Beyond Life

"Hey....are you alright?" Ryan asked his brother, Dylan as he woke up.

"W...what's going on?" Dylan asked. His eyes had not yet steadily adjusted to his surroundings. He could hardly see anything.
Ryan ignored the question and ran to get his mother to inform her that her dear son had woken up once again.
His mother came running in the room.
"Oh, my baby! Are you okay?!" she asked.
"Mom?" Dylan asked, though he recognized the voice.
"Yes, it's me, honey," his mother said.

Dylan was now fully aware of what was around him. He saw his mother and brother standing a few feet away from his bed, where he lay. He recognized his own room with all of his belongings and possessions. He knew where he was; he was home.

It didn't take Dylan long to notice that there was some kind of white "net" surroundng him. He felt trapped.
"What is this thing?" he asked, jolting up from his bed and onto his feet. Ryan and his mother looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
"Dylan, honey, do you remember what happened to you?" his mother asked, her voice soft and shallow.
Dylan closed his eyes and tried to remember.

In his memory he saw himself at the beach. It was a sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. He saw himself swimming out into the wide ocean. Too far out. And then a lone surfboard came swooping directly into his face. The impact rendered him unconcious face first into the ocean water.

Dylan immediately opened his eyes.
"Wow", he exclaimed. "I can't believe I survived that."
"Well, that's the thing, honey. You didn't survive that."
"What?"
"Bro....you're...dead," Ryan said with little sympathy.

Dylan froze. At first he thought this was a joke, but why would his mother and brother joke about something like this? And that would somewhat explain the spiritual net around him.No. He couldn't be dead!! He was only nine years old!!
It couldn't be true. Or could it?

"No. I'm not dead. I can't be dead!" Dylan exclaimed.
Ryan and his mother looked hard at each other. How could they possibly explain this?
"If I'm dead then how am I talking to you right now?!" Dylan demanded to know.
His mother looked hard at the floor.
"I can explain that," said a voice.
Dylan looked around to see where it came from. In front of him stood a winged woman. Dylan was again speechless.
"Who...are you?" he asked.
"I'm your Gaurdian Angel," she said.
Dylan believed her. He knew she was telling the truth.
"I'm sorry," she said. "It was my fault that you died."
"What?"
At that time, Ryan and his mother backed out of the room to let them speak.
"I wasn't watching you. For a moment I looked away, and in that moment, I let you drown. And for that I am sorry."
"Then....why couldn't you bring me back to life?" Dylan asked.
"I tried to, Dylan, but God wouldn't have it. I could not return you to life, but instead I was able to let you live here as a spirit until you feel ready to go to your eternal life in Heaven."
"Really?" he couldn't believe it. It almost made him happy.
"But heed this," the angel said. "While you live here, nobody will be able to see you, save your mother and brother. You will not be able to interact with anyone or anything, and you will not age. That spirit shield around you will protect you from any harm."
"So....I'm a ghost?!" Dylan cried.
"A spirit," the angel corrected.

"Umm...can I fly?"
"No."
"Can I walk through walls?"
"No."
"Do I have any cool spirit powers?"
"No."
"Darn."
The angel laughed.
"I'd best be off," she said. "I'm being reassigned."
"Wait," he called to her.
"Hmm?"
"When I'm ready to come to Heaven....how will I know what to do?"
"When you're really ready...Heaven will come to you."
And with that she disappeared.
Once she was gone, Ryan and his mother returned to the room.
"When....when did I die?" Dylan asked.
"A week ago," Ryan said. He could see the tears in his mother's eyes.
"Ryan, honey, I think you should get ready for school. You can't afford to be late again," mother said.

Ryan ran into his room to get ready for school.
"I want to go to school too, mom," Dylan begged.
"Okay," she said. "But come back, ok?"
"Ok, I will."

A little later, Dylan and Ryan were both standing at the bus stop.
"I haven't been to school since you died," Ryan explained.
"I have a lot of work to make up."
"Oh," Dylan said.
The bus soon pulled up to the stop. Dylan and Bryan both got one. Upon seeing Bryan, everyone on the bus started whispering to each other.
Bryan sat down in a seat near the back, and Dylan sat next to him.
A boy named Hodge sat behind them, and leaned over to talk to Ryan.
"I'm sorry about your brother, Ryan."
Ryan didn't respond and turned back around.
Dylan looked around at everyone, and knew that they couldn't see him. As much as he wanted to talk to them, he knew that they would never hear. He began to feel sad, alone. No one could see him. No one knew he was sitting there.

The bus eventually reached the school, and all the 5th grade kids emerged from the bus and into June Hewitt Elementary. Even in school, Dylan's loneliness resumed. He saw dozens of his friends, but could not talk to them. He had begun to regret going to school. He and Ryan then decided to go to their own classrooms. Dylan went to Mrs. Mari's class. He was the last to arrive to class and the door was closed. Dylan opened the door and the whole class and teacher saw the door open by itself.
"Well, isn't that weird," Mrs. Mari said and didn't say another word about it.
"Mrs. Mari....I'm here," Dylan said softly.
Mrs. Mari did not even look his way. Dylan desperately wanted to get her attention.
"I'm here, Mrs. Mari!" he said as he ran in front of the class.
"I'm late, but I'm here now!" he shouted.
Mrs. Mari did not even notice and continued to teach the class.
Dylan gave up and went to sit down in his seat....but it was already occupied. Shortly after his death, a new student named Rob joined the class and Mrs. Mari easily found a seat for him.
Dylan was once again speechless. Had he really been replaced so quickly?

He sat in the class until lunchtime, where he rejoined his brother.
"Ryan....everyone has forgotten about me," Dylan said, almost in tears.
"No they haven't. In my class, everyone can't stop talking about you and how sad they are."
"But my teacher....she forgot me and she replaced me with another kid."
By this time, a few people had noticed that Ryan was talking to nothing. They stared and watched.

"Who are you talking to, Ryan?" they asked.
"Umm...nobody. Nothing," Ryan stammered.
He gave his brother one last look and then turned to eat with his friends.

Feeling forgotten and alone, Dylan wandered the school aimlessly, wishing that he could just talk to someone, anyone.

Maybe this wasn't all it was cut out to be. I mean sure he could walk the school as an invisible person, but what good was that when he couldn't even talk to his friends? What good was that when he couldn't even interact with anyone? What good was that....when he couldn't even fly?

While walking the halls, Dylan spotted something....something weird....something different. He saw another white "net" surrounding someone. It was another spirit...just like him!
He called out to it.
"Hey!!!" he cried, startling it. It turned around and Dylan could see that it was a girl.
Scared, the girl quickly turned left and ran through a wall.

What the....? Dylan thought spirits couldn't do that. But if this one did....that meant he could too!
Dylan then attempted to run through the same wall, but he was unsuccessful and found himself on the floor.
It didn't make sense. Why could she do it and not him?

Dylan quickly picked himself up and began to chase after the girl.


TO BE CONTINUED....