A Helping Hand

Blue skies seep into my eyes and I finally feel the warmth of sunlight wallowing inside my skin. These breaths of fresh air I thought I wouldn't have been able to feel again, but here I am. I stand in remission outside of the double-doors. A part of me is in disbelief of all that just happened.

I head down the steps to gain distance from this hellhole. As I look around, I notice that this building really is in the middle of nowhere. Trees hang high for miles wide and there's nothing left for me to do than further my journey into the forest that surrounds me. There's a huge dirt lot that I have to walk through before entering the woods and about mid-way, I stop to take in one last glance.

'WOODBARROW ASYLUM FOR THE INSANE AND ILL' reads on a sign to the left of the entrance.

"Well, that explains a lot," I chuckle.

As I go to turn away from the sign, there's a face in one of the windows on the third floor. It's a man wearing what looks like a mask. Half of his face is black and the other side looks to have been painted red. He seems angry while staring into my soul; not moving a single muscle. Who is this man? Did he do this to me? Was he the one trying to frighten me?

I shake off the image from my mind and turn to head for help. As I near the woods I hear the chattering of people having a good time. It must be some up-to-no-good teenagers. I start heading in the direction of the voices, "Help! I need help! I've been attacked in the abandoned building outside of the woods!" I shout through the trees in hopes someone heard me.

"Guys. She's out." A young man says while sharpening a collector's knife on a wooden stump. His hair is Champaign blonde with deep-sea diving blue eyes and the sound of his voice is calm but stern. He must attract all the ladies.

"Wait. What do you mean 'she's out'?" I blurted out in confusion after realizing what he had just said. "Never mind that, I need help, you might not believe me but I was attacked inside that abandoned building over there!" I point out.

"Avalon, is it?" A short gal asks behind me with a huge smile on her face. She's so tiny, how cute! Her odd pastel pink hair flows to the bottom of her pant pockets with the softest brown eyes I've ever come across. Normally girls like this would annoy me but her voice isn't uppity; it's more positively sweet sounding. It's the kind of voice that you can't bring yourself to hate.

"Yes," I answer still confused as to what's going on, "How did you… know that?" I question back.

"Now, don't you worry! I will tell you everything!" She spits back in the same sweet manner as before.

"Enna," A tall well-figured woman motions with her eyes to the other girl; telling the girl to pretty much leave us alone and let her take over.

"As you wish, Sera," Enna nods in approval of understanding and skips her way over to the mysterious guy on the stump.

"So, Nathaniel, she's pretty don't you think?" I overhear Enna trying to converse with mister shy-guy.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?

"Stop being so serious, Nate. Try lightening up a bit, would ya?" I continue to hear Enna and Nate bicker back and forth.

The confusion is unreal, and these people are acting as if it's any normal day. The traumatic experience that happened to me not too long ago isn't something to be swept under the carpet. I need to get it off my chest. I need to find the answers. Not just the answers about the building but now as to how they seem to know me.

"Avalon," The woman who motioned for Enna to leave us alone moves my attention back towards her. "You must be frightened, dear." She adds on while gently placing her hand on my back.

"Uhm. Yeah." I mutter back while strolling further away from Enna and Nate.

"There's a lot of informing to do and I would like you to bear with me while I try explaining some of it to you," Sera says, "First off, let me introduce myself, I'm Seraphina. Some, like Enna the nice girl you met, have come to call me Sera." She continues with a soothing voice. Her voice reminds me of a mother; she must play that role in some form.

"I'm Avalon, but I'll take a wild guess and say that you already knew that, nice to meet you." I return the greeting.

"Not so wild of a guess. Let me clear up some confusion for you," Sera replies

Seraphina begins telling me a telltale between life and death. A human, once outliving their average lifespan, will come to terms with death. When a human is met with death there will be a final judgment on whether the soul can move forward to find peace or stay trapped inside a withering vessel in the pits of the Underworld. Now, if the judgment is made to bring peace upon the soul, the soul will then be evaluated for resurrection. There is a different world for those who are chosen to have peace brought upon them. The world she talked about isn't visible to mankind for it is free without havoc and only relishes in the up-most form of serenity. This 'world' is often known as Heaven to any mere human.

She continues explaining the resurrection process and how it relates to my situation. Having the chance to be resurrected is considered a blessing, not only for your new life form but for the chance to change the world for the better. There is always a task at hand when someone is resurrected. She gives an example of how some of the humans considered as 'celebrities' have been given a second chance at life to bring more joy to the world. The laughter and other sets of feelings that celebrities are able to bring can drown out some of the chaos that goes on around them.

"How does this relate to me in any way, shape or form?" I ask as if her story made my confusion ten times worse.

"I'm getting to that, Avalon," She replies back in hopes of my patience before continuing on with her story.

Sera starts to unravel the real reason behind our meeting. She prepares me for an open mind and tells me to make sure my breathing stays regulated. Then, adding to the story, she explains to me how a nineteen-year-old girl was hit by a drunk driver on her way home from the store. This young woman's life was taken before her time and so was the life of the baby she was carrying – the life of Avalon Bowdon. The judgment made for baby Avalon was a quick decision. The decision was made even quicker when the judgment table came to the realization that Avalon possessed a few characteristics that the world needed more of.

"So, I'm the baby in the story, and this is my second chance?" I blurted out trying to make sense of things and still be rational at the same time.

"Correct, Avalon, you were the infant that was a gift to humanity." Seraphina smiles and nods looking so relieved that I'm not freaking out right now. "Your story is a story that reins amongst all of us and your story shall be told for centuries to come. You have a great power deep inside of you, Avalon, and we will go into more detail in the next few days. For now, let's head back to camp. You have some more of us to meet and much needed rest to take." She concludes bringing this fiasco of a story to a dire end.

I'm not sure what to believe at this very moment. Usually, I don't listen to what strangers have to say let alone leave with them, but it's the help I need. They seem trustworthy so I'll go with it, and I do need the rest.

"Before we head back can you answer one more thing for me?" I ask Seraphina

"Of course, what is it?

"What was the reason behind me being in that crazy building in the first place?

"Before a resurrection can be complete, the soul has to go through a, well, let's call it an obstacle course. The test is set upon the soul before entering back into society to be sure that they can handle humanity once more. Having such life can take a big toll on a soul, and to have it twice the risk of failure is even higher. No same test is given twice. The test you get is based on the kind of person you'll become and when you pass the finish line it's proven that nothing but greatness will be accomplished from this resurrection." Sera admitted with a concerned expression on my behalf.

"So, I went through that nutty place to prove I can handle myself?

"Not yourself. You had to evade that place in preparation for what life has to throw your way.

"And you're my rescuer?

"I'm here for guidance and understanding. I'm here to help you along your path to make sure you're able to rise above all; staying driven and sane throughout the journey.

"So you're God?

"No…" Sera giggles under her breath, "I'm a guardian. We all are." She clarified while motioning towards Enna and Nate that it's time to leave.