A Wolf's Heart

Chapter 19

A/N: Just wanted to inform y'all about two things. First, the numbers in parentheses reference the authors and works the quotes are coming from. They can be found at the end of the chapter because I didn't want to detract from the reading experience. Second, this chapter takes place in two realms. The In-between of Life and Death, and the mortal realm (I'm calling it that because I can't come up with anything else). An infinity symbol separates the two. Third, the extra spacing between several paragraphs is just to indicate a time jump. Enjoy!

Dani was floating in a void, yet; she felt no fear. Instead, she felt calm and peaceful. Dani felt free. Free of the pain and heartache that had plagued her for a lifetime. Free of responsibility and the worry that accompanied it. And she relished it, content to let it continue as she floated in the sea of nothing.

It was...tranquil.

"Tranquil," Dani snorted to herself. "That's the best I can do? No imaginative prose? Or flowery words? Ms. Braum and Ms. Thrussell would be so disappointed in me."

"Dammit, Jim! I'm an engineer, not a poet," Dani snorted again, amused by her own mind.

"A rose by any other name"(1)

"Two roads diverged...I took the one less traveled"(2)

"A real scientist solves problems, not wails that they are unsolvable."(3)

"One man's 'magic' is another man's engineering."(4)

"All your pain is just a hero forming"(5)

"Think you mirror image/But you looking like a fun house"(6)

"You are human and mortal; we are the sum of our weak moments and our strong."(7)

"God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers."(8)

Dani stopped short, a pang of sadness hitting her, "Mom...."

Berating herself, she muttered, "Why can't I just let things be? Everything was great. Peaceful. But my stupid ass brain can't turn itself off. And now I miss my mom. Perfect. Just fucking perfect."

Unbeknownst to Dani, the void had transformed as she mused in her head. Above her now lay a field of stars, and she was cushioned by sweet-smelling grass. But a twinkling above managed to divert her attention, and she let out a soft gasp at the magnificent view given to her.

But once again, her mind could not take in the beauty without thoughts interrupting her. Dani's eyes sought and found Polaris, the North Star, and she could not help but wonder if people would still be around when its light finally faded from Earth's view. If a new star would emerge to guide them or if people would be left to flounder, lost under a fresh blanket of stars. And if, as stars faded, taking the old constellations and stories with them, new ones would emerge and, with them, new shapes and tales.

As Dani looked up, basking and thinking of the night sky, the pang returned as she realized her mother would have loved the view. The chemist in her naming the gases and reactions that gave the stars their color. Even as the mother relished and treasured the time spent together.

Bummed now, Dani sat up and looked around, confused about where she was or how she even got there. She racked her brain for any clue, and that's when it hit her. Her nerves turning to fire as her body seized, and the worst pain ever imaginable. Then nothing. She died. Dani was dead.

"Fuck," Dani exhaled, pulling her knees to her chest and hiding her head. "Goddammit."

The sadness she felt from missing her mother turned to anger, feeling cheated of a life that was just beginning. Cursing whoever did this to her because Dani sure as hell knew her death wasn't her fault. She had meticulously ensured her safety, leaving the wristband contraption removed from everything so it wouldn't accidentally harm her or the systems. Except....