A shrill blood-curdling scream brought it to consciousness. It laid still, stubborn and indifferent. The being tried to pry its eyes open, but couldn't, then tried to close its eyes but failed. Sight consumed by darkness, not even aware that the eyes It believed to have had no longer existed. What the hell, It thought, and for a brief moment It tried to relax—yet once again failed. The being felt its heart thumping so fast it vibrated like a trumpet on its head. So it reached out to its chest hoping to meet its rhythm but found none. It felt hollow and cold. The being felt nothing for there was nothing. In its dark paradise, it laid motionless again, too stunned to accept what it has become. When another scream echoed inside the void, the being craned its imaginary head towards its left and then right, up and then down. It called, called once more.
     
    I know that voice, the being thought to itself, but unsure how to respond.
     
Screaming.
    
Pleading.
     
Panting.
     
   Those sounds were on repeat like a broken record and got louder with every passing second.
     
   "What?" It replied, convinced that the sound asked for its name.
     
   "What," the being asked again, and in an instant, it felt a tremendous amount of pain that forced its body—if it even had one—pulled in every direction. Swirling. Stretching. Kneading. Sinking. Bouncing. The being tried to scream but couldn't.
     
   Suddenly, a flash of light filled its dark abyss, and then everything went still. Motionless, it sighed in realization. Smirking using its nonexistent mouth. "Now I remember," the being whispered. Towards the light it moved, floated, or slithered it did not know, but there towards the light it needed to go.
    
    "Meet you," It whispered over and over, afraid that the darkness would cave in again.
    
    "Meet you, meet you, meet you." And the barrier in between finally broke.
                           
***
     
   She laid still, eyes closed, mouth agape as she bathed in a pool of her blood. The white and plain hospital walls no longer confined her. The heart which beats inside her no longer felt anguished or pained. Rejection and doubt no longer held importance. She smiled and laboriously raised her hand to take a final puff from the cigarette that was already spent halfway through. Blood dripped from her injured wrist, so she closed her eyes to welcome her impending faith and succumbed to darkness. But surprise jolted her to awareness when with half-lidded eyes she caught sight of it, the bane of her existence, and the root of her sorrow.
     
   “No,” she managed to whisper as she gazed at the thing that hovered above her. It began like it always did. Swirling hues, but dominantly black, danced, enticing and hypnotizing her to keep watch. It stretched uncomfortably but never abandoned its rhythmic dance. An arm took shape, a leg swayed, a human head formed, and for the first time, it produced a face.
    
    With widening eyes and panic in her heart, confusion flooded her head. "I…I," she murmured. The death that she longed for wavered in her newfound knowledge. She stared, oblivious, as the image slowly sank into her, increasing in familiarity the longer she soaked on its visage.
     
   "You," she screamed, almost choking by the dryness of her throat as a tear escaped her eyes.
     
   "Yes," it answered, leaving her barely conscious mind angry, baffled, and filled with regret.
    
   "How? Why?" Her words said in a whisper.
    
    It smiled and whispered back, "Let me show you."