The teaser for Becoming Ankh The Novella (Melodys Story)

Chapter 1   A Mortal Melody 

One thousand years ago, the third tiers banned breeding with Mortals. They called this; The Correction.

A mass genocide; they issued the murder of every half breed immortal under the age of eighteen.

Azariah created a clan of immortals to stand against them; in order to save her children.

They came to be known as the Children of Ankh.

The Correction is still going on; even today.

 Melody must choose one of the three clans for protection.

Her choices are Ankh, Trinity, or Triad.

Let the correction begin.

The last months of Melody’s mortal life had been a horrific blend of monumental devastation, denial, and finally acceptance of the inevitable.  They had all been born again; from the embers left burning after the fire of their own destruction. This was not her story alone; for their stories had all started the same way.

 It was against the law for third tiers to breed with humans; as it had been for the last thousand years. The correction was nothing more than an excuse to dispose of their immortal mistakes. They would murder their innocent, half human children in the name of purifying immortality.

They had all become players in this twisted immortal game of survival against their will.

 She recalled the events leading up to her own correction, it had been almost a year since that day but it wasn’t her correction that was the worst thing that had ever happened to her. It was the events in the months before that had altered her path. It led them straight to her; by an act of fate.

 She loved her family; her horses; and she had the chance to experience true love. This was what she had told the others when they asked about her mortal life. She would never speak of the rest; it was too painful to even allow the words to slip past the confines of her lips.

 Her boyfriend had dragged her to a baseball game against her will the night she first saw him. She stared in awe at him as his eyes met hers and she felt that connection that she had been longing for with someone, anyone; it was what had been missing with Vic. There had never been any magic moments for her.  She just had dated who her friends thought she should date, and he was good looking.  It all sounded very shallow once she had the chance to step away from everything; but back then, she just played along with her friends because she liked to be peaceful.  She was higher up on the high school food chain, but it was because she had always been pretty and obedient.

She lost every friend that she had, when she broke up with Vic for Evan. Then again, she had also realized that they had never really been her friends in the first place; she had been friends with them by default. They were like a booby prize that came along with the boyfriend. She found herself more relaxed once they were gone.  Vic had claimed to love her, yet had never been remotely interested in getting to know her. She was only window dressing in his perfect little life. He was offended that she had broken up with him. His ego had been bruised, and in turn; he attempted to make her life at school a living hell.

 Her father was an extremely wealthy man; deeply in love with her mother who had been only a few months pregnant with her when they had met.  He had taken Melody on as if she was his own and Melody had never known that she wasn’t his biological daughter until after the accident.

  Her mother had shown up to pick her up from Evans’ house after dinner with both of her little brothers in tow.  Kevin was ten years old, and he drove her completely nutty twenty four seven. Little Steven was only three; and she had always called him her baby.   As she got into the car that day; she could see her brothers faces illuminate with joy.  Little Steven was grinning from his car-seat laughing and wildly swinging his legs; kicking the back of her seat to keep her attention focused on him.  Both boys were absolutely adorable; with ash blonde hair just like her father, and deep dimples just like their mother.

 Her mother was stunning; with vibrant red hair and a wide gentle smile, framed by deeply carved dimples in her cheeks.  She was a beautiful woman with the softest green eyes; so gentle that her soul looked almost breakable; you just wanted to give her a hug and protect her.  Melody looked almost identical to her mother; except for her shoulder length chestnut brown hair with a slight natural whimsical wave which she always wore tucked behind her ears.

  They made a unanimous decision to stop for ice cream on the way home.   It was raining and Dad was going to be late; so her Mother agreed to the chanting chorus of “ice cream!” coming from the back seat. They each ate giant ice cream sundaes, even little Stevie ate a giant sundae; he had it literally everywhere.   Melody smiled, as she remembered her Brother Kevin’s sense of humor; her Mothers easy laughter in the diner, even during Stevie’s full face painting episode. Her mother; all smiles, chose that moment to tell her that they had another baby on the way, and that she was well over four months along.  It was a happy surprise. Melody remembered asking her mother if she could feel the baby move yet. She had replied yes she could; it was fluttering around in there as Melody laid her hand on her mother’s slightly rounded stomach.

 As they left, her mother had leaned over to whisper a secret in her ear, “It’s a girl.”

 Melody had been grinning in the car as they drove home; thinking about how much she had always wanted a little sister.  She stared out the window, watching the trees wiz by, and had to turn away for she was feeling a little dizzy.   Motion sickness had never been her friend. The car swerved a bit on the road, startled; she remembered thinking: mom, what the hell.

