Proserpina

I felt the white light around me fade away gradually.

A sense of being in unexplored lands overcame me.

I saw myself turning away, facing a land that lay in front of me, familiar and new, all at once.

And then I was opening my eyes slowly.

My heart swelled with trepidation and a deep unrest, a disquiet. And with it, a longing. A desire to return.

Return where? asked my rational brain, kicking in at once.

I opened my eyes slowly.

Cautiously.

My first thought was, "Where was I?”

The room was unfamiliar. White walls, cool air…

I squinted and winced. My body, especially my stomach, felt as...