Life after Death

Chapter One: Injusto

Blinking my eyes open, I was greeted by a clear, open sky. The deep blue of the heavens seemed to stretch on forever, interrupted only by the occasional wisp of cloud.

I took a deep breath as I tried to recall what happened that made me wake up under the clouds when all the memories came rushing back at me.

Reminders of falling from the bridge and drowning made me shoot up from my position.

"Me and my freaking stupidity. There's a damn barrier and you thought you were gonna get hit?" I cursed myself as I sat up with a frown.

The sight that greeted me was completely unexpected. Bright green fields that seem never-ending, the sun was shining too perfectly and there were beautiful flowers everywhere. It's like a scene in a movie.

'This is either some weird comatose dream or I died.' I thought as I stood up from my position and examined the place more.

The sun filtered through the leaves of the tall trees, dappling the forest floor with light. There was a feeling of a sense of peace and joy washing over me. I had always loved the feeling of being in the midst of nature, surrounded by the beauty of the natural world. I closed my eyes, basking under the warmth of the sun and the peacefulness of the moment.

A path in the forest caught my attention as I opened my eyes again, I contemplated staying in these open fields but decided there was really nothing else to do whether this is a dream or not.

"My lazy butt would stay here but it's too boring," I said, talking to myself.

I walked normally towards the path, gazing around the area, and trying to memorize the place as much as I could, but who am I kidding? This is a forest, and everything looks the same, especially for someone like me who has no sense of direction.

Minutes passed by and I haven't encountered anyone at all. I started to wonder if this was Heaven, but with my luck, I would have been condemned to hell. I continued at my pace when I started to hear the voices of two females.

"I got a blessing!" One of them squealed, I could hear them cheering a bit as I quickened my pace in their direction.

A blonde woman was jumping up and down with another blonde who looks so much like her. 'Twins?"

I accidentally voiced out making them stop as they faced my voice, stance changing defensively making me jump with a frown.

"Who are you?" one of them asked while the other one pulled out what seemed to be a knife.

"Woah, chill there." I said, "I've been walking for hours since I woke up and I have no idea where I am." I explained, arms up in surrender.

"You just woke up?" the twin holding a knife asked, I nodded in answer.

"Do you happen to know what this place is? I honestly think I'm dreaming but everything seems so surreal, add the fact I'm talking to you guys."

The twins looked at each other, slowly fixing their stance to stand normally before looking at me solemnly.

"I'm Leah." The first twin introduced herself with a smile, a dimple on her left cheek showed as she did so.

"Lianne," the one with the knife said, a smile on her face as well, without the dimple, her face seems slimmer as well.

"Aeri. You haven't answered my question though."

The two sighed, obviously dreading the answer.

"We lived thinking of death as something either peaceful or scary. The reality of death itself will slap you on the face though."

"To be honest, I feel like death for us is unfair."

'Death. They mentioned it three times now, am I actually dead?'

"Why is it unfair?" I asked, unsure.

"We died before our time and yet we still need to undergo all this mission, it's as if it was our fault that we passed away before we finished our lives." Her whiny voice answered.

"I don't think I'm following what you're saying."

"This is the realm of Injusto." They answered simultaneously.

"Injusto?" I repeated questioningly.

"It's a land of the dead, specifically for those who died before their time. Injusto basically means 'unfair'. Some calls this place the "in-between", and some say it's hell. It just depends on your perspective."

"Does that mean I'm dead?" they both deadpanned me.

I stared at them as it sunk on me, I should be panicking, should be out of my mind from knowing I'm dead, but I'm not. Somehow, I felt relieved.

============================================

Cecil's POV

I was munching on some popcorn as I binge on a K-Drama called "Uncanny Counter" when the doorbell rang. I paused the episode and stood up to open the door, popcorn still in hand as I peeped into the little hole, noticing the police officers outside.

'Why are there police officers here?' I thought as I opened the door.

"Good day, are you Ms. Cecil Davis?" One of them asked and I nodded in answer, confusion setting on my face.

"Why, is there anything wrong?" I asked nervously. The two of them looked at each other, there was a look in their eyes that I couldn't quite comprehend.

The other officer pulled out a familiar wallet and handed it to me.

"You were listed as Ms. Aeri Maegnis' emergency contact." The first officer started,

"Yes, did something happen to her?" I was starting to panic from their slow news, my heart racing as I waited for them to finish what they were going to say. 'Did she commit a crime?' 'Do I have to break her from jail?'

"We apologize to bring this news to you this early in the morning, unfortunately, her body was found in the San Francisco Bay due to an incident that happened around 3 in the morning. We're sorry for your loss."

I dropped the popcorn I was holding as my knees buckled, the officers rushing to catch me.

"Are you playing some prank on me?" I asked, my voice shaking as tears started to coat my eyes.

The two of them looked at me sadly before shaking their heads. The other one pulled up some pictures and there, I saw the pale and lifeless photos of Aeri.

My hand fisted on the picture as I screamed in agony, the officer holding me tight to try and comfort me. No comfort could ease the pain as my heart broke into pieces. My best friend is now gone from my life. Forever.