I remember opening my eyes and seeing above me two unknown faces. One shone brighter than the sun at high noon, a golden shimmer encompassing his outline. The other, clad in red the colour of fresh blood, was opening and closing his mouth, speaking words I could not hear, let alone understand.

What? I try to say.

My lips do not move, my throat does not vibrate. No sound reaches my ears. Only my eyes can move; my body is little more than a locked prison from which I cannot escape.

Fear. That is the first thing I remember feeling. Pure fear.

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A hand hot as a firebrand upon my face. The one clad in red holds fast, thumb stroking my cheek as he continues to move his lips, repeating the same lines, “Do not be afraid. Nod when you can hear me. It’s alright. Do not be afraid.”

Slowly, so slowly...that warmth begins to penetrate deep into my body to knock the ice from my bones. The words the one in red speaks are no longer lip movements I read, but actual sounds that prick my ears.

“Do not be afraid. It’s alright.”

What about any of this was alright? What was going on? Where was I?

“Who am I?” The words claw their way up my half-frozen throat.

Who am I?