The moment I became aware that I was hearing a voice, I saw the shape of a robed figure in front of me -- the source of the voice, I assumed. But what was interesting to me was not the figure, but the complete lack of anything else in my field of view -- although the figure was in a standing pose, it appeared to be suspended in empty space.
I started to look around me, but quickly realized that there was nothing to look at. For a brief moment, it occurred to me that if I could perfectly see the figure standing in front of me, then there must have been some light source present, something illuminating their form, but a quick glance upward confirmed that there was nothing up there. I wasn't staring into…show more content… If I'd offered the name "Zeus" instead, would I be staring at a white bearded man? Or had others before me chosen the name "Athena" because they had seen what I was now seeing?
"I am only your guide from one life to another," said Athena. "The details of existence that I can share with you are limited to that -- your last few steps in your previous life, and the first few steps of your next life."
"I'm leaving a life behind," I said. "That was the life I had in Denver, right? Physics grad program? I'm remembering that right?"
"Indeed," said Athena.
While she continued to speak with the same voice that I had categorized as "androgynous" in my mind the first time I had heard it, hearing that voice come from the lips of a figure that had the appearance of a woman recontextualized it in a way that was hard for me to perceive as anything other than feminine. Or had the voice actually changed in some subtle way?
"So," I said, "if I'm leaving that world behind, I suppose it means I died. Do you happen to know how?"
"You died in your bed," said Athena. "You had a heart attack shortly after midnight."
