Have you ever seen your own death?

<author's note: this all happened in reality... unfortunately _^_>

And

that day, as usual, my dad woke me up before seven. I got up, got dressed, and went to the kitchen to eat breakfast. My dear daddy, of course, had to complain...

"What, so little?" he scoffed. "You'll faint at school if you eat only that much."

"Like boom, tick, tick, and figs with poppy seeds, poor thing," I said with my famous catchphrase and started eating.

After a few bites, however, something strange happened. I felt dizzy. At the same time, I also felt a damn stomach ache. I groaned.

"Damn, baked goods! We're out of toothpaste!" I suddenly heard my father shout from the bathroom.

I wanted to shout that I had a much worse problem, but I couldn't utter a word. I could already feel the pain throughout my entire body—piercing, tearing from the inside. My knees buckled. I fell to the floor with a scream. I couldn't breathe. My family heard my earlier scream. In an instant, everyone was in the kitchen, watching my efforts in astonishment. I, on the other hand, saw them as if through a fog. I was suffocating. My lungs burned. I longed for breath. Air...

And then I saw darkness...

Kasia

fell to the floor with a scream. She writhed in pain as her family rushed into the kitchen. She clutched her throat, letting them know she was suffocating. At the same moment, her sister went into a berserk frenzy. She told her mother to call the hospital and she began saving her sister. She was a medical student, after all; she couldn't stand by and watch Kasia suffer. She began administering artificial respiration, but at the same time, she felt her younger sister faint. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was ineffective. Sweat beaded on Magda's forehead. She tried CPR while administering artificial respiration, which her father helped her with. He also knew first aid. He taught at a public school...

The girls' mother looked as if she could barely stand. She watched the efforts of her daughter and husband tensely. Tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't even take the few steps toward the phone. Everything was happening so fast.

Kasia's shocked brother, who usually only teased her, also stood in the doorway.

Suddenly, Magda finished CPR and checked the woman's pulse. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She couldn't believe it. She tried again. Finally, after a few minutes, she collapsed to the floor, broken from exhaustion. Her sobs were a harbinger of the worst. The man of the house also paled. He looked at his daughter and couldn't believe it had actually happened. She had been so full of life a moment ago! And the last thing he had said to her were some senseless reproaches... He felt as if grief would tear him apart. He stood and embraced his wife. He hugged her tightly, but he couldn't say anything comforting. After a moment, he glanced at his dead daughter again. And then she opened her eyes.

III.

The sound of crying tore me from the darkness. Quietly at first, but then I heard it grow louder and louder. As if it were approaching me. I opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was my father's terrified face. He looked as if he'd just seen a ghost. He was hugging his sobbing mother.

"She's alive!" he shouted nervously. I began to wonder who he was referring to.

My mother turned and stared at me. I felt strange, to say the least. I tried to move my head, but it was difficult. I saw my sister staring at me, and my brother. He stood motionless over Magda, his mouth open. "Why is everyone staring at me like that?" Was that their crying I heard? But why were they crying? Did I faint? Yes, I must have fainted. I don't remember anything except pain… yes, pain. Why is my chest pounding so hard?!" A million thoughts raced through my head in just a few seconds.

"What happened?" I asked after a moment, but what I heard sounded more like a wheezing sound. I cleared my throat.

"What happened?" I asked again. This time, it was even understandable.

"Don't move!" Magda shouted in a trembling voice. Astonished, I dropped my head back to the floor. "We have to call an ambulance..."

At that moment, she tried to stand up, but her legs clearly gave out, because as soon as she got up, she was sitting on the floor again. She reached out and grabbed my wrist, but immediately let go with a squeal.

"What happened?!" we all screamed together.

"Zi...zi...cold!" Magda finally managed to choke out.

"I'm always cold..." I said, then touched my hand. If I hadn't already been as pale as a sheet, I probably would have matched hers in color right then...

I'd never felt so cold. Wanting to calm down, I tried to take a deep breath. And suddenly, it turned out I wasn't breathing. "Maybe I am, but I don't know it... how did you breathe?! You were drawing air through your nose and mouth into your lungs... right?" I thought, then tried again. I inhaled air through my mouth, but I didn't feel it reach my lungs. No relief. Zero understanding.

