I was never one of those people who thought about death. I avoided thinking about it. I even didn't watch shows with death because it made me uncomfortable. But as per usual with these reflective narration Introductions, that all changed for me when I died, well, died-ish,

That morning, I dressed up because I felt high school was a place to impress. My theme for the morning was oldies: tight top, flair skirt, and wide belt. The school was weird, and I would have called homesick if I had any intuition at all. I was oblivious to everything around me, so whatever.

When I rode to school in the morning with Abby and Louisa on the winter roads, Louisa hit an ice patch. The car went sliding away, and there was nothing we could do to stop it. We screamed in fear, but somehow, the car stopped on its own before we hit another car on my side. I looked around, and on the corner, I caught the eye of an old gray-haired man in a long black coat. I didn't call him for help, and he gave me an uneasy feeling.

"Well, there is no damage. It's a miracle. It looked like you were going right for that car. I thought you were a goner," Louisa said, getting back into the car. She was right. We should have hit the car. At school, I told people the harrowing tale all day, embellishing it where needed; everyone gasped in horror. On the other hand, my English teacher was even harsher than usual and shut down my story, which, at the time, I found rude.

"Today, class, now that I have your attention." he shoots a pointed look at me, "You will be partnered up. I want you to describe in detail what you see. So we can continue our in-depth reading with a better understanding of the skill it takes to accurately describe things. I will also assign the place you're describing." A groan escaped everyone's mouth. Mr. Fisher assigned me the running trails in the woods and gave me the agoraphobe as a partner. So, I had to do the project alone, great. After class, Mr. Fisher called me to his desk.

"Mr. Fisher, I'm sorry. I'll pay more attention tomorrow."

"I'm sure you will." He turned to look directly at me instead of his computer. "I partnered you with Tina, and as you may know, she can't go outside, so I would like you to go out and take pictures for her. Oh, and if you could have some by tomorrow so there are no days where you sit and waste time, I would greatly appreciate it."

"Mr. Fisher, I can't today. Why don't we just do our project on something inside the building?"

"Haven, you have an assignment, and I expect those pictures tomorrow, or you will have a zero for the day." He turned to his computer, letting me know the conversation was over. I complained about Mr. Fisher all day long to anyone who would listen. At the end of the day, I went to see him, hoping he would relent if I asked one more time. I walked to the door but slowed when I heard his mumbled speech. I crept as close as I could without interrupting his call.

"She is selfish; I could send you a list of kids that were better than her... the kid you need has to have the ability to keep secrets. Kids that can think about someone besides themselves. She is not your girl. She lives to have her friends listen to her talk. She loves the sound of her voice... No, I won't fight you. I just want you to reconsider... you'll meet her soon enough... I sent her to a project in the woods." I gasped. I didn't mean to, but he was talking about me. When he turned, his face was so angry that I ran from the room, and he leaped up to follow me.

"Haven, Stop! I can explain everything you heard." he chased me until I left the building, but I continued into one of the small paths in the woods right off the school lot. Eventually, I realized that I could stop running and catch my breath. When I turned to walk home, I was greeted by a man who grabbed and held me close, a sharp, unbearable pain in my chest. There was no scream, and I was incapable of standing on my own, so the man let me down gently. Once on the ground, I watched him pull a sword out of my chest; it was still shining and had a clean silver sparkle. I felt the warm wetness seeping into my clothes. My vision blurred, making the spaces between the leaves twinkle beautifully.

"the sword cut into her easily with no strength required." a man's voice said directly over where I was lying.

"It is enchanted that way by a magic practitioner," another man said.

"and it is clean. Does it not get dirty or leave evidence?"

"not a trace on the blade or the person."

"Who is she?" The man kicked me to indicate he was talking about me.

"some girl I don't know."

"wrong place, wrong time, I guess." I listened to their steps as they left me to die on the path. I was starting to have trouble breathing and was also beginning to shake. My life was not flashing before my eyes. I had to focus on thinking of anything. There was rustling of leaves behind me. Maybe I would be found and saved, or my parents wouldn't have to wonder what happened. A gray-haired man looked over me and then threw a black sheet over my body and face. I was being moved, but the pain was worse than I had thought; I could feel then it stopped. Everything stopped.