Am I Dreaming?

2: Life

Everything is white. I sit up and gasp. I'm in a padded bed with a strap on my arm. I'm wearing a slim white dress and my hair falls perfectly against my back. The last thing I remember was blackness. And now I'm standing in total light. In rows of about a hundred, I see more people laying down, fast asleep like children.

"Welcome," a voice says behind me. I turn to a woman in a blue suit with a skirt. Her hair is pulled back tightly in a bun. "01120, that's you." I look at the band around my arm. The numbers shine in faint grey print.

"I suppose it is," I say cautiously. "Am I in a hospital?" the woman laughed like I made a joke.

"Oh, my dear, you seem to be confused. There are no hospitals, because none ever fall I'll here." She explains.

"Where are we?" I ask.

"You're awake," she said. "Welcome back to your True Life."

"What?" I ask. "Am I dead?"

"No, my dear," she seems to think that's what I want to be called. "Your Life was but a dream. This is your True Life. You were born here, and then put to sleep so your body could build up an immune system to anything we could find. Including, in your case, brain damage. That was the last thing we tested you with. That was what your mind projected as your way of Leaving. But, now that you're awake, you are healthy and will never have to worry about anything."

"I'm confused," I say.

"Well, the LIGHT should have explained," she hums. "You did go into the LIGHT, right?"

"No," I admit, looking at the people around me. The boy in the bed next to mine looks familiar, but I don't know why. "Everything just went dark. I thought you only saw the light when you died."

"There's no death here," she says. "That's what the dreams are for. Those who Leave young are the ones that wake up healthy. Those who Leave because they aged to the point where their bodies could not live anymore, sadly, never woke up. So they never got to get to their True Life. You are one of the lucky few to Leave so early."

"But," I start, "what about my family? My boyfriend? School? What about any of that?"

"You..." she stutters. "You remember your Life? You never saw the LIGHT?" I shake my head. She looks panicked.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"013201," she says the number smoothly. "Come with me." We walk quickly by more beds toward a large door. She opens them and on the others side is sunlight and an endless green field filled with people dressed in white.

"Welcome to your Life," the woman, who I'm going to call Blue. I look at the fields one more time before I feel a sudden tug in my chest and I fade away from the scene.