She turned to look at her mother who had passed out in the driver’s seat.   With no time to think; she took her seat belt off in a panic to reach her foot to the breaks, just as the car swerved into a shallow ditch; leaving the rear of the car still hanging out on the road.

 Melody felt the instantaneous sharp pain of her heads contact with the window the slicing of her flesh as her body flew out through the glass.  She had rolled down a steep embankment into some high grass.  Stunned, she tried to comprehend what had just happened. She lay bleeding in the foliage by the side of the road taking small labored breaths unable to move.  She could hear her baby brother his desperate haunting cries of,” Mommy and Melody,” they crackled through the eerie silence in the frigid night air. The vehicles smoke thickly billowing above the car had begun to hide the crash site.  Melody lay there twitching completely incapacitated her wrist lay in her line of vision had an exposed bone that had pierced through the skin. She felt the hot sticky sensation of her own blood as it left her body pooling beneath her. Her head lay sideways she could see the car through the curtain of blood she was attempting to blink from her eyes. She looked at her little brother’s face in the distance through the window as he sobbed placing his hand against the window imploring her to help him.  He must have seen her fly out of the vehicle. He seemed to be staring right at her.  She tried to move but her lack of pain let her know that she was in shock. Melody could not move anything no matter how hard she struggled. A voice inside of her mind said, go to sleep, Melody you need to go to sleep.  Her little brother’s cries kept her eyes straining to stay open until she knew he was safe. She couldn’t allow herself to close them and succumb to the voice in her mind until she saw somebody was there to save him.  Melody began to silently pray as a big rig turned the corner running directly into the back of the vehicle.

 Melody laid there in horror as her little brother’s cries were silenced by the sound of crushing metal. What was left of the vehicle, made a high pitched scraping sound as it tumbled down the road; a sandwiched pile of rubble. There was a moment of complete quiet before the sound of an echoing explosion. The crackling of fire but no screaming, not a single cry for they had all been crushed on impact.

 She began to scream from within her broken being over and over until she finally succumbed to her minds chanting go to sleep, just shut your eyes, go to sleep Melody. Her last thoughts trickled through her mind riding on the last currents of life as she bled out into the earth if they are gone please let me die.

Chapter 2 The in-between

 Her mind began to prod her to awaken. She gasped in her first breath of the strangely warm dry air. Twitching her fingers in the grass no not grass …warm sand?

 She didn’t want to open her eyes; wondering if she simply left them shut, perhaps this was all a horrible dream. They were not dead and she was safely snuggled in her bed under her covers. It had been a nightmare she moved her fingers feeling the silky grains of sand slip through her finger tips. She still didn’t want to open her eyes she would just lay here and keep them shut.

 She heard a male voice whisper, “You might as well get up and open your eyes. Denial gets you nowhere; it just lengthens the pathway towards acceptance.”

 She squeezed her eyes shut and held her hands over her ears. Thinking, I will wake up; if I just refuse to hear the voices. When you may be going crazy, it’s usually best not to answer the voices in your head that are talking to you.

 The voice snarled, “Seriously, just get the hell up. I was going to tip toe around this but you’re beginning to piss me off. You are dead so get the hell up, and follow me; if you would like to see your family before they leave.”

 Melody bit opening her eyes she squinted in the bright sun. She saw a man haloed by light as she sat up she realized he was just standing in the sun wearing black spandex bike shorts.

 She whispered, “This isn’t hell is it?”

 He scowled at her, scolding; “Why do people keep saying that? Just because a man enjoys the feel of spandex, and happens to like dark colors; it does not mean you’re in hell, young lady.”

 She realized the glare was coming from the diamonds in the sand; it was desert as far as she could see in every direction. She picked up a handful of the sand, and let it run through her fingers; it was soft and silky. The diamonds were some kind of strange illusion, because there was nothing but the feeling of the warm silken sand, passing through her fingers.

 “Sorry I didn’t mean to offend you; but you said I could see my family. I need to see them, please take me to them.” Melody replied.

 “First you insult me, then you try bossing me around. Azariah may be right about you.” he chuckled.

 “Who’s Azariah?” Melody whispered as she felt the silken sand slip through her toes. Wait, she wasn’t naked was she? She gave a short exhale of relief as she saw that she was wearing some kind of short Greek goddess looking dress. 

He answered, “Why would you whisper? Scream if you want to; there’s nobody here.”

