The Glade

The glade is an open space inside a forest. They have a quality of twilight, darkness in the full light of day, at least during the summer in a deciduous forest where the leaves block most of the direct sunlight.

The glade in this story acts like glades and crossroads and other special places did in ages past. In this particular glade, at certain times, if you're alone, you meet your dead.

Shades of people from your life who have ceased living, appear and might or might not speak with you.

Some of your dead, they rarely appear together, are happy to see you. They share memories with you, tell you secrets they knew, and give you guidance from the perspective of the deceased, which can seem decidedly wise. However, the dead don't need to live among the living.

What of the dead that aren't happy to see you? Luckily for you, the dead cannot harm you. The most they can make you feel physically is cold and isolated. But they cannot restrain or hurt you. They can't push over trees or throw rocks. But they can speak. They can tell secrets. They can share memories. They can give you guidance. They aren't bound by the truth either. None of the shades are.

What makes the dead appear? Why are some of the dead not people that you really remember? Did you have an impact on lives that were anonymous to you? Are the dead all either pleased or angry with you? Are there any that are excited or intensely loving? Are they jealous? Can your dead be indifferent to you?

You normally visit your dead during the day. Do they come out at night? Does the moon have to be full? What if the weather is bad during the day? What happens if the forest around the glade is destroyed? Are there more glades? Surely, this can't be the only one in the world?

What happens when you tell one of your friends or a member of your family? What if you bring your boyfriend or girlfriend to the glade? Can the dead appear to more than one person if they knew both people?

What if you or someone you know has dead that they've accidentally killed or purposely murdered?

Are animal spirits among the shades?

What if you died? Do you make your rounds to the glades? What about those dead who no longer have a connection to the living? What happens to them?