As I looked around, one moment I was reading, and the next I was surrounded by flames—infernos of red and yellow that danced to a deadly tune. They towered over me like I was but a mere child in the presence of an adult. It was terrifying. I was surrounded; I couldn't run, my legs locked in fear. Unable to move, I fell backward. I heard a distant scream; it could have been my name, but I wasn't sure. I was so afraid I couldn't hear what they were saying over the noise of crackling flames and things falling. or who was saying it. 

Suddenly, my vision blurred, going dark. As the scent of burnt wood and the taste of ash started to fade, so did my consciousness. After what seemed like an instant, I woke up in a place that seemed to be a void of abyssal black. Yet it felt comforting—familiar, even. I found my footing on something, but I wasn’t sure what I was standing on, let alone if I was standing and not just falling in a way that felt like walking. 

As I walked, my mind raced with thoughts about the fire, the heat that radiated from the inferno I had been lost in. The smell of burning wood lingered in my nostrils, the feeling of my skin burning roaring through my body. I looked around this ‘abyss.’ I saw nothing; it was all a raw and bottomless black. 

Eventually, I stumbled upon a crack—like a broken eggshell, but the eggshell was the very space in front of me. From behind it, I felt an extreme heat: comforting and familiar. Curious, I leaned closer. Through the opening, I saw small embers glowing softly. A warm heat radiated from them. Though the embers glowed purple, the light they cast was a gentle red.

After what seemed like hours of fixated staring, my focus was drawn to what seemed like a person—a person that was materialising right in front of where the flame was. They were made of abstract shapes and light, a pure white glow casting from them. 

This being of pure light was slightly taller than the average person. They had small, bony fingers that were as slim as a pencil. It was a terrifying sight, yet I was not afraid. It neared me through the crack and seemed to make a motion to rip the crack open. As they did so, the crack widened increasingly. It eventually was large enough for them to step through. 

My breath hitched in my throat as I took a step back. I could not speak or scream—I was truly and utterly terrified. Yet once again, the same calm wafted over my being. It was a chilling feeling of simplicity; it felt empty. I felt empty. It took a few steps closer and opened its mouth. It asked a question that I heard and answered, but I didn’t hear what it was asking of me.

My mind moved on its own, forming words that wrung out of my dry throat, it pained me to speak yet i didn’t know what i had said. Hearing what I had said it gave what seemed like a smile, lips turned up slightly. It reached out, its palm to the sky, as a small orb of deep azure, purple, and black seemed to form in it. The orb grew and shrunk at a pace like a heartbeat. Eventually, it was the size of my fist.

The orb started to float up and towards me. This entity of abstract light spoke the first word I could understand ‘Singularity’ It was terrifying, but I did not run, I couldn’t run. Instead, I just stood still, in both fear and amazement. The orb went straight to where my heart should have been. A sharp and burning pain roared through my entire being, it was like I was being cut by a burning knife. 

As the pain reached its peak, I started to pass out once more. Where I was just in a pit of abyssal black, I was now in my room. I let out a deep breath, trying to calm my thoughts. It was a surreal thing, going from being inside a pitch of black to suddenly being drowned in the light of the sun. 

I could still feel the pain—a small soreness under my skin. It wasn’t painful, but more of an itch where my heart was. I felt different from before, the confusion of being stuck in the flames, then being lost in the abyss, riddling my mind with uncertainty. 

Beside me, my mother lay asleep, her posture tired, as if she'd been waiting for me to wake. A quick glance down revealed I was in a different dress from before, this one was more simple; plainer. I looked at my arms—they had bandages on them, and a small stinging pain pulsed underneath. It was probably burns from when I was lost in the burning area. 

I focused on what had happened, but it seemed I had blacked out or something—I couldn’t remember the details. I looked back up at my mother. She was the person I looked up to most. While yes, she did try to snuff out my dreams and mould me into a ‘good’ successor, it was out of fear for my future. It wasn’t unreasonable what she wanted from me. 

I started to get up and out of bed when I heard my mother begin to wake up. I paused in my movement and gave a meek smile. She looked at me, a piercing gaze that contrasted with my tired eyes. Then she remembered who I was and gave me a worried look.