Between Heaven and Hell
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

THE GRIM reaper looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"What did you say again?"

She shook her head. She already lost count of how many times he asked her the same question.

"Grimmy, Grimmy, Grimmy." Andie drew a breath. "No matter how many times you ask me, my answer won't change. I'm willing to sacrifice my life to save Jonathan."

He heaved a sigh and shook his head afterwards.

"Do you really think it's that easy? I can't just toss you to the afterlife in exchange of Jonathan's soul."

"But it's you who said that I'm a casualty."

"You don't understand." Grimmy massaged his forehead. "We need to follow the rules. There's this thing called schedule, okay? If ever there's a change, we need to do something about it. In human world, it's like rescheduling a flight." "Then do it!"

"Should I toss you to hell?" He sounded annoyed. "You've been a pain in my ass for five years."

"Then you shouldn't have been a grim reaper," she countered.

"Do you really think it's my choice to become one?" He looked up in the sky. "Oh, good Lord, why did You give me these two? Are You really giving me the chance to be reincarnated?"

"You said not to question His will. Why are you questioning Him now?"

Grimmy started walking away from her.

"Hey!" Andie followed him. "Grimmy!"

"I have to go. I need to work, you know," he told her.

"Don't forget about my request, okay?"

"I will make the best death proposal for you!" Grimmy raised his middle finger.

Andie was about to cuss at him when a female grim reaper appeared in front of Grimmy. She even made a salute as if he was some high-ranking official.

"We have a problem. Someone committed suicide and it's isn't his time yet."

The grim reaper turned to her. "See? I have a lot more to do now. So, you better stop bugging me."

Then, the two grim reapers disappeared.

WHEN JONATHAN woke up that morning, he could not replace Altea. There was no sign of Andie's presence too. When he phoned Oreo, he learned that Altea was already home and his cousin could not feel Andie's presence in their apartment. In times like that, Jonathan could not stop thinking that something bad happened. So, he immediately left the island resort and went to the hospital.

Andie's body was still confined to the ICU. But even in the hospital, he could not replace her. Jonathan decided to go home, hoping that once he arrived, Andie would be home too.

"You couldn't replace Andie?" Oreo asked when he saw him came in.

He shook his head in response and sat on the sofa.

"Altea said she was already home when she woke up. She has no idea what happened between you and Andie, so she didn't know where she went. By any chance... did you had a fight?"

"No, we didn't fight. We just ate dinner." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm scared that I couldn't replace her, Oreo. What if something happened to her?"

"But you said her body's still at the ICU." Oreo sat across him. "Didn't she mention anything to you last night?"

Jonathan raised his head and looked at his cousin with furrowed brows. "What do you mean?"

Oreo looked away immediately. "N-nothing."

Jonathan already sensed that he was hiding something from him because Oreo could not look at him in the eyes.

"You're hiding something from me," Jonathan said matter-of-factly.

But his cousin kept his mouth shut. He stood up and was about to leave, but Jonathan did not let it happen. He blocked his way and held him by the arm. "Oreo, tell me what is it. Now!" he said authoritatively.

His cousin heaved a deep sigh. "I promise her that I won't tell you."

"So, your royalty belongs to her now?" Jonathan scoffed. "I thought blood will always be thicker than water."

"It's not like that. I'm only doing this for your sake," Oreo grunted.

"Damn it!" He pushed his cousin away. Jonathan could no longer hold his emotions.

"Relax, Kuya."

"How can I relax when I couldn't replace Andie and you're hiding something from me?" he said through gritted teeth.

"She knows the truth, Kuya... Andie already knows that her soul became the casualty when you cheated death five years ago," Oreo told him.

Jonathan's eyes grew wider in shock. He could not move, his whole body felt numb.

"Andie cannot return to her body because you're still alive. The more you live, the lesser the chance she—"

"And she came up with a decision to sacrifice her life for me, right?" His fists clenched.

"Sadly... yes. That's why Altea lend Andie her body, so that she could spend a day with you."

Tears sprung from Jonathan's eyes. So, that was the reason why Andie was acting like that when they were together. Was he that dense not to feel she was saying goodbye? He wanted to hate Andie for coming up with that kind of decision, but he just can't do that. Jonathan could not afford to hate the only person he loves.

Andie should have consulted him first. If there's someone who should face death, that should be him. It was all his fault anyway...

