Phoenix

Mother?

Alicia Grant

This is how I die.

This is where I die. No Heaven. No Hell. Just emptiness.

Darkness filling in every place I look. No matter which way I run or how far I run, I'm always surrounded by darkness.

"Where am I?" I fell on my knees, and I began to weep, but no tears came.

"There's no crying here." I looked up. A woman appeared in front of me. Her silhouette was perfect outline with a gold orange light behind her. "There's no feeling here."

I didn't feel like I should fear her, but I feared this place. It was dark and soulless. It didn't feel like a place to stay forever.

I continued to look around. I looked for an exit, but there was none. Of course, there wouldn't be. I'm fucking dead. No escaping that.

"Herpa?" The woman called out in a questioning tone. I stood up and took two steps forward. I swallowed before opened my mouth.

"My name is Alicia." I answered her.

Why am I not afraid of her? I can't even see her face. She's literally covered in the darkness.

"Of course it is. He wouldn't let you keep the same name. How selfish." She appeared to shake her head. A small laugh came soon after.

"Where am I?" I discarded her previous statement. It had nothing to do with me. I don't even know this woman.

"You're in..." The woman stopped. She sighed before walking forward. The orange light never seemed to leave her side. "You're in what I like to call a pit. It's a dream state for when you're in a coma. This is where you keep meeting your end. You die over and over here." She spoke at a steady right.

I'm in a coma. Why am I not dead? How is this woman? Why the hell am I here?

She walked a little to me.

She was still not noticable. Only her shape stood out.

"Are you the owner?" I wanted to reach out and touch her, but I just couldn't. What if she was evil or something?

"There is no owner. I'm apart of your family. I've been waiting for you."

I was quiet for a second.

"Mother?" I called. The word was slipping off my tongue as if it had been waiting to be called. I swallowed again and waited for a response.

Instead, the light began to grow around her. So bright that I could see half her face.

Black veins pulsed through her as goo ran out her eyes. Is she dying? Is she fucking dying?

What the hell is this place?

"You can't stay here. It's not safe here. I'll send you back." The woman limped towards me.

As the words fell from her mouth, I noticed another black figure approaching us slowly. It was tall, but wasn't too tall. And it was afraid.

How did I know it was afraid?

I looked back out the lady.

I could see her fully now. She was dying. Slowly and painfully.

She grabbed my arm and shut her eyes.

Her hand lit up with the same orange light that was behind her, and the light around her was slowly fading.