Darkness and Light

Dark...

Cold...

Loneliness...

These are the feelings that I am experiencing now. The strangest thing is that there is no pain and most importantly... I don't feel regret...

Life...

My life is fading away, it is carried away by a gust of wind along with the early snow that falls on my body.

"Interesting, I would never have thought that snow could not only be cold."

Right now, I don't feel the cold with my body, instead, the cold comes from inside me, completely capturing my entire mind and my insides.

"And how did I come to this?"

Is it even worth thinking about this now, when nothing can be changed...

"Well, I think that's the nature of people, the reluctance to accept an ending that they don't like..."

Reason slowly slipped away from me, and in its place came darkness and that same cold...

"If I had run away then, turned around and thought only about myself, would I have been able to continue living then?"

Similar thoughts enveloped my mind, or rather, these are the remnants of those thoughts that remained with me. I began to be haunted by rejection of the situation in which I now found myself. Live a full life, laugh, enjoy the rays of the sun, listen to the birds singing, see the smiles of people dear to me...

"I won't be able to experience this again, will I?.."

Something warm rolled down my cheeks... Not just warm, it was so hot that my cheeks began to burn... Sadness, pain and dissatisfaction... I think at this moment I am experiencing all the same negative emotions that tears roll into my eyes... In that case... This heat on my cheeks, are these my tears?

"I don't think it matters that much anymore... I just wonder if I could change things if I were stronger or smarter?"

Was it a joke of fate from which there was no chance to escape, or was it my own decisions and my weakness that led me to this...

"But as I said earlier, there is no point in talking about such things in this case..."

My consciousness is fading little by little... Soon, very soon I will see what I have been thinking about for so long...

"What awaits me at the other end?"

There will be heaven, hell, or nothing... Will I get a new life, or maybe a chance to change this one, or... Nothing...

"Come on, please, at least someone show up... Hear me... I don't want to end up like this!"

This was the last thought that kept me conscious, but it began to float away, and I was completely swallowed up by darkness...

*His body floated in an endless stream of darkness, only the sound of grinding could be heard in the area, and then only distantly, and it did not affect anything... His body or... Soul... The only thing that was in this dark place. There is no concept of time, no concept of heat or cold, there is no one here... He is alone and only endless emptiness...*

"This soul... It is still fighting. How funny."

*A loud and daring voice was heard in the void.*

"Hmm, indeed, for all the infinity that I have been living here, you are the first soul that got here, but how... Was it technology or your will... Whatever it was, I have to give you credit, after all this place is far beyond what others can comprehend. So, who are you?"

"..."

"Oh, that's how, even though you got here, your condition is as if you had already seen death... No, that's exactly how you got here. Precisely because all that is here is only your soul, while your body... Well, first we need to wake you up."

*A finger snap sounded*

My consciousness began to slowly return to me... But only darkness surrounded me and the only light that I could notice was the light from my body or...

"So... This is the light of my soul..."

"Wow, you guessed it quickly."

"..."

"What happened, are you surprised that you're not alone here?"

"No, I don't think I should be surprised at what will happen to me after I die."

"Why?"

"It just might not make sense. I lost my life in one moment, and then found myself in this void, where I will most likely have to spend eternity."

"So you decided to just accept the state you're in?"

"Will something change if I become hopeful?"

"Anything can happen, although this is basically not the place where you should be."

"..."

"This is the prison in which I am imprisoned. And it is designed for only me. There is a set of inviolable rules that I cannot break, but at the same time you were able to break."

"Does this have anything to do with my soul being here now?"

"Exactly. And I have an offer for you."

"I'm listening."

"Two options. First, you stay here and we share this eternity, in emptiness and darkness. This is a good option for me, since I will get an interlocutor, which I could not hope for indefinitely before your arrival."

"And second?"

"You bastard! So don't like the first one? Although, it's not for me to judge you, I myself wouldn't want to be here for a long time, especially for eternity. So listen, this will be a deal, you've already broken the rules of this place, which means you can do it again. I will give you the opportunity to get out of here by sending your soul to the most suitable place for it, and you, after some time, will return and free me. So, what do you think?

"Isn't this a false hope?"

"The rules of this place do not restrict the sending of souls from here to other places. I will just set the impulse, your soul will do the rest. There is really one thing but..."

"The price I have to pay?"

"You can call it that. These will be your memories. They will be completely erased, and your soul will cleanse its form and acquire a new one. You will no longer be who you were before, instead you will take a full place in the new world."

"Then the contract, how will I fulfill it?"

"It all falls into the hands of fate. To be honest, no matter how much I would like to leave you here and continue our conversation, I am beginning to be interested in the outcome that will follow after your intervention in fate. Will it bring us together again later and will you be able to break the shackles of this space?"

"...You're right. There is no point in living forever while slowly losing yourself, I agree to the contract, but I have a question."

"I am listening you."

"Who are you?"

"Do you think it's so important for you to know about this now?"

"It's true..."

I chuckled to myself. It really won't make sense, because in a moment, my self will disappear and I will become a different person.

"In fact, I'm only sure that the memories will finally disappear and the shape of the soul will change, but in everything else I'm not completely sure, after all, souls are at a fairly high level of existence in order to fully understand them."

His... or her?.. In any case, such words definitely have meaning.

"I'm ready."

"Then, good luck to you in your new life and look forward to our next meeting, little brave man..."

I heard light notes of sadness and expectation in ?her? voice, but at the same moment I was surrounded by white dots that slowly began to blur, and my consciousness began to be absorbed by this light...

"So in the darkness I lost my body, but saved myself and my soul, and in the light I will lose myself, but will find a new life and a new me... Interesting..."

*His consciousness began to slowly melt into the warm light*