• It had seemed like any other day in my life. No one, not even me, could see it coming. I guess it was because I've taken every day of my life for granted. Anyway, I have a story to tell, and I'll tell it.

    School was the place that I would rather not stay in for half of the day, but we all know the rules. As I walked across the grass, I thought, I might as well get it over with, right?
    Stopping in the middle of the court yard, I looked up toward the blue skies with clouds streaked across it. I couldn't help but also think with a smile, And I say to myself... What a wonderful world.
    No sooner had I finished that thought, when there was a mighty explosion, followed by several more. Parts of the school burst into flames, and I staggered around. Suddenly knocked over by the force of another explosion, I hit the ground, and lost conscious.

    I regained conscious, and found myself lying on my side on the grass. My eyes were half open, and I could not open them any more. My whole body felt heavy, and yet... I couldn't feel my body. There was no pain, no sensation, no nothing... Perhaps I was at the point where pain no longer was felt. I looked up at the sky once more, and it had changed drastically. Where the sky was once blue was now red, and the clouds had mixed with the smoke to turn black. Fire was everywhere, surrounding me like some giant funeral pyre.
    So this is how it ends... Ever so slowly, my vision faded to black and was no more.

    The most amazing thing seemed to happen. I had woken up. But how did that happen? Dead people don't do that. But as I got to my feet, it seemed my body was back to normal again, just like before. Surveying the area around me, it seemed that I was still in my school. I had no idea what the heck was happening. Something in the distance caught my eye. Wait... They were people!
    "Hey, you guys!" I called and waved. It looked like whoever they were, they noticed me, and came over. Their features became more distinct, and pretty soon, two kids my age were standing before me. One kid was a boy with black hair and light skin. The other was an Indian girl, wearing a sari and with her hair in a braid.
    "May I ask if you know where I am?" I inquired them.
    The Indian girl shrugged. "Sorry. We're just as confused. Do you know?"
    "I just got here."
    "So then," the boy said, "It seems we're all in a new place."
    "Well," I said, "This place looks like my school... Only a lot different. There's no litter-"
    "No gum spots-"
    "And no graffiti," the girl finished.
    "Yes."
    We all stood for a moment. Then the boy spoke up, "This may sound just a bit freaky, but I'm betting we're dead."
    "Actually, I don't find that freaky at all," the girl said. "I felt the explosions, and I blacked out."
    "Ditto," I agreed.
    "So we all know we're dead at least..." Silence. "Does that get us anywhere?"
    "It should," I said. "Anyways, who are you guys?"
    "My name is Daniel," the boy answered first, then he turned to the girl, "And what is your name?"
    "I am Santha."
    "Are you, by any chance, named after the author Santha Ramu Rau?" I asked.
    "Exactly. So who are you?"
    "I'm Bella."
    "Okay, now that that's done, what do you suppose we do?"
    "I dunno, explore?"
    "It seems like we have no other choice," Santha replied. So we started to walk around.
    "It's weird that we're dead, huh?" I said to start a conversation.
    "I'm going to miss all the things I used to do when I was alive," Daniel said.
    "Like what?" said Santha.
    "Skateboard, hockey, and also kick boxing. My parents signed me up for that."
    "I just played video games and Pokemon. Good times, good times," I said cheerfully.
    "I really couldn't do much..." Santha said quietly.
    "Why not?"
    "Because of this." Santha held her hands up, and I realized they were wood prosthetic hands. "My father owned an antique sword. My little brother and I took it down from the wall one day to look at it. We were being careful, but then my brother pretended to fight with it, and he accidentally... Cut my hands."
    "Maybe you should take the hands off right now," I said pleasantly. "There's no need for them."
    "But there is," she said as she pulled off the fake hands. "I don't have any..." Santha stopped, because right then, there were her hands, as if she had pulled off a glove.
    "Okay now that is scary," Daniel said in surprise. Santha just stared in amazement at her hands as she flexed them and curled them.
    "Since we're dead, we would have a whole body, right? That was my guess," I said.
    "Apparently your guess was right," Daniel replied.
    "Now," I said, "Let's find out where we are." And the three of us went off on our search for an explanation.