Rebirth

 

forget me...

My death had been quick, one piercing shot square to the chest, and the darkness took me under. I was weightless as I sank deeper and deeper into the dark waters of nothingness. Memories faded in, coaxing me to remember, and out, taking with them the regrets I could no longer harbor.

Out of all those memories, those terrible years I spent on the run, with the blood of dozens on my hands, there was a warmth. A silver lining in the smiling faces of my children, their laughs, and the way they called out to me. Some awaited me in the after: Craft, Norman, Jonas, Phoenix, Hiraeth, and... Fabian. A dark veil had settled heavier and heavier with each of their passing until the loss and despair swallowed her whole.

The darker the memories got, the more ashamed she felt. If she could cry, she would; had she a voice to beg, she'd scream for forgiveness until her throat was raw and bloody.

Let me try again...please. Please...please...pl..ea.se.

...forget me not.

A sharp gasp jolted the stiffness of the corpse back to life.
Jane Doe, age 33, cause of death: homicide.

The woman on the table sat bolt upright, coughing as she tried to remember how to breathe. Every intake of air felt like a shard of glass. There was so much pain. It radiated from every joint, muscle, and nerve.

"It worked!" a voice shrieked with excitement.