The boy who died, again.

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. Although the ones in his mind were constant. He tried to think of anything else, anything at all. His life was almost up, and his looming departure from this world was inevitable.

The Dragons, as Jaden knew them, were demons. They lived in the fantasy world of his mind, along with his mother, who had been taken from him only last May.

He woke with a start. Jaden sat, bolt upright in a pool of sweat. Both arms steadying himself, eyes ablaze, as if he were getting ready to push himself off a precipice and into the void below. Jaden; twelve years old, pale complexion, disconcertingly boney, due to the leanness of his whippet like physique, mopped his face with his sheets then stared in horror at the red liquid staining the covers on his bed. He looked around in a panic, then his face relaxed as he saw the empty cherry juice carton on the floor by the bed. He always had nightmares before he had to go. Taking a big sigh of relief he called out; “Anyone home?”

It was noon, or thereabouts, he thought as he reached for his phone. “Damn, missed messages.” He scrolled through the two messages on his phone. “Hmm… nothing.” He said, with a hint of sadness in his voice. It was that time where he had to get himself out of bed, make breakfast, shower, and go again. But go where? School hadn’t been around for years, and the thought of traveling through time just to get to work was always an uphill struggle. Since the early 2040’s, children lived independently, and worked one day a month. The difference being that the only work that was available was in the past. There were many factors that made it uncomfortable, and downright frightening at times; This was because traveling in the past meant you had to die first. Return to the past as a corpse. Then wake, in a newer, more vibrant version of yourself. It was worth the trip however, as not only was the money good, but the real positive factor was that it made you stronger each time you went there. He was alone , calmish by now, and standing outside his bedroom door contemplating his next move. He made his way to the staircase, gingerly, somewhat queasy still from the nightmare he’d had. He held onto the railing and looked down the narrow staircase to the front door. He hummed the tune from Puff The Magic Dragon quietly to himself. In his hand, clutched tightly, was a pendant on a silver chain. In order to return to the past you must carry something that is familiar, and of value, to you. The pendant was special, not because it was of financial value but, rather, sentimental. It had been given him by someone very special once and he always kept it close as a reminder of his past. He headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth and shower. He knew that on a day like today he’d need a hearty breakfast. A shake? Yes, that would work. He towel dried off, then stood looking at his sinewy body in the full length mirror before him. He squirted a glob of hair gel into his hands, then proceeded to distribute it throughout his jet black and curly locks. He knew he was going to be dying soon, but he remembered what his idol James Dean once said; “Live fast, die young And leave a good looking corpse,” he mumbled. At least he thought that’s what he said. Not that it mattered, because James Dean was too cool for this world anyway.

Miriam wasn’t always on time. In fact she was usually twelve minutes late for everything. Today was not the day to be late. Jaden pondered his predicament at the top of the stairs. You see; returning to your past could be done alone but, as we have already mentioned, you have to die first. This can make it extremely difficult to return to life if anything were to go wrong in transit, and there’s no-one at the other end to rescue you. “Stop!” An ear piercing yell came from out of nowhere. Jaden hesitated and jolted at the same time, as If he were going to jump off a high dive board and then scared himself from doing so. Miriam; lanky, knobbly kneed, dirty blonde soufflé of hair, stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up. Jaden’s confused stare turned to one of relief at seeing his friend.

“It’s about time.” He said blatantly.

Miriam raised an eye brow and stared at Jaden’s unlaced Van’s. “Do you believe in the string theory?” She said.

“Only these ones.” He replied, while lacing up his shoes.

“I’ll catch you.” She said, affectionately.

“I didn’t eat yet.” He said, nervously. Passing through a doorway to another dimension was difficult enough, let alone doing so while dead, and hungry. Jaden looked at his wrist watch; “twelve minutes?”

“You’re going to be dead anyways. What difference does it make?” She smiled.

“One of these days you’ll be the death of me.” Jaden said, trying to make something light out of something very dark.

