SPLOT!

-- the first sound I heard. The first feeling was even more unpleasant. It felt a lot like getting a floor full of mud plastered into my face.

“Eh, ‘e’s not much to look at is, is ‘e?” said a worrying voice, from what I would estimate was three feet above me. Being three feet above me, at the moment, was not hard, since I was lying full-length in the mud. It was apparently raining also. Either that or I was lying within range of a sprinkler.

Be quiet, earth-spirit, said a much larger voice. It’s not what he is, but what he chooses to become.

Well, now. That sounded epic. Tentatively, I lifted up my head so as to expose my eyes and mouth to air instead of mud.

*cough*

“What now?” said the shorter voice.

“I said Cough!” I shouted. “What the hell happened? Is this some dream, a prank, or magic? Who are the two of ya, and why I am lying in mud in the pitchblack dark when it’s raining?”

“Cuz you fell there, didn’t ya?” I received an answer to my least important question.

We have few words and little time. There are better things to tell. You, spirit, be silent.

“Aww,” the short voice quavered. It sounded grouchy

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At this point I had finally succeeded in scraping all the mud off my eyes and looked around. Yep. Complete pitch darkness in every direction. Not a glint or glimmer.

Look up.”

I did. And oh. There was one patch of light --- brilliant, round, a hundred colors (were there even that many colors?) --- which expanded as I watched it to fill my whole view. Okay, it was a landscape.

That is where you will go. You will find yourself in a new body.

I felt wind blowing. I realized I was naked. The landscape was getting bigger. I thought I could make out some mountains.

It is a … plastic world. Malleable. Shape the little piece you find around you. You have this power.

I looked behind me. Blue sky and darkness. Stars twinkling. A moment ago that hadn’t been there.

“Whaaat?” Okay. I admit: I had played it pretty cool up to that point. But now I was skydiving, naked, down into some unknown landscape --- parachutes on hand? zero --- with some giant voice talking to me from somewhere.

Meh, this was fun.

“WOOHOOO!” I shouted.

Wait. You must listen. There are only moments.

“Ahh! Now this is interestin.” Now the little voice was speaking. “He doesn’t care! He doesn’t flippin’ care!”

“Alright, alright.” I caved in. “Who are you and whadda you wanna tell me?” It was weird how I could hear those voices so clearly above all the wind whistling by my ears. It had gotten really loud. Looked like those mountains were directly below me. Fifteen seconds? Yeah, I prolly had twenty seconds till impact. “Also,” I added, “any chance this is what a near-death experience is like?”

Shape the world, small one. Your tiny, precious world. Be the best you can. Seeds grow.

“On a scale of 1 to 100, that’s about a 60 for pithiness!” I shouted.

“Ya don’t hafta shout! We hear you.”

A gift.

Gift? What? Oh. In addition to the wind, I felt something else now. It was warm – it tingled – like a giant breathing over me.

I recede now.

I was totally gonna hit those mountains. Eight seconds. I closed my eyes.

“Dive!” I heard the grumpy voice. “Dive like a swan now, ya vast lug nut! It’s my gift to ya!”

And suddenty I felt strong. Hands over my head, legs together and –