Cold

Cold. That was the first thing Isaac thought of. His eyes were shut, but he could hear the window shutters slamming frantically as the wind rushed into the small cabin. Isaac reached for a blanket in an attempt to fall back asleep, but the cold air flying in kept him from his slumber. Isaac soon realized he wouldn’t be able to lay comfortably anymore, so he arose, blanket wrapped tightly around his shoulders, and he lazily dragged his socked feet to the windows. As he closed them, he pondered as to why they were open in the first place. He looked around the empty cabin, and stood still, in thought of what to do. 

“Hel-” Isaac’s throat was dry and he cleared his throat before trying again. “Hello?” he whispered out to the pitch black cabin.

     Isaac wandered around the cabin in search for any familiar faces, or any faces at all. He didn’t know what time it was, or day, for that matter. All he could remember was who he was, and that he had been asleep for what felt like a long time. 

     After checking each room, Isaac made his way over to the fireplace and started a fire. He walked over to the kitchen and opened up each cupboard, and to his surprise, they were empty. Except for a few plates, there was no food, no silverware, nothing. Now that he thought of it, the rooms were pretty empty, too. There were two beds, one per room, and basic furniture, but nothing that seemed to represent personal belongings. Whose cabin was he in? It seemed familiar yet, something was off. 

    Isaac sat on the dirty wooden floor, close to the fire with the blanket still wrapped tightly around his body. He stared into the fire’s heart, and listened closely to the sound of the wind thumping against the small building. Isaac’s thoughts ran in his head, trying to remember how he got here, and where his family was. He had a family, right? He couldn’t even remember his family, it was like a dream that he had forgotten as soon as he woke up. Isaac continued to stress over what was going on, and eventually found himself falling back asleep in front of the warm embers as the blizzard outside began to slowly die down. 

   10 minutes had passed when Isaac awoke again, this time to a loud banging at the front door. Alerted, he sat up immediately, and waited for another knock to determine whether he should get up or not. As predicted, there was another booming knock, and Isaac walked over to the entrance cautiously. 

“Who is it?” he asked with his head pressed against the wooden door. When he received no response, he chose to crack open the door an inch and take a peek at the mysterious stranger. Before Isaac could look through, he was being pushed to the floor as the door slammed open. 

“Hey- what the?!” 

Isaac shielded his face with his arm, and opened his eyes to see a horrifying mass of a person- they were covered in multiple thick layers of rags and jackets, their mouth was covered by a black cloth and they carried a wooden staff. Shutting the door, the person looked down at Isaac as he sat frozen, unsure of what to do. He was shocked and scared, what was this person here for? He hadn’t done anything wrong, as far as he could remember. Now that he thought of it, he couldn’t even remember much, so maybe he had done something to offend this person. Crap, maybe this was their cabin, and he had broken in. Yet, what kind of person only has plates in their kitchen? Isaac’s mind was panicking in thought of what was going on, but his attention was brought back when the person let out their hand to him. Isaac hesitated before taking it, and then stood as he watched for what were to happen next. 

The person closed the door and pointed their staff to him, and then the floor in front of the fire, which had died out. As he made his way over to the spot they pointed to, he watched as they began removing layer after layer of jackets. Soon enough, a woman was standing before his eyes, her skin dark and smooth, hands covered in medical wraps, her obsidian black hair long and braided, and her eyes were hazelnut, with a hint of misty gray. She was stunning. The more he looked at her, the more he began to recognize her- of course, his mother.

“... Mom?” he whispered out.

She sat down next to him and reached her hand out to caress his cheek. She brought down her hand, “my boy,” she signed. She had a sad smile on her face, but her eyes told him she was relieved to see him. Isaac wondered why she was sad, but he was soon distracted by the sunlight shining through a window and onto his face. He squinted and moved out of the way. 

“Come, let's go for a walk,” she signed, and with a calm look, she stood. He followed her to the door, before realizing he didn’t have any winter clothes. Grabbing her arm, she turned around, and he pointed to his feet. “I don’t have shoes, or a jacket.” She chuckled and signed, “You don’t need them, but you can borrow mine.”

Choosing not to question what she meant, he put on her shoes and a coat, both of which were too large for his 13 year old stature. They walked out together, hand in hand, and looked up at the trees as the piled up snow fell off the branches. Isaac tugged on his mother's arm, “Where are we going?”

“Why, what’s the rush? We have all the time in the world now.”

“I’m just curious,” he responded.

“Okay. You’ll see.”

She looked back up to the path ahead of them and continued to stroll in the thick layer of snow. They walked in silence for a few minutes, and when Isaac began to get bored, he decided to walk backwards. He watched as a bird gathered material for their nest, saw a rabbit hopping around, and took a deep breath of the icy winter breeze. Looking down at his feet, he noticed how loose the shoes were, and how run down they looked. Suddenly, Isaac froze. His mother stopped soon after, and walked over to see what the issue was. Isaac walked in a circle, all the while looking at his feet. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Mom, where are my footprints?” he looked at her with wide eyes. 

She looked back at him, confused. “What do you mean?” she signed.

“Look, look at my feet, they don’t leave any footprints, neither do yours!” 

“Of course not, spirits don’t leave footprints behind.”

 Isaac stared at his mother in awe, trying to process what she had said. “What do you mean… spirits?”

She knelt down in front of him and brushed his hair back as she began to explain. “My boy, do you not remember? We have passed on to the afterlife, we’re currently living as spirits.”

“... What? We died? How, when?”

