It all happened so fast,
Why, where- when? Before he knew it he was struck down by a heathy slunk of moving metal.
A car- how?
A drunk driver had struck down Skip while he came home from late-night studying.
It was red, Skip was supposed to walk and the car was supposed to stop. Dammit! How was he supposed to know the driver was drunk out of his mind?
Skippy felt angry, frustrated. The thought he was on deaths door because of some irresponsible slink? The thought of dying bought back memories of his long forgotten dog. Rex...
Skip had loved that dog more than anything, he would pick that dog over the world. He would die for that dog dammit! Well, sadly the dog died in a way where Skip couldn't take his place, age is such a brutal thing sometimes, isn't it? He was joining his dog, 'At least I'll see him again, my best emotional support...' he thought, he thought. When what he expected to be a blinding light was a blinding dark, he was confused for a second.
'Huh? Am I not qualified for heaven? Is this hell, well-deserved I guess.'
"My, my, my, this is no hell!"
A weird cat- no dog! Wait- dog AND cat like figure stood afoot Skip. "You can't be the devil can you? So their actually real," The figure possessed no tail despite being quite animal like, much bigger than the 17 year old Skip, its perfectly circular green eyes pierced through Skip's now apparently white eyes. It was blinding in contrast to all of the dark surrounding them.
"You are mistaken young dreamer!" Its voice sounded kind of weird, like it had been through a voice changer...Skip would describe it to be more on the higher pitched side of the spectrum for voice pitch. "Why would you think I am the devil?"
"Pretty safe bet this is the afterlife, I like to assume the worst of my situations, even the worst possible better is pleasantly surprising that way, y'know?
"Interesting, interesting indeed. Well young dreamer! You are indeed not dead! You are in the realm of shadows, more descriptively, 'Free-Form'"
"Well, what do you want with me? I can't help but ask." Skip was astonished at how casually he spoke his mind here, he was more timid and reserved before the incident...guess a near death experience can really change a guy...in this case a real death experience...hehe...
"He picked one soul...I watched, waited, and soon enough someone popped up in my domain! For why you are here of all people I cannot answer, but I am finally able to fulfil my purpose!"
"Purpose? This is really weird, can I just pass on now?"
'Never thought I'd say that in the context of death'
"No! No! No! For the last time you are not dead!" The figure chimed wistfully and happily!
"I am Baku! The shadow of Luck! I grant you a wish, in turn you accept me as your eternal companion! Only separated by death!"
"I would love to accept but that deal seems kind of sketchy, if you don't mind me asking a few questions?"
"Not at all dreamer! We have plenty of time for chit-chat!"
"Great to hear," Skip said, he was not hesitant about his first few questions...the figure, or, "Baku" as they claim, claimed they have plenty of time, but personally Skip was more stuck up to waste as little time as possible. He wasn't very happy with staying in this weird place longer than he had to.
"Firstly," he began, "In turn for granting any wish you become our companion, right? How does that benefit you...or not benefit us, or me?"
"I am lonely, I am lonely must I admit. I am in need of a 'owner' must you refer to me as a pet or animal. Personally I prefer companion! I am in need of someone to talk to, listen to, explore with! I am knowledgeable of Free-Form, but I have not left this domain until possibly now! Of course, I can only leave if you accept..." Baku said in a hopeful, sad, and persuasive tone.
'Way to pull at my heart strings! Cheery yet trapped? Extroverted yet quarantined and lonely? You got to be kidding me!' Skip thought with much frustration. No time to waste though, next question!
"Secondly, you can grant any wish...with no extra fine print? No strings to pull, nothing, just whatever we wish for and you as our companion?"
"Yup!" Baku responded in their usual cheery tone.
"I would be lying if I said this didn't sound like the deal of a life time," Skip proceeded, "But I also would be lying if I said this didn't sound like the exact definition of 'To good to be true'."
Baku's hopeful eyes began to fade, filling Skip with guilt.
"Dreamer! Please!" Baku pleaded.
Just like that, 2 doors appeared behind Skip. A white one on his left, and a black one on his right. simultaneously he was given a white & black key. The white door had the words "Deny" written on in black whilst the black door had "Accept" written on in white. Pretty self explanatory.
"He thinks you're mind is made up, but you can still change it!" Baku pleaded once more,
Skip sat there n fought for a bit, and finally he made up his mind~ on his next question.
"Who is this 'he' you keep mentioning?"
"Oh- I cannot say! You will meet him sooner or later anyhow, no matter which path you take! He obviously has his eye on you! He sent you here...please don't make my patience for nothing..." Baku pleaded for what they hoped to be the final time.
"So...no matter what I do I will meet this 'him' you keep talking about...? Will that be considered a good or bad thing?"
"Bad" Baku was not hesitant to respond, that filled Skip with much fear and anticipation for the worst of whats to come.
"He is worse than Hell or Heaven, Death or Life. He takes all meaning from them all. Your heaven is a hell, your hell has no heaven, you die after life, and live after death." Baku went on.
"Will you being my companion help me in any way revolving around 'him'?".
"Yes! I will say with full honesty and not just as a sales pitch. I can help you navigate Free-Form! Admittedly having me around will arise a lot of problems, but I will try my best to help fix them! And even without me there would still be way worse problems! I promise!"
Skip let out a silent sigh before contemplating, 'What shall I do? I think accepting is the obvious way to go, but is that really he best thing to do? Ah, what the hell...all I can do is trust them'
"Fine. I accept."
Baku looked up, their desperate look quickly being replaced by a happy and thankful look.
"T-thank you dreamer! I swear I will not disappoint! Speaking- what is your wish?"
"Can I wish to not encounter this 'him'?"
"Sadly that is one of 3 things beyond my capabilities,"
"Can't blame you I guess, then...can I safe my wish for later?"
"Oh? Perhaps, have some time to make up your mind? Certainty!"
"Gee, that's certainly nice. With that, do I just go through the door?"
"Yup! You will awake in your bed, I will be with you. May I warn you beforehand, I am not the same in The World of Wake as I am in Free-Form. I am incapable of speech, MUCH smaller, and can only be seen by you."
"Can you interreact with things?"
"Yes,"
"Also, one last thing, is "The World of Wake" what you call the place I was before this?"
"Yes, you can only access the Realm of Shadows in your dreams. However, if you fall asleep with something in your hand, then it will transport into Free-Form. You can only transport 3 things at a time, and they will automatically transport back with you when you 'wake up'."
"Good to know,"
For a second they both sat in silence, before Skip made his way to the black door, unlocked it, and- an infinite abyss spread out before him. With one big deep breath he stepped through the doorway, and soon enough he was in the comfort of his own bed, this time with a new shadowy companion in his jacket pocket.
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Total words: 1363 (Not including the line & past)
Start Time: 9/3/2023 End time: 9/3/2023 (WOW! Can't believe this took one day, this is my longest writing yet!)
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WOW! I actually wrote over 1k words! I did it ALL IN ONE DAY TO? MY LONGEST WRITING IN THE SHORTEST TIME I'VE WRITTEN? Guess that's what happens when you have an idea. This is the first time I know where I want to go instead of making things up on the fly. I of course added some, but everything was pretty much already thought out. Man! This feels good! Hope you enjoyed! I can't wait to continue writing, but I'll take a small break firstly.
TOTAL WORDS: 1477 (Everything)