A Walk Through The Veil

There are very few things in my life that terrify me. One being this bizarre beeping noise I keep hearing. Another one happens to be mice. They’re small, fast, and they have very sharp teeth! The last thing that scares me is people who dare to put mushrooms on pizza. Experiencing one of these things sends a ripple effect and makes me think about the rest of the things that I don't like. Needless to say, I’m not going back to bed anytime soon. 

Restlessly I give into my running thoughts and move out of the coziness of my bed. Pulling blanket after blanket away from me I could see the blue-grey light shining through a gap in the curtains.

I sleepily walked over to the kitchen to get an ice-cold glass of water. I dragged my feet on the wood floor across to the kitchen. I grabbed my favorite “Winter Time” mug and filled it up with filtered water from our frig. With my eye half opened I walked towards the sliding glass doors in our dim lighted living room. I managed to find the vertical cord that opens the blinds and pulled down to reveal a stunning site.

There were clouds for miles and all of them releasing soft puffy flakes. Snow! It had been nearly two years since I last saw snow. My stomach filling with so much excitement it could of almost be mistaken for stress.

I wasted no time and immediately set my mug down. I ran into the front entrance where my coat and boots had been waiting months for me. But no longer would they need to wait. It was finally here! Winter! My favorite season by far! I remember my little brother and me playing in the snow as children. Nothing would ever beat those precious days. 

I slipped into my rain boots and my favorite soft oversized jacket, my dad got me for my birthday. I was so excited I hit the corner of our bookcase on the way out but I was too thrilled to let that slow me down. 

The sun wasn’t out yet but the sky was beginning to turn a lilac color. It was breathtaking to the purple reflect among the clouds. I ran over to my brother’s window and knocked on it. He loved the snow just as much as I did and I knew he’d love to experience this with me! Not to mention a year ago he promised me an epic snowball fight with my dad.

I knocked one last time before deciding to run around to the front door. If I can’t get him to wake up from here then I’ll just have to wake him up the hard way, I thought. 

As I ran around the patio my foot slipped on a hard patch of snow and I fell face-first into the ground. I took a moment here. I was getting ahead of myself. Yes, I was excited but I also had to remember I was still in recovery and couldn’t risk my progress from the site of some snow. The snow wasn’t going to vanish in seconds, anyways.

I picked myself up and dusted the snow off of me. I walked to my front door looking back as I opened the oddly weightless wooden door. 

Walking over to my brother Liam’s door took longer than I wanted. Why couldn’t he have gotten up by my knocking? I wasn’t knocking on his window lightly. 

I knocked again and then opened his door. His room was messer than I remembered. He never liked his room this dirty. Mom didn’t let him play video games unless his homework was done and his room was clean.

I looked up to see his bed empty. Hmm…He probably went to Cody’s house. I shrugged it off and went to my parents’ room. I Knocked twice before going inside. By this point, fear was settling in and I heard a beeping noise again. I ignored it once again and continued to walk to their bed. I hesitated to look letting the fear settle in deeper. When I finally got the courage to look at their bed I saw two pillows and some messed up blankets but not them. My heart dropped and I started to feel a knot in my throat. 

I walked outside trying my best to remember what happened the night before. But my memory wasn’t too good. I couldn’t remember much of anything. I couldn't remember anything but the smell of mushrooms and some weird beeping noise. I walked over to the garage to find it opened. By this point, that wasn’t much of a surprise. Perhaps they went to get breakfast, I hoped frantically. But I knew that was wishful thinking. It was the morning. The sun had just come out and I know my family too well. If it wasn’t for me they’d all sleep until sundown.

I looked down at my feet scared of what this all might mean. As I was looking at my feet I realized I wasn’t cold. I turned to see the snow around me thinking I should have felt cold at least once. When I fell earlier I should have been cold. My face hit the snow when I tripped. I walked over to where I had fallen noticing the most terrifying thing yet. I wasn’t leaving any marks in the snow. No indents where I fell and no footprints. My feet gave into the ground and I couldn’t push the knot in my throat back any further. There’s only one reason why I wouldn’t be leaving footprints.

But my mug! How could I have picked up the mug if I were dead?! I walked to the kitchen wiping away the tears on my cheeks. Peering over at the table I didn’t see any mug. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. To help me face this reality. Maybe I never made it out of the hospital, I thought. 

The only thing I could think of doing was crying but I didn’t want to. I still didn’t want this to end. Not like this. I made the only other choice I could and walked to the hospital. 

Walking to the hospital wasn’t much of a challenge but walking in my room was. I remember spending endless nights in that dark cold room and when I left I never wanted to come back. I had one last thought before seeing my nurse walk to the desk in the center of the room. The thought was a little nerve-racking but only solidified my suspicions. When I fell and when I hit the bookcase, I didn’t feel any pain. 

I looked around to see if anyone would look at me. But no one noticed me. 

“Uh, hello?” I said. 

“Could you help me?” I asked with a shake in my voice. Trying hard not to get sad or angry I walked back to my room and entered it.

I’m not sure what I was expecting. Maybe closure or maybe for me to wake up. 

The room was brighter than I remembered and as I looked closer I saw Liam. My parents were there too. My mom was looking down at her feet and my dad was looking through the window across the room. They all looked sad but no tears, I examined. I frantically looked up at the monitor as the beeping sounds became louder.  I wasn’t dead! The beeping sound was me hearing my heart monitor. I was lying in bed, asleep. 

The only question was why; why was my soul out of my body?

Maybe I can step back into my body. I definitely didn’t want to stay in this dimension, after all. 

I slowly put my hand over my relaxed body and pushed against it. My hand was going through but I couldn’t tell if it would work. Yet, it was the only choice I had. I stood up on the bed and fell into myself.

I felt numb. But I remembered my last thought before my soul left. I just want to be home. 

My eyes were so heavy. I opened them slowly. I blinked twice as the light in the room got brighter. Suddenly, I jump up and looked around my family. 

“Honey! Relax! You’re okay. The procedure went well but you have to rest for now.” My mom said and I took the biggest breath I have ever taken. Not only could she see me but I was going to be okay. 

“Would you like pizza? I bought a half and half. Half of its cheese and the other mushrooms with pepperoni.” My dad asked. 

“Cheese sounds amazing, thank you!” I said softly. 

“That’s boring! Eat a mushroom!” Liam said grabbing a slice and waving it in my face. 

“I’m going to hit you with that monstrosity if you don’t get it away from my face!” I said with a smile. 

I laid back down for a moment and closed my eyes. Thanking everything around me. I was so scared and so lost. But I was going to be okay. And that’s what matters the most.