Hiddenstars: Hello, everyone. This is my first purely fictional work. I will take this time to talk about meaningless things. Fist, an introduction- This is my muse, Pyro.

Pyro: This story’s really random, has horrible timing in more ways than one, and is downright odd.

Hiddenstars: Shut up. I like it. Anyway, here ya go…. Oh, wait. Some of the stuff that seems random is partly symbolic.

To Comprehend

When I awoke lying on my back , I felt faintly surprised. I got the distinct feeling that awakening was an unseen possibility, though I could not pinpoint just why I thought that.

I opened my eyes, and a crowd of people promptly swept into view. I watched them from where I lay, and felt oddly detached. Their voices were murmurs in the background. When I tried to pick out individual words, the sound just blended together even more.

They looked faint, I thought, studying a pair of brothers nearby.

Everything did. I blinked sluggishly.

I noticed something on the edge of my vision, and turned. The girl was clearer than the rest of them, more real that the others seemed. I frowned, a thought coming to the surface of my consciousness for a brief moment before disappearing again.

“Hello. I am your guide.” She told me in monotone.

“Guide?” I sat up, surprised at how little effort it took.

“What for?”

I watched an ant nearby move along the ground. The ant clambered over any obstacle in its path.

“I am to bring you to the Gates.”

I looked at her again.

“Gates?

“The passageway between Life and Death.”

“Oh.”

I looked back at the ant. It had joined a group of its kind, and I was again faintly surprised at how easy it was to pick it out. It and several others were working together to pull apart a fly. The ant I had started watching turned to take its piece back the way it had come.

“But I’m not dead.” I told her, reaching out to the ant.

“You are.”

My finger passed through the insect.

“No, I’m not,” I assured her, frowning and studying my finger.

The girl pointed behind me. I turned, and leapt backwards when I saw how close the dark blue car had been to my head.

“Look down” She told me, and I again I complied. When I saw my body lying where I had woken, I was more than surprised. I was shocked.

I stared at it for a long time. The unusual calm that had filled me since awakening vanished, and I was suddenly very, very afraid.

My eyes went wide, and I stumbled quickly to my feet, putting distance between me and the body that had been mine. The crowd, I now saw, was in a state of panic over my apparent death. I saw several ambulances nearby, and screamed. When I realized that I didn’t have to stop and draw breath, I started sobbing, too.

The girl put her hand on my shoulder again.

“It is okay” She said, still in monotone.

“It is alright.”

I gaped at her, so disbelieving that I stopped crying. Anger replaced some of the fear and sadness.

“Alright?” I repeated incredulously.

“How can it be alright? I’m DEAD, damnit! I’m actually, frickin’ dead!”

She stared at me blankly.

“Who are you?” I demanded.

“I am your guide.”

I rolled my eyes.

“No, I mean, who ARE you? What’s your name?”

“Name?”

“Yes! Your Name!”

“…I am afraid I do not understand the significance a name would hold to you.”

“Your name is your identity and your past! A name is something that marks you as you…”

For a moment, the girl merely stared in me. I could tell, though, that my words were slowly sinking in. When it hit, her eyes widened, and she stumbled away from me. It was the first time I saw her display any sort of emotion.

“Name? Do I have a name…?” She asked aloud. “A… past? But… I… I don’t… know…”

She started shaking, and my anger drained away, leaving exhaustion in its wake.

“Just who am I…?”

A couple hours later, the girl and I were sitting together on the roof of a tall building, our legs dangling over the side. I could tell that there was a breeze, and if I concentrated, I could feel it. The sun overhead had started to set.

“Will you give me a name?” She asked me after a long stretch of silence.

“I want…” She started, then stopped, unable to express with words just what it was she wanted.

I understood. She wanted a life. She wanted to be…herself.

“Of course” I studied her for a long moment as she gazed at the people below us.

“…Asianna.” I said at last. “It means ‘The Rising Sun’”

“…Asianna…” She repeated slowly.

“It rolls off the tongue. Has a nice sound to it. I’ll take it.” She smiled awkwardly, lips unused to the expression.

Asianna looked back across the city.

“You know, I’ve never understood why you humans care so much about life.”

I turned my head slowly to stare at her.

“…Life?” I asked hesitantly. Asianna nodded slowly, a look of puzzlement on her pale face.

“I guess…” I looked up at the sky, and watched a bird as it soared and dove through the air.

“I mean, life is all I’ve ever done, and it is all that I really know. And I’m… I’m not nearly ready to die yet. I haven’t contributed anything worthwhile. The bird flew upwards, and to me is seemed to enjoy the simplicity of it’s flight. Flying for it’s own sake.

“And I’m leaving people behind. My parents, my little sister… My best friend…” My eyesight was blurry, and when I blinked, I was surprised to feel water on my cheeks. I could still cry…?

“The kids I’ve known since grade school. My crush, the teachers I gave a hard time but really appreciated…”

I looked down at my lap.

“And there is still so much I need to say…”

“But does it really matter?” Asianna asked, and tugged my arm up. I looked at her questioningly.

“You were sinking through the roof…” She said with a small smile. There was another long moment of silence. I could hear kids playing below us.

“Of course it matters.” I answered at last.

“And I’m leaving them behind. They’ll be… devastated…”

Asianna regarded me intently for a moment.

“…Probably.” She agreed.

“But… life goes on. So to speak.” She pointed to where the people were below us.

“There are billions of people in this world, and far more numerous other organisms. Even in this city where you live- you do live here, right?” She asked. I nodded my confirmation.

“Since the day I was born.”

“Well, only a very small fraction of the people in this city will be affected. And they will move on, too. The world keeps on spinning, and all that is here now will die as well someday. Humans are so arrogant, to think that everything will stop and fall apart if they or someone near to them dies.

She stopped talking, and I could hear the children again. I smiled, and looked directly up at the sun. Overhead, I could see stars coming out.

We sat like that for several hours, and I was content to watch the world around me, like I had never been before.

Finally, Asianna spoke again.

“And your story is not done yet, is it?” She asked.

“Part One has ended, sure, but now you have just moved on to the next chapter of your existence. And you do not have to start this chapter all alone.”

I looked at her.

“You mean…”

“I cannot remember ever having had a friend,” Asianna told me. “But I would be honored if you would be my first.”

I smiled, and understood.

I understood that I wasn’t alone, and that I was done with life.

And I also understood that the world would go on, and so would I.

-End-

Hiddenstars:…And there it is. If you review, I shall read at least one of your stories and do the same. But don’t flame me. Also, I’m not sure if I’ve placed this in the right category. Should it be somewhere else?