Her attempt to visualize the form she took cut off when they abruptly presented themselves. She was startled to sense them through her protective thickness. They came from everywhere. Trillions of tiny electric surges, little shocks, pierced the thickness and stopped when they made contact with her. They didn’t move in slow motion, though. They sliced the thickness at the speed of light.

Unseeing, she knew exactly what they looked like. Thin, silver slits flashed all around. The sheer number of them turned the colorless surroundings silver. Appearing and vanishing so fast that they constantly altered the silver backdrop; it looked like TV static after a channel goes off air. The slits resembled needles and she realized they weren’t vanishing, but being projected toward her.  It seemed like each needle had replaced a tiny arrow and was forcefully shot to permeate the thickness and stick in her.

She felt each one poke her separately and remain protruding out of her waiting until they all arrived to make the next move. She knew at least one end of every electric needle was sharp; but they caused her no pain. Maybe their journey through the thickness dulled their point; or maybe her ability to sense pain was gone too.

As the charged slits accumulated on her, a new sensation developed. She felt the slight pressure from the thickness change. The continued intrusive surges were altering the thickness. It felt like the pressure was vibrating at a very accelerated pace.

Apparently, being attacked by an electrically charged army of needles induces spinning. She started flipping again. It was slow motion and like before, the bottom of her rose over her lowered top. This time, she only rotated in one direction and there were no unusual contortions.

The needles kept coming and she felt the thickness change again. It stopped vibrating and started tingling, like the pins and needles feeling when an extremity falls asleep.  But there was no discomfort. The thickness absorbed the sharpness.

The charged slits continued to cover her and she realized that she loved this spinning, encased by a slight tingling pressure sensation. She’d never felt anything like it but she seemed to have been seeking it forever. It was perfection. It felt like going home. She focused on nothing but basking in the blissful sensations.

When all the needles were in place, the tingling slowed to a stop. Each of the trillions of electric shocks sticking out of her simultaneously projected itself entirely into her. Once inside, they navigated to her brain and inserted themselves there. She registered their entry, not individually but as a whole and not at their original points of entry, but as they entered her mind. The mildest of shocks caused her to twitch once.

In that instantaneous twitch, the unidentifiable form she had taken morphed into another.

Without moving to the elevator or entering it, the new form ascended in it. When the elevator stopped, it dinged and the door slid open. The entity exited. Moving freely, the thickness shed, the entity gracefully approached the waiting being. It was completely still. As the entity neared, the being’s defining details became distinguishable.

The being was encased in an unusual form. There was nothing odd about the middle of it; but two matching sets of more slender forms and a single circular form were attached to it. It had appendages.  The casing was cracked throughout and it looked fragile, like it would crumble if touched. Although the entity didn’t recognize the form, the being was very familiar.

The elevator’s ding called the entity and it created the slightest breeze when it turned away from the being. The almost unnoticeable air movement was strong enough. Instead of crumbling, the cracked casing exploded.  The entity, heading back to the elevator, didn’t notice; but it heard, somewhere in the distance, a muffled scream.

The entity entered the elevator and began to ascend again. A goal that had been set an eternity ago had finally been met. The entity’s major accomplishment had not been easy and it was relieved, satisfied with itself, serene and optimistic.

When the rising elevator stopped, the entity would be presented with one of two new beginnings.  It may be time to begin the journey anew, seeking different kinds of knowledge and growth.  Or the journey may be complete, time now for eternal reuniting and celebration. 

The elevator stopped and the door slid open.