 She glanced around it was a fact there was nothing but open desert as far as she could see in every direction beginning to panic, she stated, “I thought you were taking me to my family.”

 He put his arm around her shoulders and she stiffened as he spoke, “I sort of fibbed; the others passed right through to the hall of souls. Only your youngest brother is still here.” He pointed to a small figure in the distance.

  She saw something at least a mile away in the seemingly endless landscape of sand. It was him; she knew it was even from this distance.  Melody began to run towards Stevie. He must be so scared; he’s only three years old.

 She approached where he was sitting, spanning the distance between them in no time. He was contently playing; his chubby dimpled legs covered in sand.

 “Stevie, I’m here.” she cried; her voice cracking, her throat tightened with emotion as he stood up and ran clumsily towards her in the sand.

 “Melody!” he cried with an abundance of joy, as he jumped into her arms. They began to twirl around. Melody half laughing, half sobbing,  in the instinctive foresight that this would be a short lived reunion.

  “Where’s mommy?” He whispered in her ear as they embraced; it stopped her joyous rotation cold.

 He was a baby still, so she lied whispering back;” mommy’s with Kevin, they went to go get us some ice cream.”

 “Did we go to the beach today?”He replied, in his confusion as to how they had arrived in this sandy destination. Melody would have said that this was the desert and not the beach, but then she remembered that he was only a toddler; and the only place that he had ever been to with sand was the beach.

 “Yes we went to the beach,” she replied through her tears afraid to let him go suspecting the second that she did he would disappear.

 You’re crying? Stevie whispered in his sister’s ear.” Don’t cry mommy always comes back remember.”

 He used her own words she had comforted him with so many times in the past whenever he had been afraid.

Her heart felt as though it was being crushed inside her chest. He didn’t even understand anything except that they were at the beach mommy was getting ice cream and she would always come back. She kissed his chubby cheeks and looked over her baby brother’s shoulder as the strange somewhat rude man in black spandex reappeared behind him.

 She heard his voice although he did not speak aloud. He has to go now but I promise that you will find him again someday. We keep crossing each other’s paths a giant interwoven mash up of destinies.

 Melody held him to her chest her mouth slightly open as if the amount of pain she was in could not be contained as if it would escape through her slightly parted lips into the universe with and exhaled breath. She clung to him feeling his heart beat in unison with hers he felt so real. This was all so real.

She heard the voice in her mind again Please don’t make me pry your arms off him it will be more peaceful for him if you tell him he has to come with me to see his mother. If he is upset right now it can taint his rebirth.

 She willed her arms to put him down taking a few deep breaths she kneeled to the sand with him in her arms touching the side of her precious little brothers cherub like face with her hand she forced a smile to appear and whispered,” You need to go with this nice man he is going to take you to see mommy and Kevin.”

 “Aren’t you coming with us?” he questioned his eyes imploring her to accompany him.

 “Yes I sure am coming. I just have one quick thing to do and I will be right there. I love you so much honey,” she replied kissing him on the cheek. She was dying inside with a smile on her face and tears building behind her eyes until they began to blur her vision.

 “You’re crying?” little Stevie observed again pausing before taking the man’s hand.

 “I just am so happy, its tears of happiness because we are going to have some ice cream. What kind do you want?”

 “I am going to have vanilla,” he announced with a giant dimpled grin.

 “Well that sounds wonderful tell mommy to save me some chocolate, “Melody replied in her happiest most excited sounding fake voice.

 Her brother chirped happily “Okay, I love you! See you later Melly.”

 She fake happily replied, “Yes see you later honey, I love you too.”

She fought back her tears as she heard her little brother ask the man in spandex shorts if they were going bike riding.

  An inappropriately timed sputter of laughter came from between her pursed lips.

 She heard the man reply,” yes we are going bike riding to after the ice cream. Do you think your mommy has butter pecan? because that’s my favorite kind.”

 Her brother replied, “She’s really nice; she will get you some if you say please.”

 She thought just one more minute of hiding them as her little brother turned and looked behind them at her one more time.

 She watched them walk away together her heart breaking, her mind going numb an excess of unfathomable information. It would not even process that they were all dead. Was she just going to stay here she wondered. Why didn’t she get to go too?

 Melody sat down in the sand and observed her surroundings something had now changed the diamonds in the sand they had disappeared. So had her baby brother she understood now that he really was gone. She began to sob allowing the tears to burst forth from her eyes. They were all gone and then a thought hit her, my father he would die himself if they all died. Everyone he loved was gone he was completely alone now. She thought about the man that had raised her and wondered what he had ever done to deserve this kind of devastation.