"What the hell is going on?!" I asked myself. At the same time, Magda touched my wrist again. This time, she didn't let go. I could see her trying to focus.

"I can't feel..." she whispered.

"A pulse?" I asked in a voice that still held a lot of weight.

"Yes," she said nervously. Her hand was already damp with sweat. Suddenly, I felt like a refrigerator – I can't feel... someone call an ambulance...

" "Why does my chest hurt?" – I asked, glancing at her suspiciously.

– I might have damaged something while giving you CPR…

– Oh, thank you so much… – I said mockingly, though deep down I was wondering if that was why I was still alive – so you… saved me?

– I don't know… I thought you were dead…

– Um… how so?

– Well… we tried to save you, but it looked like we couldn't. And then suddenly Dad shouted that you'd opened your eyes.

– Oh, so you did save me after all? And what happened earlier?

– I don't know, I was asleep when I suddenly heard you scream and came running here. You couldn't breathe, so we started resuscitating you, and then you fainted…

– Yeah, I remember now, I wish I could tell you how nice it was to breathe again, but I still feel like I wasn't…

– What do you mean?! – she asked, surprised.

"I'm inhaling air, but I don't feel it reaching my lungs... and I don't feel the need to breathe when I'm not doing it...

" "What?!" Magda shouted, wide-eyed at me. "Impossible! "

"Then get a mirror...

" "Why...?

" "Let's do an experiment..." I said, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Marcin bringing a mirror, which he then handed to Magda. "Put it to my mouth. How long can a person go without breathing?"

My sister did as I asked, and I immediately covered my nose. Marcin took out his watch and started the stopwatch. After about a minute, I heard my mother squeal.

"Give it a rest!" my father shouted at us nervously.

But I didn't breathe any further. Another minute passed.

"Aren't you... choking...?" Magda asked in a trembling voice.

"No..." I replied, glancing at the mirror. It should have been fogging up by now. Meanwhile, I could still see my reflection in it.

"Am I dead?" I blurted out the nagging question. Everyone was speechless. Me too. Only after a long moment did Dad say it was impossible. But are you sure?

"Wait, I'll get the stethoscope..." Magda said.

She stood up and left. Surprisingly, she seemed so concerned that she forgot her nerves. She didn't fall on the way. She returned with the stethoscope in her hand. She placed it over my ears and began examining me. She did this very carefully. Only after a few minutes did she pronounce:

"It looks like you're dead."

"Wonderful," I said.

I heard my parents' cries, then saw my mother fall into my father's arms.

"If I'm dead, it won't hurt me to get up," I thought, and at the same time, I noticed that the pain in my chest was fading. I tried to get up. My sister started telling me to stay still, but I ignored her. I stood up. I could barely feel the pain anymore. But I felt stiffer to myself. I moved harder and slower. More sluggishly, as it were...

"How many hours after death does it take for a body to become completely stiff?" I asked my sister.

"About 6-8 hours."

"So after those 6 or 8 hours I won't be able to move at all? And... how long will it take me to decompose?

" "You're still decomposing..."

"Am I supposed to watch my body decompose? Oh, the disease..." I imagined myself falling apart, rotting, being eaten by vermin... "I can't survive this...

" "No, you're already dead."

Suddenly, I felt I should know what was happening. I left the kitchen, ignoring my family. I passed Magda, who was thinking hard, my father trying to revive my mother, and my brother, still standing motionless. It was simply miraculous.

I picked up my cell phone and dialed my friend's number. She answered after a few rings:

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me, Kasia. I'm actually calling to say goodbye...

" "Uh, what?

" "I just died..."

IV

I was taking a shower when the phone suddenly rang. Astonished—"Who could be calling so early?!"—I went to answer it. My parents were out, so I couldn't wait for them to do it for me. Unfortunately. On the way, I wrapped myself in a towel. Dripping wet, I picked up the receiver:

"Hello?

" "Hey, it's me, Kasia," I heard a familiar voice. "I'm actually calling to say goodbye...

