Oh my goodness I had absolutely no right to leave you hanging like that. I feel terrible. I swear I meant it upload this soon so no one would be worried cause Misery in general but damn, I got distracted and I got really sick again! I'm very, very sorry. There's no way in Hell I'd ever let Sadie die, no way. No one's dying. I promise, no more dying like in Listen to Your Heart. How about this, I'll post this chapter here, and immediately get going on the follow up, okay? In the meantime enjoy this, take a deep breath, relax...Sadie's going to be fine. She's an important asset to the story, it's all good.

Oh, and if you have any time on your hands could you swing by to my profile and vote on the poll? I've got a whole summer vacation ahead of me before I disappear for college and I wanna give you guys something really special. Tell your other readers and friends too, if you'd like! (Cause honestly if I have to write another Rise of the Guardians thing, which I'm okay with, I think I'm gonna let Pitch go fly on his own. Jack's feeling a little left out and Pippa hasn't been noticed in such a long time.) ...Hehehehe.

Chapter 28

Sadie's POV

I didn't go to Heaven like I thought I would. If you ask me about the pain I felt when I was stabbed, I honestly have to say that...it was so quick, I don't entirely remember it. Or maybe I just don't know how to explain the shock of someone having the absolute heartlessness and audacity to do that to someone, anyone for that matter. I remember shaking, feeling cold...like I was bleeding out my life. A numbness was mostly there, but the cold went away and was replaced with warmth by the time I lost consciousness.

When I watched Alice and Pitch cry, with Sandy looking at me in such sadness I didn't know he possessed, my vision was blurry. I couldn't hear them, just the steady rhythm of my heartbeat. I don't tell anyone this besides my best friend Lucy and Sandman, but...I heard voices.

They weren't Alice's or Pitch's. Not even Sandy's.

They were Mom and Dad.

When I was met with the darkness, the limbo between death and life, I heard them. They sounded...calm. Like they knew what was going to happen to me was going to be taken care of in good hands. They sounded also worried that I had to go like that...at least I didn't fully go.

Sadie? Angel, are you okay? I heard Mom's voice first. She sounded far away, her voice echoing off in the distance.

I wanted to nod, but my head didn't move. I wanted to say, 'Yeah, I think...' but my throat wouldn't work and my mouth wouldn't open. It stayed shut.

Hun, I think she can't respond.

That was definitely Dad. I recognized his strong deep voice anywhere.

I tried shouting for them to stay near me, to ask what was gonna happen to me, but I was paralyzed. I felt nothing, I felt like I was hovering in mid air because none of my senses could pick up any smells, sounds, tastes or visuals.

Oh. Well, Sadie, if you're listening, just know that Dad and I are right here with you. I could almost hear her smile brightly like she used to.

Always have been, always will, sweetpea! Dad agreed.

I could just envision them arm in arm as they watched my still body, smiles on their faces like they would when I would get off the bus after school and run down the driveway to them. I had memories of them, but not much compared to Alice. I still was really little when they died...maybe around six or something, I dunno. I'm not good with ages, Alice is. She's better at math than I've ever been.

Tell Alice we love her and are still with her too, okay? Mom asked gently.

I wish I could've said, 'I promise.' I meant it completely.

And you tell that Pitch fellow that he better marry her sooner than later! We're tired of waiting! Dad laughed that old jolly laugh that would light up any room he was in.

I felt my lips pull back in a faint smile, and that was when I realized my body actually made a movement with what my brain told me to do. By the time I felt my senses coming to me, their voices drifted off with their hesitant goodbyes, the first thing I remember sensing was….something soft under my head.

My nose took a slow breathe in, and I smelled something...salty. Like that distant smell of the ocean one can acknowledge if they're less than five miles away from the beach. Am I at a beach? I didn't feel any sunrays shining down on me nor did I feel hot.

I finally regained my ability to move my head a little bit. Pillow. My mind recognized the word. So I'm lying on a bed. Maybe I'm in a hospital by the beach. That'd be a nice wakeup call, at least.

My eyes finally opened, very slowly to say the least. The blinding light caused me to close them again and reopen with fast blinking. I felt sore all of a sudden...like I've been lying down for ages. When I lie down for a long period of time, my body aches to just get up and move.

Golden light...no wait...was that a ceiling? It looked like sand, by the way it swirled against the solid color of gold. The more I stared at it, the more it looked like the sand...moved. Like it had life.

My hands dug into the fabric of the bed. Satin. There was no way I would be in a hospital with a gold ceiling and satin sheets. Now I was starting to feel fear bubble up inside me. I didn't know any place in my memories that I would know with where I was.

Moaning, I sat up slowly. A dull throbbing started in my chest, and I clutched at my chest. After a while, it went away. Wasn't that where I was stabbed? I looked down and saw no bandages, no dressing, nothing. Not even a hospital gown. I was pretty shocked as to what I was wearing.

Last time I remembered that night I almost died, I was wearing jeans and a bohemian shirt. Now? Everything I wore was gold colored, all in different shades of it. I had these harem pants that were transparent from the shin to the knee and then formed into solidity, and a tunic that hugged my torso, all of it golden colored. No shoes either. Were these sleeping clothes? My day clothes? When did I change into these?

I looked over to my left, noticing the light shifting a bit from a sudden shadow from the window. My eyes widened at what pressed her hands against the glass, curiously watching me.

