THE WATER BABY CHAPTER EIGHT

"Who?" both Sara and I asked at the same time.
"Arbon Blackwood. Oh, of course, you wouldn't have heard of me yet, you've only just now discovered you're dead."
Sara and I looked at each other. Then we turned back to the Arbon character.
"We are not dead," I said.
"Yes, you are," Arbon looked at me and said: "Jackie. You are the spirit - ghost if you like - of Sara."
Then he turned to Sara. "You are the real Sara Montanna. You seem to be alive on the outside, but on the inside, you are dead."
Sara looked confused. "How's that possible?" She asked.
"You have been in Suspended Animation for six months. While you was in the Animation Tube, you died."
"Why?"
"The oxygen put into the Tube only lasted for four months. At the end of the four months, the oxygen ran out and you died."
Sara and I looked at each other.
"Come on," I said to Arbon. "If she died, how come she's still alive?"
"She's only partly alive," answered Arbon. "When you are in Suspened Animation, whoever put you in there must put enough oxygen with you. And then they must keep topping up the oxygen at least one week before it runs out. When the oxygen runs out, you die."
I opened my mouth to say something.
"Before you interrupt. When you die while still in Suspended Animation your spirit leaves your body, as it would if you weren't Suspended. Because you're still Suspended when you die, when someone wakes you up, it may seem like you're still alive, when, actually, you're still alive."
"That explains why we get far from each other without being seared," Sara said to me. "And, I haven't told you this, but inside, I've been feeling kind of cold, and I feel like kind of... Wiltery."
"What do you mean, wiltery?" I asked.
"Well, I feel a bit out of it. Look, I watched this movie once where this girl was in a coma and she had an out-of-body experience. And when she woke up, she told her parents about it, and she said she'd felt cold inside, and she'd also felt as though she were wiltering. Like a flower. As though, she were crumpling inside her body. That's how I feel."
Suddenly, Sara groaned, and grabbed her stomach.
"Sara! What is it? What's happening?"
"I feel... Kind of weak... Everything's going black... Oh, Jackie... I'm going blind!"
Then Sara crumpled to the ground and didn't move a muscle.
I knelt down and poked her. "Sara? Are you alright?" But Sara didn't move a muscle. Not a twitch.
I looked up at Arbon, who was looking back at me, grimly.
"She's Fully Dead now," he said, simply.
"What? What do you mean, Fully Dead?"
"When you die while you're in Suspended Animation, and then you are woken up, your Death Trail is slowed down. How long ago did Sara wake up from her Suspension?"
"About two hours ago?"
"Ah, yes, that is normally how slowly the Death Trail is put off."
I looked down at Sara. She didn't look as though she were dead, she looked asleep; at peace.
I looked back at Arbon. "What's going to happen to me?" I asked him.
"The act of Crossing Over."
I gasped. "You don't mean...?"
He nodded. "Yes, you must now enter the Netherworld, the world of the spirits if you like."
"But who's going to take me?"
"I am."
I looked at him, flabbergasted. He looked back at me, grimly; he pulled out a black cloak from nowhere and draped it across his shoulders, then - also out of nowhere - he produced a scythe!
"As you might be able to guess now, I am Death, or, the Grim Reaper! I cannot reveal myself until people are Fully Dead."
"So Arbon Blackwood isn't your real name?"
"No. That is just a made-up name. A fabrication. I tell the Living that Arbon's my name, because I can only reveal my true identity to the Dead."
He turned his back to me. He held his scythe up and seemed to cut the air with it. Theere was suddenly a big tear in the air, even though it seemed impossble!
"This is the gateway to the Netherworld. Now, come! Ladies first!"
He stepped aside, inviting me to walk towards the tear in the air. So I did. I walked towards it, but as soon as I got within two centremetres of it, the tear closed up.
I turned back to Arbon - Death - who looked as confused as I felt.
"That shouldn't have happened," he said. "This has only happened twice before. On both occasions, it turned out that the spirits who were trying to enter had some unfinished business!"
"Does that mean...?"
"Yes! You have unfinished business. Don't ask me what it is, I'm only Death. You must figure it out for yourself!"

Figure it out for youself!
He couldn't have put it more clearer. After he said that, he just vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving me alone in the graveyard. And then, suddenly, I don't know how - maybe I blacked out or something - I was back in my house.
I wandered around, wondering how I got there. First I went into the living-room. My mum was sitting there, watching TV. I had a good look at the TV, and saw she was watching one of the "Star Wars" movies. I felt a great pang, Just before I, er, died, "Star Wars" was my latest favourite movies. Mum claimed she though that "Stars Wars" was a pile of bullshite, but now, here she was, watching them! I sighed. Maybe watching one of my favourite movies made it feel like, to her, I was still alive.
I entered the room properly, sat down on the settee, and looked at Mum. She gave no indication that she knew I was in the room.
"Mum," I said. "Mum, I love you."
I got up and walked over to her; I hugged her.
Still Mum gave no indication that she knew I was there. The only reaction I got was Mum shivering, and saying, as if to herself, "it's suddenly got cold in here."
She got up to turn the fire on, but put the film on pause and left the room.
I followed her into the kitchen where she was making a cup of coffee. I watched her, deeply hurt she didn't know I was there, even though I was a ghost, an element, unable to be seen.
I felt tears swelling up and I suddenly flung my arms round Mum again. "I love you, Mum," I told her. "And I always will."
This time, instead of saying she was cold, Mum said: "It's as hot in this kitchen as it's cold in the front room."
The kettle boiled. Mum poured out her coffee, took out a couple of chocolate digestives out of the tin, and went back into the other room. I heard the sounds of the Stars Wars Galaxy blare out.
I sighed to myself, and decided to take a trip up to the attic.
I walked up the stairs, two at a time, and then up to the attic using the spiral staircase.
I entered the room, and saw the Animation Tube; it had been smashd into, when I'd woken Sara up, only two hours and a half before.
I sighed again. This time yesterday, I was still alive, enjoying life, enjoying listening to bands like My Chemical Romance, enjoying watching movies like "Stars Wars", enjoying reading books like "Harry Potter" and Terry Pratchett; and now, now, oddly, it was six months later, I was a ghost of my former self, and I couldn't even Cross Over til I'd finished my unfinished business!
I decided to go to my bedroom. Well, I must as well stay somewhere until I finish the unfinished busines, and what better place than my old room!
I walked across the landing, towards where my room is. I heard Pussycat Dolls blasting out from the open door. As I entered, I stared around in horror! My bedroom walls were pink, with posters of Pussycat Dolls and Atomic Kitten plastered all over them ! My bed was covered in a pink quilt which had flowers, birds and fairies patterned all over it! Plus, on the bed, was the girl who claimed to be Sophie!
Sophie was sleeping in my old room, and had spoiled it with pink and Barbie-like crap. It looked so much better when it was all black and witchy, with posters of My Chemical Romance and Aiden all over the walls.
Sophie was siutting on the bed, reading a book. I looked closer and saw it was Jacqueline Wilson's latest, one called "Love Lessons."
I decided to see wether or not she could feel me like Mum did. I sauntered over to her, and planted a great big hug on her.
Sophie screamed. Then she dropped her book with a clatter to the ground. She looked up, and I swear she saw me, because she yelled out:
"WHO ARE YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BERDROOM? GET OUT!"

Find out what happens next in Chapter Nine...