My name is Jackson. I am an 18-year-old high school student who lives in the city with my parents, two younger brothers, and a sister.
I am a coder, animator and writer, but I haven't gotten anything published yet.
I have never had a relationship but wanted to start one, but sadly, I will never have one as right now, I am dying.
This morning, I was walking to school with my best friend when we got caught in the middle of a gunfight with some gang or something.
My friend pushed me out of the way but didn't make it out of the way in time, and a bullet went into his chest. I tried to pull him into some cover and managed to call an ambulance, but I was also shot before they got there.
When I woke up, I was in the hospital, but my friend didn't make it, and I was told I didn't have much time either.
My body was severely damaged to the point where nothing could be done. Yet somehow, by some miracle or curse, I am alive, conscious and in immense pain.
I know I won't last much longer, whether that is good or bad I don't know, but at least I can say goodbye.
Currently, I am lying in a hospital bed with my family surrounding me. My mother is kneeling over the bed, crying her heart out while holding my hand. My dad, little brothers and sister all looked at me with sad expressions on their faces, holding back tears.
I can hear the heart monitor beeping slower and slower yet is still remain awake. The pain is fading slowly and I feel very weak but I still have the strength to talk.
"Don't worry about me, there is nothing that can be done," I say in a weak yet calm voice. "I am dying, and we can't stop it."
I paused and took a pained breath and continued
trying to lighten the mood, I joked "I know I will sound like an old man saying this, but I will give you some words of advice that you should carry with you to help remember me."
I saw a few smiles and everyone turned to me.
"First, Dad, be kind and patient with the others and don't let anyone shut themselves off, that includes yourself. It will be hard, but it must be done. Remember to be someone the boys can look up to, and never forget that so long as you are a good role model for your kids, you will always have my respect."
He held his breath and nodded, letting out a few tears while trying and failing to keep up his tough exterior. It was kind of hard to watch as I always knew him to keep his composure.
Next, I turn to my sister, "Sis, be careful about who you date and don't go out with strangers. Continue with your projects and crafts, and when planning for the future, reach for the stars. Also, other than my computer, you get to decide who gets my room and stuff."
She smiled and gave me a light hug.
I looked to my brothers next, who are both under the age of 10, young and playful normally but today they are calm and quiet.
i smiled and said "Play nice with each other and don't fight over petty things. Play games, keep the family happy, have fun and never be mean to others. Remember, your big brother will always be watching over you..." I paused to let them understand
they nodded and I added "Also, if you want my room, you have to win a game of your sister's choosing." I say with a smile.
They laughed a bit and looked at me with worry and sadness.
Lastly, I look at my mother, who is sitting on a chair with tears running down her face and still holding my hand.
I squeezed her hand tight and said "Live on for our family and take care of them. I know it will be hard losing one of your kids, but don't ever close yourself off from them."
She nodded through tears.
I smiled and continued "On my computer, you will find three files called Family, Projects and Research. Save them to another hard drive and reset my computer, please."
everyone looked up to me in confusion.
Smiling I explained.
"Family has all the photos I have taken over the years."
"Projects are programs, animations and stories I have made or written. Keep them, publish them or post them, it is your choice."
"Research has the location and details of grandma's necklace that was stolen last year, I found it and have evidence to get it back."
My mother looks up at me with wide eyes is shock, surprise and joy.
Our house was robbed 2 years ago and a necklace mom got from her mother before she passed was stolen.
I found it.
She moved over and hugged me tightly while crying harder, but with tears of joy this time. "Thank you... Oh, thank you, Jackie. I knew you were looking for something, but I never... I never thought I..." she is crying so much it is hard to talk.
I hugged her back. "It's going to be ok just always remember me and that I love you, all of you." I could see all my family was crying now.
Feeling more tired, I looked at them and said one last thing.
"I will die here soon so don't forget what I have told you and remember that I will always be watching over you even when I am gone. Thank you for all the joy I have had in this short life."
I said with a smile and stared at their faces one last time.
I could hear the heart monitor beeping slower and my eyes feeling heavy. "Goodbye all of you, and just remember I love you all," I say as I close my eyes for what I thought would be the last time.
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I waited for something to happen.
...
...
...
Nothing was happening.
'i didn't expect death to be so seamless' I thought.
Then I got curious. 'wait, I can still think yet I don't feel pain. What is happening?'
I opened my eyes and I found myself standing in what looked to be a library.
i looked around and saw wooden shelves hundreds of feet tall. Looking down the aisle, the shelves went further than I could see. Millions of leather-bound books were neatly stacked on the shelves, and a soft red carpet lined the floors.
"Wh...what the fuck?! Where am I?" I said outloud confused, also shocking me that I can talk.
once the shock of my surroundings ended I started checking myself.
weirdly I am wearing the same clothes I had on this morning, and there were no holes or signs of damage.
I checked for my injuries but saw nothing as if I had never been injured. "Wait... what the, am I dead? Is this the afterlife?... or is this a dream?" I start looking around more.
i tried to find a wall or something bud the shelves went off into seemingly infinity. "trippy but I guess it isn't so bad if I get to read all of these." I said and walked over to a shelf.
When I looked at some of the books on the shelves, I couldn't read any of them.
I knew they were in English, but I couldn't read them as if they were in another language even though I could tell it was English.
"Weird... maybe this is my purgatory...or maybe a lucid dream..." I said while looking around.
Curious and not knowing what else to do, I started walking down the aisle, trying to find someone or something that could tell me where I was.
After a few minutes of walking through the library, I heard the noise of a book falling on the ground on the other side of the shelf next to me.
I quickly walked around the shelf and found a man picking up a book off the ground.
"Um… hello?" I said to the man.
The man looked up "Oh, hello Jackson. You're here sooner than I thought," he said in a surprised yet kind voice.