My head hurts. There’s a
thumping. A noisy thrumming
against the lining of my skull.
Can you hurt
when you’re dead?
Wait! I don’t want to be dead.
Don’t want to walk in darkness—
semidarkness—alone.
Death is lonely.
Lonely? Lonely. Why is lonely
familiar? I know Brad is lonely.
It’s getting lighter. Light.
Maybe I’m not dead.
But I still can’t move. Don’t
dare move because it hurts.
My head hurts. My back hurts.
Maybe I do wish I
were dead.
Are my eyes open? It’s light
but I still can’t see. Kristina?
Look at me, Kristina.
I don’t want to look at Trey.
If I do, I’ll really wish
I was dead.
His Face
Materializes, wraithlike.
“What happened? Am I dead?”
Don’t even say that. You
slipped and fell, that’s all.
No wonder my head hurts. I reach