" "Uh, what?" I asked, slightly surprised.

"I just died..."

I was speechless. It was the first time in my life I'd heard something so absurd. Sure, my friend likes to fool around sometimes, but she's never said such nonsense.

"Very funny," I said ironically. "But seriously, what's the point?

" "When I'm being completely serious..."

"Sure, and I'm Mother Teresa," I replied sarcastically.

"No, listen, I really died..."

"Kaśka, don't piss me off," I said, outraged, "I don't have time for this nonsense..."

"You're always late anyway," my esteemed friend snapped, "and I really am dead, let me explain...

" "Then translate."

After five minutes, I couldn't say anything coherent.

"This is a joke, right?

" "Do you want my sister or my dad on the phone? As a last resort, I can give you Marcin, but I don't know if you'd want to talk to him... Because Mom isn't exactly in the best of shape, I think they're still trying to revive her...

" "I'll manage," I replied. "You'd better call the TV station, you could make some serious money.

" "What good is money if I die?!

"But you're alive... it's just that your vital signs have stopped or something...

" "Do you know what that means? In a few hours, I'll be stiff, slack, and I'll stink." I'm already cold, so I left that out...

"Hmmm, I think TV is the best idea anyway. At least the specialists would take care of you.

" "What can they do? I've been dead for half an hour already," Kaśka said sarcastically.

"Are you asking me? I'm just trying to think constructively...

" "You're actually doing better than me...

" "Hey, how could this happen anyway? I don't get it.

" "Let me point out that no one, no one understands this..." I got the impression my friend had growled this sentence, not said it.

"In books, zombies are probably created as a result of a vampire bite?

" "Bites? Not bites?

" "What difference does it make? Don't you have anything on your neck?

" "On your neck...? Wait..." There was silence on the line for a long moment; Kaśka must have gone to check herself in the mirror—of course!

V.

Mentioning vampires, Ania reminded me of something. On Saturday, I was at a party, drank a little, and it ended very interestingly. I mean, at some point, I just spontaneously attached myself to some guy... And then on Sunday, I noticed he'd left a sweet mark on my oh-so-slender and beautiful neck...

I lifted my hair and looked at my reflection in the mirror. A hickey... Or at least that's what I thought. Now I looked at it closely, very carefully... strange, right? After a thorough inspection, I came to the conclusion that, indeed, it wasn't a hickey. I had two tiny scabs... I put my phone to my ear again.

"Of course!" I exclaimed enthusiastically. "Ania! A party! It's not a hickey!"

"So , it's true ? Look, I thought a little joke like that wouldn't hurt... But wait... seriously?! Vampires don't exist!

" "And dead people don't talk?" I scoffed. "Aaaah... right," Ania admitted, "so what are you planning now? " "What am I planning? I'll call Mateusz and find out about my personal vampire... " "Wait, so you don't know who that was?! "Well, I know the name, but I think it would be a good idea to know his address or something..." I sighed, devastated. "I'd advise you not to cuddle up to suspicious characters next time... " "But when he didn't look suspicious at all!" "Yeah, after a few drinks, even an exhibitionist wouldn't look suspicious to you... " "But he only looks suspicious when he shows off what he's got up his sleeve, right? " "Well, I don't know... a pink elephant, maybe?!" "Ooooh, that would definitely attract everyone's attention! " "Exactly." But wait, what were we talking about?? Oh, I know. I'm hanging up, and you call Mateusz. Just call me later, not now! Because I'll worry... I don't want to go to your funeral! "I'd like to at least die normally, not..." I replied, and then hung up. I dialed Mateusz's number. "Hello?" I heard a female voice. "Hello, is Mateusz here?" I asked politely, without giving my name. After all, I'm already dead, so why worry about such trivial things as good manners... "I'll give you a moment." About two minutes passed when a sleepy, male voice answered: "Hello...?" "Hey, it's Kasia, sorry if I woke you..." "No, you didn't wake me up at all... not at all..." he said ironically, yawned, and then continued, "I won't forgive you..." "Okay, okay, get well soon, and now please, give me the address and phone number of that friend I was so attached to on Saturday... " "Um, what do you need it for? " "Need it, will you? " "I'd rather know why... you know, you're not the most normal person in the world, I wouldn't want to blame myself for someone's sudden departure... " "Don't worry, not a hair on his head... " "But aren't you going to make a fool of yourself..." "No, imagine I'm not going to ask him for a kiss... " "Oh, I believe... " "So? " "Wait, I'll look," he said, and then he probably started rummaging through drawers, because I heard some clinking, banging, and the like..." "I have it. " "Oh, wonderful!" - Honestly, I still have doubts whether I should give it to you... - Don't be afraid, honey, just give it to me... - I joked - I'll 

