I came to.
I was sitting on a bench in a clearing. It was dark, sort of. Dimly illuminated.Bright enough to see the immediate vicinity.I looked around, a few shrubs here and there and a small tree. Only as far as the light went. Past that point it was...too dark to see.
I heard foot steps and a woman came walking into view. Attractive, well proportioned. She came and sat next to me on the bench. 'Hi' she said.
'Hi' I replied. 'Where am I?'
'I don't know' she said. 'I sometimes come here but I'm not sure where this is. She looked around. 'My name is Tara'.
'Hey.. do you know what this place is?' I asked.
Tara looked around again, as if looking for something just beyond where the light faded.
'I think I might, but..' she seemed distracted.
We were silent for a minute. I wasn't sure what to say. I wondered why I couldn't see past the illuminated area. No shadows or silhouettes of trees or buildings. I noticed there was no wind. I looked up at the stars, only to see they weren't there. Nothing. Just nothing.
'Where do you go when you leave here?' I asked, suddenly feeling a bit strange about Tara.
'I..can't remember...' Tara's voice trailed off as if she was as perplexed about her situation as I was of mine. 'I'm going to see what's beyond the light... you can come if you want'.
I suddenly had a feeling of dread, as if something was terribly wrong. Tara stood up and started walking away from the bench, moving toward the blackness. 'You coming?' she asked.
'I don't think I will..' I replied. 'Tara, don't go there! Somethings not... it's not..'right'.
Just before Tara got to the edge of the darkness she stopped and turned, looking back at me. 'I can't do this anymore. Night after night I come here. You're the first person I've seen here. Ever. I've been here forever.' Tara's face was an expression of sadness and loneliness as tears streamed down here face.
'Tara! I don't think you're safe beyond here!' I almost yelled to her as my dread became overwhelming.
I watched as she turned back towards the black. She started taking her last few steps toward the darkness. As she disappeared from view I heard Tara say 'It's ok, I'm already dead'..
I sat alone. Frozen with fear, afraid to move.
