1. When I, Alisha Jones, was ten years old I was at a Summer Camp somewhere in Florida. My parents thought it was a good idea for me to hang out with other kids. Learn social skills they called it. That was fine with me. I was happy to be away from my three years younger and nerve wrecking brother Andrew. I loved him but most of the time we were like cat and dog. It was vacation and I had a lot fun at these Camps. One day all we kids decided to go swimming in the lake. The lake that belonged to the Camp Grounds was huge. There was a wooden island not too far from the shore. The water was clear and had a greenish tone. It was cool and very inviting for such a warm day. We were a group of ten kids that always used to hang out together. Our group consisted of five awesome girls and five pretty nice guys. The best thing about this Camp was that my best friend Julie Walsh was with me. We always had this game where we raced towards the Island. Whoever made it first had won. It was nice to just lie on that warm wooden island and sunbath.
However one time something went wrong. I swam towards the island like a hundred times before. The water gave away easily with every swing of my arm. I always had been a great swimmer. I even had my Junior Lifeguard. Still I can’t explain what happened. One minute my head was over the surface, the other I was being pulled down towards the ground. My lungs were screaming for air but I couldn’t breathe. Water was filling my lungs and suddenly the water seemed ice cold. I was fighting to get back to the surface but I was just being pulled deeper into the darkness. My arms were stretched out towards the sun that was shining at the blue sky that got more blurry with every second I sunk deeper. My lungs were burning. I knew very well that I was going to die. It was never my plan to surrender, to give in to death but somehow it all got taken out of my hands.
I had to blink because the white light was so bright that it hurt my eyes. It took me a minute to realize where I was. I carefully looked around to take everything in. I stood on the edge of a sunflower field. The field was in back while in front me was river with clear blue water. A wooden bridge was leading over it. I couldn’t see what was on the other side but looking over gave me a warm comforting feeling. It was like whatever there was it was meant for me. I looked up to see that there wasn’t a sky like on earth. It was just a white something without a sun. While my eyes wandered around to take everything in a white unicorn trotted towards me. Its wavy white long mane was blowing in the soft wind. Short before it reached the spot where I was standing its pace slowed down until it stopped right in front of me. It stretched its nose towards me and I held my hand under its nostrils. The unicorn snorted some air out of its nostrils and it almost seemed like it was happy to see me. I stroked over its neck and through his mane. I smiled.

I have never seen anything as beautiful as this unicorn. Then again I had never been before to Paradise or Summerland or whatever you want to call it. I was overwhelmed and failed to comprehend what all of this had to mean.
The unicorn nudged me softly on my arm. It was like it wanted to show me towards the bridge.
“You want me to cross over the bridge”, I asked surprised.
Believe or not but the unicorn nodded its head.
I kept stroking over its neck.
“You are serious, huh?”
Again the unicorn nodded its head and got into motion. It trotted towards the bridge and as its hooves connected with woods it made this awesome clattering sound. As it reached the middle of the bridge it turned its head back make sure I was following. I was still in awe of its beauty when I set into motion and walked towards the bridge. My bare feet walked over the wet grass until they also reached the wooden bridge. The unicorn reached the end of the bridge. Before it disappeared it looked one last time back at me. It neighed before it galloped through the white wall and was gone.
That was when I suddenly found back to myself. I was wondering how I got here and what exactly I was doing here. I grew stiff in the middle of the bridge. The whiteness of the other side was trying to lurk me over. It was calling to my curiosity to come closer and just take a look. It was almost as if it was telling me that it wouldn’t hurt me step over. However I wasn’t buying it. There was something that made it feel so conclusive.
I tried to remember how I got here. What was the last thing I could think of?
Pain… there was this burning pain in my lungs. And suddenly I had to cough so violently that I almost faded. I couldn’t breathe. I clasped to the bridge banister and slipped down until I sat on the ground. I pulled my knees up and embraced them, trying to breathe.
It hit me suddenly and tears ran down my cheeks. I was dead.
2.
I was only ten years old so how could I be dead? I was shaking. I tried to blink the tears away and glanced over to the other side. I knew that when I was crossing over, there was no return. I wasn’t ready to be dead yet.
Something was pulling me away from the other side. My lungs were hurting so badly that I almost blacked out. It was like a fire was burning in them. I tried to snap for air. Still it felt like I wasn’t getting any oxygen.
When I looked down onto one of my hands I saw it disappear right in front of my eyes. That’s when I eventually blacked out.

There was only darkness around me. A nothingness that was unbearable. Everything was black and at first there was no sound. It was like I was hovering in the nothingness. But then suddenly I started to hear sounds again. There was a sound like a flat line on a heart monitor. Oh god, that was my flat line. That was my heart that was not beating. I started to feel panic creeping up on me. What was that? Hadn’t I just heard a heartbeat? Yes, there was another one. Then I heard one beep after another. Abruptly I was being pulled back into the light.
My eyes snapped open and I had to cough. Water was coming out of my lungs and I spit it out. I snapped for air. A paramedic was holding an oxygen mask over my nose which helped me to breathe more easily. My lungs were still burning but it was getting better. It took me a while to realize that I was lying on a stretcher in an ambulance car. A young black haired man was wrapping a blanket around me to warm me since I was trembling because I felt ice cold.
“Everything will be alright, Alisha. Just breathe, okay?” said the paramedic.
I did what he said.
They had brought to a hospital where they checked me up and where I had to stay for a couple of days. My family had jumped onto the next plane to hurry to my side. Yes, I had been pretty much dead but they brought me back to life. I was going to be okay but I had no idea that my life was going to change through dying.

