1 Awake??

The clock seemed too slow as they waited for Cassidy who lay motionless on the bed to wake up.

They could see sweat break out on her forehead as she seemed like she'd difficulty breathing.

Cassidy felt her life being sucked out vigorously before she flung her weak sea blue eyes open.

Her eyelids were heavy, and she couldn't tell which way was up and down, left or right, but she could definitely see her mother and Kevin, her younger brother, stare at her wide-eyed.

" Oh, child, I'm glad you're awake!"

Her mother caressed her face soothingly.

Mrs Peters, her mother, could see bemusement in her child's pale eyes.

Cassidy stared at her mother as if awaiting an explanation.

No one made a sound.

Bitterness came from the edge of her throat as she remembered his dying promise.

Her eyes grew wider as she remembered being pushed into an oncoming truck by someone she didn't see.

Her eyes darted around maniacally and something on the calendar caught her attention.

Time turned back!?

Something was definitely wrong with her or with the entire setup.

While she was drowned in her thoughts, Kevin clapped his hands in glee.

His smile was child-like and his laughter was light.

His leo coloured eyes radiated in the dim lit room.

" I've missed you so much, sister. I was scared you won't wake up as you've been ill for a long time," he divulged and brushed his caramel coloured hair with his left hand.

Cassidy lay quiet for a moment as she glanced at both her mother and brother in bewilderment.

Her mind was probably playing tricks again.

There was no way she could be taken back.

Wasn't it said that what a person believes in works for them?

She wasn't a believer in rebirth.

Cassidy pinched herself steadily but slowly and yelped in pain.

It was real.

She was alive and not dead.

And this meant that Devin was still alive somewhere.

But how'd she find him?

She'd only met him a few times and he'd promised to take away her pain ( pains that gave her so many sleepless nights.)

" Where's Devin?" she asked without a second thought.

" Who's that?" Kevin questioned back.

Cassidy gazed at him - speechless.

" Who's Devin?" her mother questioned.

She felt their queer questions gnaw on her flesh.

She laughed roughly despite the bickering.

She wasn't wrong, was she?

She knew it was Devin.

They all knew Devin.

" Mom, how can you ask that? Devin, don't you know him?"

Her mother remained silent before she let out an audible gasp.

She touched her child's forehead to feel her temperature.

" Oh, child. Don't stress your head. The doctor will be here soon. Your fever is gone. The doctor will be here, child. I'll phone the doctor right away."

Cassidy took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

" Mother, don't worry yourself. I'm fine."

" No, you're not. Child, lie here and wait," her mother pleaded while she patted her cheeks sympathetically.

She turned and trudged towards the kitchen with Kevin trailing behind.

Cassidy sat on the bed with her legs crossed.

Her beautifully red painted nails grazed onto the television remote in front of her as she playfully touched them.

She adjusted on the bed to listen to the news that popped up as soon as she turned on the television.

" Gone but not forgotten, gone but ever here, Angela and David Jones..."

While the news went on, Kevin dashed into the room panting for breath with a drenched hairline.

Cassidy turned off the television and stared at him in grim silence.

" Today is sister's birthday!"

A blush crept on her pale face.

Her mother smiled broadly and began the birthday song which was the tradition in the family - to always sing a birthday song first.

" Go and take a shower. The doctor will be here soon," her mother stated.

Cassidy nodded obediently and plodded tediously to the bathroom.

After filling up the bathtub, she dipped herself inside.

A sudden wave of deja Vu about the whole situation assailed her.

How come no one remembered Devin?

He couldn't be dead... not without fulfilling his own promise.

They used to hide under the covers - serenading each other with careless melodies.

Something was buried deep inside them.

They were like the piano keys he played for her.

Even in her sleep, she hears it like the memory of everything they used to be.

Although, they couldn't stop the world from turning (it was like a whirlwind that scattered them like leaves, but she was stuck inside a feeling that never left.)

If everything was exactly the way it was, then she'd meet him on this fateful day again and bring the light into her life one more time.

She showered quickly but unenthusiastically.

*****

Doctor Louis stood in the sitting room ( waiting patiently.)

Kevin smiled broadly at her.

" I like your eyes. They are so brown."

Mrs Peters buried her grim face in her hands.

" Kevin, she's a guest and not your mate. Now go and call your sister."

Kevin stomped out of the sitting room almost reluctantly and returned with his sister trailing behind his petite body.

Doctor Louis examined her painstakingly after an awkward silence that seemed like forever.

" Do you feel any pain around your head?" doctor Louis asked her.

" No."

" There's nothing wrong with her but she'll still need to continue her medications," the doctor announced and dropped a list of drugs to purchase.

Her mother walked doctor Louis to the door whispering indistinctly.

" Kevin, where's your sister?" she questioned when she returned from the door.

Cassidy stepped out of her room in a glamorous dress with curly hair.

Her sharp blue eyes seemed to glow brighter than before.

No one would believe she was ill.

Her small lips curled up in amusement as she saw her mother stare at her without speaking.

Her mother was at a loss for words.

" Why are you dressed this way? You're ill and you shouldn't stress yourself."

Cassidy giggled; her eyes glistened.

" Mother, how could you forget?"

Her mother glanced blankly with a scrunched expression.

" Forget what?"

Cassidy laughed again to regain composure.

" Mom, Devin promised to send me a present today."

Crunching hit her mother's ears, crashing through the incessant thudding in her heart, unease slithered down her spine as she let out a distinct murmur.

It seemed strange to her to watch her only daughter waste in thought of someone she didn't even know.

Earlier in the morning when she recovered from the illness that they feared might claim her life, she had been asking about some random person who had no identity.

" Only a present?"

Her high-pitched voice and hazel eyes held disappointment in them.

She laughed with a crisp sound and held her mother's hands passionately.

" Not only a present, mom. He'll visit too.

" And you'll finally see that you've known him."

A pained whimper escaped her mother's quivering lips.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but no words came out. She took a deep breath through her nose and let it out in a shaky exhale.