Snippet #1216326

Annette

Finishing three depositions in one day was a lot, even for me. After dropping Mason off at school, the new curtains with all their brilliant yellow hew, couldn't brighten or warm the room. It wasn't healthy...my obsession with my son. I've heard it said that a mother's love is a bond that even the most brilliant scientists can't explain, but there was more than just love for my son that consumed me. He was my whole world. My sun, moon, and stars. All that was bright and beautiful existed in Mason's smile. Even thinking about him now brought a soft smile to my face. Such an angelic creature born of my own mistake. How did I get so lucky?

I yawned as I stood from my desk. Another hour and I'd need to catch the bus in order to arrive on time to meet Mason when school let out. Time enough for a quick nap. I'd certainly need it before my shift at Bilko's. Speaking of which I'd need to make sure to leave some cash for Becky, the girl who live down the hall who watches...Mason....on...the...weekend....

It was warm. Warm like I hadn't felt in a long time. Warm like the summer breeze on the beaches in the Caribbean. My parents ad I had vacationed there was I was ten. It had been the best summer of my youth. Running up and down the shores in my bare feet, feeling the white sand squish between my toes. The tropical scents were overwhelming.

So...why did I smell them now?

Opening my eyes I was startled to see a blue sky above my head. Sitting up abruptly, I heard my own gasp as I found myself sitting, not on the ugly tweed couch in my living room, but on the same white-shore in the Caribbean. But...no...not the same. The sand was almost gold and the water was nearly green. I'd have though it a dream had it not felt so overwhelmingly real.

I stood on shaky legs. My feet were bare and instead of my jeans and sweater I was wearing a white satin dress. My arms were bare exposing my skin to more of that glorious warm breeze. My first step toward the water was hesitant, but the second and third were a more rapid pace. How I longed to touch the water. It looked crisp and wonderful and when I reached it I found it more wonderful than I imagined.

At first touch it was cold, but when the second wave touched my skin it was smooth and warm. I laughed. I couldn’t help it. It was as though, from the moment my eyes opened, a bubble had begun to form in my chest and as I opened my mouth out came a high pitched laughter. The first time I’d laughed sincerely for a long time.

A childlike energy overcame me and I found myself running along the shoreline allowing the water to splash against me as the rolling waves crested the beach. The air was so rich and smooth in my lungs I swallowed it hungrily, allowing it to fill me completely. When I couldn’t run any longer, I turned my back to the water and began climbing the sandy hill. When I reached the peak, I saw there was a dense tree line bordering the small cove I had awoken on. The trees were tall and the leaves were broad. Some sort of tropical, but I couldn’t place them. It was then, as I took my first step onto the grassy floor of the Eden that I began to think.


Where was I? How had I gotten here? My last memory was laying down on the couch at home and falling asleep. But…this wasn’t a dream, was it?

I picked a flower from a nearby bush. It was a ruby red and nearly glowed the color was so rich. I smelled it. A fragrance I had never smelled, but one so lovely I closed my eyes to savor it a moment longer. No. This couldn’t be a dream! But that meant only one thing. I must have died.

I must be dead.