The girl had woken standing up...with her eyes open.
It was a strange sensation, as if she'd been sleepwalking and had forgotten to go back to bed. The strange thing was-she didn't even remember going to sleep. Had she fainted, then? Had she been walking for so long she forgot where she was going? But that couldn't be true, because the way she woke up, she hadn't been walking. She'd been standing, as if she just materialized out of thin air.
A breeze blew into the girl, but she couldn't tell if it was warm or cold. The sun shone directly overhead, bigger and brighter than she'd ever seen it. In every direction to the end of the horizon was a cloudless blue sky. Sunspots lingered in her eyes, blurring her vision. She took a step, then another, and another. She only had walked a few paces before her eyesight returned to normal. She looked around.
She had no idea where she was.
If she'd woken up standing, how could she be here, in the middle of a road seemingly leading to nowhere? She blinked a few more times, clearing the remaining sunspots. She appeared to be in a countryside, and there was no sign of life. There was only fields of fresh grass along either side of her. Trees, larger than she'd ever seen them, dotted the landscape.
She frowned, a feeling of panic growing in her chest. Where was she? Where was she going? Where had everyone gone?
Who was "everyone"? She felt a deep sense of community and love when she heard that word, but she had no recollection from it. She thought hard. She willed the answer to come to her, but nothing did. No memories came. In fact, she didn't remember anything before arriving here. She didn't remember anything from her childhood. She didn't remember celebrating holidays or going on vacations. She didn't remember having a mother or a father, or if she'd ever had a sibling. She didn't remember having any friends. She didn't remember having her first kiss. She didn't remember having sleepovers, full of pillow fights and popcorn. She didn't remember the simple things like dancing in the rain or eating ice cream. She didn't even remember having fun. She didn't remember doing anything a girl her age would do. Not one memory.
Tears pricked in the corners of her eyes as she realized one most apparent thing: she didn't know her name.
"My...my...name..." she spoke aloud, her voice coming out dry and hoarse as if she hadn't spoken in a long time. It sounded pathetic. Seriously, when was the last time she drank water? She stood there for three seconds or three months, but in the end, any previous thoughts she'd had would not come back to her.
The girl reached up and tugged at the tight bun in the back of her head until it came loose. She picked up a curl of hair and brought it to her face. It was the color of flames. Even something as simple as the color of hair was something her mind failed to remember.
She walked on and on, singing a song she had never heard the words to. As she went, she stared at the ugly gray flats that matched the plain gray dress she wore. She wondered if it was her idea to wear those or if someone made her do it. She frowned at the thought of choosing this boring outfit. She must've had a bad sense of style.
That was when she heard the scream. A child's screaming. It echoed across the plains.
She jumped and looked up, upalled to see a very small neighborhood had appeared before her. It was desolate, with a few trees and even fewer blades of grass. Ahead of her, blocking the middle of the road was a giant tree with branches that stretched wide across the sky.
In the tree, a young boy who couldn't have been more than a child was causing all the screaming. He sat at the highest branch, hugging the trunk for dear life. Oh, the girl realized. He was afraid of heights.
"Father...father!" the boy called. His cries grew louder, but nobody came.
The girl wondered if he'd recognize her. He could've been her cousin or brother for all she knew.
She ran to the trees edge and hopped to the first branch. "Don't worry, I'll get you down!"
She climbed up the tree as if she'd done this many times before. It felt natural, easy almost, to her.
"I'm coming!" she shouted up the tree.
If the boy heard her, he didn't say anything. He kept screaming and crying for his father, looking terrified.
She hoisted herself up to the highest branch, her arms shaking only slightly. She steadied herself against the trunk and looked over at the boy. His shirt, gray like hers, was torn and caught on a branch. As soon as the girl started to untangle him, the child jumped in terror and let loose a scream that nearly broke her eardrums.
"Goat!" he wailed. "Help!"
At least that's what it sounded like.
