I

                                    

                                          
I
                          
It was not my time to die.
                          
And yet, I am dead.
                          
I had always known how I would die. But the place, the time and the why was… is still a great mystery. Much like that dream you cannot quite remember. How do I know I’m dead and this isn’t a dream? Well, for starters, dreams are much more colorful than the place I now stand. Of course, there is color here… just muted. I’m not quite sure wherehere is or how I know so much about it. But I do.
                          
A gentle, white mist coiled around me while I reflected on my last and only memory. The girl with scarlet hair and green eyes telling me she loved me. The Mist pushed against my back, propelling me forward into the nothingness.
                          
The Mist gave a push before uncoiling itself. I stumbled and fell to the ground. A masculine hand helped me back to my feet.
                          
“Thanks,” I said to the tall man with sun warm skin, dark shoulder length hair and a long scar across his right cheek. I was sure I had given him, but when or how, I couldn’t remember.
                          
“I had hoped it wasn’t you,” he said. He turned and stared into the Mist. It had changed to the vibrant colors of dark greens and browns of meant for trees hidden deep in the forest. Violet and blue of the flowers that lined the paths to a place I almost remembered.
                          
“What are we looking at?” I asked
                          
“A memory,” he replied.
                          
A large tree with a wooden swing hanging from a tall branch, swaying with a slight breeze, appeared in front of us. Purple flowers in a variety of species and all smelling of lavender filled the empty space around us. Off in the distance just behind the tree laughter danced on the wind.
                          
A young girl with long, flowing crimson hair and bright green eyes ran toward us. A younger and unscarred version of the man that now stood next to me followed close behind. Before she reached the tree, he caught her around the waist and they fell into the field of purple. I looked at the man standing next to me, he was smiling. I’m not sure how I knew that smile was only for her, or even who she was for sure, but I knew that her voice was the last thing I’d heard before my death.
                          
I wanted to turn away. My eyes filled with tears. They would never be that happy again and it was my fault. The couple lay in each other’s arms, looking at the sky.
                          
“When do you have to leave?” she asked.
                          
He pushed her hair behind her ear and replied. “Sunset”
                          
“So soon,” she said. “I had hoped for more time.”
                          
“I must return,” he replied with a scowl.
                          
She pretended to pout. “You will not run off and forget about me will you?”
                          
“Never.” He smiled in reply.
                          
With a grin, she leaned in, and kissed him. The Mist faded from pink, then back to white. The scared man and I both stood there in silence for some time thinking. He was the first to speak.
                          
“I will never leave her.” He yelled, into the nothingness. “Not completely.” He whispered more to himself.
                          
A short time later he turned to me and asked. “Why are you here?”
                          
“It is not important,” I replied. “You’re leaving anyways."
                          
Confused, the man stated. “I am.”
                          
“This will be nothing more than a dream.” I placed my hand on his shoulder and it’s time for you to go home.”
                          
Then I walked away. He called out a name, but I didn’t hear it. The Mist shifted from white to an inky blue.