Fading Fast

The darkness hangs around me like a thick fog, clouding my mind with a sense of calm. In the pit of my stomach though, is a knot of unease, churning like an angry river trying to wash away that calm that has settled over me. I feel like I've forgotten something and it's driving me beyond crazy, but my mind isn't lucid enough to put up resistance. As soon as I feel my thoughts surfacing they're gone before I have a chance to grab and process them. Fragments of broken images bombard my mind's eye as I continue to delve deeper for any singular train of thought. A small girl in dark violet cloak, a tall brimmed hat resting atop her head. Why is she just standing there in the middle of the street? It's so dark, surely no car would see her until it was too late. This thought makes my heart clench in unwarranted fear. Suddenly there is a bright light and I'm running for the girl. What happens after that is a haze and I am enveloped in a pitch black abyss once again. Out of the corner of my eye I see a small light no larger then that which a small candle would produce. I stare at the light intently, who was that girl? The light grows, now taking on the appearance of a large candle. I need to find the girl. I feel determination well up inside me as the candle increases to the size of a campfire.

"I will find her!" I exclaim in defiance and fight back the veil of the suffocating darkness that has shrouded itself over me. The fire intensifies, a roaring torrent of scarlet and gold, burning away the sea of colorless mist until I can no longer see past its light. I cannot tell for how long I am consumed in the blinding light before it finally fades away. I crack open my eyes and gaze at the soft orange glow only inches from my face, a chord tightening in my lungs and intertwining around my heart. As the world around me sharpens into focus I begin to recognize the object as a jack-o-lantern, its sideways grin proof enough of its insanity. Wait, sideways? The bottom of the pumpkin is attached to the wall. Furrowing my brows, I attempt to get my bearings. When did I fall down? I push myself onto my forearms and further inspect the jack-o-lantern.

Something is definitely wrong with it but I just can't put my finger on it... "Hey there!" The pumpkin exclaims joyfully. I let out a small shriek of surprise as I scurry away from it, backing myself up against a plain grey wall. "What's your name kid?"

"K-Ken," I manage to stutter out, still trying to comprehend the situation at hand, which is exceedingly difficult. According to my prior knowledge, jack-o-lanterns are not supposed to talk.

"Well Ken, that's some mighty srange hair you've got there," I blink and bring a hand to my head, pulling a lock in front of my eyes. It's a dark shade of red almost like blood. "Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Jack!"

"Real original." I mutter under my breath and turn my attention to my surroundings. Gray platfoms hover in an endless void, almost like one of those abstract mazes you see in the movies where the main character chases the bad guy though one door but he just pops out another door in the oposide direction. "Where am I?"

"This is the place between!" Jack tells me flamboyantly.

I look at him questioningly, "The place between?" Then sudden realization hits me, the girl - my sister - a car, and pain. "Am... Am I dead?" I ask shakily.

"Not yet, this is where you decide whether you want to move on or try to get back." Jack's triangular eyes narrow menicingly. "Before you make your choice though I must warn you, if you choose to go back, there is a chance you will be lost into oblivion. A ghost forced to walk the earth for the rest of eternity, only able to materialize on old hallows eve, until you lose all sense of individuality and become nothing more than a phantasm."

I swallow the lump growing in my throat. "And if I decide to move on?"

"That, Mr.Ken, is something only you can answer." He inquires.

I take a deep breath and open my lips to tell the pumpkin my answer but my mouth goes dry as a single name fills my mind. May. My only sister and living relative, what will she do without me? An image of May crying and alone in front of three graves crosses my mind and I know that there is really only one option. There was no way I am going to take the easy way out, not when it will cause the one I'm closest to pain. "I want to go back." I tell Jack, not a hint of doubt staining my tone.

Jack's grin widens into something deranged, contradicting his earlier, friendly demeanor. "Your reason?"

My eyes harden, "I refuse to be so selfish that I choose eternal peace if the result is another's misery. If I succeed then I can protect her but if fail then it won't matter, that's why I'm going back! Because May needs me and if I can't be there for her then what the hell kind of brother am I?" My voice continues to raise and by the time I'm done I see a palate of emotions play out on the jack-o-lantern's glowing face that can only be described as satisfaction.

Jack's smile warms again, "Good choice Ken, I wish you the best of luck." The world around me crashes down and screeching fills my ears.

"Ken!!" A small voice screams and I can't help but let a small smile cross my lips.