Jessica’s POV

Krystal climbed down the stairs to find her parents on the couch watching The Avengers.

“Is Jessie here yet?” She asked her cuddling parents.

“Yeah, she’s been here for a little over an hour.” Her mom said. “She said she was really tired and went straight to bed.”

Krystal climbed back to the second floor and stood in front of her sister’s door. She gently knocked on the door in case Jessica was sleeping. “Unnie? Are you awake?” She didn’t get a reply back. She tried to turn the doorknob but it seemed that Jessica had locked the door. “That’s odd.” Krystal said to herself. “Jessica never locks her door. She must be really tired to lock me out of her room.”

Krystal went to use the bathroom. When she opened the door, she noticed the empty pill bottle on its side. She slowly picked the bottle up to read the prescription: Serepax (Oxezepam)

These were Jessica’s and she knew for a fact that Jessica had just gotten this bottle last week. There was no way it would be empty already…

Eyes wide in fear and dread, Krystal dropped the bottle and ran back to her sister’s room. She and her parents knew very well what Jessica dealt with outside of home, but they never would have thought she’d do this! Her brave, headstrong Unnie would never find this to be her best solution!

“JESSICA???” Krystal cried, banging on the door. No response. “JESSIE PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR!!! JESSICA!!!!! MOM, DAD!!!!”

Only seconds later, her dad climbed the last steps into the hallway, followed by her mom. “What’s going on, Soojung?”

“Jessica won’t open the door and her sleeping pills are all gone and she won’t answer me!” Krystal was crying now and most of her sentence was incomprehensible. All her father needed to hear was “Jessica” and “sleeping pills” and he pushed past Krystal to the door.

He rapped against the door calling loudly for his daughter who was not answering back. Without a second thought, he backed away from the door and threw his foot into it; it came completely off its hinges.

The sight that lay out before them was horrendous. Jessica was sprawled out on her bed in a bizarre way and her lips had turned blue. Krystal and her mother stood at the doorway screaming and crying as her father ran to her.

He leaned her body forward and stuck his fingers down . She wretched up pink liquid and pills but didn’t wake up. Instead, foam began forming in .

“Maria, call an ambulance!!!!” He shouted. Their mother ran downstairs to the telephone. “Come on, Jessica… Come on!!” He put his ear to . She wasn’t breathing. He plugged her nose and put his mouth to hers, giving her CPR.

It was dark for a moment and then everything turned white, like a flash. I flinched from the brightness and covered my eyes until the light dimmed down. I looked around at my surroundings; everything was coming into view now. I was laying in my bed still. It was surprisingly quiet… I couldn’t hear my parents’ downstairs or my sister’s loud voice. I climbed out and looked in the full length mirror on my wall. I couldn’t see myself... I was not in the mirror and all that showed in the reflection was my bed and that all. But there was a body on the bed. I turned around to find myself still lying in bed. I didn’t like this… Something wasn’t right.

“You’re dead.” A voice came from behind me. I turned around to see a blonde haired girl step out from the corner of my room. She was magnificent looking, dressed in a white long sleeve shirt and matching white pants. I didn’t even question how she got in my room.

I looked back at my unconscious body. “Dead?”

“You’re not surprised, are you?” The girl questioned, cocking her head to one side. “This is what you wanted. That’s why you took those pills.”

I stared at my body for a moment. My heart dropped. I was dead… It was what I had wanted at that moment... But now… My vision was blurring.

“I can’t be dead…”

“This is what you wanted isn’t it?” It was a question now.

I turned to look back at her. My eyes were too filled and the tears fell silently down, leaving no trace as they fell to the ground. I shook my head. This wasn’t what I wanted… This was a stupid spur-of-the-moment decision I wish I hadn’t done…

“No?” She asked. “Then why did you do it?”

“I… I… I was too emotional… I thought it was the best thing to do…” I sobbed out the last few words.

“Well, Jessica.” The girl said, smiling sadly. I didn’t wonder how she knew my name. “It’s too late isn’t it?”

I looked at my body. “Krystal… What will she think of her Unnie… She looked up to me so much… She thought I was so brave for fighting my fight and I did such a stupid thing… She’s going to think so little of me…”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” The girl offered.

“It’s what she should think… I was a coward… I gave up… I can’t even go back and tell her why… I can’t go back and make it better…”

“Ahh,” The girl breathed. “That’s what I’m here for, Jessica.”

I looked at her through my teary eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I was in the same place you’re in now a long time ago. I took my own life and wished I could have undone it. When I came to, I found myself where I left myself: hanging from the side of the staircase. Someone came to talk to me like I am doing for you. I’m here talking to you right now because I chose to come back.”

“I don’t understand…” I said. “How am I here,” I gestured to where I was standing. “And there?” I pointed at my dead body.

“I’m never good at explaining this…” The girl sighed. “You’re dead, Jessica, but you still have time to fix that. You are still in that time where someone can come back to life, but you can only do that if you accept what I am going to offer you. People who take their lives but wish they hadn’t are sent here. This is the In-Between. That moment you felt regret, you asked for a second chance. This is your second chance.”

“So… I can go back?” I felt relieved.

“It’s not that easy. There’s more to it, of course. See, in your second chance life you get to live the way you did before; you get to go back to school, go back to working in your parents’ café, go back to your family. But you’re not living for yourself anymore.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You had your chance in life already and you screwed it up. You gave up. There are so many people like you and there will be so many people like you in the future. There are so many troubled people out there who are dealing with so much; their clocks are ticking and who knows how much longer they’ll last until they end up like I did or like you are now. They’re on the verge of death, whether it be willingly or accidental. Those people need help; guidance. That’s what you’re living for if you choose to go back. To help people not make the same mistake you did.”

