As a young boy, I always looked up to superheroes.
I had posters on my bedroom walls. Superman flying through clouds. Batman crouched on a rooftop. Spider-Man swinging between buildings. They were everything I wanted to be. Strong. Brave. Someone who could save people.
I never thought I'd be the one who needed saving.
On the day of my death, it was a normal day. Just like any other Tuesday morning. My mom was driving me to school in her beat-up Honda. The radio was playing some old song she liked. I was staring out the window, thinking about the math test I hadn't studied for.
Then everything changed in an instant.
A car rear-ended us. Hard.
The sound was horrible. Metal crushing metal. Glass shattering. My mom screaming. The world spinning around us as our car skidded across the asphalt.
When everything finally stopped, I felt weird. Like something was very wrong but I couldn't figure out what.
As I looked around I noticed my mom was safe. She was gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles. Her face was pale but she seemed okay. The front of the car looked fine too.
But when she turned around she looked at me with horror.
Her eyes went wide. Her mouth opened but no sound came out. She just stared at me like she was seeing something terrible.
"Mom?" I tried to say. But my voice sounded weak.
That's when I looked down.
I started to get dizzy immediately. The world began spinning again. But before I blacked out I noticed my lower body was crushed against the seat. My legs looked wrong. Bent in ways they shouldn't bend.
There was blood. So much blood.
The last thing I remembered was my mom crying. Screaming for help. The sound of sirens in the distance.
Then darkness.
When I opened my eyes I was somewhere else entirely.
I was in a room filled with white stuff. The couch was white. The kitchen was white. The walls were white. The floor was white. The ceiling was white. Everything was white.
It hurt to look at. Like staring directly into a bright light. But somehow I couldn't look away.
I tried to move and realized I could. My legs worked again. My body felt normal. The pain was gone. I stood up slowly, testing my balance.
Everything felt strange. Like I was floating instead of walking.
I got up to sit down on the couch and wait for what was coming towards me. I didn't know why I knew something was coming. I just did.
The couch was soft but cold. Like sitting on a cloud made of ice.
One hour passed.
The room stayed exactly the same. No sounds. No movement. Just endless white silence.
Two hours passed.
I tried calling out. "Hello?" My voice echoed strangely. Like it was being absorbed by the walls.
Three hours passed.
I got up and explored. Opened cabinets in the white kitchen. They were empty. Tried doors that wouldn't budge. Windows that showed nothing but more white.
Four hours passed.
The boredom was getting to me. I started counting things. White tiles on the floor. White panels on the ceiling. It didn't help.
Five hours passed.
I was getting hungry but there was no food. Thirsty but no water. Yet somehow I didn't feel weak. Just empty inside.
Six hours passed.
I tried to remember more about the accident. About my life before. But everything felt fuzzy. Like trying to remember a dream.
Seven hours passed.
I laid on the couch and stared at the white ceiling. Started making up shapes in the texture. A dragon. A castle. My mom's face.
Eight hours passed.
As I looked at the clock on the white wall it went tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
The sound was driving me crazy. It was the only noise in this place. Constant. Mechanical. Cold.
I was getting very sleepy. The white room felt like it was draining my energy. As time passed I got very tired. My eyelids felt heavy.
When I was about to go to sleep I heard a knock.
Three sharp raps on what sounded like the front door. A door I hadn't even noticed before.
My heart started racing. Finally. Someone was here.
I got up quickly. Almost tripped over my own feet. Rushed to the door.
As I slowly opened it there was a man standing there. He wore Roman clothes. A white toga with gold trim. Sandals that looked ancient. His skin was pale like marble.
In my mind, I thought who is this guy. He looked powerful. Important. Like someone who could command armies.
As he slowly walked towards me, his footsteps made no sound on the white floor.
His eyes were the strangest part. They seemed to look right through me. Like he could see everything I'd ever done. Every secret I'd ever kept.
"Hello," I said while stuttering. My voice cracked like I was going through puberty again.
"Hello," he said back. His voice was deep. Commanding. It filled the entire white room.
He had a stern look on his face. Not angry exactly. But serious. Like a judge about to deliver a verdict.
He stopped right in front of me. Towered over me even though I wasn't that short.
"What would you wish for if you went to another world?" he asked. With a stern face that would make a lion scared.
The question caught me off guard. Another world? What did that mean? Was I dead? Was this some kind of afterlife?
My mind raced through possibilities. I thought about those superheroes on my bedroom wall. About all the comic books I'd read. All the movies I'd watched.
"Maybe a system?" I said. Shivers went down my spine as the words left my mouth.
I wasn't even sure why I said it. It just felt right somehow. Like that's what heroes in stories always got. Some kind of special power or ability.
"You will get what you want," he said simply.
He reached into his toga and pulled out something small. It looked like a button. Or maybe a switch. It glowed with a soft golden light.
As he was about to press it, I wanted to ask him questions. Who was he? Where was I? What happened to my mom? Was she okay?
But the words wouldn't come. I just stood there, frozen, watching his finger move toward the glowing button.