 She sat there for a second then stood up and thought what did I ever do to deserve this? My whole family is dead why? My pregnant mother passed out while driving the car? She remembered that moment she had taken her seat belt off in an attempt to reach the break. That’s why she had died. If she hadn’t taken off her seat belt maybe she could have gotten her little brothers out of the car. Maybe she could have saved them all.

 “Penny for your thoughts?” she heard a female voice from behind her. Turning around she saw an exquisitely beautiful woman bathed in a ray of light that disappeared straight into the clouds that had suddenly very mysteriously appeared in the absolutely clear blue sky.

 Melody felt the immediate need to curtsy or bow in her presence. She kneeled before her, both by instinct and fear.

 “There’s no need to kneel before me child. I’m just a giver of choices and maker of decisions; that’s all. Not really anybody worthy of you kneeling.” She smiled softly as Melody stood back up straight before her.

This young girl was very brave indeed most of the time they stayed cowering. She had a feeling about this one. She could sense an immortal presence; if she was right there would be a correction coming for her now it was a certainty. This one had an inner light; she was going to be very special.

 The lady spoke, “My name is Azariah, and your name is Melody. You may not understand this now, but I suspect that you have been given a heads up in your own correction; by dying randomly prior to it. Your gifts may kick in, and you may be strong enough to fight back before they come for you.”

 Melody asked, “Who would be coming for me? What gifts?”

 Azariah skipped right past her question, and began her speech, “I have some questions to ask you; I will either take three steps towards you or three steps away from you. This is how we will determine your future.”

 Melody replied, “What future? I thought I was already dead?”

 “It’s not too late for you to go back to your father if you truly want to go back,” Azariah answered.

 Melody’s face burst into an animated smile as she stated, “Yes I want to go back.”

 Azariah took a step towards her, and asked, “Why do you want to go back?”

 Melody whispered, “If I don’t go back, my father will be all alone. I’m afraid he might hurt himself in some way if all of us are gone. He will need at least one reason to keep going.”She was unsure if she should say the words, but it was her honest feeling on what may happen. Perhaps it was what he would do if the situations were reversed. 

 Azariah smiled again; an honest answer, with no concern for herself; only her father. She took another step towards her.

 In her magnificent divine presence, she stated, “Can you promise me that you will do something good with the time you have left, should you receive more time?”

 “Yes I will, “She answered honestly.

 Azariah opened her arms, and stepped in to embrace her. Melody almost felt like crying in the warmth of her protective grace.  She was like an angel or something Melody thought.

 Azariah whispered, “or something,” in her ear.

 The scenery flashed around them; changing from scenic trees, to mountains, to beaches then to the desert; until a blinding light exploded around her.

Her mother had not been immortal, Azariah had checked; but before she had allowed her mother to pass through to the hall of souls, she had spoken to her and asked her for the truth about her daughter’s paternity. She needed Melody’s birth fathers identity. She explained that she was trying to help her daughter and only if she knew the truth could that happen.

 Orin; she told her, that her daughters’ father’s name had been Orin. She had met him rather randomly one night in New York, while out with her friends at a club. That’s all she knew of him; that she had seen him danced with him, and although it was not her style; she had slept with him. He disappeared before morning. When she found out that she was pregnant; she went back home to Montana.

She didn’t even know if Orin had been his real name. It hadn’t sounded like a real name but the truth was she hadn’t cared. Her fiancé had cheated on her so she ran away to New York for almost a year. When she returned home only a couple months pregnant she found herself back with her ex boyfriend. She honestly did not believe he would ever cheat on her again. They had a wonderful marriage and an incredible family. They also never told a soul that Melody was fathered by another man. Melody had not even known. Azariah recognized the name Orin. He had been one of her original children of Ankh. She had saved seventeen second tiers from correction a thousand years ago in Rome. She raised them and trained them to become warriors for the third tiers on earth. This is how she would keep them alive. They had started out as only seventeen led by Frost with some help from Lily they returned to Mesoamerica where the other survivors had began to grow in numbers and settle down.

