radiant
- noting a partition line having a series of flamelike indentations formed by ogees joined in zigzags; rayonny.
- (of a charge, as an ordinary) having an edge or edges so formed.
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A brilliant, warm light filled the air around him. It soothed him. Made his injuries a thing of the past. Easily forgotten and ignored. He knew in his mind that he should not be feeling anything. That he should be a slab of cooling meat on the ground. Yet, here he was, surrounded by gentle light.
He opened his eyes and saw he was in a room. The area was simple. A round room with pure white walls and no decorations. The floor under him looked like stone, but was softer than any mattress. The ever present light filtered in through the dome window of the room’s roof.
He sat up, feeling his muscle pull and his bones shift. He was definitely alive. Either that, or the afterlife was not as great as all the religious people claimed it was. He also saw that he was not alone. A woman stood near a wall. She was tall and beautiful, wearing a flowing outfit the same color as the walls. And there was something off about her.
She turned to look at him. But her movements did not quite line up with what he saw, somehow. It was like she was an afterimage of something unseen. Smooth, but delayed in a way he could not quite place.
“Welcome, Adam Scott Nichols.” The woman said. Her voice matched her appearance and movements. Beautiful, alluring, and wrong in a way he could not quite place.
“Who are you? Where am I?”
She moved closer. Her steps seemed to match the room’s light somehow. Like she was using the light to move instead of her body. She stood over him and sat.
“Questions that seem so simple, and yet are so complicated.” She said. “I am sorry that telling you those would take quite a bit of time and may not be as enlightening as you think.”
“Uh-huh, sure. How about this one: Am I dead?”
“Yes. An no. You are dead to the world that you knew. But you are very much alive here, in this place.”
“So, I guess this isn’t heaven? Or any of those other afterlives?”
“No. It is not. Nor is it another world, as your people call them.”
“So, what is it?”
The woman leaned back slightly. He tried not to look too closely at her, finding that made her easier to tolerate.
“That is harder to answer than you know. But if you want a simple answer, I suppose it would be Between. Yes, the Between place.”
“Between what?”
“All things. Life and death. In and out, up and down. Between your world and others. Between the familiar and the unknown.”
Adam leaned forward. “Well, that told me a whole lot of nothing.”
“I did tell you the answer was complicated.” She said with a smile. It did not seem right. Like it was both there and not there at the same time.
“Yeah, you did. And I guess if I try asking who you are I’ll get the same kind of answer?”
“Indeed you will. I can try giving a simplified answer again, if you like.”
“No need for that. Do you at least have a name?”
“I do. But it cannot be heard by others. I mean that in the most literal sense of the term. If I was to try, you would hear nothing at all. You may call me whatever you wish to, if that makes it easier.”
“I’ll think of something. Will asking why I’m here do anything?”
The woman stood slowly. “You are here because you are needed. It is as simple as that. What you are needed for is more complicated, but you will find that out very soon.”
He took a deep breath. Talking to this woman was tiring for a number of reasons. “I guess whatever it is isn’t in this room, is it?”
“It is not. Come, I shall show you the way to where you need to go. After that, all is for you to decide.”
Adam groaned as he stood. He knew he should be suspicious of this woman who he had just met. But at the same time, it was not like he had much else to do. He would just have to be careful. He nodded and the woman headed to the wall in her odd, light reliant movement. The wall fell away, revealing a hallway that was almost identical to the room, save for the shape. The woman entered, leaving him to follow. He muttered to himself about hallucinations and medications as he followed her into the hallway, and wherever it lead.
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I'd give that whole "maybe this will go somewhere" thing, but let's be honest, it's not. Not because there isn't a lot of potential, but because I just don't do that sort of thing. I'm just kind of bad at following through, I guess.
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