A young woman awakens in a gray desert-like landscape with no memory of who she is or how she died. A guide tells her she is dead and must move on to her next life. He leads her towards a light that will allow her rebirth, but warns her not to remove the bandages covering her face or try to remember her past, as that will trap her with chains of her memories. Along the way, she sees others who regained their memories and are now chained and hopeless. Growing afraid but determined, the woman continues on alone until she steps into the light, ready to face her new life.

1. “Bandages”
“Well well, look who’s finally up!”
The young woman turned at the sound of the voice. In front of her stood a tall, lean young man
with a white shirt, brown pants, blond hair-and red eyes.
“Who…who are you?” She asked.
“Your guide.” The man grinned. “Now come on, get up. We’ve got to get going.”
“Going?” The woman asked as she stood up shakily. “Going where?”
“To the light, of course.” The man said. “Unless you’d rather stay here and rot?”
The woman looked around at her surroundings, suddenly realizing that she was outside. Or, at
least, it looked to be outside. It was like a desert, stretching on for miles and miles. Except
deserts weren’t usually this gray.
“Wha-what happened?” The young woman asked. “How did I get here?” The man let out a sigh.
“It’s not obvious? You’re dead.” The young woman suddenly felt very cold. She looked down at
herself, noticing that she was wearing a hospital gown. Her legs were covered with scars, and so
were her arms.
“Well?” The young man asked, waving her forward. “Let’s get going, dollface.”
“My name is NOT dollface!” The young woman glared angrily at him. “It’s…” She suddenly
stopped. What was her name?
“Can’t remember, can you?” The man asked. “It’s the same for everyone who ends up here.
You’re a blank slate. Better prepares you for your next life. Can’t move on if you remember your
past.”
“Am…am I in heaven?”
“No.” The young man answered. He must’ve seen the terror in the young woman’s eyes, because
he added
“Don’t worry though; you’re not in the other place. I guess you could say that this is sort of
what’s in-between. Here you get a chance at a second shot.” The young woman automatically
reached up to touch her face, and immediately felt gauze. Alarmed, she walked over to a nearby
lagoon and looked at her reflection. Her face was covered entirely in bandages, except for her
eyes, which were sky-blue. Wavy black hair grew a little past her neck. The young woman
suddenly realized that she didn’t remember anything about herself.

2. What was her name? How old was she? 16? 20? Did she have a family?
“Come on.” The young man said impatiently. “Do you want to be reborn or not?” His tone told
the young woman that he wasn’t going to wait around much longer, and she ran over to catch up
with him as he started walking off.
“So, I guess you have a few questions, huh?”
“More than a few.” The young woman admitted.
“I’ll answer what I can, but I can’t tell you everything.” The man said. “If you remember your
life, you won’t be able to move on, like I said.”
“Well, can you at least tell me about these bandages?” The woman asked.
“You can’t see your face. If you do, you’ll remember your life.” The man said matter-of-factly.
“Can’t have that now.”
“Oh-okay then.” The young woman looked at the man. For some reason, he seemed familiar to
her. She couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but she’d seen his face somewhere around before.
A brother? Friend? Boyfriend?
She shook her head. Couldn’t remember that. The man had said that if she remembered, she
wouldn’t be able to move on.
“So many scars…”
The young woman blinked at him.
“Huh?”
“That’s quite a few scars you’ve got there.” The man said, raising an eyebrow as he observed the
network of scars covering her arms and legs. “You were probably very unhappy in your last
life.” The woman looked at her scars, and couldn’t stop sadness from filling her heart.
“Oh…” She kept following the man. There was silence for a couple more seconds.
“Who are you?” The woman asked. “What’s your name?”
“Don’t have one, really.” The man shrugged. “I’m a guide, like I said. But I look different to
everyone who sees me.”
“Really?” The young woman asked, blinking in surprise.
“Yep.” The man answered. “I automatically resemble someone my charge has known in life,
someone who was close to them. It helps put them at ease.”

3. “I guess that makes sense…”
As they walked along, the young woman noticed several people lying along the ground. Their
faces weren’t bandaged like hers, and they were wrapped in chains. Their eyes had an empty
look in them, as if they had long given up all hope.
“Who…who are they?” The young woman asked.
“They’re what happens if you remember your past.” The young man answered. “The all regained
their memories. They couldn’t let go of their pasts, so now they’re all chained by them, unable to
move on.” One of the people, a little girl of about six, looked up at the young woman. She
cringed seeing the empty brown eyes. A child shouldn’t look so…broken.
“Let’s go.” They continued walking in silence for a little while.
“Why am I the only one here?”
“Hmm?”
“You mentioned that this is a ‘go-between’ for people who can’t get into heaven or hell.” The
young woman pointed out. “I’d think there’d be more people here than just me.”
“Of course there are.” The guide said. “In fact, there are a lot of them around. You just can’t see
them.”
“Why not?” The young woman asked.
“Cause-they’re not important.” The young man responded. “You can’t very well move on if you
focus on everyone else. This is your journey, after all.”
They kept moving on. Despite herself, she couldn’t stop herself from feeling the bandages on her
face again.
Who was she? What kind of life did she have? Did she have a family?
“Hey!” The young man spun around, grabbing her shoulders. “Don’t think, okay?! Don’t think
about your past.”
“How do you expect me not to?!” The young woman demanded, all her fear and confusion rising
to the surface. “I’m dead and on my way to a new life, and I don’t even know what my old one
was like! I don’t even know my own name anymore! I don’t know what my own face looks
like!”
Suddenly, her outburst was cut short by a sudden flash of light. Both she and the young man
whipped around to see a man appear before them. Bandages fell away from his face, showing
him to be in either his late twenties or early thirties, with sandy hair and hazel eyes. Chains burst

4. from the ground, wrapping around him. At first, the man struggled to get away, but as the chains
bound him more and more, he stopped fighting, and the light left his eyes. Finally, he sunk to the
ground, a look of defeat on his face. The young woman gasped, and her companion sighed,
shaking his head.
“That’s what’ll happen to you if you try and remember any more.” He said. He gently grabbed
her hand, guiding her along. “Come on. We’re almost there.”
They continued walking in silence, the young woman scared, but trying to calm herself down the
whole time. Didn’t want to end up like that man, after all.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the young man stopped.
“Well, this is it.” He turned to the young woman, a serious look on his face. “The rest of the way
you have to go on your own.”
“What?!” She started. “But I…I don’t know where to go!”
“Just a little further.” The young man answered. “Until you see the light. Just walk into it, and
you’ll get a brand new start.”
If she hadn’t already been dead, the young woman’s heart would’ve stopped. What would her
new life be like? What was waiting for her on the other side?
“Scared?” The woman nodded slowly, and the man put his hands on her shoulders, looking into
her eyes. “This is all up to you. I can’t promise you a happy life. You have to make it on your
own. Just be brave, okay?”
“Th-thank you.” The young woman said slowly. “Thanks for getting me this far.” She gave him
a quick hug before turning and walking the rest of the way on her own.
She wasn’t sure how long it took. Minutes? Hours? Before long, she had to squint as blinding
yellow light invaded her vision. The young woman clenched her hands into fists, standing tall
and strong.
I’ve made it this far. Whatever my new life will be, I’m ready for it.
And with that, she stepped into the light, into a new beginning.