The cold darkness of an unlit room. The heavy breathing, of some kid you couldn’t care less about. This is the reality of death... Nothing.
But. What if you could start again? What if you could chose what happened after you die? What would you chose? Where would you go? Whom would you be?
On the night of October 7th someone died.
The child awoke panicked in an unfamiliar chair. Facing them was another chair, empty. Wondering if this was a joke, or if something sinister was happening, the child tried desperately to move, but couldn’t. Some force beyond their control kept them in that chair.
“Hello?” the young one cried out, to no response.
Now think about this. The person in that chair, imagine them as yourself. Be honest, you would be panicking as much as they are. Think about what you would do, what you would say. Place yourself in that child’s position and tell ask yourself ‘How would this scene play out with me in it?’, I bet you that you will likely do something similar.
The youngster began to cry, filled with voices of the teachers shoving fear speeches of kidnappers and rapists into their head. Alone in darkness. Truly Alone. Until finally a sound, nothing more than footsteps. But after what feels like hours, this kid would take some commercial spewing a jingle that could cause your face to melt off from pure insanity. Their fear builds and sweat pours out from every place it can dipping into the bottomless pit beneath them. As the noise creeps closer and closer the kid tiptoes closer along the line of shitting themself, what is it? Who is it? Why did they do this? Please stop, I don’t like this. I am scared! JACK!
This where I come into this story, just as I may come into yours. To tell you a bit about myself; I am not what you imagine, not what you think I sound like, I am quite literally impossible for you contemplate. For I am the one thing you all squabble over and yet not that at all.
“There is no need for you to feel scared any more little one.” I say in a voice.
“Who are you?” So sweet in their panic. Trying to be strong even though we all know their are not.
“What do you want me to be?”
“I don’t understand.”
“There is no need for understanding. Who do you want to see?”
“I want my brother.”
And just with their words I change. I become as you want me. Though in this context I am this kids brother. Interesting choice considering that your cultures tell you a father or mother figure is best suited for this kind of situation.
“Brother?” The child disbelieves the image of his elder brother kneeling before him. How could this be? Where did the voice go? This is all too confusing for anyone to understand. The child needed time to processes what was going on.
“Little one” I speak to the child in their brother’s voice.”i understand that this is hard. You know not what is happening nor what has happened. So let me explain.”
Pause. I could tell you here a wonderful backstory of this child, genderise them, sexulise them, anything I wanted, and you would believe me. Why? Because I am telling you this story. Instead I am going to let you fill in the blank here and make your own decision because after this chapter you won’t see me pop up in the tale. For I am the gatekeeper, guard to the underworld, he who shines the arse of satan and god alike, screw it I am god, the devil, buddha, and all that jazz. I am whomever you want me to be. And this is what I do…
“You are dead. Simple as.”
“I… Understand.” The child exclaims after our lengthy chat about whatever we spoke about to make them understand the situation.
“Good.” I can now move on to the well practiced speech I droned out at every individual that has wandered into my halls. “Now, I need you to listen to me very carefully, I will NOT repeat this again. There are three options that you, my young friend, have to choose from. This will decide your future. So yeah. Are you ready for this?”
“Do I have a choice?” The kid realises what they said “Sorry.”
“Your first option is to simply die. This means that you will no longer exist. Nothing more, no less. Your second option is to go back to your body and live you last life again as normal.”
The rudely interrupts “Will I remember what happened here?”
“Sush. I am talking.” The youngling shrivels at the scolding tone. “Your final option. Is to choose anything you want.”
The kid stares at me for five minutes or so. They haven’t realised what I mean.
“What?” The kid clocks with their brain.
“You get to choose what you want to do, be, whatever. Simply put, you get to choose any life to live and choose the rules in which your life must follow.”
The child is stumped, no idea what just happened.
“So you are saying that I must choose to choose to control my life?”
“Yes.”
You guessed it, another pause moment. Don’t you worry this won’t be much of a regular thing. Think of this as your prologue to the events that actually take place. So analysing this scene we can pretty much figure out what a child is going to do, come on. But I am curious, tell me what you would do. (Off hand reference to web page in which readers can message the narrator) But realise that this page will probably have spoilers pulled out of all my wood works, so remember kids (references for film/tv/book that contain spoilers). Anyway.
“Then I choose to choose. The third option.” The kid so gallantly announced
“Are you sure?”
“Yes” They confidently replied
“You know what that means?”
“Yes.” Without even a breath the kid began their obviously convoluted tale of why they should be sent to mars or live on an island made of candy “I want.”
“Hold on buckaroo. I got some legal stuff to go through with you before…”
“I know what i want.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Go on then.”
I sit down in the chair and lay back as I hear the kids rant.
“I don’t want to go home. I don’t want my old life, and you know that. I want to be free from everything start again in a place I feel safe. That is what I want. And that is why I want to start a new life within…” The kid quites down. They are scared that what they want to say sounds stupid, and it does. But if it is what they want it is what they get. “I want to live a life as a Soldier in the Space Alliance of Dawn Online. I want to fight the evil baddies that threaten my empire. I want to get to the top rankings of my guild and lead my men into victory. I will be the most feared soldier in the whole fleet, and nothing will stand in my way.”
“Are you done?”
Come on what else am I supposed to say. This kid doesn’t even realise what they are asking me to do. If I let them get everything they wanted according to this, then the kid will be miserable for the rest of their second life.
“Ok I want you to think about what you are asking me, truly think about it. Because this is the one and only time that you get to make this decision. After this there is no redo, no I change my mind.”
Alas I am talking to a child, and although some children are smart enough to outwit any adult the child before is not. Too much in their life has caused this kid to want to escape, and escape is exactly what they are doing. My job is to ask and deliver, and I always do my job.
The kid leans forward with a stern expression “I want nothing less than what I said.”
“Fine.” I state “Your wish is mine to answer.”
A fissure open before the child, because I know that there was no reasoning I could do to make the child see what they were getting into. And in the brightest of lights that fades to darkness the kid was gone, off to their new life.
That is it, the back story to every person you will ever meet. A person who either is going to choose or has chosen. So what would you choose? If you would like to get further information on what your decision could make on your life, then I suggest you carry on reading this book. From now until the last page, this book will be about the life this very child took. What their choice gave and took away from them. So think carefully. Oh and stay safe out in the big world, cause otherwise you could meet me and be gone forever.