This one is for you AuroSayujya ❤
"Welcome! Congratulation! I'm Bertram. You reached your life goal in your previous life. Isn't it exciting?" A man in his mid-fifties said with a very posh English accent.
"Uhm, what? Where the fuck am I?" Louis asked and looked around in confusion. The last thing he remembered was walking over a crossroad.
"You're dead!" The man said excitedly and clasped his hands together like it was the best news ever.
"Dead?" Louis screeched.
"Yes. Hit by truck. Wonderful. You can check that box right off. Clean hit. Dead in seconds." Bertram grinned.
"Who the fuck are you and why are you so happy that I'm dead? This is hell, isn't it?" Louis panicked.
"Of course not. Relax Louis. This is sort of the middle ground. The final goal is to get into Earl." Bertram tried to explain.
"What? What does that even mean?" Louis asked, even more confused.
"The Christians call it heaven. Buddhists call it nirvana. It's Earl. Short for Eternal Almighty Righteous Life. Here, read the pamphlet." Bertram said and handed him a folder.
Louis felt weak in the knees. His head was spinning. He sat down and opened the pamphlet and started to read.
Congratulations!
Another life, another death! Isn't it exciting?
In every lifetime you get the chance to fulfill at least one of the life goals to get you into Earl!
In the middle ground, you have to gain other skills that will help you on your way.
In life, you have to master difficult life lessons. In the middle ground, you work on your soul.
Together they will help you into Earl, the last destination of a long and exciting journey to be complete. See next page for goals.
This must be a joke. Louis turned the page.
Life goals
Die young
Death of child
Change the life of someone for the better
Hit by truck
Love unconditionally
Lose life partner
Eat 20 hotdogs in one sitting
Make an impact on the world
Drug overdose
Being great at something
Transgender
Lose parent
Lose sibling
Take someone's life
Save someone's life
Experience homophobia
Experience racism
Bullied
Experience mental health issues
Jail
Deadly disease
Middle ground
Patience
Happiness
Find soulmate
Overcome drug addiction
Selflessness
Helpfulness
Anger management
Love
Kindness
Bravery
Tolerance
Acceptance
Empathy
Jealousy
Loyalty
Fairness
Respectfulness
Responsibility
Compassion
Integrity
Forgiveness
Reliability
Attentiveness
Confidence
The ability to know what people need even if they don't
Self-love, self-worth, and acceptance
Modesty
Morale
Trust
Being supportive
Encouraging
"Transgender?" Louis questioned.
"Yes, one of the most important quests. What do you identify as?" Bertram asked.
"Male." Louis answered.
"Then you would be born in a female body for two reasons. Learning how females are treated in the world, with everything that comes with being a woman, and of course, experience how it feels to be born in a different body. It's a very important life lesson."
Bertram explained.
"Right." Louis replied.
"You know what they say. You have to walk a day in someone's shoes to know how it is. Well, in this case, it takes more than one day to fully understand the complexity of womanhood." Bertram cackled like he just told a funny joke.
"I'm sure. So I'm gonna be a woman in my next life? Or trapped in a woman's body?" Louis asked.
"Oh no, dear. You finished that task two lives ago. With flying collar. It was very brave of you to choose that task at that time in history. You really struggled." Bertram said.
"Why can't I remember that?" Louis questioned.
"That would be confusing, wouldn't it? Your mind is always wiped clean after a lifetime but I assure you that the knowledge you retrieve is a part of your soul. Otherwise, you would never get into Earl." Bertram grinned.
"Right. So how does this work then? Can I choose to go through multiple things on this list during one lifetime?" Louis asked.
"Already trying to cheat the system. I love it. Your first time around you tried to convey them all in one lifetime. That didn't end well. Total train crash. Yes, you could but remember that you're supposed to embrace the whole experience and learn from it. Too much might break you. Suicide means that you didn't fulfill your quest and have to do it all over again in a new lifetime." Bertram explained.
"So how do I know which goals I have already achieved?" Louis asked.
"Ah, good question. Let's look at the list, shall we? You're a young soul Louis so you have only lived six lifetimes so far but don't stress it. You'll come around." Bertram smiled and handed him a paper.
Drug overdose
Taken someone's life
Transgender
Experienced racism
Hit by truck
Died young
Lose life partner
Deadly disease
"I killed someone?" Louis gasped.
"Oh yes. It was quite marvelous. You made two goals at once. You hit someone with a truck when you overdosed on cocaine. It was beautiful. Quite clever. You helped someone fulfill one of their goals while taking care of two of your own. It really helped you work on your soul in the middle ground." Bertram said excitedly.
"Well, I suppose that's a great way to end someone's life." Louis said hesitantly.
"Oh, believe me, it is! Some souls really get into it, you know, the whole serial killer thing. It really gets them in trouble here at the middle ground." Bertram chuckled.
"I'm glad that I didn't choose that path." Louis said.
"Your goals here at the middle ground is something you always work on. There's no finish line, except for one, overcoming a drug addiction. That one you have already succeeded." Bertram said and handed Louis a paper with his list with a short explanation of how he had accomplished that. He gestured for Louis to follow him.
"You'll choose your next mission on earth when you're ready. Let me show you your house."
Louis blinked and they were suddenly standing in front of a cottage.
"Lovely isn't it? Let's meet your next-door neighbor. He arrived yesterday. He's trying to overcome a drug addiction. He really went for it in his previous life. Glorious overdose. I'm impressed by how much heroin he could take before he finally managed to overdose. Since you have experience with these kinds of things you should help him." Bertram said and walked over to the cottage next to Louis'. He knocked at the door.
A shivering, sweaty, pale man opened the door and his eyes met Louis'. A loud fanfare sounded and confetti poured down over them from nowhere.
"Excellent! Oh, this is so exciting! Louis! This is your soulmate! I can't believe it!" Bertram shouted.
Louis couldn't either. That shivering mess was his soulmate?
YOU ARE READING
Afterlife
Fanfiction@AuroSauyjua asked me to write a story where they both die and meet in the afterlife. Purely fictional. I'll try to explain the afterlife concept here since there seems to be confusing (no wonder, I made it up. Haha) Earl: the final goal. Your soul...
