The air feels heavy. It's cold and damp. It suffocates my heart. It clings tightly around me as I trudge on through the falling snow and screaming winds.
It's painful.
All I see is a murky gray abyss surrounding me devoid of any life, save for myself. Every step I take ripples the ground beneath me. And yet, no noise. Silence.
It's painful.
Time, as if to mock me, slowed and turned into a snickering snail. Each second became a minute, then an hour, later a day. It all seemed like nothing was happening, absolutely nothing at all.
It's painful.
I stopped and looked behind me. I gazed into the looming black hole. It moved sluggishly, yet another thing that mocks me. It knows it will eventually get me. I know it too.
It's painful.
In that black hole, I saw what I wish I couldn't.
My wife.
My hard-working, lovable wife. Her red hair shone brightly and was paired with her beautiful smile.
It's painful.
I couldn't hold it back anymore. Tears streamed from my face, and I fell to my knees. I scrunched up and sobbed into my legs. The silence was broken with my cries of agony.
It's painful.
I could hear her walking over to me, and before I could respond, she rubbed my head and lent out her hand. I looked up to see her, still smiling.
It's painful.
I grabbed her hand and stood up. She pulled me in closer to her and embraced me tightly. She leaned in, her hair softly brushing my face, and whispered into my ears.
It... It wasn't painful.
Her gentle voice cleared out the grayness of the realm. Her words brought back the color and its vividness. The air cleared- my lungs relaxed and my heart at ease.
It's no longer painful.
A worn stone path formed beneath me, away from where my wife stood. She gave a little shove as I stumbled a little onto the stone path. She bid me farewell, a tear streaking from her eyes.
In my hands, I could now feel a heart-shaped locket which held a picture of her.
I wept and continued on the path till I found myself back in my own world...
...where life had always been.