Miriam’s face turned stoic as she slowly made her way, step by slow moving step now up the staircase toward Jaden. As she climbed she revealed a pocket knife, held firmly in her hand. Picking up the pace she climbed faster. Jaden stood, perfectly still, as Miriam plunged the sharp blade deeply into his front. She knew that the wound had to be deep, sure, and plunged into an organ or artery to give no chance of survival. She aimed for the liver this time. You’d think with all the times she had killed him Jaden would have scars all over his body. But, as I said, the body always returns to its newer self on entrance to its new life, therefore eradicating any wounds, scars, or injuries from the past. Jaden gasped, then faltered, then fell into Miriam’s arms. She mouthed the word, “Sorry,” as they both turned and fell back down the long staircase, now covered with blood. As the two lunged toward the bottom of the stairs, Jaden was losing consciousness. As he slipped into unconsciousness and into another dimension, a riveting scream let loose from Miriam’s throat as they disappeared from this world. The only noise that could be heard was the bloodied knife that now spun on the hardwood floor at the bottom of the staircase.

Whether you travel backwards through time, or into the future, your body cannot sustain its life force long enough and you will be dead on entry into the new dimension. So why not kill yourself first or, better still, have someone to do it for you. That way you can be reborn once arrived in the new time zone - Jolted awake, as it were - in the new space and time, as though not missing a beat. That’s all very well you say, but how can one person be dead and the other be alive on entry? Good question, and one that’s easily explained: The one cancels out the other.

Screams ensued, As surely as they disappeared, and they were now traveling - hurtling - through a world that was becoming more unfamiliar with every turn of their bizarre journey. With every twist and turn down the now long staircase moments of Jaden’s life flashed in front of him. All of these moments; moments set in space, seem so static in time. Once were memories filled with passion, life, and love. Such love. Even when we die we still hear those moments. Especially when we’re dead that is. The body may be gone. But the memories live on. There! There she is; “Pea!”That was his name for her, his mother. She was small - petite, almost “pea sized.” When he saw her in his dreams she always came to him younger than he remembered her. Maybe it was the old photos Jaden saw of her that were imprinted in his mind forever. All the same there she was now, facing him, in her favorite tweed skirt and jacket. His body was motionless but his mind raced through the memories. They say the brain still functions for a further seven minutes after the heart stops. Time travel takes only five. It’s critical that the deceased is resuscitated as soon as they arrive in their past destination, or else be lost forever. Jaden saw his mother with her arms out stretched, as he passed right through her. The pain in losing her could only be read in the slight twitching of his eyelids, as the electric current in his brain was starting to shut down. He passed the tree he used to climb; the one in which he built a rope ladder to the lower branches, then fell from. Their first dog, Mattie, that limped, and replayed the moment she was knocked down by that car and killed. The holidays in France, Belgium, Lisbon, Germany, England, and Spain. The cycling to and from club, the picnics on the Heath with his family, the race car track, the laughter, the tears…. the days before the storm, when it all fell apart. And then there was Jamie. Jamie was handsome. Jamie was strong. Jamie was funny, loving, giving; friendly Jamie. Jamie turned red, the color red. Then green. Yellow, purple, blue, magenta, brown - rustic, and brown - decaying. Now Fungus, fossils, soil, dirt - playing in the dirt with Jamie - the mud piles in the rain, the storms. Now, the rain subsided. There’s a clearing in the forest where the steam now rises as the warm sun filters through the trees, on a majestic, sun kissed morning. Just as it was in the mornings he remembered when Pea was alive. And the dragons. The dragons were prevalent even now, in his death. Suddenly, all went black. All the memories; gone. This was death; nothing more. Just blackness and mute. Just like the dreams Jaden had had when he was younger and he saw the world extinguished of all life. Just as it was when the world began. Nothing. Just dark.

They quickly appeared in a thundering scream. Miriam held tight onto Jaden’s shoulders and, as his body lay motionless, Miriam quickly turned him over on the ground and performed a mix of CPR and singing. She sung him his favorite song; Puff the magic dragon…

“Puff, the magic dragon…. One, two, three, four,” She violently pushed down on his chest. “Lived by the sea….” She continued, with gusto. “Two, three, four, five, come on. Come on.” Over and over into exhaustion. As the tables turned, and now, as Jaden gently came back to life, his whole being pale and gaunt and limp. He now held Miriam up with all his strength, as she slumped forward on his torso. He groaned, “Ow.” As the pressure from her head on his body intensified and eventually made him move; “Okay, okay.” He protested, as he pushed her away, only to cradle her head before it hit the ground. She’ll be okay, he thought to himself, as he lay her head down on the soft forest floor. She breathed peacefully. Jaden got to his feet and found his bearings. He was going to be late, again. He checked his pocket. The pendant was there.

“You’ll be okay?” He said.

“Yeah,” She whispered, almost without sound.

“Time to go,” He said. And with that he set off among the forestation.