Where am I?
“Where am I?”
“I think you know.”
Benjamin’s gaze swept over the surroundings. He was met with an abyss of unending darkness. It wasn’t like a moonless night, where faint shadows and distant objects could be seen. There was no depth, no play of shadows, and no lingering sounds—only an all-consuming void of silence and blackness.
Beside him stood a young girl, her presence defying the encompassing darkness. She appeared to be around fifteen, her flawless brown skin and short black hair casting a contrast against the backdrop of nothingness.
Benjamin extended his hand tentatively, his own form visible despite the absence of light. How was it possible to perceive himself and this teenage girl while everything else was dark?
“Who are you?”
She had a warm smile, but what Benjamin felt most was the feeling of love and acceptance that washed over him.
“Think of me as your guide. What’s the last thing you recall?”
A flood of memories cascaded through Benjamin's mind, an overwhelming amount of information that he somehow absorbed effortlessly. He remembered the bar, the crash, the fire, the run through the woods to the cliff with Amy and the relentless pursuit of the police.
“Where’s my wife? Where's Amy?”
“She made it. The jump off the cliff wasn’t that far.”
“But I didn’t.”
“No Benjamin, you didn’t.”
“That rock. I hit that fucking rock.”
He looked at her, expecting shock because of his choice of words. But there was the same smile, and love and acceptance.
“Yes, Benjamin, you did.”
“I’m… I’m dead.”
He knew as soon as he arrived at this place, but had to say it out loud for it to sink in.
He fell to his knees and said in a soft voice, “They all died in the crash… except for that little girl, Cindy.” Deep breath… “She’s paralyzed. What the hell’s going on? How do I know all of this?”
She kneeled down and looked deep into his eyes. “That’s how it works. You know and understand everything. You need to, so you can decide.”
In an instant, a surge of intense anger coursed through Benjamin. “It wasn’t my fault. That car pulled out in front of us.”
They both stood. Deep down, he knew this wasn’t true. There’d been countless close calls during the reckless episodes of drinking he and Amy had.
She just stood there.
“Aren’t you going to say anything? Isn’t this where I get judged?”
“It doesn’t work that way. Judgment’s left to you. You know everything about your life, good and bad.”
Then he realized. “Wait…what do I have to decide?”
She met his gaze, her eyes filled with understanding. “You must choose what you want for your next existence. We go through many cycles, with the aim of improving our souls, life after life.”
“So I can be anything I want?”
“Yes, but it’s best to choose a life that will teach you how to improve your soul. Learn from the life you just had and improve in the next.”
“What if I choose an easy life, like a rich person?”
“Yes, if that’s what you want.” She paused. “How did that work last time?”
Again, in an instant, his past life flashed through his mind and he understood everything just as before. He’d been a millionaire, making all the right investments in the nineteen hundreds. Yet, his excessive drinking led to the end of his marriage, leaving him miserable. At least he wasn’t responsible for anyone's death.
After a deep sigh, “When do I need to decide?”
“When ever you’re ready, time really doesn’t exist here.”
There was a blinding flash. Benjamin and the girl found themselves standing in a vibrant green field under a sky painted in deep shades of blue. Before them stood a charming Cape Cod with a white picket fence.
“This is yours, but if it’s not what you want, you can have anything. Just picture it in your mind and it’ll appear. I’ll be here when you’re ready.”
The place was perfect, perhaps it was Heaven. He kept the house, after all, it was only him, so he didn’t need anything more. There were many people, all friendly and easy to talk to. He could have anything he wanted, pizza cheese-steaks, milkshakes, anything… and he never gained weight.
With the days blending together, he found himself becoming more and more bored. The novelty of having everything he wanted began to wear off. There were no challenges in this life.
Then one day, he decided it was time. He never said a word. There was another blinding flash, and he was in the black abyss with the girl looking exactly as before.
“So you decided… good for you, Benjamin.”
“How long has it been?”
“I told you, time has no meaning here.”
“Yeah, but on earth, how long?”
She paused. “One hundred and three years.”
“Holy shit.”
She smiled, “Don’t worry, Benjamin, it’ll be fine. So a millionaire for you again, right?”
“No, not a millionaire.”
Somehow she knew, “I know,” she said. “I’m very proud of you.”
“Will I ever see you again?”
“No Benjamin, it doesn’t work that way.”
“I’ll miss you.”
“You can pray, you know, any time… are you ready?”
“Yes, let’s do this.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t have better news,” the doctor on Mars Base 201 relayed to Fred and Brenda Chord.
“So there’s no hope for our daughter.” Brenda murmured.
“I’m afraid not. The condition with her legs is very rare. We can give her prosthetics when she gets older. But it will be a very hard life.”
They held each other’s hands. “We’ll love her no matter what and hope for the best. Technology these days gives our little girl more hope than ever.”
A warm smile graced the doctor's face as he witnessed the strength and resilience of the Chords. “Have you decided on a name?”
“Yes, we decided on Cindy. Our little girl’s name is Cindy.”
This story is for the Fictionistas May 2023 The Great Substack Prompt.
Here is the prompt.
Your enemies have backed you against the edge of a cliff. Far below you is a treacherous torrent of water. What happens next?
Please let me know what you think of this story. I always wanted to write someting about the afterlife and this is an experiment for me.
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Excellent use of dialogue. Enjoyed the story very much!
Great story, beautiful. It really has me thinking.