The Butterfly Effect (Rewritten)

Chapter Five - The Other Side

Some people believe there is no Heaven, nor Hell, and everyone's entitled to their own opinion. One's belief does not cancel out another's. Faith and Fact can coexist or they cannot; that in its entirety is up to the human race to decide. I believed that the moment my heart stopped, it was over. My brain would shut down, the blood flow would stop, and with no heartbeat came no function. Darkness. Nothingness. Call it what you want. It was what I assumed to be the definition of death, not a foggy meadow.

I opened my eyes to a gray sky. My fingertips touched slick grass. I turned my head to the side and found I was in a deserted clearing. Around me, tall pine trees loomed overhead. Fog drifted between the tree lines, concealing anything I could have seen beyond them. I stood, eyebrows pinched together. The reflection of the fog tinged the color of the meadow, yet the bleakness did nothing to soothe my confusion. The trees didn't move, they were steadfast from the lack of wind or wildlife. Every piece of vegetation was motionless, watching me with rapt attention. The absence of noise caused a light hum in my ears. Nothing should have been that still.

A wave of goosebumps tickled my flesh. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand. I whirled around. A few feet away stood a black-cloaked figure with a hood over its face. Its lips, the only visible part of its face, twitched as if in reaction to me spotting it. The sane option was to scream and run, but I had no impulse to do either. The figure's aura was gentle enough for me to speak up.

"What is this place?"

"Every culture has a name for it," the hooded entity answered in a feminine voice.

She lifted her hood to reveal an ethereal, heart-shaped face. She was a woman with thick ebony curls and skin that shimmered as if divine power was leaking through her pores, hardly able to contain itself. Vibrant gold eyes met my hazel ones, and I knew the woman standing before me was the furthest thing from a human.

"You are in what most cultures call Limbo, or is it Purgatory now? The In-Between, perhaps? Some humans call it the Otherside." The woman scanned our surroundings as if in afterthought. "This place has many names."

A silence fell upon us.

I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You're kidding, right?"

The woman pursed her lips. "No, I am not."

"No," I shook my head, "no, there is no such thing as God! That means no Heaven or Hell and that definitely rules out Limbo!"

"Oh ye of little faith," she murmured, amusement twinkling in her eyes, "and yet here we are. Fascinating, isn't it? How quickly the rug can be pulled right out from under you, leaving every single belief you held in a mound of, well, nothing." She flashed a set of flawless teeth.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"Some refer to me as the Angel of Death, but I am merely one of many that serve lost souls such as yourself. I am a Reaper and we guide souls to their final resting place."

I dreaded what that implied. "And... why exactly am I lost? Where should I even be?"

The woman smiled. "That, my restless girl, is for you to decide. You attempted to end your life, Emory Tate Mathison," the finality in the Reaper's voice would have made my heart pound if I were still alive, "you are on the brink of death, but you are not yet dead. You have a choice to make. You were not meant to die at this point in your life. Seeing as your fate has yet to be sealed, I have the ability to grant you a choice - an opportunity if you will. You may choose to leave the world of the living, but there will be no peace for you. However, if I deem you worthy, you may be granted a second chance."

Not even the force of a bullet could shatter the hush that elapsed on the meadow.

"I'm sorry, a second chance? I ended my life! Isn't it obvious I want to die?"