Status: I'm taking a break, ya'll! I have another story rolling and...a novel to fix....and.... The end of the semester is coming up! Also, that plot bunny keeps escaping me! Grrrrrr.....bunnies.....
End
"What's it like to die?"
“What’s it like to die?” Tori asked me, laying back and pulling her blanket tighter around her shoulders.
I knelt on the floor next to her bed. I was just tall enough that my eyes were level with hers. “Which part of it?”
The darkness of the room casted the world in a comfortable warmth that was reflected easily in her eyes. Under my light, her stare glowed and any imperfections on her face were bleached away. She had been beautiful before, but now, there was an angelic perfection to her that I felt was better to suit the soul within. Her eyebrows drew together. “What do you mean, ‘which part?’”
I reached out and touched the top of her head. The heat of the summer night radiated from her, lifting a sweet smell into the air. “Well, there’s the actual dying. Then there’s being pulled away while watching the people around you suffer. Then there’s discovering what death is all about. Then there’s moving on, preparing for what’s next. Don’t ask me about that last one. I don’t know what that’s like.”
“Why not?”
“I chose not to.” I sighed and looked away. “It’s one of the many reasons I’m not looking forward to leaving you. I skipped out on what’s normal and chose to come back. It’s not held in good respect, and I have been warned that I will pay for it.”
“What is considered normal?”
“Ummm…” I hesitated, unsure if I was allowed to say. Screw it, I decided, finally. “I was supposed to have my memories opened, so that I could remember my past experiences and bring together all the lessons that I have learned throughout my existence. Something then was supposed to decide what lessons I am missing, so that I could be placed in a position to learn them.”
“Wait.” She lifted her head from her pillow and rolled over onto her stomach. Staring down at me, she asked, “Are you talking about reincarnation? Repeating lives in different life-forms until…self-actualization?”
Informing a human of what waited for them after death. I was sure that was against some rule somewhere.
“Uh huh. Sorta. I don’t really know a lot about it. Like I said, I skipped out.”
“How come? Carrie, what on earth could be so great as to skip out on that?”
I looked at her, followed the lines of her face. “You.”
I knelt on the floor next to her bed. I was just tall enough that my eyes were level with hers. “Which part of it?”
The darkness of the room casted the world in a comfortable warmth that was reflected easily in her eyes. Under my light, her stare glowed and any imperfections on her face were bleached away. She had been beautiful before, but now, there was an angelic perfection to her that I felt was better to suit the soul within. Her eyebrows drew together. “What do you mean, ‘which part?’”
I reached out and touched the top of her head. The heat of the summer night radiated from her, lifting a sweet smell into the air. “Well, there’s the actual dying. Then there’s being pulled away while watching the people around you suffer. Then there’s discovering what death is all about. Then there’s moving on, preparing for what’s next. Don’t ask me about that last one. I don’t know what that’s like.”
“Why not?”
“I chose not to.” I sighed and looked away. “It’s one of the many reasons I’m not looking forward to leaving you. I skipped out on what’s normal and chose to come back. It’s not held in good respect, and I have been warned that I will pay for it.”
“What is considered normal?”
“Ummm…” I hesitated, unsure if I was allowed to say. Screw it, I decided, finally. “I was supposed to have my memories opened, so that I could remember my past experiences and bring together all the lessons that I have learned throughout my existence. Something then was supposed to decide what lessons I am missing, so that I could be placed in a position to learn them.”
“Wait.” She lifted her head from her pillow and rolled over onto her stomach. Staring down at me, she asked, “Are you talking about reincarnation? Repeating lives in different life-forms until…self-actualization?”
Informing a human of what waited for them after death. I was sure that was against some rule somewhere.
“Uh huh. Sorta. I don’t really know a lot about it. Like I said, I skipped out.”
“How come? Carrie, what on earth could be so great as to skip out on that?”
I looked at her, followed the lines of her face. “You.”
♠ ♠ ♠
I think I'm giving up on the plot bunny for a while. If I have time later, I'll come back through and redo this story. In the meantime, I'm uploading anything I have. I have scenes up until the end....they're just not connected very well.