I open my lifeless eyes. I sit up and stare at the window where light gleams through, lighting up the entire room. Birds are singing on the branch which casts a shadow on the bright room. The scent of flower petals is whisked into the room from the spring breeze. People are around me in medical outfits, but I don’t see Charlotte’s beautiful smile, Aaron’s muscular body, or Jaylen’s tall, handsome figure anywhere.

“So it wasn’t a dream….” My voice cracks. Though the light outside is warm, bright, and full of life, inside I feel nothing more but despair. The deaths of my friends and my sister flash through my mind like a movie player on replay. I continue to see their deaths, every single detail from beginning to end. I saw everything, yet I couldn’t do anything. Tears fall down my face like raindrops on a stormy, lonely night. “I am utterly alone…”