Chapter 3
Nevaehun
DELILAH
Iawoke to the faint sound of music that stopped the moment I opened my eyes. I winced at the blinding light. I came to slowly, disoriented, as though I had just stepped out of a
strange dream. My eyes blinked open, adjusting to the brightness. Above me stretched a canopy of brilliant leaves, shimmering in gold, opal, and emerald hues. I was in a forest, but not an ordinary one. It was the most otherworldly and beautiful place I had ever seen.
Was this a dream, or had I died and gone to heaven?
The air was impossibly fresh, tinged with the scent of blooming lilies and clean rain.
The colors were more vibrant than anything I had ever known.
The spectrum felt so vast, filled with hues I had never seen before, as if I had lived my entire life in black and white.
Okay… breathe. Either I’m dead, dreaming, or hallucinating—no big deal. Towering trees rose around me like cathedral spires, their smooth bark catching the light like polished marble.
Petals drifted through the air with no wind to carry them, glowing faintly as they floated past my face. Wherever I was, the beauty of it all sank into my chest and settled there, warm, and steady. It filled my soul with a deep, comforting peace.
As I took it all in, I realized my pain was gone. My body felt powerful and energized, an unfamiliar sensation. I could not remember the last time I had felt so strong.
So, this is what healthy feels like?
It felt as though gravity itself had loosened its hold, leaving me nearly weightless. A wave of profound relief washed over me, and overcome with emotion, I began to cry tears of pure joy.
I was not in pain anymore. I was no longer bracing myself for hurt or ache. I simply existed in this moment, in this place, wherever I was.
But then, a whiplash of guilt set in. How could I feel this happy when the love of my life was not here?
Jared’s face filled my mind. I remembered his laugh, the way his hand fit into mine, and the quiet moments that stitched our lives together.
Parting from Jared, knowing I was no longer a burden to him and that one day he might find love again, just as I had, brought me a bittersweet sense of comfort.
Jared deserved a better life, one where he truly lived instead of existing for my sake.
A small part of me feared this was nothing more than a dream born of anesthesia, and that I would wake up to pain and to Jared’s suffering.
Now that I knew what freedom from it felt like, I was not sure if I would return willingly.
Suddenly, I heard a soft female voice, barely more than a whisper. It drifted like wind through leaves, a gentle hum that settled into my bones and drew me deeper into the woods.
“Hello?” I called out, hesitant.
An eerie voice echoed in whispers. My name floated toward me, carrying the weight of a forgotten memory, like a destiny I was being called too.
“How do you know my name?” I asked. The voice did not answer. Instead, it beckoned, and I chose to follow.
With each step, the forest thickened. Sunlight that once dappled the ground now struggled to break through the dense canopy.
The air grew cool, heavy with the scent of damp earth.
Luminous moss and phosphorescent mushrooms dotted the forest floor, casting an otherworldly glow that guided my path.
I followed them. I followed the sound calling my name.
“Who are you?” I asked, but once again I was met only with the gentle rattle of wind through the leaves.
The pull grew stronger, a thrumming beat that quickened my pulse and filled my mind. I parted the vines of what looked like an ancient willow tree, revealing a clearing where a crystalline lake sat perfectly still.
My instincts were screaming don’t, but my feet kept moving like something was guiding them.
Was the lake calling to me? Its surface was a flawless mirror, reflecting the radiant blue canopy above. The water shimmered with an inner light that seemed to pulse with a life of its own. It was more beautiful than any painting and more real than anything I could dream.
The eerie voice that had guided me all this way fell silent.
Somehow, I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be.
I stood at the water’s edge, cool sand tickling my toes, my reflection staring back at me with awe and deep recognition.
As outlandish as it sounded, I felt as though the lake knew me.
Driven by an urge far stronger than fear, I took a step forward. The water was shockingly cold against my skin. As my foot broke the surface, my reflection shattered, and the world seemed to hold its breath.
