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Mitzi gently strokes Sylvia's hair and softly sings the lullaby she used to sing to her when she was little.  It's like the world quiets down.  All the distractions and the pain slip away from her, and she is transported back to when she was little.  When Mitzi could make everything alright with a kiss on the forehead.

No doubt the hospital has Sylvia on some serious painkillers, so she's stumbling along the double yellow line between consciousness and unconsciousness without much knowing the difference between them.  " . . . go back to the blue place where everything is so quiet.  It's always so loud, Mommy.  Noisy noisy noisy.  Especially here.  Can I go back to the blue . . . ?"  Zzz.  " . . . flying?  It was like flying.  Was I flying?"

"Shhhh, rest sweet heart."  Mitzi says, and then someone takes Sylvia's hand and helps her get up.  It's with an effort she pulls away from the bed, and the world has shifted again.  It's pale blue, and quiet.  As she turns her head, looking down her arm to her hand, up the arm of the person that helped her up, she sees Smith.

(http://www.kfaq.net/marvels/2011/Faces/Smith002.jpg)

He's as solid as she is here.  "You've looked better."  He pulls her close and hugs her, then holds her back at arms length.  "No, you're not dead.  This is Astral Space.  Think of it as a world just to the left of the normal world.  Like a shadow of the physical world.  But it has layers."  he smiles.  "Confused yet?"

It's like climbing out of a pool.  One moment she's under water, and everything is murky and garbled.  The next, everything is beautifully clear.  She's pain-free and smiling.  "I understand all but the layers part.

"What are you doing here?  Are you back?  Did you finish that thing you were working on?"

"Actually, I'm in a hotel room in Greece.  The layers thing, is complicated.  Astral Space is all this."  he waves his arm, "And."  The world falls apart into nothing and the two are standing on a barren empty wasteland of nothing.  "This.  This is the Astral Space created by our two minds.  Think of it like a bridge, it's the open space between us.  It's limitless, and you can shape it anyway you like."  The world sprouts up from the ground, and Sylvia sees a busy street in a foreign city.  Then it collapses and another world sprouts, one that is just her room.  All the false worlds look solid, the colors vivid and real, but the people she sees there are quiet minds.  Then this world collapses and the real one shimmers back into view, pale blue and quiet.  She can hear the voices that speak, but like voices heard through a tunnel.  "Some of us come here to kill each other.  That I know of only magic and mental powers can bring you here.  And I'm not done with that thing yet.  But I'm not alone, so you don't have to worry."

"You're not alone?"  Sylvia would feel pique, but it's hard to get worked up about anything here.  "Who's helping you?  I could help.  I like Greece.  I like Greek food, anyway."

Smith shakes his head.  "You've already helped.  You've got me asking for help and adopting strays.  Besides, this is ugly work.  I've got a Nega-Psi for backup, in case anyone comes after me.  And a girl too damaged to send home.  She's like you, psychic.  Little older.  But just as annoying."  He smiles, and the image isn't nearly as scary as it used to be.  "Probably why I like her.  Not as powerful as you are, or will be, but she's got the gift."  He looks around at your family in the room with you.  "Near death experiences can trigger an Astral Projection.  From now on they should get easier.  You travel here essentially by thought.  But you really can't do much to the physical world.  You can listen in if you focus.  But not read minds.  Some of us use it as a quiet haven.  It's dangerous though, since you're essentially outside your body.  So be careful, and be smart."

"I'm used to ugly--and dangerous."  She nods at her wrecked and bandaged body and leaves it at that.

"Is there a limit to how long I can stay here?  Colin said--"  She cocks her head to one side and thinks.  "He said I was expending more energy than I ought to have, and he yanked me back."

"It's taxing.  You're pushing what makes you a person and a good amount of energy out of your body, so it's not like sleeping.  If you feel tired here, go back.  And that's as simple as wanting it."  He hugs her again.  "I should get back.  And, for what it's worth I wish you could come with me.  But you need to live in a world with as little ugly as you can manage for as long as you can manage.  Try to enjoy the good stuff, and put the bad stuff behind you."  He chuckles.  "Listen to me talk.  Take care of yourself kid."  And he pushes her, causing her to stumble back and fall onto her body.

Sylvia's eyes snap open, and she's surrounded by her family.  the relief on her regaining consciousness is plain on their faces.  And she is draped in hugs before she can get a word out.