world was silent. Unnaturally silent.

Something supernatural was going on. And Kale knew it had something to do with the strange girl inside.

And ofcourse it was his job to find out exactly what.

"Paige." Paige had never thought her name to be beautiful, but coming from him it sounded heavenly.

Paige looked up at him, willing him to be real and not just her imagination. Her heart ached at just looking at him. He was beautiful. And she was glad that he looked human, normal- because it made him more real.

His wavy, brown chin length hair made him real. His beautiful brown eyes that watched her so solemnly made him real. That one silver ear ring that gleamed top of his ear, that Paige noticed straight away made him real. His jeans made him real. He was real.

She watched in amazement as he smiled sadly at her and said in the voice that awoke happiness in her, "They told me not to come. They told me you would be here."

"Theo," was her answer. Because ofcourse it was Theo, who else?

She still watched him in a dazed way; only half believing that he was actually there. She didn't even notice that now she was embraced by joy and a smile lit up her features.

Now, the white surrounding her seemed beautiful. Pure. A resemblance of joy and happiness. A resemblance of unity. And for Paige it was the best place to be.

"I watched you. I wished…I dreamt about you before I died. We were supposed to meet but." Theo never finished his sentence, they both knew what had happened, if only vaguely. They both knew that their time was limited and they didn't want to spend it with dark thoughts.

Theo smiled. "I never imagined you to be so beautiful."

Hope fluttered in Paige's heart, dancing with her happiness. Hesitantly, she stepped forward. Had he really come just for her? Had he really heard her cries?

As if Theo had heard he nodded his head slightly and reached out with one hand.

It was only a matter of seconds that Paige was there in front of Theo, gazing into his soul, wishing that that moment could last forever. Wishing that it could all last forever.

She reached out for his hand. Slowly, aware that her dreams could be shattered in that sect of a moment. And just as she thought his hand would touch hers, she had to face the reality.

She felt the hand there but not in the same sense as you touch a table or a pencil. She looked up and saw him staring at his hands. Had he hoped…? Suddenly he smiled, his sad smile, that just made you want to take him in your arms and tell him everything would be alright.

"My body died the day I died…on Earth. I exist…but only for you. I came here because I knew you were there waiting. Just like you promised in my dream. Thank you Paige." He looked straight into the dark green depths of her gaze. Showing his trust, gratitude and l-

"I-," he hesitated slightly, not because he was unsure but because he wondered how saying it would change everything, "I love you."

'You saw me mourning my eyes for you…and touched my hand. I knew you loved me then…'

That was all Paige needed. Even knowing that they would never be granted physical contact, she flew into his arms. And just for one moment, one little moment in the whole of time, she thought she felt him. She radiated joy. She wanted to stay there forever, embracing her soul's one true half.

"Don't leave me."

Paige cursed herself for being so weak. He had been strong and now she was there in his arms telling him not to leave, reminding him, reminding them of the inevitable.

She felt Theo shake his head. "Paige, you're strong. And nothing we say now is going to change what must happen. What has already happened."

He knew what she was thinking.

Theo nodded. "Soulmates. It's a beautiful connection. One person who is meant to be just for you," he looked down and smiled at Paige with warmth and love, "That's why you are here now. That's why I'm here. Our bond is so strong that not even death can keep us apart."

Paige felt a tear slide down her cheeks.

"Open your mind to the connection, Paige. I'll always be there." He wasn't just talking about now; he wanted her to know that for always

Paige opened her mind. She found a little gateway that she had never known had existed, and she opened it. Love and light came flooding in. She was thrown into a world of butterflies and hurricanes.

She felt Theo then. There were no more boundaries. Their physical bodies didn't matter anymore; in here they were bonded. Together. Forever.

It was beautiful. She felt all of Theo's thoughts, memories, emotions…It was amazing. This felt unreal, more than the white world. She never felt as if she had known anyone more than Theo. She saw his joys, his despair. She saw him, and god, he was more beautiful than she thought.

Theo was smiling. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. But these tears were from being deliriously happy. She had never ever known happiness like that. But she was glad she found it. And she was glad that the one person who could truly make her happy was her soulmate. And that she had found him.

"Dad, we need to call the doctor."

Chia's dad, Arch, shook his head, and put up his hand to stop Chia from protesting. He knew what the situation was. He knew that Paige's condition was severe. But it wasn't a doctor she needed.

He turned to look to look at his wife, Asina and said in a grave voice, "It is as I feared. This is not natural. We need the help of someone who knows what they're doing. I'm going to call Ariyel."

Chia's mom just nodded, full well knowing how bad Paige must be if Arch was willing to call Ariyel. She just hoped that for everyone's sake, Paige was alright.

"You shouldn't stay here long."

Paige looked up, confusion written in every corner of her face. Theo smiled.

"You're alive Paige. You have a physical body back at Earth. It's dangerous for you to stay here for too long, it could seriously harm you. This is a place where lost souls roam around. Me, I'm a spirit, it allows me to enter this plane without being in danger."

Paige listened to what he was saying and started to understand their situation, but there was one question drifting in her mind.

"So, you can come to earth as a spirit?" Paige asked this as if just in passing, but all her hope depended on that answer.

Theo looked sad. "Paige…" He cleared his throat and looked away.

