Cal walked down the road, the heavy bag of textbooks on his back weighing him down. The crowds of ghosts overwhelming him. Ever since he had been a child he had seen them, the spirits of the deceased. Their mutilated corpses, the stab wounds, the gunshot wounds... suffering was everywhere he went.
Trouble seemed to follow him. Ever since childhood he had been an odd one out. Whether it was his glow stick teal hair, his personality, the ghost, or the fact that it was just him and his sister.. he didn't know, everyone else just seemed to pick on him.
Every once in a while some ghosts were more corporeal to him. He talked to them, found their grave, honored them, and helped them move on.Today's vibrant ghost was a little latino girl with a horribly bloody face, she must have been run over when she was alive. She had a flowy flowery dress and a torn bunny.
Cal smiled sadly at her, and crouched down. She gasped and reached her hand towards his face. He reached out towards her and set her hand on his cheek, once her hand touched his skin she smiled. Ghosts were very lonely things, no one could see, hear, or touch them. People like Cal who could were like a blessing to them.
"Hello mr.." Her voice was hoarse and talking seemed to pain her.
"Hi there! What's your name?"
"O-Olivia...."
Near the roots of her hair cal could barely see brown, and her eyes sparkled blue. While the small girl, Olivia, 's hands were cold, her blood was still as warm as though she was alive. His smile saddened as he saw the many scars littered along her body.
"Why are you here?"
"Mama told me to wait for her! She went to go talk to dad!"
"When did she leave little one? Do you remember? What's the date?"
"April 25, 1950! My birthday!"
Cal felt his eyes tear up. She died on her birthday...on her birthday... he opened up his bag and rummaged through it, before finally finding the thing he was looking for. A small little eraser puzzle.
"Here, have a birthday gift from me. How old are you?"
"Thank you so much mister! I am 7 years old!"
"That's so impressive! Seven whole years!"
Her smile grew, and she messed with the puzzle some. She gasped again once she figured out she could take it apart and continued to take it apart and put it together again and again. After awhile she looked back up to cal.
"Can you help me find mama, mr?"
"Of course, what does she look like?"
"Oh! She- she has really pretty brown hair! And her eyes look like mine! She has really really pale skin, and she likes to play hide and seek with me!"
Cal looked up around. He couldn't see a spirit like described but they probably wouldn't be anywhere near here. He stretched his hand out towards her and smiled.
"C'mon, let's go find your mama"
The two of them walked through the neighborhood before they came across an old abandoned apartment. There was blood splattered across the walls and a spirit weeping in the room. The little girl's smile turned into a kind of frown and she let go of cal's hand and walked towards her.
"¿Mamá? ¿Por qué estás llorando?" (mama? Why are you crying?)
"¡Olivia mi hija!" (Olivia my daughter!)
The woman wailed and ran over to the small girl, embracing her as she wept. The girl hugged her mother, and both of their spirits began to fade. The woman looked up towards Cal and smiled at him.
"Thank you for bringing my daughter to me, sir"
"Of Course ma'am"
And with that, the both of them faded out of existence and into the afterlife. Cal smiled sadly and walked out of the house only to be met with a green eyed presumably female with two-toned hair, half blonde half brown. She was calm and composed, and two pairs of wings sprouting from her back wrapping around her body either side of her.
She wore a muted blue sweater with black jeans, and two bows in her hair. She was calm and composed, but had a warm and safe aura about her. Cal was taken aback not just by the fact she had wings but because she wasn't there a minute ago.
"Hello. It's Cal, right?"
"Uh... um... y-yes?"
"It's nice to meet you, i am Blake"
She stretched her hand out to him and he took it reluctantly. She suppressed a smile at Cal's reaction, and stretched her wings out more. The two of them walked down the stoop, Blake humming all the way.
"You...have wings"
"That i do"
"Why? Why do you have wings? How do you have wings?"
"I am a soul reaper, I send souls to the afterlife. A kin to you, except i get paid"
Cal stared at her, offended. At this point she couldn't not smile. He slapped her arm in jest, and she burst out laughing. The two had only known each other for a matter of minutes, but it felt like they had for years.
"I'll have you know, Blake i make minimum wage"
"At a job you lied about to get"
"Stalker"
Blake doubled over wheezing, to which Cal finally smiled. Her wings extended and then curled back in, and she finally looked back up at him. He took at a water bottle and drank some of it. It was true. He lied, but Cal really needed that job and his boss probably knew that.
"Perhaps, but i have a proposition for you"
"Shoot"
"Well... you'll have to come with me"
"Come again?"
"To the afterlife. To meet the head angel"
Call just stood there, and then took her hand once more. This was gonna be a weird as fuck day... but weren't they all? The two of them took off the ground, directly up.
Now most people would describe heaven as a place up above, a city in the clouds if you will. That's half true. Yes, it was a city amongst the clouds, but not our clouds. Almost like an aether dimension. As for the above us, that's only because that's how you get there. Straight up, into a portal created by those employed by heaven that sometimes bleeds into our world.
The beautiful quartz and gold architecture and buildings stretching miles wide and tall. Winged creatures and beings walking the streets. It seemed so peaceful.. But unsettling. It was perfect, painfully so. Everyone was happy... a world without negative emotions isn't a world at all.
The two walked through the city, cal getting many weird looks. Blake did not speak to cal, and cal did not speak to Blake. They simply walked next to each other, easily keeping each other pace. Both their expressions were blank.
