Kismet

As she emerged from the mist, Kate shivered as the tingle of electricity traveled down her spine. The air was eerily still. Even the frogs, her constant companions through everything went silent.
 
“Should I turn back?” she whispered to the wind and the animals who hung back just outside of the clearing.
 
Of course there was no answer, but she wouldn’t have been surprised if there was one. Power clung thick in this ghostly place, and she felt her feet guiding her forward, even without conscious thought.
 
She’d never been to this place before, but the faint brush of recognition tugged at her mind. How could a place she’d never been feel so familiar? But, considering what she’d encountered so far, this really wasn’t anything new.
 
She pushed back a curtain of long-neglected ivy and revealed a richly colored and ornately carved door. A spark jumped from the door and sent goose flesh creeping up arm. Kate was wary, but a primal excitement urged her forward.
 
With shaking hands Kate turned the knob and thrust her weight against rusted hinges. The door gave way much more easily, and she stumbled inside.
 
“I’ve been waiting for you, Kate,” a voice in the darkness purred. “What took you so long?”
 
Kate’s own voice caught in her throat, and her eyes strained to make out anything in the looming darkness. She shook the uncertainty from her shoulders after a moment and stepped forward.
 
“I’m here now, wherever here is,” she said. “Why did you bring me here?”
 
The voice chuckled softly. “Oh, you know where you are, you’ve just been away too long,” it said.
 
A bright flash momentarily blinded her, so Kate shielded her eyes from the light. Once her eyes adjusted to what was around her she gasped and dropped to her knees in the center of a huge and barren room.
 
Scenes from her mediocre and sedate life flicked by on every available surface. Kate flicked hot tears of shame from her cheeks. She’d wanted life to be an adventure, and she’d forgotten that along the way.
 
“It’s too late, what a waste my life has been,” she said.
 
“It’s never to late when you come back,” the voice said. “Kismet will always remember. Step forward, Kate, and reclaim your destiny.”
 
It all came flooding back in one fell swoop. She may have meandered in the dark for a while, but the light had returned, and she was going to make the most of every day.
 
“I won’t forget,” she said. “Today I start to live!”