Nell opened her eyes and felt like she was waking from a deep sleep. When she was fully conscience she wondered where she was and what was going on. She couldn’t seem to remember things clearly as she tried to figure out her surroundings. After a moment she wondered if she had opened her eyes at all, she saw nothing, but she was able to see the hand that she held in front of her face. She sat up slowly and looked around into a void. She looked all around her and everything looked the same, nothing.

 Slowly, very slowly, as if her eyes were adjusting to a gloom she saw the beginnings of a room taking shape and objects coming into focus. She looked around the small room; it was simply, almost sparsely furnished. But it seemed warm and inviting, the walls were painted in a golden brown color that made sure not to reflect the dim light encasing the room. There was a comfortable looking chair over to her right and as she looked where she was she saw that she was sitting up from the couch. She felt like she had seen this before. She felt comfortable here; the room had a feeling of familiarity that put her at ease.

She swung her legs to the soft, carpeted floor and sat up properly, she stared at what was directly across the room from her. The only thing that seemed out of place in the tiny room was a tall, narrow bookshelf. Nell stood up and tested her legs, then walked cautiously over to the shelf, as if something might jump out at her. When she was in front of the shelf she reached out and started to examine it; it felt solid and real and it looked like a plain miniature bookshelf except that it held only a single book on a small pedestal.

 She reached up and gently took the thick book into her hand, it was not as heavy as it looked and she could not figure out what material it was bound with. She stared at the cover; it held no description except small bold print that read ELEANOR HEIGEL.

‘Eleanor…. Nell…’, “Nell” she said softly, “That’s me.” She still held the book in her hands wondering if she should open it and if she would regret it if she did.

 “You can open it if you wish” a deep voice said within the quite room. Nell jumped and looked for the source of the disturbance. She had been sure that she was alone. She spied the figure of someone in the opening of the hallway she didn’t notice before.

“Hello?” she said nervously, almost inaudibly. The figure walked towards her and all she could make out was that the figure seemed to belong a man. She looked to his face but she could not make out any features, she blinked several times but she still couldn’t make out what he looked like; it was like her eyes couldn’t focus even though everything else was perfectly clear. Even though she could not see any of the features of his face she felt like he was smiling at her,

“Well well, lets see who you became this time.”

Nell seemed frozen to her spot as the man looked at the book she was holding and smiled again, “Eleanor Heigel, Nell, that’s a pretty name.” After a minute Nell found her voice,

“Who are you?” The man turned to face her,

“Don’t worry, you’ll remember soon.”

He looked at her holding the book, “Go ahead and open it, it’ll help you remember.” Nell looked at him and then at the book that she almost forgot she was holding; she opened the book. As she flipped through the book she could see that there was nothing written on the pages but as she went through them she started to remember. Memories started to fill her mind as she relived every thought, feeling and moment from the life of Eleanor Heigel. Written words cannot truly describe a person’s life, the book the Nell held contained her being. A life must be lived and felt to be truly understood, and that was what the book granted those who would open it.

A lifetime unraveled before her as Nell turned the book’s pages. When she was finished she closed the book and held it to her as she reveled in emotion. She felt like she wanted to cry but she didn’t feel any tears stain her cheeks but she felt the emotion wash over her and through her. Then she smiled, her life…how could she ever forget? She finally looked up to the man with the smile still on her face now knowing what was going on, or at least she could give a guess.

 “So” she said, “this is what happens after?” The man seemed to smile again and gave a small nod,

“You were always a fast learner.”

“Always” she said softly, “How many times have I been here?”

The man stepped back and gestured towards the hallway,

“Why don’t you come see for yourself?”

Nell looked at the darkened hallway for a minute, turned back towards the bookshelf in front of her, placed the book back on the pedestal and walked to the hallway. She stopped at the doorway for only a second before walking into the darkness. Suddenly the hallway lit up before her and looked as if it was waiting for her, waiting to show her what it held for her. She could see small bookshelves lining the walls, exactly like the one that was in the small room, and all of them held a single book.