Lucky Prodigy

1: Patience

^^ James ^^

— James —

Soft light woke me up, the day after my accident. I didn't remember much about the accident, except that my bike was probably ruined.

'Ahh, I hope that other guy didn't crash or anything, trying to avoid me...' I sighed, and stretched slowly, or tried to. My arms were so heavy, and my head was refusing to move.

I frowned at the soft light, and instead reached out mentally, like my Guru had been teaching me for years.

Instantly, the surroundings became pure white, and I was able to move again. My astral body was submerged to the waist in a perfectly white liquid, with no horizon of any kind. I looked at my hands, and sighed at the Red dripping off of them. "Yeah, I suppose that makes sense... even killing for your country counts as killing..." the red drops hit the white water, and turned some of it a deep, bottomless red.

I dipped my hands into the water to cleanse them, and the dark spots spread, but no relief came. I sighed and then had a thought, drinking some of the white water by dipping my face to meet it, instead of using my hands.

It was sweet, almost like liquid honey, and A warm feeling filled me, unlike anything I'd ever known, but I knew the costs of euphoria; it was always a trap. I pulled away immediately, and then tried the red water. It was only metaphorical, so there was no issue of spreading blood borne diseases or whatever. This water tasted normal, like regular water. It was refreshing, but not euphoric. It was very realistic, unlike the white water.

As I thought so, a small island appeared a little ways in front of me, and another, behind me, rising up through the water. One of them was covered in things that made me blush a little, such as naked ladies in various lewd poses, and piles of gold and jewels, while the other was a single throne, empty and waiting, though a pit of vipers surrounded it.

More appeared, all full of various earthly desires, but I shook my head, and wandered away from them, though I glanced back a few times at the island covered in women and shiny things... that one was tempting.

When I left the ring of Islands, the water began to take on a pinkish tint, as if it had been diluted a bit with the blood coming off my hands. Walking was too long, so I decided to swim a bit. I'd always loved swimming, it was a calming, peaceful thing, one I was quite good at.

As soon as my face broke the water, I nearly drowned from breathing in the white water, as I screamed at the thousands of vicious-looking creatures hiding in the white water, trying to get close.

Instead of running to one of the islands, though, I shoved my hands into the water, moving them around, and turned all the water around me Red. When I hesitantly looked in the water again, I saw the beasts were circling, but avoiding the path of red I'd left behind me.

I nodded and stood up, leaving my hands in the water, and walked off in a random direction.

I wandered for what felt like years, or even decades, but I wasn't worried. I didn't get tired, and the black water could sustain me rather well, it seemed. It was peaceful, walking calmly with almost no sensation. Over the years, the water level lowered, and more and more islands appeared, but I avoided them, as they were all covered in various things I didn't really care for, except the few that made me blush.

Sometimes I would watch those islands, and it did make me feel guilty, at first, like some kind of peeping tom, but they were so very happy to oblige my wandering gaze. Then I would continue to walk, and they would pout a bit, but go about their lascivious business.

Other islands were simply confusing; one where a man in fantasy armor constantly fought a dragon, who was just protecting his cave, and I had rooted for the dragon until he won, and continued on. Another, were a woman with long, pointed ears was shooting arrows at a target with perfect accuracy, seemingly without end.