The darkness is all around me. It swallowed me whole.

The thought makes me giggle. It may seem incoherent, but the use of the word whole, and the apparent hole I’m in… I guess I just have a thing for word play. Everyone has their own theory of what comes after death. White lights, tunnels, salvation, reincarnation. I’d always believed that we would just cease to be, and fade into darkness.

It seems I was half right. It sure is dark, but I haven’t ceased yet. My consciousness plagues me with every waking thought, still as mashed together as they were in life.

Suddenly, I am on fire. Not the harsh tortuous flames of some divine punisher. No, the warm flames that I see in my dreams, that I imagine fill my body with some inner power. This is a good fire. My ears flare up. I hear odd noises. Muffled voices. A strange beeping noise. A slit of white light appearing on the horizon. My eyes open wide.

A white room. A man in a white coat.

“You gave us quite a scare there. We thought you’d never wake up.”