The fade into consciousness happened slowly, like the melting of ice. The water was still present. It just changed form.

I’d read that once in a book.

The quote came back to me. No longer were the words a part of fiction or an unfathomable tale. I was now her, the heroine in my own unimaginable story.

Wasn’t that what they said, that truth was stranger than fiction?

The ice wasn’t melting fast enough, my clouded mind couldn’t process. ...