Jerking awake, I look around frantically to get my bearings. Around me was nothing but the void. No darkness, no light. Just the existence of nothing was very discombobulating since I keenly felt the absence of something. Looking down, I realize I am missing a body if my see-through physique is anything to go by. After observing the literal nothingness around me, I try to remember how I got here. I was eerily calm, and the last thing I remember was driving back home on the team bus we rented for the state championship. Contemplating what may have happened, I was disturbed by a light piercing through. Following its direction, I was graced with the visage of the most stunning woman I have ever seen. Her beauty was otherwordly, and my mind felt unease at gazing upon her. Eventually, my unease grew, so I had to look away. The soft tingling of bells reached my ears, and the pleasant noise almost lolled me into sleep until I realized it was the being giggling.
"You are one of my favorite humans, Marcus Jones."
I turned my attention to her dress because I could not see her face. I scrutinized the implication of her words. One, she was not human. Two, he was not her only favorite, which disturbed him for some reason.
"If I may be rude, my lady, but who are you, and where am I?"
Raising her sleeve, she covered the lower half of her face, which covered up a smile of amusement.
" You are in The Space Between. Where you come from is the Mortal Realm, and before you is the Immortal Afterlife. It seems you have lost your way on the journey and have been separated from the River of Life."
Honestly, my first thought was how melodious her voice was, but the idea after that was for my mother. For some strange reason, I was okay with being dead.
"My mother? Will she be okay? She has no one left if I am gone.."
"Your mother? Let's see."
With a wave of her raised arm, a shimmering structure of light manifested, which wavered until finally presenting an image of my mother. She was crying over my casket at what appeared to be a funeral. My casket was next to 13 others, with pictures placed in front of each one. With a sinking feeling in my gut, I realized that we had all died somehow. Everyone that was on that bus was dead. The image then sped up, showing scenes of my mother grieving, then going to church, then teaching. The cycle continued until she met an older man. She dated him for over a decade until they finally got married, and she passed away in her sleep at the age of 82. With her passing, the light structure in front of me dissipated, and I was satisfied. Happy for her, I wiped the slight wetness at the corner of my eyes before smiling at the woman who, at some point, sat across from me.
"Thank you for that. I feel at peace now and am thankful for your time; a being like you probably has more important things you could be doing."
"I have been doing this for so long that I have lost count. My name is Samsara, the goddess of reincarnation."
Surprised and colored my face, I had heard of Samsara, but I thought it was a wheel in some Indian culture I was unfamiliar with.
"What's it like being a Goddess? I am trying to picture immortality, but it seems boring after a while."
Samsara raised her sleeve to cover her face again while looking at me with a sparkle in her eye.
"Boredom. Yes, this is a common thing amongst immortals. I am lucky to be able to be part of the cycle of creation, so I get to meet interesting humans such as yourself and live through their stories vicariously. For others, though, I know some who have been driven to suicide because of it. My uncle was like this, and I miss him very much. Unfortunately, another problem with living for a long time is that your memory fades. Or more like the things are pushed to the back of your mind until they fade into obscurity. I don't remember my uncle's name anymore and would have probably forgotten I had one if my father didn't talk about him every Solstice."
Hearing Samsara's words, I am saddened for her.
"What a difficult life to live; I am sorry you must suffer like that."
If my eyes aren't betraying me, Samsara looked stunned for a second before a sleeve again covered her face, and the twinkle in her eye was back with more intensity.