Flowers for My Grave

“Lucas, where are you? I’m not feeling well. Can you hurry?” I asked urgently.

There was a brief silence on the other end before a woman's voice spoke. “Lucas is busy right now. I’ll have him call you back.”

I froze, the familiar voice sending a chill down my spine. It was Ariana Venti, Lucas's first love, the woman he had always yearned to marry.

The call remained connected as I heard the announcement echoing in the hallway: “Ms. Ariana Venti please report to the obstetrics department, room 15.”

Before I could respond, Ariana abruptly ended the call.

My hand went limp as I clutched my phone, my mind reeling from what I had just heard.

Ariana? In obstetrics?

Why was Lucas accompanying Ariana to the obstetrics department?

He knew how urgent my condition was, so why was he with her?

A tremor coursed through me as despair set in. I crumpled to the floor as tears streamed down my cheeks.

Whether it was psychological or the pollen I had inhaled, I felt the symptoms of my attack intensifying, far worse than before. My limbs felt numb and heavy.

Suddenly, the reality of the life growing inside me surged to the forefront of my mind.

I reached for my phone and dialed 911.

As I waited, I curled up on the ground, clutching the hem of my shirt.

“Please, save me. I beg you, save my child…help save Lucas’s child…”

I whispered, the words spilling from my lips as I lost track of time, my eyelids growing heavier by the second.

As darkness enveloped me, I slowly became aware of someone urgently knocking and my brother, Troy Sivan’s voice.

“Clara! Wake up! I’m taking you to the hospital!”

I felt myself being lifted, and in a flurry, I was rushed into a car. Amid the jolting movement, I lost consciousness again.

When I opened my eyes, I was startled to find myself in a pristine white room, the sharp scent of disinfectant filling my nostrils.

For a moment, I was stunned, but then I realized I was at the hospital. Thank goodness nothing serious had happened otherwise, my child…

I climbed out of bed, only to find the room empty. Faintly, I could hear my brother’s voice echoing in the hallway. “What did you say? She was pregnant?”

I hurried out to see Troy standing at the end of the hall, speaking with a doctor.

His fists were clenched, anger etched across his face.

“Troy? Why were you at my house? I’m so glad you arrived in time, otherwise I would have been in trouble!”

I looked up at him, but he acted as if he had not heard me, his gaze fixed on the doctor.

The doctor sighed softly. “Please accept my condolences. Ms. Clara’s asthma attack was severe, and it was too late by the time she got here. We’ve done everything we could, you should take her away as soon as possible.”

His words struck me like thunder.

What?

Did I…die?

Instinctively, I tried to feel for my heartbeat, only to discover it had ceased entirely.

I froze and then bolted back to the room I’d just left.

There lay my body, peacefully resting on the bed as if in a deep slumber.

Just then my brother entered the room and walked right through me.

He collapsed at my bedside, weeping uncontrollably, calling out my name.

It was then that I accepted my reality: I was dead.

As my brother's cries echoed in my ears, tears streamed down my face.

I stepped forward and embraced him from behind. “I’m sorry, Troy…”

After a long moment, he finally calmed himself.

He pulled out my phone, and my heart sank as I saw Lucas’s message on the screen.