Beyond the Light

3. The One where the Universe is Much Bigger than I Had Thought

       

The first thing I saw was light. It was everywhere, filled every corner of my view and it felt like some of it had found its way into my body.
My limbs felt warm and heavy, my hands tingled slightly. It was over as soon as it had started, leaving me shivering.
It was only when my eyes slowly adapted to the sudden darkness that I realized I wasn't on my glider anymore. On second thought, I didn't exactly know where I was instead, though. It was like nothing I had ever seen.

If our side of the universe looked like soft, black velvet,this was satin. It wasn't just black; it was also dark blue, rich turquoise, dusky pink, sea green and many other shades of colors that I couldn't even begin to name.
I was bathed in a colorful ocean, the beauty swirling all around me. And really it was all around me.
My brain needed much longer than my eyes to process that there were no walls.
It was just me, dropped into the middle of this strange suspension where I was floating on nothingness.

I opened my mouth, to say something or to laugh or maybe even just to stare openmouthed at this... whatever it was. But then my brain finally caught up with me.
Oxygen. Air, I needed to breathe!
I would die, in a manner of minutes. My hands rose to my throat on their own accord, ready to claw at the skin if it would just let air meet my lungs. Already, I began to feel light headed.

"Breathe."

The soft voice cut through my thoughts, through the fog and my lungs obeyed. Clean, fresh air travelled through me.

"Again."

The air was thicker than what I was used to, but apparently, my body didn't mind so much. It took me three more deep breaths to finally turn my head and look at the being. His- Its? Their? Their face was calm, eyes bright.

"Are you alright?"

Frantically, I started looking for something that was familiar, something right. But there was nothing. There weren't even stars in this strange place.

"How... How is this possible," I croaked.

"What are you referring to?"

All of it?

It was so strange to hear their voice without seeing them move their mouth!

I decided on the most pressing question.

"The air, how can I breathe? We're in space."

The observation sounded stupid to my own ears, and they must have thought so too, because a smile tugged on their lips.

"I don't know."

I hadn't expected that.

"What? How do you not know? How do you breathe here?"

They cocked their head to the side and the voice was quiet for a while. Then:

"I don't."

"You don't what, breathe?"

They shook their head, blonde strands falling over their forehead.

"No, I don't. Not like that. But you need to, so you do."

I laughed.

"But that's not how it works, is it?"

"Isn't it, though?"

If I didn't know better, the voice sounded smug. I studied the androgynous features, but they betrayed nothing. Especially not with the hair shielding their eyes.
I  still tried to wrap my head around all of this, when their voice added:

"It will be alright. It will take care of you, it always does."

"What does?"

They looked surprised.