The first time I realized the change was when I woke up the first night I had to stay there. I was still in my hospital bed and a little boy stood in front of me. He must have been about five years old and had light blonde hair. He was hugging a dark brown teddy bear to his chest. The bear was as big as his upper part. The boy looked a little sad.
I sat up in my bed and stared at him. Something was off about this picture but I couldn’t put on it.
“Hi”, I said softly.
The boy didn’t respond at first. I wasn’t going to let him off the hook so easily. After all he was standing in my room.
“Are you okay? Did you get lost?” I wanted to know.
He shook his head.
“Aren’t you going to talk to me?”
“No, my mommy said I’m not supposed to talk to strangers”, he said.
“Well, your mommy is right. I’m Alisha”, I told him.
“I’m Sammy”, he finally said.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?” I asked him.
He shook his head, hugging his teddy bear even tighter.
“If you see my mommy will you tell her that I love her?” he asked me in a weird voice that sounded a way to grown up for a boy his age.
“Why won’t you tell your mommy yourself?” I asked confused.
The little boys eyes got all teary and he turned around and ran out of my room.
When my nurse Cindy stopped by the next morning to check on me I decided to ask her for Sammy. Cindy had her black hair into a pony tail and a few pounds too much on her rips. But she was so sweet and nice. And she always tried to make me as comfortable as possible.
“Is Sammy okay?” I asked her right out.
She stopped checking my IV bag to look at me.
“Sammy?” she asked confused.
“Yes, Sammy, the little blonde boy?” I explained.
She stared at me, her jar tightened.
“How do you know about Sammy?” she asked me.
“Well, Sammy woke me last night. I asked him if he got lost”, I told her.
“That is impossible”, she said.
“What? He was wearing a blue Pajama with white elephants on it. And he was hugging his teddy bear”, I felt the need to explain myself.
She kept staring at me like I was crazy.
“That’s impossible”, she repeated.
“Why?” I wanted to know.
“For the simple reason that Sammy isn’t okay. He died yesterday morning”, she said being clearly spooked.
Sammy died before I even got into the hospital. How was that possible? I saw him. He had been standing at the same spot my nurse was standing right now. I hadn’t imagined it.
I was ten years old. That freaked me out.
“But I saw him”, I said freaking out.
Cindy put a hand onto my arm to comfort me.
“But how do you explain it?” she wanted to know.
I started to cry because I didn’t have an explanation.

3.
That was eight years ago. Today I was hanging out at one of my usually spots. I was sitting on a bench under a chestnut tree from where I could look over the whole Peacelake Cemetery. It was a beautiful day with bright sunshine and a clear blue sky. It was a perfect summer day. The whole graveyard was dipped into a ghostly light. The whole place seemed to have a halo to it. Don’t judge me for hanging out at a graveyard. It wasn’t like I was hanging out here because I desperately wanted to be dead. It also wasn’t because I was gothic or anything. I still had light blonde hair and just wore a decent make up. I also didn’t hang out here because I didn’t have friends. Actually I had a bunch of awesome friends. It was more like this place was like a sanctuary to me. It was a place where I felt safe; a place where I could be myself. Here I could take to the dead and wouldn’t get judged for it. After I had drowned eight years ago and was practically dead I was able to see the dead. I could even talk to them. My parents didn’t believe me at first. However after I told them what my dead grandmother had told me, they started to believe. That didn’t mean they were any less freaked out.

“Hey”, a female voice said softly.
I blinked a couple of times before I could see her. A beautiful blonde girl was sitting beside me now. Her long hair was swaying in the wind. She smiled with her pinkish lips. Her bright blue eyes were searching my face. She could have been my twin sister with all the similarities and the same age. Well, she was my age when she died.
“Hey Evangeline, I was wondering whether I would see you or not”, I said while I returned her smile.
“Why wouldn’t you? After all you are my friend. And I like hanging out with you”, she said nonchalant.
That was true. She was my friend. I’ve known her since two years now, always wondering when she will cross over the bridge.
“You are still asking yourself when I will finally move on, right?” she reckoned.
I met her eyes. There was no need for me to answer that question because she could read it in my eyes. My eyes are my soul. They are like an open book.
“Do you really think I would move on without saying goodbye?” Her voice had a hurtful tone to it.
“No!” I blurred out.
That wasn’t what I thought. I just wasn’t sure she would have a choice.
“But some day you will probably decide that it’s time to go. And I’m terrified of that day”, I admitted honestly.
Evangeline’s hand rushed over my cheek. It didn’t feel like a normal warm touch. Her touch was ice cold and felt more like a breath of wind on my skin. It still comforted me.
“Don’t worry, Alisha. That bridge didn’t appeal anymore to me than it did to you. And you even had a shiny unicorn which I didn’t”, she teased me.
“So? Did you meet any new hot guys?” she asked curious.
“Oh as if you wouldn’t know already!”
Apparently ghosts did know a lot of things. They seemed to be able to spy on you whenever they wanted to. That was pretty creepy. After all there are definitely situations where you don’t want anyone to spy on you.
“I try not to spy on you. Plus you would totally know when I spy on you”, she pointed out.
“Are you sure I would notice?” I asked wondering to myself.
“Isn’t there something like a spy modus? I mean you decided that it’s okay for me to see you. It’s not like I can see any ghost”, I explained.