I didn’t get to live much. Enough to learn that life is relatively short and the afterlife is fleeting. After a short 25 years, I passed on to this realm. I decided not to count how long I’d been at the Station. A blink of an eye, metaphorically.

Thoughts like this plague me. I obsess again. “Elites” have been on my mind lately.

A woman gave birth at the Station. I can only assume it wasn’t planned that way. A medical emergency. We all gathered around. New life is rare around here. Maybe a first.

Pain and screams. Push. Push. A silent baby was born. Tears and sorrow. She held it close, refusing to let go.

I instinctively knelt next to her. It wasn’t fair. Then, I felt it. I felt it deep, and around all at once. I set my palm over its chest. I hoped for a heartbeat.

Eyes closed and concentrated hard. Deep breaths. My heart starts racing. There! I felt something. Hope. A flow of energy. Not a “Pinch”. It was different.

Energy was flowing into its chest. I looked around. Everyone, living and not, gazing at us, equally horrified and intrigued. For a brief moment, both worlds coalesced. The line between realms blurred.

Eyes closed again. More effort. Deep breaths. My heart was pounding. Concentrate. Feel. Push. I felt light.

Faintly, the Colonel pleaded to stop. I felt lighter and lighter. Buoyant. Serenity. Silence.

Finally, a cry. A baby’s cry. My cry. I was crying.