𝟏.𝟑: Life After
𝐂assie knew something was terribly wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
What was happening? Where was she?
The air around her felt suffocating, eerily peculiar. Her head was pounding, but she couldn't feel the pain.
It was like she was witnessing her sensations through a thin glass—hers, yet strangely distant.
Afraid, she instinctively tried calling out for help, but her voice failed her. All she could manage were strained gasps and whimpers. Her fear grew with each passing moment.
Was no one going to come to her rescue?
⪻ Did anyone ever rescue you all those years, child? ⪼
A new voice whispered with a low, taunting chuckle.
She swerved in the direction it came from, only to be met with more darkness and echoing emptiness.
A wave of agitation consumed her.
What the hell is going on? Who was that just now?
Cassie circled frenziedly, desperate to uncover the truth, but what could she do in this pitch-darkness? Everywhere she looked was. . . nothing.
She was about to let out a frustrated cry when the ground abruptly shifted beneath her feet. She felt herself fall forward through a space that suddenly opened below.
The next thing she knew, she was staring up at what seemed to be a ceiling through hazy, half-lidded eyes.
A hospital? Am I in a hospital?
An incessant ringing in her ears made her want to vomit. She still couldn't make sense of what was happening, but she sensed she was in motion.
She mustered all the strength she had to turn her head to the side and winced as a jolt of pain seared through her, clouding her vision for a moment.
When she came to again, she was staring at a face she was sure she knew, though she struggled to decipher it.
Wait, was that… Winfred?
The woman, whose prim composure never wavered, was almost unrecognizable. Her dark locks were out of their usual ponytail, spilling onto her shoulders in tangled seams.
A fist-sized gash marred the side of her temple, oozing blood. The thick fluid trickled down her cheekbone, mingling with her tears and bouncing off her chin.
Her crimson-stained lips, revealing a bloodied set of teeth, seemed to be moving frantically, as if she were rushing to say something.
". . . so sorry. . . all my fault. . . wasn't paying attention. . . traffic light. . . drunk driver. . . speeding. . . accident. . . forgive me. . . please hang in there. . . don't die on me. . . Cassandra!" Winfred sobbed uncontrollably, her shaky hand gripping Cassie's for dear life.
Cassie was too out of it to understand the woman's incoherent jumble of words. Despite that, she felt an intense sorrow seeing the pathetic look on Winfred's face.
She wanted to give her hand a comforting squeeze, to tell her to stop crying so hard.
Alas, she realized her body was no longer responding to her will. Her limp fingers in Winfred's clutch were proof enough.
As her consciousness started to slip again, she gave her manager one last, longing glance before her vision dimmed entirely, and she was back in that dark, empty space.
....
Unlike before, Cassie could now grasp what was happening: she was dying.
The reality was a bitter pill to swallow, but what was crazier was the indifference she felt, even after knowing she was about to leave the life she knew behind forever.
The numbing calmness that washed over her like a passing rain was inexplicable, but she preferred not to question it. There was no point in interrogating fate.
So what happens now? I thought for sure I'd make it to heaven after living through that hell of a life. . .
Just as she thought this, a glowing white door materialized in front of her, drawing out a startled yelp. She eyed the door with suspicion, making no move to approach it.
The light it radiated brightened her immediate surroundings, but the darkness kept encroaching, as if battling the light.
⪻ Aren't you going in? ⪼
The same voice from earlier called from behind her. She didn't attempt to locate its source this time. Her eyes remained fixated on the luminous door.
Why should I? Is heaven behind that door?
The voice laughed, and Cassie could swear she had never heard anything more incomprehensible.
⪻ Why don't you see for yourself? All you have to do is open it. ⪼
Despite her skepticism, Cassie stepped closer to the door, placing her hand on the polished gold knob.
Logically, she had no cause to be afraid since this was supposed to be the afterlife. Death was the root of fear, and there was no such thing in this place.
One can't die in the afterlife, Cassie reminded herself. With that, she turned the knob and walked into the unknown.