Part 1: Partings

My world had become dark. My eyes saw nothing but black. For three decades I had played a low hand. One of the cards was dug out of the trash and smeared with dirt. But this had been the lowest of the low. An ace played as a singular one that had led to this moment. I had been walking down the street, my head glued to my phone and my ears hugged by bulky headphones that looked several decades out of date. I didn't like dealing with other people, and they didn't like dealing with me as far as I was aware. So I continued as I always had, taking one step after another until I reached the place where I worked.

Then it was only headlights and sounds, the screeching of tires, and, finally, the impact of steel against flesh. The sound was horrendous, a symphony of crunching bones and muscles ripped in twain. But that horror was for the by standards alone to witness. The only thing I could hear in that final moment was my internal screaming that drowned out everything and nothing all at once.

There was only darkness for that second that seemed to stretch on forever. Then an equally blinding light and a hand reached out with the palest of skin and long nails. Not knowing any better, I reached out in kind and grasped with all my strength. It then pulled back, and, I was no longer of this world.

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***

“Welcome back to the world of the living.” A voice said from beyond the endless wall of light. “It seems like you've had your head handed to you, quite literally in this case. Why not give it another try?”

All I could see was my extended arm and the hand I had reached for. I could not see where the voice of my would-be savior was coming from. But I nodded with my non-existent head. Whatever lay beyond death's cold embrace, had to be better then sitting alone in the dark forever. So I spoke; “Whatever you're offering... deal me in. Anything would be better than this.”

If the feminine voice had a face, I could imagine she smirked. “Very well, young lady,” it said with a slight laugh. “Let's try this again. One more life, one more chance, coming right up! This time, however, try to not get run over again. We only offer each person this sort of thing once. So don't mess it up. Byebye!

”

With that, I felt a strong force, like a gust of wind hundreds of miles per hour in power and breadth, blow against my form, or lack thereof. Throwing me backward through the void and towards the brilliant light that had obscured my savior. Bathed in light, I was reborn.

My head was light, my chest was heavy, and before me was...