Chapter 1

Waking up in an unexpected location usually weirds me out; it takes me a while to remember how I got there and the uncertainty is really unnerving. This has always been true for me whether in a hotel room or at a friend's house, of course it goes away as my brain gets into gear and I remember what I did yesterday. Right now though? I am seriously losing my marbles. This is partially because yesterday I died and partially because right now I seem to BE a marble.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! and I need to calm down. Time to take a few deep breaths. ...wait ...I have no lungs.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA wait does that mean I don't have asthma anymore? neat! alright whatever, panic time over. let's think this through.

Okay, so why am I like this? what happened yesterday that got me here today?

Oh right, the truck hit me. I remember that horrible crunching feeling and how it seemed like the pain was growing distant…

...I died didn't I?

That sucks.

And now I appear to be one of many glowing glass balls on a table in a very nice room. Everything in the room looks very tasteful, expensive and well made; you could tell that the person wasn't just abominably rich but that they also had undeniably great taste. Seriously, if you placed the table I'm on in a sealed room and filled it with termites they would starve rather than mar this thing with a single nibble. Not only that, but it was organized in an aesthetically pleasing way as well. This place was FANCY. I had heard of the concept of feng shui and understood the idea but this room really hammered it home.

I never really cared about my room in the past, neither what was in it or how it was placed, but this was eye-opening. I was certain that only the best were allowed to take part in the making of this room, from the interior decorators all the way down to the lumberjacks and carpenters. That just makes it weirder that I’m here though.

I really don't know how I went from roadkill on a street downtown to a christmas ornament in a room that makes the phrase "fit for a king" come across as an insult.

Since these other spheres looked about the same they must be people in the same boat as I am.

"Hello? Helloo~ ...HEY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

Yup, they can't hear me, not much of a surprise since I don't have a mouth. Wow, this sucks, who did this?

Ah well, no use getting upset thinking about it. I mean, someone's got to come along eventually and they can explain things. This place is obviously well taken care of, and somebody brought me here; it's not like I just got here by magic right?

...right?

I'm sure there is a perfectly scientific explanation for why i'm a glowy ball in a room with more style than you can shake a stick at. ...huh? yay! I hear a person!

Let's See, Ah Yes, It Got Some.

"... Okay I give up, what are you?"

Hnn? What Do You Mean?

"Well it's obvious isn't it? You sure ain't human"

Whatever was standing before me looked completely fine, if that word could be used to describe the most beautiful woman I had ever set my eyes on... But somehow it was completely off in a way that sent chills up my no-longer-existent spine. It was entirely unnerving.

Imagine every object or concept that has ever been given a description involving "beauty" sure there are the obvious ones: attractive women, majestic sunsets, glittering gems, delicate flowers... The list goes on and on, and it ...She was every one of these, every move She made had a entrancing elegance to it.

Now add in the other beauties, you know, the ones that aren't "pretty" or nice to think of in that way: The supple power of a tiger, the monumental splendor of a mountain, the brilliant color of a poison dart frog, the grandeur of a thunderstorm in the height of its fury and the glowing radiance of a forest fire. She was those too. Maybe that was why my instincts were screaming at me: you couldn't fit all of that in a single perspective. But no matter how impossible, looking at her forced it into my brain somehow. I was enthralled, in both senses of the word. How can you even be that cute and awe-inspiring, beautiful and terrifying all at once anyway?

I Will Take That As A Compliment.

"Th-thanks"

To Answer Your Question: I Am The Catalyst Of Change, The Forces Of Chaos, And The Manifestation Of Chance.

Wow, I don't know how but when She said Her name the noise that went in my ears and the words that reached my brain were drastically different.

"...Nice to meet you... Lady Luck?"

As soon as I said it She smiled. I felt a weird feeling of thrill and regret... It was a lot like that sensation of laughing and crying at the same time.

Oh You Are Special, Not Many Can Recognize My Nature As Easily As You Seem To; Fewer Still Manage To Stay As Sane As You Are. Yes, You May Call Me That, But I Would Like To Hear Your Reasons Why You Chose That Name?

"Well, it seemed to fit..."

Ha! Good Intuition, My Actions Are Frequently Called Such By Mortals, But You Really Do Have A Resilient Mind As Well As Strong Instincts... It Seems I Got Quite The Haul This Time Round.

Seeing Her reaching for me I couldn't help but want to escape, but that was impossible in my current body. Her slender delicate hand approached like the strike of a venomous serpent but picked me up with the tenderness of a reuniting lover. Then, with a dismissive wave of the other hand She spilled the other marbles to the floor without touching them.

The marbles were whisked off the table from the motion that was as sudden as an early frost that kills and delicate as a kiss. My former tablemates hit the floor and shattered with musical sounds and glittering sparkles. It would have been been beautiful if it wasn't making me feel nauseated in the pit of my hypothetical stomach. Wisps of light rose from evaporating glass and disappeared; the lights didn't appear to evaporate or dissipate, rather they seemed to drift elsewhere.

"Uh, what did they do to deserve that?"

They Didn't Pass Muster, So To Speak. So I Sent Them Back Into The Cycle Of Reincarnation.

"But you didn't even talk to them..."

I Did.

"When?"

The Same Time I Was Talking To You.

"Oh... So they were the unlucky ones I guess?" please please please PLEASE let me be the lucky one.

Not Necessarily.

Shit!