Found Again by Gracie Nordgren (18, Colorado)

The soul awoke. It began to come into awareness of itself. The groggy cloud of oblivion faded. It sensed the presence of others.
A dizzying assortment of animated spirits filled the void-like chamber. Shining and resplendent orbs of silver, they hung, suspended. The enormity of the crowd of peers was comforting, yet the soul realized with a jolt how small--and alone--it was. The soul watched in fascination as another drifted over.
“Hello,” said the second soul.
“Who are you?” asked the first.

---

“We are unliving.”
“Oh.”
A short pause.
“I’m sorry, but I’m actually not sure what that is.”
The second soul twinkled, perhaps from amusement. “We are the dead. Or the unborn.
Sometimes we are both.”
“Oh.”
The souls regarded one another for a moment. Reaching out, they examined one
another’s energy with curiosity.
“I must be dead,” mused the first soul, “because I remember things. Small details. One
time, I ate an apple strudel. It was my favorite food, I think.”
The second considered the first. “You’re freshly dead then. Those memories will
evaporate.”
“But--no! I can picture it! It had--it had--" The soul broke off. "It’s slipping away from me.”
“It’s alright. Let it go," the second soul comforted.
The first was struck by a great panic that morphed into vague confusion. And then, the
pain disappeared, as if it had never been there at all.
“It’s all gone now," the first said.
“Good,” the second floated closer. “You’ll like it here.”
“But what is there to do?”
“Do? Here we can simply be.”
Again they studied each other.
“I feel like I know you from somewhere,” admitted the first.
The second came closer still, so close they were almost one. “Strange,” it reflected, “I am
drawn to you. That happens here sometimes. Maybe you and I had some connection in life.” It
began circling the first in tight little loops, faster and faster as its excitement mounted. “Maybe
we were lovers. Or a parent and child. Or the best of friends. Or perhaps, we never met at all.”
For the first time in its short life, the first soul experienced an odd but pleasant warmth. “I
like you.”
“I like you too.”
“Stay with me?”
“Of course.”
They settled into one another, and waited for eternity to pass by.