The Pain of Loss

[Thalia]

The first time, Nimeda woke sobbing. Hard and breathless and afraid. When she lifted her head from her hands, her palms were slick with tears. The world around her shifted uncertainly, crisping around the edges like burnt paper. Her fingers faded, first the tips, then the joints, until she could see only darkness. Then she was gone.

The second time her body drifted, then caught in the current. She free-wheeled into the in-between place, and her body dispersed into a velvet black of night. Millions of stars twinkled, each a glittering doorway. Nimeda flowed, careless and inquisitive amongst the many dreams. Until she came upon darkness. Pain and blood. Mutilation. Glowing eyes, savage teeth. And so much fear.

She lingered, like a moth battering a shielded flame. The man who dreamed was not known to her; nothing pulled at her but her own curiosity, winding and curling protectively around this particular star. She had been able to ease such memories once, but those skills were old and rusted, so she only watched as the huge black dogs stalked and the landscape flashed macabre.

Why wasn't he running?

Without thinking, she slipped through the cracks, and entered.