Roman Philosopher Seneca once said, “We are more frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.” he also said, “Death is the wish of some, the relief of many, and the end of all.” Whispers of lavender and ribbons of lemongrass tickled an Atheist's nose, pulling back from the depths of darkness where no dreams had dared comfort the homeless soul sprawled out on the grassy hill. Wiggling her nose, she finally pried her eyes open and found a majestic view there to greet her at the beginning of the unknown. Her hands and fingers twitched, feeling the gentle silky grass under her bare skin, almost tricking her into feeling secure.

Almost.

The woman with the dreadlocks and pale skin remained where she was, laying in a pool of emerald glitter and overlooking a sky filled with purple, blue and hints of orange. The woman inhaled deeply and fully, allowing the fresh scents to fully nestle themselves inside of her mind. This wasn’t home, this wasn’t even Chicago, no this wasn’t even Earth. Being a woman of logic and clarity, she found the idea more intriguing than anything. As she pushed herself up by pushing her weight into her arms, she remembered what had happened before she had opened her eyes to such beauty. There had been chaos and fire and pain, so much pain and panic and fear. Looking down, she saw her clothes were unchanged and she pushed her mind further back into the past, hoping to find answers there.

She had gotten up and gone to Decatur Classical School where she worked. It was a very prestigious elementary school in Chicago and it’s where she worked with the children to help them develop and foster a sound mind to carry them through their rigorous education. She had taken the afternoon off to make a trip back to her university, as she was giving a lecture to some incoming and potential students. After driving to Loyola University, she parked and got her badge and made her way towards the designated lecture hall. Seeing the campus brought back a lot of memories for the twenty-seven year old. Before she could reminisce about the waning days of her youth, she found herself standing in front of the door. She pulled it open and felt pleased to see the turnout.

An hour later and ten minutes later, she was getting ready to leave and grab a late lunch at the restaurant on campus when she smelled something. Turning down toward the left side of the platform, she saw there was a fire which had been caused by someone’s cigarette. Before she could find a way to contain it, panic broke out around as the massive gathering of people began to fling common sense out the window. They were all running toward the door. Many of those in attendance were seventeen and eighteen, just babies. The woman moved toward the exit, hoping to calm the crowd down and direct them in a more safe and orderly fashion but she got pushed to the ground during the pushing and shoving and as everyone ran out, screaming, their feet kept her pinning to the red carpet. Her pleas for help weren’t able to carry over the fire and the people marching atop the psychologist’s petite body. That’s when it hit her, she had died and she was now somewhere else, without anymore pain or grief.

Getting to her feet, she got a better view of the breathtaking landscape. There was a river, small but delicately formed rock structures, and even in the sky, there were castles and mounds of land in the sky, seemingly suspended by bridges and gravity. Looking down, she assessed once again her attire was unchanged. She had on a pair of dark tight jeans, brown ankle boots, a gray tank top and over that, a merlot colored lace long sleeve shirt. Bringing a hand to her black glasses, she turned and saw she wasn’t the only one in new territory. “Hey, hey guys.” She spoke up, reaffirming herself as someone who could take charge. And right now, she needed answers. “Guys, wake up, come on!” She urged, her voice clear and positive, rather than gruff and annoyed as some might expect from the first person to wake up on another planet.