Slowly softly the darkness began to brighten until Liora found herself standing in a beautiful garden surrounded by glowing flowers and soft, golden light. "Woah! This place is beautiful!"
Her eyes wandered, taking in the beauty of the place . Then it hit her.
"I… was in a car accident… I was hit…" She whispered and frowned "Does this mean… Am I dead? Is this heaven?" she asked herself.
"No," said a woman clothed in white, her eyes warm and knowing. "This is the Waiting Garden."
"So… I am dead?" Liora further inquired.
"You're on the verge of it," the woman replied gently.
"Then where will I go? Heaven or hell?" Liora asked.
"Neither. You made a wish on a sacred alexandrite jewel left by an ancestor of the child you saved. For saving that child—one the jewel was bound to— the jewel wants to save yours too. It will turn back time to when you were truly alive again.. You live with a deep pain in your heart. That pain won't vanish, not even in the afterlife."
Liora clutched her chest. Though she was spirit now, a sharp ache still throbbed where her heart once was..
"This pain you carry," the woman said, "will follow your soul until you let go of it. The jewel offers you a different path. A chance to go back—to never walk the road of one-sided love."
Liora stared down at the alexandrite jewel in her palm. It shimmered with soft green and violet hues, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Is it really possible?" she whispered. "To go back… and maybe be free from all this pain?"
The woman in white gave her a gentle nod. "It is. But the path will not be easy. You may still face sorrow. But this time… you will have a choice. All you need to say is I accept. The choice is yours."
Liora's hands trembled. She looked up, eyes glistening.
"I… I accept." Liora said.
"Remember the jewel will turn back time but it will not erase your memories until you're ready," the woman said. "When that time comes, you may choose to forget this timeline… or to remember it. That choice will be yours to make." The woman reminded Liora.
The jewel in her hand flared with light—bright, warm, alive.
Wind swirled around her, petals lifting into the air. The garden trembled slightly, and before her, a shimmering portal began to open—a rippling oval of soft green and violet light.
The woman stepped back. "Good luck, Liora. Walk wisely."
"I will."
Liora clutched the jewel tightly and stepped through the portal.
~to be updated~