"Varia, it'll be okay. We'll figure it out." Javon assured, resting his hand on my back.

I said nothing and stared at the ground, my hands buried in my hair as I tried to think about what happened. That wood piece from the wall must've killed me. As I tried to remember, the wood didn't hit me, but maybe it did. Maybe when I leaned forward, my soul got separated from my body and it all happened to fast to feel any physical pain.

Even though it went against everything I believed about death, it was the only thing that came to mind. I was fine in the kitchen. I was fine in the closet. I was fine in the bathroom. Everything changed when the shadow monster grabbed me and threw me in my old bedroom. That must've been the place where I... died.

A chill went through my spine at the thought of Drakon or Tristian finding me dead in my old bedroom. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to desperately go back. This couldn't be it. This wasn't supposed to end this way. There had to be a way to go back, even if just to say goodbye. I couldn't even remember the last thing I said to Drakon or Tristian or even to that cat.

"This can't be it..." I whispered to myself. I shakily inhaled and shook my head, my hands grabbing fistfuls of my hair.

"You know... being dead is not so bad. There are no responsibilities and—"

"How could you say that?!" I snapped, standing up and facing Javon, "My son is alone out there! My son has been through horrible things and he's alone! It's easy for you to be like, 'Oh I have no responsibilities and the dead life is great!' since you weren't there!"

"Of course I wasn't there! I was fucking murdered!" Javon shouted, standing up and looking down at me, "Don't you think I would have been if I was alive? I was killed because of you!"

"I didn't want any of this to happen," I softly said, my shoulders dropping, "But I just can't sit here, kick my feet up and pretend the afterlife is awesome. There's nothing even here, but an endless road to-to nowhere!"

Javon sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know, Varia. I was just trying to... I don't know, lighten the mood or something."

"You were always bad at comforting people." I said, sitting back down on the road.

"Yeah, I did make Hailey from freshman year cry when I joked at her father's funeral." He pointed out, sitting across from me.

I smiled but it soon disappeared as the trees moved around yet there was no wind or air. Everything was strangely calm yet there was nothing calm to be about. This place screamed terror as the fog around the trees made it hard it see anything. The moonlight cast creepy shadows and the branches of the trees swung on its own even though I felt no wind. It's like if we were here but not at the same time.

"How did you know you were dead when you first woke up here?" I asked, looking away from the trees. Javon leaned to the side, propping himself up with his elbow.

"There was an old woman here who told me what this place was and why I was here. Since then I've seen people come and go."

"Have you seen the old woman? Or anyone else again?"

"No. People usually freak out and run away to find the exit. I did that too, but this road goes on forever. I tried both ways and nothing."

"Have you ever tried going through the trees?"

Javon paused and sat up, his eyes searching through the ground as if trying to remember something. "You know what... I remember coming across this lake. When I was looking at it, I swear I saw you and Drakon in there as if..." Javon trailed off and his eyes grew wide.

"As if what?" I asked, sitting up.

"As if it was a mirror to what was going on in the living world. You were sitting next to Drakon when he was sleeping and I remembered you looked so shitty." Javon finished. I sat up straight, feeling my hope light up again.

"Do you remember where it was?"

"I just went straight. I don't know how long it took though. I wasn't keeping track."

"Doesn't matter. Come on, let's go!" I stood up and dusted myself off. Javon followed as we went in the trees.

-------

"You think maybe we took a turn or something?"

"No, just straight ahead."

"You've been saying that for the past..."

"Varia, I told you it was far. If we change course now, we'll lose it. It's straight ahead, trust me."

I sighed and pushed a low branch away. I tried keeping count of how many minutes have gone by, but it was easy to lose track when my mind kept wandering off to Drakon and then to Tristian.

Did time work differently here? It felt like I was here for a day or so, but what if weeks or even years had gone by in the living world? What if the lake showed that everything changed and everybody had moved on? Would I be stuck here until I'm reborn again?

I swallowed hard at that thought. I didn't want to be reborn again. I didn't want to forget about Drakon. I didn't want to forget about Tristian. I didn't even want to forget about Javon or my mama or my step papa.

Even though my mama and Javon hurt me, I didn't want to forget them. My mama has taught me how not to raise my child and though she wasn't the best mother in the world, there were moments where I didn't want to ever forget. I learned to appreciate the little sweet moments.

One time, after my mama had drank too much and couldn't lift herself off the couch, she called me over. I remembered I got off the phone with Javon, saying I'll call back later.

"C'mere," My mama demanded when I appeared at the doorway, "Come on!"

The room smelled and I wrinkled my nose as my mama struggled to prop herself up on her elbows. There was drool coming off her lips and vomit all over the carpet and coffee table. Beer cans and bottles were everywhere and I almost tripped over one but caught myself on time. I sighed. This room was clean just four hours ago.

"What?" I said in annoyance. My mama reached over the coffee table, digging through her vomit. She breathed heavily as she struggled to stay up and awake. I crossed my arms over my chest and rolled my eyes. I already knew what she wanted.

"No, I'm not buying you anything. We need the money for dinner." I said. My mama fell back and ran her vomit-covered hand through her hair.

She mumbled something under her breath and pretty soon was deep asleep. I shook my head and went to the kitchen to get the cleaning supplies. It took more than an hour to had it back how it was four hours ago. I rolled open the windows, letting the cold winter air come in to get rid of the smell.

