Barely Breathing: Part Two

by kiwifruit487

The pain was gone and she felt light and floating. She opened her eyes and there she was, standing on a cloud. Kihalai could see her whole body glowing and the beautiful clouds floating around her. Something touched her and her heart leapt as she turned around. It was Kerusta! Kihalai was so happy and she hugged him and opened her mouth to speak, but Kerusta put a finger to her lips and said, "I will explain, Kihalai, you are gone, and I'm your angel now."

"How?" began Kihalai.

"You couldn't breathe," said the angel of Kerusta.

"Can you breathe?" asked Kihalai.

The angel of Kerusta laughed softly at her curious face and said, "Kerusta is still alive... I'm just the angelic form of him. You are in the angelic form too but you see, when you pass, the soul lifts to Faerieland and enters the angelic form. You can meet many of the angelic NeoPets up here, including your siblings and friends."

"I don't want to be here," said Kihalai a tear rolling down her face, "could I please return to the world I was in? I wasn't suppose to... NeoPets don't die. Besides, I just wanted to testing my breathing."

"You are not suppose to go back," said the angel of Kerusta, "come on, it's fun up here."

"No I want to return!" Kihalai insisted, "don't I have a second chance of life?"

"Most NeoPets want that too when they first come here, but they always come back," said the angel of Kerusta, "they don't understand life and the value of life like we do. You wouldn't want to stay out there."

"I just want to try," said Kihalai with her eyes glittering with tears.

"All right," said Kerusta handing her a small hourglass, "Here is your life and whenever you are ready to come back, just break it. To keep alive, the hourglass must stay too."

Kihalai held the small hourglass in her paw and examined it. It had a band of silver around it and the fine sand dripped inside it. It curved in the middle where a transparent gold shield was protecting it. She lifted it to her face and then the angel of Kerusta tied a small ribbon around it and put it on her. The angel of Kerusta smiled a small smile and said, "Just jump down to the beach from the cloud and be careful down there, Kihalai."

She nodded and then looked down at the beach and the blue sea. She leaned back and then forward into a great Kougra leap and landed softly on the sand. It was dark at night and there was no one around. She crept into the streets and looked around for the way back to her home. She dragged along the edge of the lost streets and ate whatever she could find till she saw the familiar forest where her home was located. She ran inside and then to her house. She could hear her owner's tireless weeps and so she threw a small rock onto the top window. The window slipped open and Gyka looked down at her with a stunned face. Gyka jumped out of the window onto a tree and then hopped down. "How, Kihalai? I don't understand! Everyone thought you left us!" Gyka cried softly after a long hug.

"I promised you that I wouldn't, Gyka, didn't I?" said Kihalai with equal breathless reactions.

"Can you breathe?" asked Gyka softly.

"Better than ever," answered Kihalai, "but I mustn't linger long. I have to see Kerusta and besides, the second part of the competition is dawn and that won't be long from now."

Gyka nodded helplessly as Kihalai skidded out of sight into the darkness of the forest. Kihalai found Kerusta's house and could see that the window was open. She jumped in and landed softly in front of the bed. Kerusta was just as surprised as Gyka when he saw her and jumped down from his bed and asked the same question, "How?"

Kihalai didn't answer and she only smiled and said, "The next part of the competition is in less than an hour, and I won't let you down this time. Never."

Kerusta bit his lips and couldn't speak, but Kihalai understood and they stood in a long embrace before breaking apart. When they arrived at the competition, it was no surprise that everyone was surprised, but no question could be asked as the couples had to compete in a race where the couple had to swim as fact as they could tied together on the sides. Just before they took off, they announced that the grand prize was to be 1 million Neopoints and Kihalai noticed a couple sliding small rockets onto their fur. "Cheaters," she muttered.

To be continued...