Scars by Jessica Bailey

FOUR DECADES AGO ON EARTH.

Samuel slams his eyes shut and grips his chest to contain the unimaginable pain he feels. His heart raced with unutterable sorrow as he held tightly onto his chest.

Everything happened within seconds. One second she was right in front of him, and the next she was gone.

Samuel couldn't describe the pain he felt as he saw her collapse on the floor like a log of wood. Samuel acted quickly on impulse after it happened and took her to the hospital. 

"I'm very sorry, but Bailey Potter is dead." Samuel's heart pounded violently against his ribcage. He felt like he couldn't breathe.

"Bailey? My Bailey? No, doctor, you don't know what you're talking about. I promise you, she looked fine a minute ago." Samuel's voice cracked as he spoke.

"My apologies, son; I know it's very difficult to understand. But even before you brought her here, she was dead. And the main reason it all turned out to be like this is because she kept delaying her treatment, and as a result, her condition deteriorated."

"What sickness?"

"You don't know? She had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy." With a cold pat on his shoulder, the doctor left Samuel alone in misery. Stunned and overwhelmed, Samuel wondered aloud how he had not noticed the signs of the serious heart condition his lover had been struggling with.

Samuel's entire world implodes. His lover is dead. It was at this point that he realised how much the rest of the world despised him.

All through his life, he has never committed a crime that would warrant such a severe penalty. How did everything turn out like this? Samuel mused, distraught.

His pounding heartbeat drowned out the shrill sirens and Bailey's family's cries. What should he do? He lost Bailey.

"Sam…."

All he had was Bailey.

"Sam…."

Without his lover by his side, he wouldn't last a single day.

"Samuel!" His train of thought was cut short as his name was called. Bailey's older brother, Lucas, caught his eye immediately. "Do I have your attention?" Lucas inquired subtly. The young lad shocked Samuel because he wasn't supposed to be there.

Because Lucas, it turned out, passed away long ago. "How are y-" Lucas shushed him before he could say anything else. "Look, everything will be explained later, but right now I need you to do me a favour." He said it calmly.

"I don't understand how... How are you even here? Have I finally lost it?" Samuel shook his head.

"No, Samuel, I promise you haven't. The reason you can see me is because of a friend's magic. There's this world that no one knows exists, but I've been there, and that's where I met this friend. Their world is called Mujaro, and... Shit, you know what? Forget that; that's not why I came here." Samuel blinks.

"I know about the book," Lucas continued.

"What book? I don't understand you. Can you speak more clearly?" Samuel frowned, as he wasn't understanding anything Lucas was saying to him. He jumped from one word to another.

"The book you found on a camping trip when you were a small kid. I know you still have it." Lucas reveals this, shocking Samuel. "You mean the spell book? How do you know this? I didn't even know you back then," Samuel replied.