"Well, let it be... 14 Słoneczna Street, phone...

" "Just a moment, I need to find a pen... I have...

" "XXXXXXX

" "Thanks! Well, I'll say goodbye then...

" "Great, I'll be able to go to sleep... oh, and besides, I came out of that fight without any major mental damage...

" "But your friend might not make it," I smiled to myself.

"Hey, remember, you promised not to do anything stupid! Remember, you were both drunk then...

" "Yeah, I mean, no! Who was drunk?!

"You!

" "When I wasn't drunk at all!

" "No? And who was slaloming?

" "Definitely not me! Don't be silly!

" "Apricot trill.

" "I'll give you apricot trill...

" "Weren't you supposed to end by any chance?

" "Oh, right, bye... or rather, goodbye, because I might not make it out alive...

" "You or him? And should I laugh or cry?

" "As you wish, bye..." I said and hung up.

VI

I quickly changed into some clothes that covered my pale body and ran out of the house as fast as I could move. Which was to say, slowly. Someone was calling after me, but I didn't pay much attention.

On the bus, no one really looked at me, which I took at face value. Apparently, I'm still quite pretty after death. And I was already afraid I'd look like those corpses shown in movies... And yet, I hadn't started to rot yet, nor did I stink. It was simply awful.

I had to transfer in the city center. Unfortunately, the second bus was almost empty. I sat somewhere at the end. A young man was leaning against the back window – dressed all in black. I wouldn't have noticed him if his face hadn't been covered with a hood. I thought I should probably follow his example... I got off at the right spot and started looking for house number 14. It didn't take long. I was lucky.

His house was completely normal. Nice, white, with a lovely garden. "Are you sure I didn't make a mistake?" I thought.

I rang the doorbell and waited. After a moment, it rang. I pushed open the gate and took a few steps forward. I looked around. A place was a place. It didn't look like a cemetery or paradise to me. It was so... ordinary? But why was I so tense? I walked up to the door. I grabbed the handle and pushed the door open. It didn't work. I pulled. Yeah, I've always had trouble opening doors... I looked inside. I saw darkness. I mean, really, I saw nothing. And that was it...

It reminded me of dying. Except now I was already dead. I crossed the threshold. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a soft, masculine, cold voice said,

"Could you close the door?"

"Yeah... I think I could..." I replied, terrified, then complied. I was enveloped in complete darkness.

"Do we know each other?" he asked in that terribly calm voice of his.

"Yes, I think so... Piotrek?

" "Ah, yes, I remember now, you were at that Saturday party... I think I only used that ridiculous name there...

" "Bingo!

" "Ah, this youth of today, this language... So to what do I owe this visit?

" "To my unexpected death, if I may put it that way...

" "I see... So you've figured out who I am?

" "Well, in a way, that seems to be it. Just tell me, my darling, is there anything I can do about it?

" "It depends on what you mean..." As he said this, I shuddered. How could he still be so calm?! My eyes had already adjusted to the darkness. I was in some corridor, at the end of which I noticed a staircase... To Hell? I don't think so. I saw my interlocutor standing at the top.

"Um... can I be turned into a human, meaning I'd live?" I blurted out the question that had been troubling me.

"No.

" "Can I be killed?

" "Yes.

" "Can anything else be done?

" "Yes," he said, and began descending the stairs. I wanted to say something, but instead I stood there like a pillar, staring at him, mesmerized. And he was getting closer... Finally, he was only two steps away. I was starting to get really scared. One step...