This is a terrible idea, Delilah. But then again, I’m probably already dead. So what the hell. Why not?
A tremor rippled outward from my foot, rolling through the forest like a small earthquake.
A deep vibration traveled from the earth beneath me and surged through my entire body.
The trees surrounding the lake quivered, their leaves rattling like shaken coins.
The water bucked and rolled, as if something immense stirred beneath it.
Then it stopped, and everything fell silent.
I knew the smart thing to do would be to avoid the strange water, but the pull was too strong.
It had been an exceptionally long time since I was in any condition to swim, and now my body felt powerful and alive.
I wanted to use it. I wanted to know what this new body could do.
I waded into the water, and once it reached my waist and I adjusted to the chill, I dove straight in.
I had forgotten how much I loved to swim.
A single tear of joy slipped from my cheek and became one with the lake.
My laughter echoed between the mountains watching from afar.
I swam in every way I could remember. Freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, until I finally settled into a backstroke so I could admire the sky.
It was a sunny day, and the sky was not just blue.
It was a canvas of enchantment. A million shades blended like watercolors, resonating with the magic in the air.
The air itself shimmered faintly, as if the sky were breathing.
I swam and played like a child in the enchanted lake until the sun sank low on the horizon.
I must have worn myself out, because the next thing I knew, I was floating on my back in the center of the glassy water. A soft inner glow radiated from beneath the surface, becoming more apparent as the sun began to set. I had not meant to fall asleep. How long had I been out?
Without warning, the gentle current beneath me shifted.
A low hum vibrated through the water, growing stronger as the surface began to spiral inward.
Panic, sharp and cold, sliced through the calm.
The hum rose into a roar, and the shimmering light twisted into a vortex of jade and amethyst. I was no longer floating.
I was being pulled under, dragged toward the heart of a rapidly forming whirlpool.
Suffocating terror seized me. “Help!” I screamed. What the fuck was happening!?
I thrashed, fighting the unnatural pull, but it felt like struggling against a river made of solid stone.
The water spun me in tight circles, disorienting me until up and down lost all meaning.
I was dragged under, starved for air. My heart raced as I fought the current, searching desperately for the surface.
Just as my lungs began to burn, a massive, shadowy form surged up through the vortex.
It was some kind of sea serpent, something torn straight from a nightmare.
Its body was as thick as an ancient oak and coated in slick, obsidian scales.
The creature’s mouth was not a jaw at all, but a perfect circle lined with concentric rings of jagged, needle-like teeth.
It lunged, the opening widening into an abyss framed by spines.
I screamed, the sound swallowed by the churning water, and shoved away with everything I had.
I kicked wildly toward the surface. The creature was fast, its serpentine body slicing through the whirlpool with terrifying speed.
A searing pain tore through my thigh as its teeth grazed me, ripping through flesh.
Blood bloomed in the glowing water like dark ink, and my leg went numb, a useless weight dragging me down.
The serpent began to coil around me, its thick body tightening, crushing the air from my lungs.
How could there be monsters in heaven? This had to be a nightmare, or the result of powerful drugs coursing through my system. Yet I had never felt pain this real in any dream before.
Panicked, I thought that if I died in this dream, I might wake up and it would all be over.
I felt the chilling approach of its gaping mouth and considered holding still, letting the monster swallow me whole so I could escape the nightmare.
I forced my body to go still and waited for its mouth, for the end of my delusion.
Suddenly, a flash of silver cut through the jade vortex.
A long, slender fish appeared. No, it was a mermaid.
Her powerful tail propelled her forward with incredible force.
She carried a spear, not of metal, but of polished, pearlescent bone, long and wickedly sharp.
With one fluid motion, she drove it deep into the serpent’s head, just behind its unblinking black eye.
The monster thrashed, its coils unraveling and loosening their hold on me.
Its circular mouth spasmed in silent agony.
The water stilled, and as the serpent went limp, its massive body sank into the depths.