Chapter 17
Harlow
There’s a light.
Distant at first. Flickering.
I reach for it, or maybe I try to. I can’t tell if I’m moving. Can’t tell if I have a body at all. It stays just out of reach.
Am I dead?
The question doesn’t frighten me. I’m not sure anything could.
There’s no pain. No cold. No warmth either. Just… stillness.
I try to open my eyes, but the world doesn’t change. There’s no edge, no floor, no sky. Only the light, too far, too bright.
I take a step. Or I think I do.
The light doesn’t come closer.
Maybe I’m not dead.
Maybe this is the space in between.
Or maybe I never left.
I hear something. A voice, perhaps. But it fades before I can catch it.
I try to speak. My mouth won’t move. My thoughts stretch thin and fray at the edges.
I want to wake up. I think.
Unless I don’t.
It would be easier to stop. To let go and drift into the white. But something holds me here. Not strong, not loud, but steady. Familiar.
I can’t remember who I am.
But I know I’m not done.
The light pulses once.
And the dark takes me back.