Page 159 of The Fifth Life of Alicia
I screamed and stepped backwards. My heel sank into the soggy sand, and before I could right myself, I fell backwards and was washed over by a wave.
“Hey!” I coughed out the salty water, glaring up at the man in a bright orange Hawaiian shirt. “Wait. I know you. You’re the—ow!” My head screamed in pain once again, and the flashing of memories I’d experience a moment ago rolled like a movie reel in my mind.
“Oh, dear. That’s not supposed to hurt.” He bent at the waist and looked down at me with narrowed golden eyes. “Maybe I came too soon.”
“You!” I pointed at him. “God!”
He brightened, and a beaming smile crossed his face. “Yes! You remember me.”
“I have a bone to pick with you! Why’d you take my memories like that?” I scrambled to my feet. “Wait, before that, dry my dress.”
“Do I look like your personal launderette?” God sniffed, but my dress instantly dried, along with the rest of me. “You seem angry, Allie.”
“I wonder why. I have soooo many things to bring up that you wouldn’t believe it,” I warned him, wiggling my finger at him. “But first—where the heck are we? Am I dead?”
God shook his head. “Not this time. And we’re… well, I guess we’re in a private space between life and death.”
“That’s not reassuring at all.”
“Don’t worry. Your time isn’t up yet, and you can’t be hurt here. This place is made of nothing but divine power.”
“Divine power,” I mumbled, looking down at my hands. It felt familiar. “Did I… use that?”
“Ah, yes. To be exact, you used too much divine power and mana and collapsed from depletion.” He waved for me to follow him, and we approached two sun loungers that I swear weren’t there when I woke up. “That’s exactly what brought you here—or rather,Ibrought you here to recover.”
“So, my body is fine?”
“Yes. To everyone in the real world, you’re merely sleeping.” God paused. “Although I hope you recover soon before that lover of yours goes on a rampage. He’s rather distressed.”
Ah.
Kalondidhave a history of murderous rampages.
“Don’t worry. As long as I’m alive, he’ll be fine.” I paused. “Wait. I sounded way too certain just then.”
“Hmm.” God peered over at me with a hint of a smile on his face. “I wondered if you would begin to recover your memories when your powers awoke, and it seems as though I was right.”
“What doesthatmean?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Let me guess, it’s one of your stupid laws of the universe?”
“Yes.” He looked momentarily glum, a bit like a puppy being scolded. “You must figure this one out yourself, I’m afraid. Everything will make sense when you do, though.”
“Forgive me if I find trusting you a bit on the tough side. You did take my memories and make me believe I was living in a fictional world rather than another dimension. Do you have any idea how much knowing that would have helped me? Do you know theangstI’ve suffered because of you?”
He paused. “Never mind all that. So… now that you remember our first meeting, does anything you’ve learnt make sense?”
Never mind all that, he said.
This was the being people revered as almighty.
He was almighty, all right.
Almighty irritating.
I hugged my knees to my chest and looked out at the water, frowning. “I don’t know. I think… Maybe…” I pressed my lips together. “Can I recap what I remember from our conversation?”