Frost had two Brothers, Tiberius, and Thorne who were also in love with Lily. The three separated; dividing the one clan into three clans. Frost was in control of Ankh, Thorne was in control of Trinity, and Triad was controlled by Tiberius. The clans had been at war with each other ever since. A war being fought today started by three brothers loving one girl. Orin had been Ankh that is who she would send to check on Melody. Orin had been a healer one of the two originals so he was extremely powerful. He wasn’t active having won his freedom in battle Ankh would only call upon him when they were desperate for a healer. Right now; the only active healers were Lexy and Arrianna. They would be beside themselves if they had another healer in their active ranks.

 Chapter 3 Awake and Alive

  The wreckage had been thrown so far down the road; nobody had seen Melody’s body down the embankment.  They had all assumed that she had died in the blazing vehicle with the rest of her family.

 Her eyes opened, foggy images came into focus; leaves were all around her. Melody thought where am I?  She sat up and could hear the sound of cars driving by above her; up the grassy hill. The morning dew was still shining small droplets on the tips of the tall grass that surrounded her. It seemed strangely magical like daylight stars in a sky of lush green foliage.  Melody looked at her hands.  They were smudged with mud as were her clothes. She racked her brain trying to remember what she was doing by the side of the road.  She began to get flickers of memory; the ice cream, the baby sister, and her little brother’s hand pressed against the glass on car window.  But nothing solid was coming to her; had she gotten lost?  Had she been kidnapped or attacked on her way home walking from somewhere. She seemed okay; wiping the dirt off her hands onto her clothes.  She felt a little woozy as she stood up finding her balance.  She stood at the bottom of the hill in thigh deep grass thinking, what in the hell happened?  Melody tried to remember again and was met with a headache that throbbed and pulsated beneath her scalp.  Her mind seemed to be saying, just leave it alone; you don’t want to know Melody.

 Just standing there was making her feel dizzy, so she climbed up the hill on all fours; through the thick brilliant grass as if she were a cat or wild animal of some sort.  She couldn’t explain the strange feeling of power that she had suddenly; or the strength that seemed to ripple just beneath the surface.  Melody could feel it there as she pulled herself to a standing position by the side of the road; her feet half on gravel, half on cement. She noticed she was missing a shoe. That’s weird; that I would only have one shoe on. Her thoughts raced through her mind; what is it that I can’t remember Melody thought.  She had a flash of memory; diamonds in sand with her standing barefoot on a beach; her toes warm on the silky floor.  Melody remembered brilliant light and a beautiful woman; she felt a little delusional.

 She could see teddy bears and a shrine on a tree by the side of the road.  She slowly walked towards them, feeling like they mattered to her in some way.  Suddenly feeling a sense of foreboding and as she grew closer to them she realized it was completely warranted.  Pictures of her family were on the tree with flowers and toys.  A cheerleading picture of Melody was also on the tree as well of a picture of her on her horse.  Am I dead? She thought, still unable to remember anything solid.  Melody looked at a picture of her and picked up the flowers off of the ground.  They were from someone named Michael.  Am I a ghost? Am I dead? Did we all die in an accident?  Melody fell to her knees beside the makeshift shrine by the side of the road.

 Melody’s father had come home from work that night, to police waiting at his house with the news that his whole family had been killed in a car accident; that the car had caught fire and that it would take a long time to identify the remains.

He had always thought of himself as a strong man, even a powerful man, but he collapsed to his knees as the officer spoke.  Was he being punished by god? He wondered in silence as he covered his face with his hands and wept.

 He had everything; a beautiful wife, a loving family and had been in a hotel room with his secretary, when all the people that meant anything to him were killed.  Melody’s father stood in the door way frozen in place and just kept repeating the word, “No” and shaking his head from side to side.

 The officer said, “Do you have someone that you can call to come be with you?”

 He just kept repeating “No” to the officer who put his arm around him and said, “Let’s go sit down.”

 “No, I need to see them; what happened.  I need to see them,” Melody’s father had repeated quietly in shock.

 “Trust me,” the officer said,” you don’t want to see them right now; there is nothing left to see.”

The officer spoke gently as he answered an incoming call saying, “I will be here for a while.”  Then the walls came down and the flood gates opened as he looked at the family picture from last Christmas on the living room wall.

 “They are gone,” he repeated over and over as he quietly sobbed.

 He was taken to the site of the wreckage.  As it was being towed away, the family vehicle was unrecognizable. The body’s had been crushed and burned inside of it there was nothing left of them.

 Melody’s father sat down by the side of the road and cried, not caring who saw him or what was manly and what his appearances were.  For the very first time in his life he was a raw emotional pile of slime.