I grabbed a bucket of fresh water and a sponge and sat next to mama. I rolled my sleeves up and put on a plastic poncho, knowing every time I tried to clean her, she would wake up and throw up on me. I started to run the sponge through her arms and then moved on to her hair where I couldn't help but gag.

The cold air couldn't even blow away the stench and I debated trying to dump her on the tub when she started to stir. I quickly grabbed an extra empty bucket and the paper towels when her half-lidded eyes locked on mine.

"You're... You're something special, you know that, Varia?" She whispered. I froze for a second, expecting her to cuss me out like she usually did or hallucinate that I was my step-papa even though I looked nothing like him, but this was something new.

"Don't let anyone tell you otherwise..." She muttered before she fell back to sleep. I sat there for a good hour or so, stunned in silence. My mama wasn't much of an affectionate person. She wasn't the one to tell how proud she was of me whenever I aced an exam or bring home a reward from school. She would smile and look at others, saying "That's my girl", but never directly said it to me.

I grew up thinking she hated me or that she somehow blamed me for the death of my step-papa, but she didn't confirm it. She never screamed at me for running her life, only for ruining her fun when I refused to buy her any more beers. She would cry and yell whenever she remembered the death of my step-papa but never placed the blame on me; just on the people who murdered him and sometimes on herself.

But as I got older, I realized how badly she was hurt and never seemed to move past the denial phase of the grief cycle. She just tried to cope with the loss the best way she could, and that was to drink until she passed out. It wasn't the best for me, but I guess her pain was too much that she completely forgot about my pain and maybe sometimes my existence too.

There had been so many times where I had to remind her that I was there, that I needed money to eat, money to get things from school, and I needed her to comfort me, especially when my step-papa died. But she was never there, and I didn't blame her.

As I thought about my mama, I wondered if she passed by here too. I ducked under a hanging branch and stepped over a rock. Was she the type of freak out and figure out how to escape like all the others Javon had come across or did she sit on the road and just wait for whatever she thought was coming for her?

A strange sense overcame me as I tried to imagine her sitting on the side of the road with no one around her and with nothing but the clothes on her back, not even a small bottle of whiskey to keep her company. I felt a lump on my throat form and I cleared my throat. She wouldn't be here. This place was not meant for her or for anyone. After a while, she must've moved on or some other thing came along and took her.

This place had to be some sort of waiting room. Everyone who died had to wait here until someone came along and took them to where they would spend the rest of their spiritual lives in. This place couldn't be the final resting place. All spirits must've moved on or else we would have come across a few. People die every day so surely we were bound to come across one. This place couldn't be that big... could it?

As that thought crossed my mind, Javon gasped as he slipped but caught himself on a tree.

"You okay?" I asked, caught off guard.

"Yeah..." Javon raised his foot, his shoe covered in mud "We're close."

"How do you know?"

"Dirt plus water makes mud, Varia, and since I've been here, it has never rained. The only source of water I have seen was from that lake. C'mon, it should be straight ahead."

I nodded and we walked slower as everywhere we stepped was slippery. I grabbed on the lower branches and tried to watch where I was stepping but it suddenly got foggy. Javon was a few steps ahead and we locked eyes as the gentle breeze started to pick up.

"Did this happen when you got closer to the lake?" I asked.

Javon shook his head and held out his hand. "This is new. Come on."

I let go of the trunk I was holding on and grabbed Javon's hand when I felt my leg got caught in something. I fell, mud flying everywhere. I spat out whatever went in my mouth and tried to get up but suddenly whatever was around my ankle, tightened its grip and jerked me down. I felt my lower leg sink into the mud as if it was quicksand and I gasped.

"Javon!" I cried out as it jerked me again and suddenly I was waist-deep inside the mud. Javon grabbed my arm with both his hands and pulled.

"Kick your legs!" He grunted and pulled. I panted as I tried to move my legs but the mud was too thick and it felt like my legs were too numb to move.

"I can't!"

Javon dug his heel in the dirt and huffed as sweat rolled down his forehead. He nodded to himself and grabbed both my hands. He stood up and pushed back. I yelped as I was suddenly freed from the mud and fell on top of Javon.

I rolled off of Javon and I breathed hard as I sat up on my elbows. I was about to thank Javon when the fog was cleared around us but remained in a perfect wide circle around us. In the mud where something was trying to take me under, there was a head from the nose up, looking at me. The long black hair was fanned out in some sort of lily pad. The black eyes were locked me and its ghostly pale white skin was cleared from any trace of mud or dirt.

Javon propped himself up on his elbows and his body jolted.

"Holy shit!" He exclaimed and we both stood up, taking a few steps back. He put his arm around my waist and pulled me behind him. A faint sound of a giggle from a woman echoed throughout the woods. A chill went down my spine and I looked around us before looking at the thing that was in the mud.

"Long time no see, Varia." The woman's voice echoed. I pressed myself against Javon's back as the temperature dropped. My wet clothes made me shiver and cupped my hands against my mouth. Puffs of air escaped our mouths as we stared at the thing. It didn't move at all, not even blinked.

"W-Who are you?" I stammered, taking a small step forward. Javon put his arm in front of me, pushing me back.

"I am the one who owns your soul."