A mermaid.

This creature had long, flaming red hair almost like Alice's, but ranging closer to orange like coral. Her ears were pointed like an elf's, and her pallid ivory skin had green tattoos swirling up from between her fingers, all the way up her arms and just touching her neck and collarbone. She wore turtle shells that shone brightly on her shoulders as armor, and kelp for a shirt that almost blended with her dark green tail.

She gave a timid smile before zipping off, bubbles fluttering in her trail. I blinked, my mouth still open in shock.

I shouldn't be so used to things like that. I mean, I know spirits exist for God's Sake, the possibility of a mermaid existing wasn't far fetched like people say. Still...that was my first time seeing one in real life.

I was able to get out of my bed and wander down the halls, and things were starting to become pieced together. By the time I turned the corner and came face to face with a stairwell that curled like the wind, I knew exactly where I was. Sandman's Island.

This time I was running, trying to find where he was. If I was here, I was sure he was here on the Island, too. He couldn't be far.

For some reason, no matter how long I ran or how hard I pumped my legs, I never tired or felt the muscle strain I usually get while running. Maybe it was adrenaline or something.

Just as I burst into another room, I saw Sandy sitting near a trickling fountain that looked like it was carved out of solid gold. Lily pads and lotus flowers floated in the crystal clear water, sparkling in the light of the room.

"Sandy?" I asked, stepping forward.

I didn't know he was meditating. He opened his eyes and turned towards me, his mouth open in shock.

"You weren't supposed to wake up just yet." he said.

I didn't know what to say...I was too stunned that he actually spoke. I actually heard his voice, like the first time in the attic when Grim threatened him. I could hear him. Why could I hear his voice?

He got up quite quickly and wrapped me in a hug, a tight yet comforting hug that told me that something bad must've happened. I leaned back from his arms and stared at him, not sure which question to ask first of the many than ran through my mind.

"How...how can I hear your voice?"

He gave a soft smile and looked down at his shoes before back at me, "You're...well...You're a spirit now. Joined by me, so you're the only one in existence that can hear me."

….What?

My expression must've made him crack or something, cause he looked defeated. He rubbed his face while sighing, "I knew you wouldn't like this. But your sister told me to before I had the chance to tell her-"

"Sandy, what the hell?" I snapped out of terror, "You made me a spirit? Why?"

"You were dying."

"Yeah, but did you hear me say, 'Sandy, make me a spirit?' I had no say in it!" I shot back.

Sandy stared at me with an appalled mouth. I must've made a noise of confusion, because his face became irritated, "You better not be telling me you were willing to die."

"I never said that," I violently shook my head in strong disagreement, "I just...I thought there was a different way, like just going to the hospital and not becoming a spirit."

Sandy sighed and sat back onto the downy cushion near the fountain, and I joined at his side. He ran a hand through his soft hair, little sparkles of dreamsand flying from his fingers.

"Misery stabbed you right through you, going to the hospital wouldn't be able to heal a wound like that. Anyone that gets stabbed has a high chance of dying...Please just believe me," he gave me sad eyes, "I didn't want to turn you into a spirit. I knew you wouldn't want that. Your sister was desperate, as was Pitch. You're...you're the last piece of family she has."

I looked down, trying to fight off the lump in my throat and the prickling sensation of tears in the corners of my eyes. I knew Alice would react like that...but now that I was a spirit I didn't have a future. I couldn't finish high school, go to college, follow my dreams to help people and fight those who supported corrupted government...I was going to have a life. I had it all planned out, too. After going to my dream college, Eastern Washington University, and getting a degree in international relations and affairs, I'd go travel the world helping people in poverty and become an activist, maybe even live on a horse ranch when not working. That was my dream...and now I can't-

"Hey," Sandy's gentle hand that was placed on my cheek shook me from my thoughts, "I didn't say you had to give up everything."

"But I'm a spirit. They can't see me...right?" I asked, the lump in my throat growing tighter with tears. I hated crying.

He smiled softly and pulled me into a comforting hug, "They'll see you. You can continue whatever you've started, whether it'd be school or what you dream of doing. You're not the Sandman, I am, and because you have no title besides my Devout and helper of dreams, you still can do what you want. I would never take that away from you."

Oh, thank God. Thank God above. This relief just let all those tears out. I tried sniffing them back but Sandy hushed me and stroked my hair.

"It's okay, go ahead and cry. It's been a stressful week on all of us. Shhh...It'll be okay."

But I wasn't just crying in relief. I was crying from fear, too. While I lived forever, Pitch and Alice would grow old and die. What Pitch gave up for us was now something I had, and that wasn't fair at all. I felt like I betrayed him, after what he sacrificed to be with us. Even if I didn't have a choice or say in being who I now am, I still felt terrible. I felt like it was all my fault, even if it wasn't.

I needed to go home. I needed to talk to Alice and Pitch and tell them I'm sorry. For everything.

I usually don't like leaving notes down here but this just got brought to my attention. I can't remember where exactly but one of my stories was mentioned on this website by this, well, fan is putting it lightly she was definitely a hardcore fan but damn did I feel accomplished! I don't remember what her name was but she posted a lot of Brave stuff so I'll call her Brave Person. Brave Person, you rock. Thanks for the support. :)