Afterlife's Memory

Chapter 1: Awakening

Eloise woke up in a strange place. There were stone buildings lined up like an ancient city. She's laying on a patch of grass in front of a stone bridge leading to those buildings. A boy laid next to her in a deep sleep. Red flowers surrounded him while blue flowers surrounded her.

Eloise sat up and looked around. It only took her a few seconds before she panicked and looked down at her hands which seemed to be paler than usual.

"When did I get paler?" She thought to herself.

Eloise would always lay in her backyard on a blue and white striped beach towel under the sun during her free time. She hoped she would end up looking like a tan super model. Y'know, the ones you'd find in a magazine at the grocery store that always looked like they laid in a tanning bed a bit too long. Eloise glanced down at her clothes only to see the same grey sweatpants and light blue tank top that she'd been wearing for three days straight.

"Of course," She sighed. "The same as yesterday and the day before that."

She couldn't help but feel disappointed in herself. She wanted to have the energy to change but it was just too hard. Now she's stuck in this mysterious place in dirty clothes beside a total stranger. Now that she's finally paying attention to this boy, he wasn't too bad looking. But who is he? She's never seen him before.

The boy also looked oddly pale but with a shiny blue dust on him. His clothes seemed to be just as dirty as hers. His hoodie was a creamy white but it was stained with a dark, red substance and his pants were baggy and an awful barf green like they were colored wrong in the factory.

He seemed to be waking up. His eyes fluttered as he sat up and let out a tired groan.

"Ugh." He put a hand over his forehead. His eyes darted around like a panicking dog before landing on Eloise.

"Excuse me," Eloise uttered. "Do you know where we are?"

The boy looked at Eloise confused. There was no harm in asking but the answer was obvious. Although maybe the boy might want to help find out where the two of them are.

"No, I don't." The boy replied.

He got up on his feet and brushed dirt and grass off of his pants. Mud was still clearly visible but there was no getting that off with just your hands. Not like it made much of a difference though. The pants were still raggedy looking.

"My names Atticus," The boy said. "Need help getting up?"

"Yes, please." Eloise replied.

Atticus locked eyes with Eloise as he smiled and walked over to her. He reached out his hand and Eloise grabbed it. She gripped his hand tight as she got on her feet, stumbling on the way up. Their hands stayed connected for a moment before Eloise let go and started to walk across the stone bridge in front of them. Atticus followed close behind Eloise like a scary cat. He tried to hide his fear but it was clear to Eloise that she was the bigger person here. Silence lingered between them. Awkward silence.

As they reached the end of the bridge a woman with a porcelain mask covering her eyes and nose greeted them. Her hair was curly and blue. Like the deep blue sea. It was odd to Eloise because it wasn't a dyed hair blue but more of a natural blue. Which obviously wasn't possible. The woman then began to pull out a clipboard and pen.

"Welcome to Reapmours, the land of spirits." The woman announced as she clicked her pen.

"What do you mean Reapmours?" Eloise questioned the woman.

"Well, you're dead!" The woman claimed. "Now what's your names?"

Eloise's jaw dropped as her head began to fill with questions. How could she be dead? When did she die? How did she die? It was hard to believe but it could explain the pale skin and miraculously waking up here. Before Eloise could bombard the woman with questions, Atticus interrupted her.

"Atticus," He replied. "My name is Atticus."

The woman clicked her pen again and began scribbling on the paper.

"And you?" The woman's eyes darted to Eloise as she silently tapped on the clipboard with her pen.

"...," Eloise hesitated before answering. "My name is Eloise."

The woman placed the pen and clipboard on a nearby table in front of the bridge. She looked towards Eloise and Atticus with a bright and welcoming smile plastered across her face. She stood in front of them.

"I'm Grace and I'll be helping you two settle here in Reapmours." The woman said with an excited tone.

"Do you two know how you died?"

Eloise was confused. Was she supposed to remember something like that? Either way she had no such memory. Her mind was blank. Maybe she's just in shock and she'll remember later. She wondered if Atticus remembered and it was just her who didn't. Her mind which was blank just a few seconds ago suddenly overflowed with thoughts and questions.

She only remembered what her life was like. Her mom was sweet to her and always cared for her when she was at her lowest. Her dad was busy working but always tried his best to spend time with the family. She had two older siblings, she was the favorite out of the three of them. Her oldest sibling moved out the moment they turned eighteen, leaving without a goodbye. The middle child lived with the parents in their childhood room till they were twenty-six. She can only remember to the age of nineteen, everything after that is all blank. That must have been when she died.

"Usually spirits don't remember at first," Grace interrupted. "But the memory's return after a few hours."

Eloise let out a loud sigh. She was relieved for her thoughts to be put to an end.

"Don't worry, I'll ask you both again later so take a breather for now while I give you a tour around the city." Grace answered as a warm smile spread across her face.