Just a little longer, just a few more seconds. She told herself, encouraging herself, and pulled a little tighter on the scarf she had wrapped around her neck. She loved this game; it was her favorite game, the game between time, life, and death. She savored these milliseconds before everything went black before her eyes, and she crossed the threshold where there was nothing. Even if it was only brief. This black nothingness gave her peaceful serenity and calm. Do you really have this feeling before you slip to the other side and die? She wondered. As if the soul suddenly gained wings and dives in absolute peace, gliding into an unknown world, but with sure knowledge that it was much better and more beautiful there. Without pain, without torment, without despair, and with constant uncertainty. And then it was time; she cast her blurred gaze at the stopwatch to see how long she had endured so far. Will she be able to beat her record? Because every time she held out a little longer, she got the feeling of control, of strength. … Gasping for air, the scarf hung around her neck, which now hurt terribly when she swallowed. Additionally, her head started to ache and, quite unusually this time, her eyes. Her eyes began to burn. But all of this was exactly what she wanted; this sacred process reminded her that she was still alive. She was still alive in this terrible world.

©2025, Vasiliki Papadopoulou

_{©picture: Living on the Edge by Anne-Marie Verdel}