“Mara, did you have any more surprises in store for me?” I asked leadingly, after a moment.

“Yeah… I mean, I got a few more cards from some people at work, but they’re just the generic, store-bought kind. You know, “just in case Ryder comes back and is relevant again” sort of thing. I didn’t think you’d care much for those.”

“You are right, I don’t. But I would have loved to hear about your pregnancy.” I said, sounding perfectly casual.

Grey was back to typing away on Mara’s laptop, and I kept my eyes on him. I expected him to panic a bit and Mara to laugh it off before I confronted them both about hiding their budding relationship from me. Sure, them being together is kind of weird. Since despite being unrelated, three of us are each other’s closest family. But in the end, there is nothing wrong with it. I love them both, and, in my mind, them ending up together is perhaps the best-case scenario.

I got what I expected from Grey. He froze in place. His eyes widened and his face visibly paled. The beads of sweat forming on his forehead made him look almost comically distressed.

“How…?” a choked voice came from Mara’s direction. It didn’t sound like her at all.

I shifted my gaze to her and was stunned by what I saw.

Mara was full body shivering, as if caught naked in a blizzard. Her skin, light at the best of times, had grown pallid, almost see-through.

“Wait, seriously?!” I almost shouted, but it came out as a strained rasp.

“I can…explain, but…” she hiccupped in distress. “… how did you know? I just found out this afternoon,” Mara said, looking terrified.

“Wait, what are you explaining?!” Grey said, suddenly looking almost as ill as I was. “It’s mine, right?” For a moment, he looked like he was about to keep rambling, burying his foot in his mouth deeper, but he just exhaled forcefully. Likely realising what he has been saying.

Mara fell into the chair behind her, her knees giving out. She started whimpering. “I meant to tell you both when Ryder recovered a bit. We were supposed to celebrate properly. You know, as family.” Tears fell, marring her pretty face. I always hated seeing her cry. It made me violently angry, wanting to track down and ruin whatever made someone so precious to me sorrowful.

The energy in the room was all wrong. Messy. If I never woke up from my coma, this could be their last memory of us together. That won’t do. Not at all.

As I tried to take a deep breath, I felt the tightness around my chest, as though someone had tied a thick cord around my lungs. I resorted to shallow but steady breaths. My chest was out, my back straight, and I gave them a look I knew they’d recognise. They both stood as if a commanding officer had just entered the room.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I used to do this as naturally as breathing—grab the energy of the room and spin it any way that suited me. It might sound like a superpower, the way I say it, but it’s not; it’s a learned skill like any other. In essence, a confidence trick, but boy, does it work when done well. As hollow and feeble as I felt, being able to do this now was as close to a miracle as I could expect. I was grateful I managed it.

My throat was tight and scratchy, so I knew that when I spoke, my voice would be hoarse. I leaned into it, aiming for an impression of a wise elder rather than a dying patient.

“Mara, my love, my darling little sister, please wipe your tears. They are needless and make me sad.”

She pulled her shirt sleeve over her hand and rushed to do so.

I turned to my best friend, my brother in all ways that matter. “Grey, you damn donkey, go hug your woman. Now!”

He stared at his hands incredulously for a moment, as if not understanding why he wasn’t already hugging her, then scrambled to do just that.

“My friends, my only family, I’m sorry. Your general shiftiness made it clear what was happening, so I wanted to startle Grey as petty revenge for not telling me about you two. I didn’t know about the baby; I was just guessing, but I’m happy for you.”

“Mara, congratulations. You are going to be an amazing mom.” I said, fortifying my every word with steely reassurance. She gave me a teary grin over Grey’s shoulder.

“One more thing. We all know how I got my name and by whom. So, I’ll be 19 kinds of pissed if you name the kid after me.” They both chuckled at that. Then Mara blew her nose into the Grey’s collar.

“Now both of you come here and give your brother your best hugs.”

They both hugged me from each side. Soft and loving.

“I always thought of you as my very youthful father, more than a big brother,” Mara whispered into my ear.

“I love you, little sister. Take care of this big lug for me,” I answered.

“Always,” she said with rock-solid conviction.

“I’m scared shitless that I won’t be any good at this,” Grey said from my other side. Were those tears on both of my shoulders? Damn, I can’t let them drag me down with them. Inconsiderate idiots, don’t they see I am trying to be stern and reassuring?

“We already raised hundreds of kids together, you dunce,” Mara said. “If you aren’t ready, nobody is.”

We stood there, hugging, enjoying our closeness for a few seconds before Grey broke the silence.

“I have another confession. My elbow is stuck in the panty doll, and the thing is moist. This is a lovely hug, but I can’t stop thinking what they did with the panties before sending them here.”

Mara laughed and tried to extricate herself from our 3-way huddle.

“Ryder… could you…”

I tried to release her, but my arms wouldn’t listen to me. I tried to tell them so, but my lungs wouldn’t take in the air.

The monitor to my side started beeping loudly, alarming them about my condition.

“Ryder!? Grey! Get the doctor! What’s that on his face?!”

The surrounding sounds were getting muffled and distorted. Soon, the dark started encroaching from the edges of my vision.

The last thing I heard was Dr Petrovich’s roaring, nasally voice before I got swallowed by the nothingness.

…

I struggled to find the right words to describe my next experience. My mind was troubled, flickering in and out of awareness as if I were held down by sleep paralysis demons. From time to time, I saw indistinct, morphing shapes and shifting colours, as if reality couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. Voices echoed forcefully yet muted, like a heated argument muffled by a thick wall. Each time my mind swung towards wakefulness, I tried to focus on it all—anchoring myself in the sensations and stimuli, attempting to drag myself out of nothingness.

I can’t say if I oscillated between the two states for just a minute or an eternity. But bit by tortured bit, I managed to make my moments of awareness longer and my periods of dormancy less frequent. With each new moment of clarity, I heard a bit better and saw a little more clearly. Suddenly, the haze over my mind cleared, as if I had broken through some mental shackles.

In the same instant, I came to a chilling realisation. The dark and oppressive prison I had just escaped was my own body. I was dead, and my soul, wrenched free of its confines, now serenely floated in the air.