7
"Agh, my head hurts…"
I brushed it off and decided to ask those questions later. For now I just needed more information on this strange process.
"So what, do I just float down the River?"
She chucked, "Right, right, I forgot. Once you take a sip, a stone coffin will drift to you. I'll be making sure you get in safely and close it for you."
She sternly looked me in the eye and took on a firm tone.
"I know you're going to feel curious and attempt to find out where you're going, but don't even try. That's only for the River—and only the River—to know. It works in ways you aren't meant to understand. You never see where the coffins are going to or what they're coming from. It's seemingly endless, no matter what point you're standing at. But the River actually does have an end and beginning. It's just that the length of it is so vast that no human soul could ever traverse to those points—at least not without succumbing to the overwhelming desire to drink from the River. Once you've sipped from it, there's no escaping the need to get in the coffin. That is the only way the River will let you traverse it, and fighting that notion is just not in the cards for you."
She paused for allowing me to take in this information. I stood quiet for a moment then beckoned for her to continue. She nodded in understanding and began to speak again.
"The Medium itself has seemingly strange but very simple bounds. The River runs right through the middle of it, like a horizontal line through a very long rectangle. The area where souls spawn is near the middle of the rectangle, far from where the river ends and begins. The souls are able to reach the Medium's boundaries if they move away from the River vertically, towards the bottom or top of the rectangle; hence why some souls end up back to the living world. However, if you move horizontally along the line, you simply won't be able to reach the outer boundaries. The journey is too rough and the desire to drink from the River is too great, making it impossible. As for beyond those unreachable boundaries, it's said that the River forks and it connects the Medium to the Three Planes. Honestly, It's just a guess. No one really knows. The River has always been mysterious and secretive. That's why when the coffin closes, it won't open til you reach your destination. You won't know where you're going till you get there. Don't worry though, the journey won't feel endless, as you might think. You will fall asleep shortly after getting in the coffin, and you won't have any sense of consciousness during it. The sleep will feel short, because time is strange here. You could be in the coffin for who knows how long, but it'd feel like mere seconds. It's not just time, either. A lot of things are simply inexplainable here."
I chucked and said wryly, "Yeah, I'm getting that."
She smiled and softened her once serious tone.
"I know it's a lot to take in, I'll give you some time to decide what you'd like to do."
She peered off in the direction of the river. Hues of crimson danced around her, mixing into beautiful shades of pink with her glowing aura. I felt allured by her presence, but also… a little unnerved.
"I guess I should trust her, I mean she seems to know a lot. What else can I really do? I just can't shake this strange feeling. I don't like it."
I studied her for a moment, then slowly looked towards the River.
"She did say the Medium is meant to cause uncertainty. I sure as hell feel perturbed. If she doesn't guide me, what will happen? Nothing good, I'm sure."
I gazed at the glittering onyx hills that seemed to stretch for miles. Climbing every one of their peaks would bring me closer to dying. Turning my body, I looked behind me. The hills seemed to lose their luster, getting further and further entrenched by darkness.
The darkness was impenetrable, as if it was its own entity. It seemed daunting, but my soul still seemed to be torn. Torn between a growing desire to reach the river, and an ever so slight desire to turn back, and cross the darkness to live once again.
To live… it was meaningless. There was no hope there. I had already made sure of that. If I went back I'd be starting from nothing. No assets, no real family or friends. No hope. But this so called Neutral Plane is supposedly perfect, right? I wouldn't have to bear the weight of all those worldly problems I did before. That alone was giving me hope.
"So why do I still feel this way? Is it this place? All this conflicting energy coming from both the River and the boundary of the Medium? That must be it. I know I want to go to the Neutral. Death could be a whole lot less hopeless than I thought it'd be."
Turning back from the endless pool of darkness, I once again set my sights on Adeline. Her gaze was lowered, her hazel eyes looking sure and calm.
"All these mixed emotions should be sorted out as I get closer to the River of Passing. I'm deciding right here and now to trust this Adeline woman. I've made up my mind. I'm going to follow her to the River."