The girl bent down and put her hands on his shoulders to soothe him. "Shh. You're okay! I'm here to help."
The boy stood frozen in fear, wrapping his arms around the tree even tighter. She held her hand out to him. "Take my hand. I'll carry you down."
When he didn't respond, the girl grabbed his arm and pried him from the trunk. She expertly wrapped one arm around his waist as she scaled down the tree. The boy never stopped crying, yelling for his father and goats.
The girl grunted when they made a slightly hard landing on the dirt. She rubbed her sore muscles.
"Are you okay?" she called to the boy.
But when she looked up, he was running towards a little gray shack, where his father stood. The girl felt a sing of pain looking at the boy's father. There never was a time when she had positive feelings towards parents. She couldn't tell if that was her opinion or from memories.
She rolled her eyes and picked herself up. She waved to the family to get their attention, but just like the boy, they completely ignored her. "Wow. No "'thank you?'"
She huffed and kicked a large pebble into a nearby puddle. It made a big splash and got the ends of her long dress wet. "Yuck."
The girl grunted again. As she shook water off her dress, she examined the puddle. It was the only sign of water she'd seen, although it was far too muddy to drink. Looking closer at it, she could see the blue sky above and the sun shining.
She frowned as she stood right over it. There was something wrong. Her heart filled with dread as she realized two things.
1. It was a perfectly sunny day, yet she cast no shadow.
2. Water was supposed to catch reflections, right? She could see everything in it: the sky, the birds flying overhead, and the tree that she climbed.
But there was one reflection she couldn't see: her own.
Not goat, she thought.
Ghost.
She thought she could not have felt more lost. She was wrong.
The world loomed before her, bewildering in its simple, utter vastness. The overcast skies made the plains feel more bleak and dreary. Every once in a while, she passed a small gray shack, hidden behind a thick fog. There was only one thing to do: walk forward and hope for something, anything, that would give her purpose for being here.
How had she died? Why was she here?
She supposed it only made sense once she thought about it; a place like this wasn't real. How could it be?
All right, the girl told herself as she took step after step. Breathe. Focus. One thing at a time. She'd been repeating that to herself since…well, as long as she remembered.
Through the fog, a gateway appeared. It didn't look like it was particularly leading to anything, but it was going somewhere. Cautiously, she entered, eyes straining to see the pathway that had just appeared in front of her. As she walked on, she began to notice the world was a little more lively and colorful than before. Trees as tall as skyscrapers lined up on the sides of the pathway. The path began getting more detailed, turning from a faded gray to a pearly white. The fog too began fading away, until visible blue skies could be seen. She felt a warm brush of air tousle her hair.
Abruptly, the pathway ended and grass, greener than she'd ever seen, formed at her feet. There was now a field, with flowers and thousands of trees dotting everywhere. She felt her feet leave the ground. She was running.
A welcoming breeze blew into her as she ran, the scent of it taking her worries away. Every color stood out to her; from the deep, forestry greens of plants to the blues of the sky and sea. To the left was a calm sea with a strand of beach running along it. Far off in the distance was a jungle, vast and loud. Water fountains seemed to emerge from the earth as she approached her destination, wherever this was. She felt a desire well up inside her. She needed to go home, and this place was surely that.
All at once, an enormous mansion appeared in the middle of all the commotion. Walking along the grass were dozens of people, all pointing to each other, pointing at her.
She stopped, gawking stupidly at the beauty of this whole place. This was, without a doubt, much better than the gray countryside she left behind.
A man, tall and thin, began walking towards her. He wore a robe that went down to his feet, doused in bright colors and patterns. He had a shock of white hair on his head, yet somehow looked ageless for an old man. As he neared, the girl could see he was smiling. She smiled back.
"Meghan," he uttered, and she felt as though a strong wind had blown into her. Every single memory from her past life came to her. "Welcome to Artime. How does it feel to be-"
"Eliminated?" she finished.
Mr. Today laughed. "Home."
