After the doctors had pronounced me dead, my mother was devastated. I saw her start screaming in despair when she saw my body in the ambulance. She begged the paramedics to save me. They looked at her with bowed heads when they told her that there was no hope for me. My injuries were too severe and I had lost too much blood. I was just a ghost and yet it broke my heart to see my mother like this. My body was taken away. The students were sent home.
I smiled when I saw how all the desperate parents could embrace their children. Even though I had to give my life, they had all survived. And that made the sacrifice worth it. Amanda stood at the scene for a while. The teachers wanted to take her out, but she looked at the shooter's body with a vacant look. I floated in front of her and saw her eyes water before she followed the teachers' instructions and was embraced by her parents on the outside.
My next glance wandered to Jeff, who was standing with his parents. He looked defeated and looked at the ground. He seemed ashamed. The other boys who had previously made my life a living hell also seemed broken. The school remained closed for the police investigation for the next few days. During this time, I realized that I could not leave the school building. Whenever I tried to leave the property, it was like an invisible force was preventing me from doing so.
I decided to follow the police investigation during that time. There I found out that the hooded man was a former teacher who taught at my school but had to be committed to an institution because of mental health issues. He had escaped. It seems that he blamed the school for his problems and wanted revenge. A handgun, ammunition, and an AK-47 assault rifle with several magazines were found in his bag. Only God knows what kind of massacre he would have caused if I had not stopped him.
When school reopened a week later, the principal gathered all the students together. A ceremony was held in my honor. Candles and pictures of me and my drawings were displayed, and the principal called me a hero who had selflessly given his life to save countless students. Afterward, students were invited to the podium to share their stories about me.
I had tears in my eyes the whole time. They didn't know that I could hear and see everything. Then Jeff came on stage. He looked a little embarrassed and then started to speak. "I wasn't always nice to Raphael. I didn't treat him the way he deserved. I made fun of him. And in the end, I was the one who stood back like a coward while he saved our lives. No matter where he is now, I hope he's doing well. He deserves only the best. And even though I don't deserve it, I hope he can forgive me. He was more of a man than I could ever be. Thank you." Then he left the stage and my heart skipped a beat when I saw Amanda raise her hand to speak. The principal asked her to come up on stage.
She cleared her throat once and then said, "I honestly don't know how to start this. I've been thinking a lot over the last week. About Raphael. What he did to save us, about the drawings he made, how he was always kind to us even though he was treated like dirt, why I didn't intervene sooner, and much more. I can't help feeling terrible that I couldn't tell him how I felt. That he made a sacrifice for us that we didn't really deserve, let's be honest."
She started sobbing and I hovered right in front of her: "Raphael, if you can hear me, if you're still here, I want you to know that I had feelings for you that I always suppressed, feelings that are now coming to the surface with your passing, and I want to take this last chance to tell you all of that." I couldn't believe it. She liked me. All this time. I started to cry. When the memorial service in my honor was over, I stayed with Amanda. I just wanted to be near her. The students were sent home, and I followed her outside to her parents' car when I suddenly realized that the force that had kept me in the school building was gone. Instead, I noticed that the force was now pulling me toward Amanda.