Fever

White.

Everything is white. The sky, the ground, everything. Only my body has sensation. This white blank space I'm walking on feels like feathers, yet I can't fall through it. I look down at myself and see my body as a whole. I flap out my toes and feel them wriggle. I stretch my hand and see my fingers. They make a satisfying feeling as I rub them against each other, making me feel a bit human. I look up and squint my eyes. There's nothing in sight. Not a single home, or any structure. Absolute nothingness. It seems to be I'm surrounded by a boundless horizon.

Eager for a semblance of anything at this point, I start walking. My pace becomes faster and faster until I full-on start running in panic, as I go through the dimension finding absolutely nothing.

"pleasepleaseplease don't make me think this is what I think it is...", I wheeze while still running at my maximum speed. My legs give in after a bunch of minutes, making me stumble and fall while the ground cushions me. Damn, this feels better than the mattress we hav-HAD at our home. I flap my arms in a motion before I soak it all in

"So this is heaven, huh?"

I get up and dust my pants due to muscle memory before giggling to myself; Dust can't be in here.

I resume walking but I've come to terms with the situation at hand. I've died. And the cause of death: too much sex.

I cringe hard, biting down on my teeth.

That's gonna be embarrassing as hell when it's written on my gravestone, god. I walk around before I notice the floor starts to change its color and texture. My steps now make a slight ripple on the floor, with each consequent step. The inanimate white color now starts to sink away, and a noticeable white paint starts forming on top of it. I kneel to inspect it, and I make a larger ripple as I shift my body weight down to my legs. 

"Feels like porcelain", I state as I feel the floor as my two fingers make their ripples, colliding with each other. A few lines start going through and parallel to the porcelain design before it forms a large square. Another one forms to its right. Another one to its left. This keeps on going until a complete floor is designed. A faint feeling of nostalgia comes to my mind as I put my hand on my thigh and stand up. I adore the design. A few small brown pillars start sprouting from the tiles, which catch my attention, making my mouth open in awe. They grow from the ground up, like trees with their roots ingrained down below. In just a matter of seconds, they form a table. Similarly, these tables are instantly laid out on the floor.

"This...This looks familiar..", I mutter.

The floor finishes its metamorphosis before I realize where I am.

"This is the same cafe that I frequent."

-

The cafe is now bustling with people. Many new groups of people are now entering and subsequently, a few people leave in their place. A barista surprises me as he runs at full force towards me. Before I could even react, he passes through me. I'm shocked for a moment before I break out laughing,

"T-That's right.. *snort* I've died!~", I rejoice.

I walk around the cafe, adoring every great detail of it. The industrial ventilation system that's on the ceiling. The nice photos hanging up on the walls. I sigh and keep my hands in my pocket, before I come across an unattended table, with a tray food, and a bunch of emptied cups on the table. Bad date, I'm guessing. I reach my arms out and try to grab the buns of the burger. My fingers pass RIGHT through them like it was nothing. A faint smirk spreads across my face in defeat as I keep forgetting that I've passed. I put my hands back in my pocket, and think to myself,

"This cafe holds a special place in my heart. Not because I used to frequent it, but for a different reason, altogether..."

*thud* *noises of books clattering*

 A loud crashing sound behind me makes me flinch and catches my attention. I turn around slowly, and there I see it. The moment where it all began. I see Anita on the ground, with her books scattered on the floor, and next to her is poor innocent me. I lean back on the table and enjoy the scene playing out right before my eyes.

I guess it really is true. You recall your most precious memories when you're passing into the state known as death.

-

I see my past self help Anita on the ground gathering her books one by one. I hear myself apologizing to her. Something along the lines of "so sorry..", and "I didn't see you there!", as I help her up by her shoulders. We get to talking and I remember I treated her to food as an apology. After this night, we regularly started talking to each other over the phone and meeting up frequently. One detail that I notice is that while we were on the ground, Anita seems to be sneaking glances at me, while having a gnarly smile on that pretty face of hers. It makes me wonder if this is some random bump or if she planned it all in the first place...

I sigh, as I shake my head.

"Doesn't matter now, does it?"

With a blink, everything in this moment starts disintegrating, before it flies away like dust in the wind, and a new setting takes form. The energy shifts. My peripheral vision is now filled with darkness, with a light source casting an infinite shadow from behind me. I turn around and see a single lamp illuminating the floor now. The lamp is sitting on a table, and I see a pen writing in a book on its own. A faint finger forms on the pen. It further forms into a complete arm, and then I see my younger version materialize right in front of my eyes. I look around and I realize this is the same room that I used to rent out a while ago. Back when I WASN'T married. 

The room has one desk, a bed adjacent to it, and a small wardrobe indented into the wall. I see a small corridor leading into complete darkness. I go over there and extend my arm to see if it's a wall, before Anita emerges through it, and then runs through me, giving me a mini-heart attack. I see a gun in her hand swaying before it becomes almost invisible in the darkness of the room, as she comes to a stop.