"I wish I could come but I have died and crossed over. Spirits cannot enter the plane of the living after they have accepted death. It's the rules. And that is why I came when you called me here. Because this will be the only time we will see each other."

Paige looked at him, and finally understood. Her soul mate was dead. There was nothing they could do about that. She had to be strong. He had said he would always be there and he was right. He would. She would never forget him.

"Paige," he called her suddenly. She looked up at him. He had his hand out towards her and his eyes were shining. "Let's dance."

She smiled at the spontaneous suggestion but didn't hesitate for a moment. It really wasn't possible but it was happening. And it was happening to her. And she had never felt so much happiness in her life before.

The couple danced slowly and serenely to a rhythm only their entwined minds could hear and they cherished the moments in which they held each other in their arms, for the moments were only but a few.

"Mum, I don't understand what we're doing standing around here. Paige needs medical attention, her condition is severe, mum! Don't you understand that? And who's this Ariyel person whose come out of the blue?"

"Chia, honey calm down. Things will be fine. Your dad's going to explain everything after Paige is better and don't worry everything we're doing is for Paige," Chia's mum whispered calmly to her daughter, trying to reassure her.

Chia looked at her mum stubbornly. Where were the doctors? Why had her dad called this woman? What could she possibly do that they hadn't already done.

Chia looked with contempt at the woman who was feeling Paige's wrists, forehead and chest. As if they hadn't done all the necessary things already.

"But m-"

Chia was cut off by the woman who spoke for the first time she had arrived.

"Silence!" She was a petite woman but her voice commanded respect and sounded worn away with age. She had her eyes closed and her fingers on Paige's closed eyes.

"She's on a different plane, Arch. She shouldn't be there, no, no, this is bad for the girl. She should come back. But she's powerful, oh yes, very powerful, she will hold for a while."

Chia looked at her dad, confused like hell. He didn't say anything but look grave. What was going on? Planes and power?

"Ah, I see. It's a matter of the soul Arch, something you should know a lot about. It's the link. I can't bring her back. She has to come back by herself. There can't be any sort of force involved, the matter is delicate. If I meddle she could be scarred or worse…lost."

No one spoke.

The silence was unsatisfying. No one looked at each other.

Athena sat at a dejected corner of the room observing everything. Chia sat with her eyes closed and her throbbing head in her hands, as Paige danced in the realms of the dead and travelled faster away from the ones of the living than she had ever before.

"Paige."

"I know Theo, I have to go," she said sadly.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I've never felt happier ever before. I love you Theo. I would die for you. I would do anything just to see you as I have done now. These moments are very precious to me and I will never forget them." She smiled against him.

He looked proud of her. He reached out to touch her cheek, and as his fingers inched slowly to her delicate skin, a miracle happened and they touched. They both looked at each other, with wonder and fright in their eyes.

"Paige, please go."

Paige brought a finger to her lips and did something she didn't need to think about. She stepped forward so close to Theo that their lips met- and touched.

Sparks flew, rainbows blinded their vision and Paige thought she had truly died. She pulled away slowly, her heart, mind and soul finally content.

"Goodbye Theo. My soul mate. I love you today but less than tomorrow. And I will always love you more until my time comes and I will come to you," she said solemnly making the eternal promise.

Here she didn't cry for she had shed her tears, now she must be happy and strong.

"And I will always be waiting for you. Remember to be strong even in the darkest times. Hard times are ahead for you Paige. But know this, I am always there with you, watching you, protecting you, loving you. Goodbye Paige."

They knew words were not needed. Everything had been said when their souls had met. Paige saw Theo's eyes one last time, glistening hazel with tears. She closed her eyes and made peace with her soul.

With one last longing look of love, she was gone. Theo watched her go with a smile.

"Goodbye, my witch. Take care."

Kale looked around from his comfortable position on a tree, a satisfying distance away from the house.

Things had changed.

His night worldly senses told him so.

The world had changed. It seemed more…alive.

Yes, the world had been asleep for a little time period. A quick hibernation. Hm. What could be the cause of it all? Certainly not the meal, no. But the girl who was asleep was a potential.

Kale's senses pricked. He smiled in satisfaction.

Ofcourse, he was right after a fashion.

So she was awake. Interesting.

Author's Note: Yes, guys, I'm back- after the best holiday anyone can hope for. The only bad thing is I came back to London to not only this site but also the incurable chickenpox. Oh, the devious ways of fate.

And I know about this chapter, you're all probably thinking- eh, cheesy much? But what the hell, authors are allowed to be cheesy once in a while. And its quite long because I wanted to have the Paige/Theo interaction in one chapter. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out actually. Now the story will finally be going into action mode as the plot goes.

Reviewers and readers out there, please I know you're not dead, so do tell me what you think of my so called story so far. I want honest opinion on my writing- is it boring, dragged out too long, fabulous? Come on, these damned reviews are supposed to make us better writers, for crying out loud!

Last but the most important part of my author note is ofcourse my thanks to everyone who reviewed this. You know who you are, I'm not going to mention you a hundred times over again. ;) Thankyou so much for reviewing, hope you're enjoying the story, coz I'm certainly enjoying yours!Do tell. By the way, I am aware that the writing takes the kick away from the action but hey what can I do, I'm more of a description chic anyway. :D

Did I say chic? Adios! PS. Expect the next chapter shortly, I'm back into action. Yayhay!