The spirit world

by jalpari

Noor's spirit gets sucked in from the quantum abyss into a whole different realm. There, she makes a new friend.

A/N:

The next few chapters are going to follow Noor's journey in the spirit world. This took a lot of thinking and storyboarding and research to make sure I bring the Avatar world into my story in a way that's justified and at the same time, magical! The possibilities with a place like the Spirit world are endless. This was so much fun to write!

Looking forward to your thoughts and comments!

Come with me and you will find all the answers you seek.

The whispers kept repeating as Noor travelled on the whale. Suddenly, the pod jerked up and down and as Noor leaned forward to look outside, she realized the pod was no longer on the back of the whale. Instead, she was now floating through a mysterious space, filled with debris and rocks and things that resembled asteroids and stars.

"This must be the quantum abyss", Noor gasped.

Just as suddenly as it had slid off the whale, the pod came to a halt and remained still thereon. As it hovered, the whispers turned to echoes that grew louder with every second.

Come with me and you will find all the answers you seek.

All at once, Noor felt a powerful force pulling her. Before she knew what was happening, she felt her thoughts, her emotions, and eventually her entire self being sucked out of her body. For just a fraction of a second, she turned back to look at her body falling limp before she lost all awareness and everything became a blur.

"Woah", Noor rubbed her eyes repeatedly. "Is this place real...it's so…", she looked around in wonder, "...breathtaking."

Noor felt the grass beneath her. It was softer than any grass she had ever sat on. Everything around her was like a beautiful painting. The colors were more vivid than any she had ever seen, the sky seemed bluer, the trees seemed happier, the sunlight seemed brighter.

"No bruises, thank the heavens" She stood up and checked her body.

"But where did I fall from...how did I get here", she looked all around and above her but could see nothing but clear skies and endless greenery.

After several more minutes of walking, stopping, head scratching, picking another direction and then more walking, Noor finally groaned and sat down once more.

"This is just great!" She yelled and fell back to lie on the grass.

"What are you doing, Noor", she covered her face and whispered. "What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" A gentle voice repeated.

Noor jumped up and looked around startled. She saw nothing except the same serene landscape.

"Aaand now you're hallucinating", she smacked her forehead. "Where the hell am I?"

"In the spirit world!" A gentle voice spoke again.

Noor looked up slowly and saw tiny sparkles in front of her, that eventually took the form of a small bunny like animal. Noor's eyes opened wide and she shrieked half in shock and half in amazement as the animal kept growing larger until it was almost as tall as her.

She scrambled back but stopped when she saw how timid, almost bashful, the creature was. It had long droopy ears and its gaze shifted from her face to her legs to her arms, as if scrutinizing her entire body. It glowed a soft purple, quite similar to the color she had seen in her vision a few times.

"What...who...are you?" Noor sat up on her knees and looked at it in wonder.

"Pipi", the animal replied and twitched its nose.

"Pipi?"

The creature nodded.

"But...Pipi...what are you?"

"I'm a spirit of course", Pipi tilted its head to one side and stared at the confused girl.

"A spi...spirit...hmm...uh huh…", Noor mumbled while trying to wrap her mind around the word.

"Of...of course…", she nodded and glanced at Pipi.

Then, she sighed and dropped her head. "Okay, I don't know what that is. Is it like a ghost? Are you dead? Oh my god!" Noor yelped. "Am I dead?!"

"No", Pipi giggled, "We're both alive. A spirit is...just a spirit", Pipi shrugged. "I'm just another being like you're a human being!"

"Wait...how do you know I'm a human?"

"You look like a human of course", Pipi tiled its head once more and stared at Noor as if she ought to have known that.

"So...you've seen other humans? Here?"

Pipi nodded.

"Are they still...am I still a human...or am I a spirit now?"

"Hmm...I don't know how to explain it. But I can take you to someone who can."

"Oh...alright", Noor stood up hesitantly.

She exhaled and shook her entire body in an attempt to loosen up.

Keep it together, Noor. Do not panic. Just take it one second at a time. Patience yields focus. Just follow Pipi's lead for now.

Noor looked at the smiling creature.

Yep. Just follow this strange spirit creature who formed out of thin air and is staring at you like you are the one that's strange and stupid.

"Okay, lead the way", Noor gestured at the meadow. "How long is the walk?"

"We don't need to walk", Pipi chuckled and shook its head. "I'm a dragonfly bunny, silly!"

"How can you be both? You do look like a bunny, but I don't see the dragonfly part", Noor pursed her lips.

Pipi smiled and began wiggling its ears. The wiggling turned into flapping and Noor watched in disbelief as Pipi's ears turned translucent and its body hovered a few feet off the ground.

"See...", Pipi flapped her ears in an exaggerated motion, "dragonfly! Now get on!"

Pipi returned to the ground and turned its back to Noor. Noor blinked several times, unsure of what was expected of her.

"What's wrong?" Pipi looked over its shoulder.

"Get on what? You?"

"How else will I take you there?" Pipi did the head tilt again and once again looked at Noor like she was being unbelievably dumb.

Noor exhaled and stepped forward. Pipi lowered herself and Noor climbed on warily. She held onto Pipi's back and prepared herself for take off. But little did she know, there was nothing she could have done to be ready for what was to come next.

"Oh my...what the fuckkkk….wow….this is…", Noor exclaimed as she squealed.

As Pipi rose higher and higher, Noor felt a cool wind in her face and hair. The air was light, fresh, and energizing. Everywhere she looked, there was a magnificent sight to behold. Jungles, rivers, meadows, hills, lakes, mountains.

"What is this place, Pipi!? How has my life come to this!" Noor laughed and threw her head back.

She closed her eyes and it almost felt like she was the one with wings. Like she was the one soaring into the sky. Like she was the one flying; free, untethered, and without a care in the world. After several minutes of flying, Noor leaned forward and rested her elbows on Pipi's back.

"How did you find me, Pipi?"

"I felt you enter the Spirit World and came to you."

"You felt me arrive here? How?"

"Well...a dragonfly bunny appears in front of a person when they feel a strong spiritual connection with them or are told to do so by a person we trust."

"I'm pretty sure we don't have a strong spiritual connection", Noor chuckled and gazed at the river below them.

"Not yet", Pipi replied, causing Noor to turn her attention back to the spirit.

"So who sent you to me?" Noor asked as she mulled over the spirit's words.

"You'll know soon. We're going to meet them right now!"