What are these things?
I reached out to pluck the nearest tendril, itching to see if it felt as silky as they looked. My fingers grazed it, and it vibrated like a guitar string. Suddenly, a memory of my Dad and me skiing in junior high played out before my eyes, as vibrant as a film.
“What is this?” I whispered, watching in awe.
The vibrations slowed, and the moment the thread stilled, the memory halted, as if someone had turned off the T.V.
Intrigued, I touched another thread, this one further away, and watched as a younger version of my mom and dad zoomed around a roller rink holding hands.
The realization as to what these strands were crashed over me, and I smiled.
Time. Threads of time surrounded me. And here, in this strange, bright, welcoming place, it seemed I could touch time, bend it, and—I stuck out my tongue, savoring the salty sweetness of the air—even taste it.
The white light that I’d seen when I first entered the room pulsed, recapturing my attention and giving me another option. I could walk right past time, toward the lovely light that beckoned me.
After a year of fear and toil, the light was too beautiful to ignore. I began to walk toward it.
“Odie! Odie! Come back!” a familiar voice called out.
I stopped where I stood. I recognized the importance of the voice, but couldn’t quite place it. It seemed like the person lived in a different plane of existence.
I looked around and immediately, the voice lessened because I was here. Glorious, lovelyhere.
I took another step forward, down the white tunnel, embracing wherever the beauty would take me. Everything was light and smelled wonderful and—
Something gripped my shoulder, and I jerked backward with a gasp. It felt like fingers had caught on my shirt. I wriggled and tried to smack them away, but instead of leaving, the fingers pulled me back, away from the beautiful light.
A cry of desperation left my throat as the light got smaller. I grasped for it as whatever had attached to me pulled me away from all that was beautiful and good.
“Odie, sweets. Come back.”
“Please, Odie, please!” A sob choked up someone’s throat. “I need you, girl!”
“Come on, Odie. You got this.”
My heart gave a single hard thump. Those voices. I recognized them now. With every inch the fingers pulled me backward, their faces solidified in my mind. The love in their voices became more real.
Alex.
Eva.
Hunter.
Where were they? I glanced around. The shine of the room had dulled. Just a second ago, this place had seemed so beautiful—but without them, it was nothing.
“I have her! Alex, keep working!” Another voice, one I couldn’t recognize as clearly, spoke.
“I’m trying!” Alex said, his tone frantic. “Her pulse is weak, but still there.”
“I’ll pull her back harder,” the voice without a name said.
Another hard tug yanked me backward. This time when it touched me, the bones in the fingers and the warmth of a hand were discernible.
I gasped as everything became clear. Amethyst—that’s who the fourth voice was. She was trying to reach me.
Trying to pull me back from . . .
Holy universe. I’m dead.
