DIE TO LIVE

Chapter 1: A Curious Mind

'The main concept of life is to give and take I belive everyone knows

Just like we are given with a beautiful life and this life is taken from us in form of death

But what happens after death'

---

Chapter 1: A Curious Mind

The main concept of life is to give and take; I believe everyone knows that. Just like we are given a beautiful life, that same life is eventually taken from us in the form of death. But what happens after death?

Beth sighed, leaning back in her chair. She had been staring at the blank screen for an hour, the blinking cursor mocking her from the laptop. Her thesis on life and death was supposed to be her big breakthrough, the project that would cement her future in philosophy. But the subject of death – once thrilling, mysterious, and enticingly complex – was now an endless rabbit hole with no answers.

Beth ran her fingers through her hair, frustrated. "What am I even doing here?" she muttered. "How do you write about something no one has ever actually seen?"

Her younger brother, Sam, passed by her door, poking his head in. "You talking to yourself again, Beth?"

She gave him a half-hearted glare. "Mind your own business, Sam."

"Touchy," he smirked, backing away. "Don't stay in your dark hole forever. Mom’s making tea if you want some."

Beth rolled her eyes. Maybe a walk would do her good. She stood up, stretched, and closed her laptop. Her room was cluttered with books and notes, all on the mysteries of life, death, and what lay beyond. But the more she read, the less she felt she actually knew.

She found her mom in the kitchen, humming softly while pouring tea. "You alright, hon?" her mom asked, noticing the tension in Beth's shoulders.

"Just... this thesis," Beth said, sighing. "Feels like I'm trying to describe something I can’t even touch or see."

Her mom nodded. "Well, sometimes taking a step back can help you see things a bit clearer. Why don’t you go out for some fresh air?"

Beth thought about it and nodded. "Maybe you're right. I'll be back soon."

She grabbed her coat and headed out, the cool evening air hitting her face as she stepped onto the quiet street. She walked slowly, her thoughts swirling. The concept of death fascinated her, yet it was frustratingly elusive. Every philosopher and writer had their theories, but none had answers. And the irony of it all was maddening; here she was, trying to write about something that, by nature, was unknowable to the living.

As she walked, she muttered to herself, almost as if she could coax the answers out. "What really happens after we die? Is it just… nothing? Or is there something more? Is it like… falling asleep and never waking up?"

She kicked a loose stone on the sidewalk, watching it skitter down the road. Lost in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice the hum of an engine growing louder. Beth looked up, blinking against the glare of headlights that seemed to appear from nowhere.

In a flash, her life froze in that brief moment. She could barely make out the shape of the truck bearing down on her.

---

Everything slowed. Beth heard herself gasp, but her feet refused to move. All the research, all the hours spent pondering the mysteries of life and death, and now, in a cruel twist of fate, she was face-to-face with death itself.

Her last thought, absurdly, was: So this is what it’s like.

There was a screech, a blinding impact, and then – silence.

---

Beth felt… weightless. She blinked, expecting darkness, but there was only a soft, misty light around her. She looked down at her hands, surprised to find herself whole, yet somehow translucent. She touched her chest, feeling nothing solid beneath her fingers. She was… she didn’t know what she was.

"Is this… am I… dead?" she whispered, her own voice echoing oddly in the stillness.

A soft laugh startled her. She turned, finding herself face-to-face with a woman dressed in a pale gown, her features shadowed but kind. "Well, that’s a question you’ll have to figure out yourself," the woman said.

Beth stared at her, bewildered. "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" The woman tilted her head. "I suppose you could call me a… guide. An in-between, if you will. You’re in the place between life and death, Beth. Welcome to the in-between."

Beth’s mind raced, though she felt strangely calm. "So… this is what happens after?"

"After?" The woman laughed again, a soft, musical sound. "No, this isn’t after. This is… more of a before. You wanted to know what comes next, didn’t you?"

Beth nodded, still in shock but strangely comforted by the woman’s gentle presence. "Yes. My whole life, I’ve been… obsessed, I guess you’d say. I needed to know what happens when we die."

The woman smiled, her face softening. "Perhaps now, you will find your answer."

Beth opened her mouth to ask more, but the light around her began to fade, and she felt herself pulled backward, away from the woman, from the strange calm of the mist. She reached out, wanting to hold onto something, but there was only emptiness. And then –

---

Beth jolted awake, gasping. She was lying on the cold, hard street, surrounded by flashing lights and muffled voices.

"Ma'am, can you hear me?" A paramedic was leaning over her, his face coming into focus.

Beth blinked, her mind swirling, struggling to understand. She was… alive? She could feel her heart beating, her lungs drawing in air, the cold pavement beneath her back. Her mom’s face appeared in her line of sight, her eyes wide with fear.

"Beth! Beth, can you hear me?"

Beth tried to speak, her voice barely a whisper. "I… I saw… something."

Her mom squeezed her hand tightly. "You’re okay. You're going to be okay."

As they loaded her into the ambulance, Beth’s mind raced. She didn’t have the answers yet – but she had seen something. And she knew that whatever lay beyond life was just as mysterious and profound as she’d always believed.