Her brows furrowed in concern for her son, she sighed and got up, looking determined at the snowy path ahead of them. “There is someone we have to meet. There, you will understand everything,” she looked down and held her palm out to him. Isaac took her hand once again, and they marched on. 

Some hours later they arrived to a cave, well hidden by the snow. They made their way in through the opening, where they found a person, facing the back wall of the cave. They carried a staff with a lamp attached, and had short brown hair. “Sit,” they commanded before turning around. Isaac signed to his mother what they had said, and the two sat crossed-legged on the muddy earth.

The person took a deep breath before speaking, “Welcome. You’re probably wondering who I am, but my name is irrelevant. If you must, you may call me Spirit Lord. I am here to bring you to the next stage, I am the one who will determine which worlds you will be reborn into… Any questions?” they finished. They stood with a powerful stance, hands stretched out on the staff, their back completely straight. Isaac wondered whether they were a male or female, but when he couldn’t figure it out, he decided he didn’t care and gave up. 

“Wherever we go, will I be united with my son?” Isaac’s mom signed to Spirit Lord.

“It’s a possibility,” they responded.

“Wait, wait, so, basically, I’m dead? But I lived such a short life, I was only 13, I don’t even remember how I died! All I remember is my mom and my name, I- I don’t understand!” Isaac ranted out. 

Spirit Lord glanced with a raised eyebrow over to Isaac’s mother, and cleared their throat before crouching down in front of Isaac. He leaned back, unsure of what they were doing, and Spirit Lord placed their right thumb to his forehead.

Suddenly, Isaac’s eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he felt himself fall out of consciousness as memories rushed into his head, hundreds of thousands of memories making their way back into his brain, and in an instant, he remembered the reason he recognized the cabin, his death, his birthdays, he remembered everything. Gasping, he clutched his head, and he felt his mother's hand on his back. 

Isaac’s mouth was open and his eyes were wide, in shock of the ugly truth that was his death. Slowly, he turned to his mother, and let the tears fall from his eyes. He bit his lip hard as he tried to swallow the pain he was feeling. His mother let out a sad smile and shed a few tears of her own, and they hugged. Isaac’s heart hurt as he thought of how they had died together, and he wondered how she had managed to stay so calm all the while knowing of their passing. They let go of each other and looked back up to Spirit Lord. They seemed unfazed, as if they were used to seeing people cry. 

“Why was she able to remember, but not me?” Isaac questioned as he wiped his tears away.

“Some humans are more spiritually connected than others, which allows them to face reality soon after they have passed. They are able to recognize that they are no longer a part of this world, and that they now reside as spirits. Your mother is one of these humans. Most humans, especially young children, such as yourself, are unable to comprehend these thoughts without my help.” Spirit Lord responded. 

“Oh… So, what happens now?”

“Now? Now, I read your lives, your personalities, your thoughts, everything that makes you, you. That will help me form a decision on your next destination.”

“How does it work?”

“Like this,” Spirit Lord placed one hand on Isaac’s shoulder, and the other on Isaac’s mother's shoulder. From their eyes, a brilliant blue and white light shone, a beam which grew and connected to Isaac’s eyes, and then to his mother’s. The light wasn’t hot, nor was it cold. It kept the three frozen in their spots, and Isaac could feel his mind being picked apart, it was a strange feeling, indescribable, uncomforting. All of a sudden, they were in a new place. It wasn’t a room, and it seemed to be out of this world. He and his mom looked around, lights were everywhere, a long beam of lime green that seemed to go on forever when he looked up, dark blue polka dots, pink and purple squares which seemed to glow, disappearing and reappearing. There were rainbows and moving shapes all around them. Isaac was confused, he couldn’t tell what was real and what his mind was making up, if at all. He stood in amazement and great wonder, it was the most curious thing he had ever experienced. They both turned to Spirit Lord, and waited for them to speak.

“I’ve looked at both of your minds, and I’ve made a decision. Although you may be separated in this next coming life, you will spend what feels like an eternity together before being reborn. You suffered many times throughout your previous lives, and suffered in your last moments of life. Now you are free from the anguish, you can rest, be together. When the time comes, you will be brought back in a new world, where you will endure even more.”

“Will the process continue? What happens when we die in the new world? Will we remember our previous life?” Isaac wondered.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve gone through this process. Most likely, it won’t be the last.”

“Does this go on forever?”

“... Everything is temporary.”

Isaac wanted to ask more questions, but Spirit Lord turned away and began to chant in an unknown language, waving his staff in a pattern. A white light began to grow in front of Spirit Lord, forming some sort of oval-shaped portal. It let off a cold gust of wind out of nowhere, making Isaac squint and reach for his mother. 

Spirit Lord turned to them, “Alexandria Dellis, this life from which you come lasted for 42 human years. Your time has come to move on in the spiritual realm, where you will experience many things before reincarnating. Step through the portal when ready.” 

Isaac’s mother took a deep breath and squeezed his hand. She let go and took a step forward. She looked back at him and signed ‘love,’ and just like that, she was gone. Isaac felt scared now that he was alone.

“Isaac Dellis, this life from which you come lasted a mere 13 human years. Your time to move on in the spiritual realm has come. You will experience many things before reincarnating. Please step through the portal when ready,” Spirit Lord gestured to the glowing gateway. Isaac took a small step forward, and then another. He looked at Spirit Lord, and then forward again. Now that he was closer, he could see it was, almost, swirling inwards to the center of itself. He closed his eyes and stepped through. He didn’t know what to expect. He thought of his mother, and of his life. His heart ached; there was so much he still didn’t understand. Isaac’s final thought was that of his heart; cold.