"Isn't this also when that happened?", I think to myself.

I look back, and there I witness the scene happen again, but this time from a 3rd person perspective.

-

"You've denied me for far too long, Adrian.", Anita says in a stern voice.

 This startles Adrian. He snaps his head back before putting his pen down and standing up. He folds his hands neatly against each other.

"You knew it was coming all along. I just can't stand to be with someone like you!!", Adrian yells out in frustration.

"What kind of girlfriend do you have to be to follow your own boyfriend into a club, after I LITERALLY told you I was going out with some friends, hm?", Adrian drops the bomb.

Anita sucks in air through her mouth and replies,

"I was just making sure you didn't break my trust. OUR trust to be exact, Adrian. We're a team, aren't we?"

"As fucking if. A team is when both the parties have a mutual agreement." 

Adrian leans in.

"Which I do NOT see here."

An eery silence fills the atmosphere now. Adrian is looking at Anita with a determined face. Anita has anger brewing up on her face with some veins on her neck bulging and showing as a result. Adrian resumes,

"Listen, we've had fun and made plenty of memories along the way. I always wanted to break the news out to you the past couple of weeks, but I never really found the right moment."

Adrian takes a large breath,

"It's best for the both of us that we go our own separate ways right, Anita?"

Adrian declares. His gaze lowers down and his eyes catch a glinting from Anita's side before his whole body freezes. It's a gun.

In one swift motion, Anita brings her gun up to Adrian's chest level, making him flinch and back off before his butt hits the table. Anita has a scary look in her eyes. She's devoid of all kindness and she's now filled with resolve. Adrian's all cornered, with his arms in the air.

"W-What's with the gun, honeybug?", Adrian asks hesitantly with both his arms in the air now.

"OH, so NOW I'm your honeybug, hm? All night today, you didn't call me cute nicknames or even something as simple as "babe" or "darling". But now that the tables have turned, I'm suddenly your honeybug? Funny how that works, huh.", Anita proclaims her victory.

Adrian's teeth chatter as he instantaneously looks to the side, with sweat falling down his temple. He's speechless. Anita holds a firm grip over her gun and aims at Adrian as she resumes,

"I knew you were holding it off to break up with me, and I'm not letting you off the hook THIS easy, honeybee. I've let you have your way with me, and you just simply throw me away like I'm some fucking piece of trash? No, mister, that is NOT how things work. Especially with me."

"I-I didn't use you or anything..o..okay?! Y...You know I'm not calling off our relationship just because of that...", Adrian defies Anita.

Adrian sneaks a side-eye at his lover. She still has that iron grip on the gun, and realizes he's truly in danger now.

"O-Okay..f.fine I take it back, I won't break up with you, okay?! We can just...go back to being a cute couple. L-Like we always were...", Adrian pleads.

"Nuh-uh. We're way past that point now. It's time you learned your lesson.", Anita states while cocking her gun ready.

Adrian snaps his head back at her and gazes at Anita with love and affection in his eyes as he realizes he's moments away from death.

"Please...you don't have to do this...I'll do anything...just let me live...", Adrian proposes.

Anita's eyes light up and they sparkle for a split-second. Quite a contrast to a moment before, when they were dark and void of any life.

"Anything? Do you really mean that, Adrian? You'd do anything?"

Adrian nods slowly.

Anita takes her left hand off the gun while still holding aim over his body. She reaches for her back pocket and removes a folded piece of paper. She throws it over to Adrian and he catches it mid-air.

"W-What's this?", Adrian questions.

"Open it. I have a surprise waiting for you in there.", Anita replies.

Adrian gulps before opening the folded piece of paper and his soul almost leaves his body. He looks up at Anita with a horrified face.

"You said anything right, honeybee? Sign the fucking marriage papers now. As you can see, I've already filled out all our information. I just need your signature. We'll be a couple by tonight.", Anita answers even further with a devilish smile.

She then motions to the bed with her gun next to the desk and resumes,

"Also our honeymoon. I know it isn't the best, but we have to make do~"

-

I snicker to myself, watching my past self anxiously sign the marriage papers with shivering hands. Leaning against the room's cold wall, I wonder what would've happened had I resisted. Worst case scenario, I would've died. I try to walk up to the desk, but my next step makes me fall RIGHT through the floor, making me yell as I descend into complete darkness. 

Initially surprised, my expression turns into acceptance. I position myself vertically with the help of my arms falling down before I acknowledge that this is what I was waiting for. Death.

I close my eyes and flail my arms outwards, surrendering, as darkness envelopes all around my body, making me feel hot around me. I grin to myself as I feel my body noodle out into nothingness. At the very end, I feel my body turn oddly cold, before it sharply penetrates my skin, making me whimper. The darkness in front of my closed eyes starts to fade away before I feel a warm orange beam hit my closed eyes. The sound of birds chirping fades in. I slowly squint my eyes open, as I see the sun rays hitting me, peeping through the curtains covering the glass panels at our home.