FIFTY-ONE

Her world was blurry, and she was finding it difficult to stay conscious. The harder she fought, the harder it became. She was going to have to let it happen. With as deep of an inhale as she could, she swallowed her breath and let herself fall into it.

*****

Everything was wavy; the beach, the sand, the clouds. Even the way Madison's hair whipped in the wind. Everything was also distorted, wrong, like she didn't belong there.

Someone was out in front of her. They were tall, slender, and dark complected. As far as Madison could tell, the person had a kind face. They reached out a hand towards her, beckoning her to come closer. She took a step, but it was slow. The air was heavy, like she was standing on the moon. Everything was in slow motion, and she couldn't tell how far away the person was. Each step she took, the person always seemed the same distance away, but they weren't moving.

"Come, child," the person said. It sounded like a woman's voice, but it was nearly impossible to tel