 His babies, the unborn baby, his trusting beautiful wife, and his boys they were gone; even the beautiful child he had always called his own.  How would he go on, how could he open his eyes in the morning? He was a horrible human being and he was being punished. Was god punishing him for his infidelity and for his weakness as a father and a man?

 His family’s pastor came to see him that night and assured him that God does not punish the deeds of a man by taking the innocent.  It was a horrible accident; nothing more a horrible gut wrenching display of fate at its worst.  Melody’s father bared his soul to the priest who told him to give himself over to God’s love and he would heal him in time.  Each day he had made a pilgrimage to the site of his family’s demise as if it would bring him closer to them somehow.

Today as he drove through the woods, the shadows on the trees danced around him as rays of sunlight streaked through the tree.  Today when Melody’s father drove up to the spot; he saw an angel kneeling at the bottom of a perfect ray of light that shone through the dense forest as if it had extended from heaven to bring her home to him.

 He pulled the car over and ran to her his daughter.  She was there; whether it be simply a fantasy or a mirage, she was really there.  She was like an angel guarding the tree.  She looked up at him as he spoke her name softly in disbelief, “Melody?”

 “Dad,” Melody said, “can you see me?”  Tears blurred her eyes.  Was he dead too and coming to bring her to heaven maybe?

 “Daddy, you can see me,” she spoke aloud again her voice raw and tortured.  Melody’s heart jumped into her chest.  She couldn’t wait for him to answer.  She whispered, “Is mom with you?  Kevin and Stevie are they with you?”

 “No,” her father answered taking a step towards her, desperately afraid that if he came too close she would disappear and he would lose this moment with her.

 “Am I dead?” Melody asked through her eyes blurred with tears.  Then her father couldn’t help himself.  He ran towards his daughter and when he reached her he fell to his knees reaching out for her in the space between them.  His heart was aching for her to really be there; aching for it to not be a dream or a cruel taunting nightmare.

 His hand touched his daughter’s arm, she felt damp and cold but she was alive. Melody sprung into her father’s arms as he cradled her. He sobbed, “How, how are you alive, how are you here with me?”  They cried together embracing by the side of the road.  As a police car pulled up beside them the officer got out of the car and stated, “Oh my god.”

 Melody’s father replied, “Exactly,” as they held each other and began to laugh out of pure joy that she was alive.

 She was taken to the hospital and checked out with not a scratch on her; the doctor seemed stupefied. She couldn’t have been in that car; there was no way. They kept asking her if she got out for any reason to go to the bathroom by the side of the road. She couldn’t remember anything; little shards of time, she knew she was lying at the bottom of the hill when she saw her brothers’ hand against the window and heard him crying. She wasn’t sure how she had gotten there though. After a night in the hospital they would send her home. They wanted to keep her overnight hoping her memory would come back and they would get to know what really happened. Her boyfriend’s mother was a nurse at the hospital; she appeared in the doorway to Melody’s hospital room running to her side; she was sobbing before she reached the bed. They embraced and she stammered,” I hope you don’t mind; I called Evan to tell him you were alive. He has been beside himself with grief; he hasn’t eaten in days.”

“Oh no, that’s okay… I’m sorry,” Melody whispered.” I don’t know what happened. I remember seeing my little brother’s hand on the window. I remember I couldn’t move, then I remember hearing the accident but other than that I don’t know how I got out of the car unhurt or why.”

 Well as far as we are all concerned it’s a miracle and we can leave it at that; you have enough to deal with without having to answer questions.

 Evan appeared in the doorway just at that moment. He walked towards her bed cautiously as if he were afraid it was a dream. He kissed her over and over again; she could taste the salt from his tears.

 “I don’t know what happened,” she whispered between kisses.

He laughed, “You’re alive, oh god Mel you’re alive. I don’t care about anything else in this world.” They embraced again the joy that filled her hospital room was catching throughout the hospital. Word spread quickly about Melody having returned from the dead, with no recollection of what had happened, completely unharmed.  The religious of the town praised it as a miracle and other people thought that it must be some kind of hoax.

 Melody couldn’t remember anything yet although she knew that since that day that she awoke by the side of the road, she had changed somehow.  She had walked through the funeral for her family member’s void of memory and emotion.  It was almost as if there was none left.  She had cried all of the tears that her soul would allow.

 Her father treated her as though she was a miracle and had become extremely overprotective, but she couldn’t blame him; he had lost everything else.  She understood that he needed to concentrate on her; to avoid thinking about the loss of everyone else.