“So… So I have to take care of other people?”

The girl chuckled. “Think of yourself as a guardian angel, if you’d like.”

A guardian angel? Helping other people through their lives? It sounded difficult, but it meant I could go back… Granted, I would be going back to a crappy social life where I was verbally harassed every single day and—starting tonight—physically assaulted. But I’d be with my family again… I’d be with Krystal again… I could save Mom and Dad the anguish of burying their daughter. And helping people get their lives together didn’t sound too bad… Being called a guardian angel definitely sounded alluring.

“I’ll do it.” I said.

“It’s not that easy.” The blonde said. “You have to mean it, first of all. This is like a contract. Being given a second chance isn’t free. Like I said, your second chance life focuses on whoever it is you’re helping, you understand? This is a big deal. This isn’t just your life, but it’s others’ as well.”

“I get it.” I said.

She gave me the look down. “I have to warn you, then.” She said, raising an eyebrow at me. “If you break this vow you’re about to give, it won’t be pretty. This new life you’re being given isn’t too forgiving if you abandon a person and they don’t end up so great.”

“I accept the consequences and want to go through with it.” I said positively.

“Okay, then take my hand.” The blonde stretched her hand out to me. I hesitantly took it with my right hand and wiped my tear streaked cheek with my other. “Repeat after me.”

She cleared and locked me in a gaze.

“I, state your full name.” She said.

“I, Jessica Sooyeon Jung.” I said.

“Promise to guide and protect Life in need until no longer possible.”

“Promise to guide and protect Life in need until no longer possible…”

“I promise to give my full attention to the Life in need.”

“I promise to give my full attention to the Life in need…”

“I promise I will not take my Second Chance Life for granted.”

“I promise I will not take my Second Chance Life for granted…”

“I promise I won’t go around bragging about being a Guardian.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Is that seriously the pledge?”

She shrugged. “I like to mix around the wording every once in a while.”

Jessica shook her head. “I promise I won’t go around bragging about being a Guardian.”

“I understand that if I break these rules, my Second Chance Life will be taken from me.”

“I understand that if I break these rules, my Second Chance Life will be taken from me.”

My wrist suddenly began to burn intensely. I pulled my hand out of the girl’s grip and rubbed the spot that hurt. Shock filled me up when I looked down to see a pair white and black shaded wings engraved on my wrist.

“Congratulations.” The blonde said smiling. She turned her right hand over to reveal the same wings on her wrist. “You just got your wings.”

I smiled at the wings. I felt good about this.

“Are you ready to go back now?”

I looked back to my body and nodded. “Hasn’t it been a long time though?” I asked suddenly remembering I’ve been standing here for a while already. “And where is my family? I would think my sister at least would have tried to check on me.”

“Ah, but you’re right about that.” The blonde said. “Time is a little flexible when you’re in the In-Between. You’re just seeing what you left; you left your body like that so that’s what you’re getting. If you focus, you’ll see what’s really going on.”

I didn’t understand what she said much, but I tried focusing… On what, I wasn’t sure. Only seconds later, however, the scene before me transformed. I was no longer on the bed. I was on the floor now and my father was bent over me, pushing my chest. Krystal had collapsed onto her knees in a fury of tears and my mother was balling her eyes out on the phone at the doorway.

“You will always have people who are afraid to lose you, Jessica.” The blonde said, watching the scene play out before her like it was something she’d already been seeing. “Never forget that. I’ll see you again soon.”

I turned to look at her but she was no longer there. “What the…” I looked back at my family crying and screaming.

“Come on, sweetie.” Dad said. “Don’t do this. Come on, please. Come back to us!”

“Jessie!!” Krystal cried out, covering . She didn’t seem to have much strength left and pressed her forehead on the floor. Mom’s legs had given out at the same time as she slid down the door frame and onto the floor, the phone still in her hand.

Flashing red and blue lights could be seen through the window now and only twenty seconds later, a man and a woman in medical uniform came through my door, passing by my mom and coming toward my body.

“We’ll take over from here, sir.” The man said to my dad and guided him away from my body. Now that he was away from me, I could see that his eyes were red and he was crying as well. I had never seen my dad cry before…

He crawled over to Krystal and wrapped her in his arms. She leaned into him and sobbed hard. He laid his head down on her back and my mom joined them. “She’s going to be okay. She’s going to be okay.” He chanted to them as he ran his fingers through Mom’s hair over and over.

The medics pulled out a box and placed it beside me. Something about the scene was different all of a sudden. The room was growing dimmer and the voices and crying were becoming muffled. I had a feeling this wasn’t a good sign. Time was wearing thin. I had to go back now. The man ped the box to reveal a defibrillator. He rubbed them together.

I walked toward my body and crouched down. “You’re an idiot, Sooyeon.” I said to myself. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my body below me. I didn’t know if this was how I was supposed to do it, but it didn’t feel wrong.

There was a bright flash and then nothing; it was pitch black. I could hear crying clearly now. A lot clearer than when I was watching from a distance.

“She’s breathing, we’ve got her.” A female voice said right above me.

“Let’s get her in the ambulance now.” A man said.

That’s all I heard before I feel asleep again.

Unfortunately I don't have much time to type this author's notes since I should be getting ready for work but I updated earlier than expected! Haha. I actually cried while I was writing this. The very beginning and the very end really got to me. I imagined what my family would feel if they found me like that and it just ripped me apart, Very emotional 3

Who do you think the blonde chick is? I'm sure it's obvious ;D Tell me what you thought of this!!! It's a lot shorter than the first chapter, but it's just so full of emotion I feel like that's all it needed. :)

Captain out to get ready for work!! Haha <3

8/14/2015