In the abyss of darkness

I closed my eyes and there was only darkness, I felt my consciousness float, it felt weird not feeling anything, not feeling my own body, no pain, no cold, no heat, no fear, my perception of time disappeared.

I saw a light that I believed was above me, it reminded me of when I did a deep-diving training and saw the midday sun appear over me in the gloom of the waters, "I guess I'll know my fate soon", I thought, then I started to hear a song, it felt unfamiliar and familiar at the same time.

It was a lullaby, it came from a beautiful velvety voice, then I began to feel warmth, the warmth of a hug, it was a motherly hug. I felt something harsh touching me, "Did I regain my senses!?", I felt drowsy but began to feel my own body back.

I suppose that in the end, I did not die, I must have suffered from some hallucination, maybe my brain lacked oxygen which caused it to hallucinate, "I guess I am an old weed that refuses to die", I thought for just a moment.

But it was strange, certainly, my relatives gave me many signs of affection while in the hospital, but they were not allowed to give me hugs.

My condition was already quite fragile, not to mention the abundance of viruses that had come from a certain part of the world where people liked to eat bats. Although it is probably because I am already in the last leg, "Yeah, it must be that", this is the final farewell.

In any case, this drowsiness, I think I will sleep not to wake up again, although it felt different than when I felt my conscience fade away, I can't stay awake anymore, I think it will be a long dream.

I heard that velvety voice again; it was beautiful and felt a great warmth coming from it.

I tried to open my eyes but my body did not respond; only that dazzling light could filter over me.

I felt a rough caress again, I did not understand what was happening, and only sometimes did I see the light and feel the warmth.

I heard that beautiful voice, I received a rough caress, I was hungry, my hunger was satisfied and I fell back into drowsiness.

I was trapped in that endless cycle, without knowing how much time has passed, but it must have been a long, long time, until once it was different.

I felt a warm hug again, however, it was different, it felt powerful, a song started but it was different too. It was not the velvety voice, it was a mild voice yet deep, and just like the hug, it conveyed a feeling of power.

It also sounded strange yet familiar at the same time, but little by little, the words formed in my mind, "he who rides in the tempest!", "he who will sail the storming seas!", "he who will write his fortune with fire and iron on the cloth of destiny!", suddenly, the song stopped and a silhouette against the light appeared in my sight, I thought I saw her smile, then she seemed to call someone else, and the silhouette changed to a smaller and friendlier one.

But I could also feel it emanate power, then I felt the previous familiar warmth again, the cheerful and velvety voice began to sing and I was again attacked by drowsiness.

That cycle was repeated again and again. Sometimes, I felt the small and warm silhouette, and sometimes the large and powerful one.

Sometimes I also saw them both side by side, I didn't understand what was happening. Am I finally meeting the creator? Or am I dying and this is an illusion created by my dying brain? I couldn't find the answer.

But every time I saw the silhouettes, my entire being felt comforted, I didn't understand how or why but my body gave me that feeling of safety in the presence of those silhouettes.

It felt comfortable and I didn't want to return to that abyss of darkness every time the sleepiness came back to me. "Is this purgatory?", the alternation of punishment and reward is a penance for my sins during my mortal life? I was not sure.

What I was sure of was that the silhouettes were becoming clearer and clearer. What does that mean? I couldn't even imagine it, it was as if my eyes were open and closed at the same time, but I re-affirmed my determination.

The next time I will do my best to open my eyes to see the silhouettes.

I felt that I was awakening from drowsiness, there it was again, the voice mild but powerful, however, this time I did not feel the hug.

I felt the warmth but it felt more distant, and while I thought it was happening again, I felt the rough caress, the voice started to fade again "Damn it!", I shouted mentally.

If I don't do something it will leave me alone again.

For some reason, despite feeling my body, I had no control over it "Am I under the influence of anesthetics?", "That must be it!", I thought, surely I'm in some induced coma but I can feel the presence of people near to me, "Come on eyes, open!", I was so focused on waking up that I was not paying attention to the silhouette's words.

Then I finally opened my eyes, just for a second, but enough to take a look at where I was, I could see what looked like a ceiling and a dim light, and the silhouette that was about to move away was paralyzed! "YES! I managed to get their attention", I thought triumphantly.

I tried to focus on opening my eyes again so I was not paying attention to what the silhouette was saying, which seemed to speak frantically and seemed to call someone else. "YES! YES! YES! I'm about to get out of this damn coma!".

I mentally made a triumphant pose and was finally able to open my eyes! The light blinded my sight "Ugh! I must have been in a coma for a long time for the light to hurt my eyes like that!", I thought. I slowly moved my eyes through my line of sight, looking carefully at every little detail; it was strange I thought.

Originally, I should be in a fairly well-equipped hospital, but there was no machinery that one would expect to see for a person in intensive care.

The room felt poor, it didn't even look like a room, it looked more like a tent! "Did they have to evacuate the hospital? Did the so often postponed Third World War finally happen?!" I thought, surprised by the strange environment "No, is not that, even if has happened, There is no way that such a small and remote country could be affected directly!", I said.

There were not even any military bases of any superpower in neighboring countries. "AH SURE", I mentally yelled, "Those damned! They surely started another horrifying pandemic!", I was frustrated and furious.

"That must have happened. I was surely taken out of the hospital to give rise to the numerous infected and I am under minimal care!", of course, it all made sense, how many pandemics had been started.

On one occasion even our mercenary force had to act as a repressive police force in a small country in Eastern Europe to maintain order due to the panic generated by a pandemic.

"I hope their country had been reduced to a radioactive wasteland!", I mentally cursed those. I had already scanned the left half of my line of sight, I was only missing the right half.

I could feel two glances fixed on me from the right side, then I slowly moved my eyeballs in the direction of both figures and I could see a very young man and woman, but the most striking thing was...