The People You Meet in the Afterlife

Stolen Furtures

Oluo had woken up and noticed the bed was empty. It was till quite early so he was a bit surprised that Petra was already up.

"Maybe she had some business in town"
Thought he could figure out what was t could be.

There wasn't much business to attend to when you were in the afterlife.

He got up stretching his arms. "Maybe she went to go shopping or for a walk" he pondered.

Oluo rolled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom.

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Oluo made his was in to town, expecting to find Petra in one of the shops or just walking around.

He stepped into the book shop.

"Oh hi Oluo" Frieda said with a warm smile.

"Surprised Gunther isn't here today" he said with a laugh.

"He went hunting with Mike" she said trying to hide her blush.

"Have you seen Petra at all?"

She shook her head. "Maybe try the fabric shop?"

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"I haven't seen her all morning Mr. Bozard." Mina said.

He left the shop starting to get worried. I mean it wasn't like she could die twice.

"But is it possible for her to get lost??" He thought.

"Oh...Oluo!"

He turned to see Mrs. Hoover making her way towards him.

"Mina said you were looking for Petra"

"Yes ma'am have you seen her?"

A sad look came across Mrs. Hoover's face. "She's...be...watching...all morning"

Oluo was glad to know where she was but a felt a wave of anxiety hit him.

Going to "The edge" as he called it, never ended well. It just tends to make people sad.

Of course he would go and check on how his family is doing but he always left with his heart aching.

"Thank you Mrs. Hoover"

"Please call me Lucy dear" she said with a smile.

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"I think we will have a baby after this last push Mary"

"You can do this sweetheart" her husband reassured her.

"All right push real hard, push..."

The cry of a baby echoed all the up to where Petra was sitting on a patch of grass and watching.

"Congratulations it's a beautiful little girl"

Mary and her husband held the new born baby.

"Well what about a name..." the nurse asked.

She looked at the sweet little baby in her arms, and gave her husband a look.

"I know what you want to name her...I think that's a fitting name"

"Welcome to the world..."

"Petra"

Petra jumped at hearing her name being said by two different people.

Oluo sat down beside her.

"Her name is Petra Emily Roberts"

Petra leaned her head on to Oluo's shoulder.

"So she named her baby after you...that's very kind of her. I told you she wouldn't forget you" he said gently.

Mary and Petra had been childhood friends, and were close up until Petra's death.

Petra choose the military, Mary went in to her family woodworking business.

Petra felt the tears silently rolling down her cheeks. "She's so beautiful..."

"She certainly is"

"Oh...Oluo...that could have been us" she said sadly.

Oluo's heart sank. He and Petra had talked about their future, about life after titans. They both had wanted kids. Petra would have made a wonderful mother.

He pulled her closer.

"But...that's all be taken away from us...forever..."

"Petra, love, I'm so sorry" he said softly.

"You didn't do anything wrong..."

"I should have been protected you...then you could have had that life.."

Petra sniffled, "It's not your fault...we knew what we were signing up for...besides I wouldn't want to have a family with any one else but you"

Oluo didn't know what to say. There wasn't much he could do or say to make her feel better.

No one had kids up here, the only kids were those who died. Some of them grew up, some of them don't. It was hard to explain why some people aged the  just suddenly stopped, or never aged at all.

"I just wanted to be a mother, see you be a father...you would have made a wonderful father"

Oluo would be lying if he said that he didn't think about the future he and Petra lost that day.

"And you would have been a wonderful mother"

The two sat in silence watching the new parents below bask in their new bundle of joy.

While the couple below were shedding tears of happiness, but the couple above them were shedding tears of pain and loss.

To be Continued