"Did she mention anything?"

"As far as I know, she'll going to meet the grim reaper."

Meet the grim reaper? Andie must have thought of pleading him to take her instead.

Jonathan crossed their distance ang hugged his cousin.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me... Please always take good care of Inay, okay?"

"K-kuya..." Oreo held onto him tighter. "Whatever you have in mind... please, don't do it..."

"It's my fault Andie couldn't get her life back. I took away that five years, so now I have to pay the price..."

Jonathan freed himself from his cousin's embrace. Then, he walked to the door without looking back.

"Do you think Andie would be glad knowing that you wasted her sacrifice for five years?" Oreo shouted.

He did not mind what Oreo said because he was determined to die now. His death was the only thing that could save Andie...

Jonathan hopped on his motorbike when he went out of the apartment. He drove madly as if he owns the street. And when he reached that dangerous curve part of the road, he bumped into a trailer truck and flew a few meters away. "THE DOCTOR said you can still walk, but you may suffer from foot aches and limping sometimes, especially if you overused it."

Everything his cousin was saying that moment just passed through his ears. He should have died in that accident.

"Kuya..." Oreo went to the side of the bed. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

He remained silent.

Jonathan was in a coma for a couple of months. Everyone thought he would not survive because of that severe brain trauma. But look at him now, he was still alive. And what broke his heart the most was, he failed to save Andie's life. The moment he opened his eyes, he learned from Oreo that she was dead.

"Kuya, come on..." Oreo sounded like a pleading child.

"I don't care about what will happen to my life in the future. I already lost my desire to live now that Andie's gone..."

"Your life does not revolve around her alone," his cousin said firmly.

"Wow, coming from you!" He turned to Oreo. "It's your life that revolves around Altea."

"Because I'm positive about it!" he countered.

"Yeah, good for you. You should be glad that you're able to foresee the future!"

"You and Andie have this ill-fated relationship from the very start. You're destined to meet, but not destined to be together." Oreo heaved a sigh.

"Get out!" Jonathan snarled at him.

"Why are you mad at me now?"

He looked away and fixed his pain on the window pane. Ah, why does love makes life look hard? If only he did not fall in love with Andie. "Oreo," he said after a minute of silence.

"What?"

"Is there a chance that I can be reincarnated?"

"You're more likely to become a grim reaper."

"But if I repent for my sins, maybe I'd get the chance."

"Why are you asking these things?"

"I just thought that if we didn't get the chance to be happy in this lifetime, then maybe in another life we can. If ever I'm reincarnated, I'll replace her."

"That's impossible. There's only a little chance that you'll remember the memories of your past life," Oreo said somberly.

"I don't need these damn memories. They're too painful. All I need is to feel our connection." Jonathan narrowed his eyes on him. "And if you're going to ruin my fantasies, you better leave this room." He pointed the way out. "It's a cycle, Kuya..." Oreo remarked.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well... if you have an ill-fated relationship in this lifetime, it will keep on repeating-"

"I beg to disagree. You said we can't undo the past, but we can somehow change the future."

"Yeah. But still, there's someone up there who call the shots." His cousin pointed upward. "Anyway, I have to go because I'm running late for my class. Inay will come over to take care of you. I'll come back later in the evening."

"I told her not to come here." He lay down on the bed.

"She insisted. You know there is no way I could stop her."

A BRIGHT light coming from a flashlight was the first thing she saw when she woke up. Her eyes roamed around the room, and she realized she was inside a hospital suite. On the left side of the bed, she saw a man sitting in a wheelchair, and standing beside him was a woman. Aside from them were nurses and doctors who kept checking on her. All of them were strangers to her. And the worst, she could not remember her name. "Can you move your legs?"

She turned to her right. The doctor was looking at her, patiently waiting for her response. Then, she slowly moved her legs, alternately.

"Can you lift your arms?"

Again, she did what she was told.

The doctor turned to the couple on the other side of the bed.

"We will run some necessary tests on her. It the results come out clear, the she's okay. And ah, she needs to undergo physical therapy," the doctor explained.

"This is a miracle..." The man in the wheelchair cupped her hand.

Her gaze shifted back and forth to the couple and the hospital staff.

"I-is there something wrong, hija?" the woman asked anxiously. "Who am I?" she asked.

The couple looked at each other and turned to the doctor.

"It seems that the patient has amnesia," the doctor told me.