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“I’m as scared as you look.” The voice came from beside me—a female.I turned to see whose voice was that.
Then I saw a tall, beautiful woman standing there, her expression gentle, her smile warm despite the fear in her eyes. Something about her presence eased the tightness in my chest. At least… I wasn’t alone in this.
She stretched out her hand. “Hi, I’m also a new soul,” she said, then quickly added with a small laugh, “Or you can call me Ruth. Please call me Ruth.” I almost smiled.
I reached out to shake her hand— But my fingers passed straight through hers, i blinked.
“Oh!” she laughed lightly, pulling her hand back. “I forgot. We haven’t learned to control it yet.”
My brows drew together. “Control what?”
“Our states,” she said, frowning slightly. “Wait… didn’t your spirit guide explain that?”
The silence that followed answered her question.
Her expression softened with something close to pity.
“Oh… you got one of those guides.”
“One of those?” I repeated.
“The unhelpful kind,” she said gently. “Some of them don’t bother much.”
So what do you mean by states? I asked.
She nodded, as if gathering her thoughts.
“We’re not exactly… solid right now,” she explained. “We can switch between forms. Like gas… or like how we used to be in our bodies.”
My heart skipped. “We can become solid again?”
“Yes,” she said. “But we have to learn how. Same with our thoughts—we can learn to keep them private. My eyes widened slightly.
“You mean… we don’t have to let everyone hear everything we think?”
She shook her head. “No. Not forever. Just for now.” That changed everything.
I felt a small spark of hope flicker inside me. Maybe… I wasn’t completely powerless here.
Maybe I could learn, maybe I could survive.
Because right now? I wasn’t even sure I’d make it past this first test.
I opened my mouth to ask another question— “All souls, gather here.” The voice cut through the space again.
Before I could react, my body moved on its own. I found myself standing in a straight line with the others My heart started racing again.
“You will now be transported to your individual challenge locations,” the voice continued. “Your guides have already prepared you for what lies ahead.”
My stomach dropped. Prepared? My guide hadn’t told me anything, not a single useful thing.
I was about to be thrown into something that could decide whether I lived or died… And I had no idea what to expect. I turned quickly to Ruth, but she was gone.
In her place stood a small boy. He couldn’t have been older than ten. My chest tightened instantly.
This? This wasn’t right.
They were making a child go through this? “I’m scared.”
His voice trembled. I looked down at him, forcing a small smile despite the fear clawing at my own chest.
“Me too,” I admitted softly. His eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t want to die,” he whispered. “Daniel said if I fail… I’ll die.”
My heart broke a little. Daniel? His guide, I guessed.
I hated that they told him that because, he was too young to carry that kind of fear.
“You’re not going to die,” I said quickly, even though I wasn’t sure if it was true. “We’ll figure this out. Okay?” He nodded weakly.
Before I could say more— “Remember,” the voice returned, louder this time. “Always find the light.” He paused, then continued. “Good luck, souls. We hope to see you in the next realm.”
My breath caught. Find the light?
That was all the instruction we got?
Before I could think further— A blinding white light exploded around us. I gasped, raising my hands to shield my eyes. The brightness swallowed everything.
When I opened my eyes again, i wasn’t there anymore. I was somewhere else.
This place looks familiar, too familiar, my breath hitched. I was at my lecture hall. My chest tightened, no way… I looked to my right, my best friend sat there, focused on her exam, her pen moving quickly.
To my left— I saw another student I recognized. Everything looked normal, too normal. I stayed still, my thoughts spinning. What just happened? Was that real? Or was this real?
I looked down at the paper in front of me, i saw an anatomy test. The same one I had been writing earlier.
Slowly… it began to make sense. I let out a shaky breath.
“I fell asleep…” I whispered, of course that had to be it.
My mind must have created everything, or maybe it was all just a dream.
A weird, intense dream.
Relief flooded through me so suddenly it almost made me dizzy.
“I’m okay,” I whispered. “I’m fine.” Without thinking, I turned and wrapped my arms around my best friend.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said quickly. “I had the craziest dream. I thought I was dead and—” She stiffened, then pulled back, staring at me like I had lost my mind.
“Eliana… what are you talking about?” I blinked. “What?”
“You’ve been awake this whole time,” she said slowly. “We got here together for the test, remember?”
My smile faded. “I… what?”My chest tightened again.
“No, I fell asleep,” I insisted. “I remember it. I was in this place—dark, empty—and there was this bus, and people, and—”
“Eliana.” A sharp voice cut through the room, I froze. My professor stood at the front, staring directly at me.
“If you’re done with your test,” he said, his tone strict, “submit your paper. Talking during an examination is not allowed.” Heat rushed through my face.
“I—” “Eliana,” my friend whispered urgently, nudging me. Are you okay? You look like you’re about to cry. I blinked, my vision blurring slightly. I’m fine, I said quickly, wiping my eyes. I just… I’m confused.
“It’s a test,” she whispered back. “That’s what’s going on. And if you don’t start writing, you’re going to get in trouble.”
I looked back at my paper, everything was normal. My heart started pounding again. Something wasn’t right because this felt real. But what does he mean by saying find the light? The words echoed in my head.
My breath caught. That wasn’t part of the dream, was it?
Slowly, I looked around the room again and everything seemed perfect. And that scared me more than anything else because, if this wasn’t real— Then somewhere, somehow, the real test had already begun.