Meghan breathed in the fresh scent of grass and dirt, then peaked over his shoulder to see everyone watching her. She chuckled breathlessly. She felt more alive than she had since she came to Artime. Maybe ever. "It feels like freedom."
"It certainly does, Ms. Ranger."
She scanned his face for any troubled emotions. "Do you miss it?"
The old man looked down. "Not a single day goes by that I don't. But this is the real Artime. It might not have the same friends as the world of living did, but our home now lives on forever, always here to welcome the Artimeans back."
"It seems ten times more beautiful than it ever was," said Meghan softly. Yes, she missed her friends. She didn't nearly get enough time with them. But now it was time to wait.
"It truly is," the Mage agreed. "Now, lets go inside. I'll introduce you to the others."
They climbed up the lawn and were greeted on all sides by people Meghan had never met. Had all of them died in battle?
"Hello, hello," a woman said as she followed Mr. Today through the front door.
Meghan was too busy staring to respond. The inside was bigger, and ten times grander than it used to be. The wide marble staircase was exactly the same, branching off into two stairways before connecting to a balcony. The only thing that made the mansion seem empty was the lack of statues.
As they entered the lounge, Mr. Today clapped his hands to silence the crowd of people who'd followed them in. Really, there weren't that many as Meghan thought there were. At least fifty or so.
"Everyone, this is Meghan Ranger," he said. "Meghan, everyone."
"Hi."
"Your hair is a stunning color," an older woman wearing huge black glasses purred.
"It is!" said a young boy.
"We are all friends to Artime," one of the men said. "And we've known our Mage since forever."
"Meghan Ranger? You're a friend of my daughter's?" spoke up a woman with dark hair and blue eyes. Instantly, Meghan recognized her as Lani's mother.
She smiled. "Yes. She misses you."
"I hope we could watch over Lani sometime," Ms. Haluki said.
Meghan turned to Mr. Today. "What does she mean 'watch over'?"
There was a glint in his eyes. "I will show you. Follow me, if you may."
"Okay. Goodbye, everyone!"
"Goodbye," they all chorused back.
She followed him to the tubes, where he punched in her name into a keyboard instead of pressing a certain number. Instantly, the scene changed. She took a deep breath, then stepped inside. She was back in her own room, like nothing had shifted. Except it had.
Mr. Today led her over to her desk, where a strange object sat. It looked like a small round jar, except there was no opening on the top. Mist floated inside the jar and bumped against the walls, as if trying to escape.
"This is called a Looking Glass. Say a name or a place, and you can watch anything going on in the land of living. If you need your friends or brother, you can watch them through here anytime."
"Wow. Thank you, Mr. Today, " she breathed, feeling relieved she wouldn't have to be truly separated from the people she knew and loved.
"Of course," the old man beamed. "Get settled in and enjoy yourself. If you have questions, just come to me."
He started back towards the tube. Meghan blinked, looking up from her desk. "Wait! What do you think would've happened if you hadn't gone to Quill that day?"
He turned, brushing at hand on his chin. "There is no sense asking the "what if's". What matters is the present, our time here. I am very proud of Alex for stepping up, becoming who he is meant to be. Things are always meant to change. We can't control what happens."
She stared at him, realizing just how much she missed the Mage's quirky attitude and constant words of wisdom. "Alex would've needed to hear that."
"He's growing into a strong leader," said Mr. Today, smiling. "He doesn't need to hear anything until he has come here. I hope it would be a very, very long time from now."
"Yes," Meghan agreed, waving goodbye to him before he vanished through the tube.
She took a look around her room, all at once feeling incredibly peaceful. There wasn't a thing she regretted. Just because she had died didn't mean she was going to be unhappy. The day that her loved ones would join her felt light years away, but right in this moment she was back in Artime and it was so beautiful here that it hurt. She would be alright, and she hoped her friends would be too.
"Alex Stowe," she spoke into the Looking Glass. It was time to start.