"What's the matter...? What do you want to do?" I stammered. A note of panic was definitely evident in my voice!

Meanwhile, he took another step. And was right next to me. I felt his breath on my face. He bent down. I felt the warmth on my neck. But he only brushed my wound and straightened. Suddenly, he reached under his coat, and the next moment I saw the knife in his hand. "So I'm going to die after all? Better that than living as a zombie..." But instead of jabbing the knife between my ribs, he lightly ran it across his wrist. Then he put his hand to my mouth.

"Drink."

That voice is impossible to resist. I started sucking his blood. I felt the fluid of life flowing through me. Like it was starting to flow through my veins. I felt alive.

And then I woke up.

Author's note

(you don't have to read this, honey, you can skip it, the last chapter of the story is a bit further down...)

<Author> Wow! It's so nice to finish something... And by the way, I really did dream about it!! Only that halfway through, my dad woke me up because it was already seven, and told me to get ready for school -.-''

<Kasia> Author... I have a little question...

<Author> Yes?

<Kasia> You see... I've read this story several times... but it never says how I died! ><

<Author> And does it matter?

<Kasia> Yes...?

<Author> Okay, okay... so... you choked. Maybe?

<Kasia> And what was the reason for my stomach ache? -_-''

<Author> So... maybe you were poisoned?

<Kasia> And it would have worked so quickly...? O_o

<Author> They put arsenic in your tea.

<Kasia> Who...?

<Author> You're so picky... brother! He finally wanted a computer all to himself!

<Kasia> And then he stood in the doorway with his mouth open just for fun? -.-

<Author> He was pretending.

<Kasia> Ehhh, fine ;P

<Author> Jupi XD And anyway, I gave my mom that damn thing to read.

<Kasia> So what?

<Author> She told me not to let her read such macabre things anymore -.-''

<Kasia> Yeah, right! Don't you dare kill me again!!

<Author> I'll think about it...

VII

(For those who find the ending predictable and the story banal :P )

It would be nice if I could see my own, colorful room when I woke up. However, lately, nothing had been going my way. The only thing I saw was darkness.

"Not this! The same thing again!" I screamed and started flailing my arms in anger.

"Ow!" I squealed as I slammed my hands against the wall above me. I felt for it. It looked like I was in some kind of box.

"This isn't... is it?" "A coffin...?" I finished in my mind. "And I thought it was a bad dream..."

I pushed open the lid and sat down. "Ass!" I was in some room, black as night. It took me a moment to adjust to the darkness and begin to make out individual items. It was a small room, rather sparsely furnished. There was only a coffin, a wardrobe, a table, and a chair. Fortunately, I didn't spot a spider. Across from me, I saw a door. I stood up and walked to it. I turned the knob. It creaked open. A deafening silence answered. I found myself in a hallway, at the end of which I saw what looked like a staircase. Down. That meant I was on the first floor. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. And as far away as possible. Suddenly, I heard a thud. I shivered. It was coming from somewhere downstairs. I tiptoed to the stairs and began descending them. I was getting lower and lower. I held my breath. At the bottom, one of the doors was ajar. A faint light was coming from behind it. I tried to peer through the crack. Nothing. I pushed it open gently. I squeezed inside.

"Ah!" I screamed in surprise at the sight of the bloody body lying on the carpet. The body of a vampire I knew.

I looked up. A man stood above him. Dressed all in black, his hood over his head. I recognized the silhouette. And then he turned to me. In his hand was a large sword dripping with blood. My heart began to pound. He took a step toward me. It began to pound. Another step. I thought I was about to have a heart attack. And another...

"Wait!" I cried, completely panicked.

In response, he lifted his head slightly. I saw his smile. Merciless, cold, psychic... I took a step back. I knew I had no chance. I wouldn't be able to escape. And he approached again.

"At least show me your face!"

And with those words, he removed his hood. The smiling face of my brother appeared before my eyes. My own brother... He approached me. He struck me hard in the face. I fell. He raised his sword hand, preparing to strike.

"Goodbye, little sister," he said calmly. And he slashed.

I didn't have time to feel the pain. I didn't have time to feel anything.