Being Human

Chapter 47- Afterlife

-- Hope you guys are enjoying the story :D I will be soon working on another after this one so stay tuned ;D--

Chapter 47- Afterlife

And so you may ask; Is this where the story ends? The conclusion of my tale of victories and defeats? Well sorry no there's much, much more. 

As I open my eyes I see a bright light blind me. Is this heaven? Am I dead? Did I fail? As I look around I notice a very familiar room. It is the one I was in last time I was the hospital. I need to find the others. I get up out of my bed and push the door open but the door leads to a black empty space. Maybe I am dead. Suddenly a voice comes out of nowhere. 

"Phoenix. You have much to do." I look around the room and try to look for someone. Is that who I think it is? The one I have heard about from my grandma? "No Phoenix I am not him." I look around the room pondering who it is then? "Well then who are you?"  Then the black nothingness that my door lead to is suddenly a hallway. I walk over to it and close the door to my room behind me. It takes me a while before I reach the room across. Once I reach the end I push open the door and the room hits me with a strong sense of nostalgia. This was my old mobile home that I lived in since I was 5. Suddenly before my eyes appeared the man I hated second most to Joshua. 

My biological father. He left my mom high and dry when I was about two or three. Life became even harder for my mom. Once I was old enough to understand why I never really had a father growing up, I developed a strong hate for him and thus my "anger" was born. As I watched my mother argue with this man I noticed that there was a baby crying. For some reason that was the only thing I heard. That baby crying.

My so called dad walked out the front door of the house and left the door wide open. I took that as my cue to go through their and see where that lead me to. When I walked out, I was in one of my old bus spots from middle school that I remember a bit too well. There I was standing before me. Young, innocent and naive. This day I also remember too perfectly. This was the day when my heart was stomped and lit on fire and paraded on. I see myself talking to a girl. One that was very pretty. One I spent a whole year with getting to know and hang out. I helped her with her bully problems and she helped me with my math. I thought that was fair enough. Well I fell for her but she didn't. On that day I was moving to another town and I wanted to tell her how I felt about her so I did. Once I had told her she suddenly became a stranger. Instead of saying "I like you as a friend" or some other bullshit, she made fun of me. Told me I was ugly, stupid and pathetic. She told me I was too much a sad disappointment and I was the cause of my parents separating. She could have just been nice like a friend should be. I guess I was wrong.

I clenched my fist so hard, I didn't realize that I was digging into my palms with my nails. As I walk with the small boy back to his house, he is crying and his friends walk along with him to comfort them. Once he reaches the street of his house, he stops crying and tells his friends that hes over it. I really wasn't. I just hid the sadness and the anger so that everyone would leave me alone and think I was fine but I wasn't. This only just helped feed my "anger" and to make it grow and nurture. The boy opened the front door of his house and it again led to a white hallway. I walked down into this one but it is different. The doors are dirty and old. There is cobwebs on the ceiling and mold growing on it. As I reach the door and push it open, I am led into my room.

There I am sitting there with a sad expression. This version of me is old and gray and dusty. He seems to be just sitting there and waiting for something to happen. "You see this Phoenix." The voice says to me. "This is all of your sadness and anger build up to become you. As you can see its old and is nearing its end. You must let go of your past and move on." I just stand there and listen to the voice talk. I walk over to the dusty me and stare at him. "I'm surprised its not in the form of some demon or ugly creature." I say aloud hoping the voice will respond. 

"It's ready to leave and move on. All it needs is you." I nod my head and walk over to dusty me. I sit down besides him and he turns to me and smiles. "So you ready to leave this place?" I ask him. He nods and goes underneath the bed for some reason. He comes back out with a tiny wood box. He hands it to me without saying a word. I become puzzled and ask, "Whats this for?" He sits there for a few seconds silent and says, 

"Hope. The strength you need to move on and help your family and friends."

I look at him and ask, "I am a hopeful person so why is that I need it?"  He shakes his head and says, "No you had false hopes created out of me, your sadness and your anger. You need to create hope without remembering the things that caused this." I stare the box for a few minutes and ask, "Well this help me do what is necessary to save the ones I love and care for?" I ask in a worried tone. "He looks at me and says, "That is for you to find out my friend." With that he slowly begins to crumble into dust. As he crumbles a wind blows through the room and sends him away out the window to freedom. The window is leading to a bright light and I climb on my window and sit there pondering.

"That is what he gave to you before going on to become nothing. Use it and help your loved ones." The voice says. I am still sitting there on the window when I ask, "So who are you exactly?" There is a silence. He seems to have left. "We are the voice of our kin. We are the ones who help those who need our help and our strengths. We are the brothers and sisters of you. You have been reincarnated as one of us. Mfalme was just like you child. We are all one pride. Together. Good luck Phoenix and farewell. Till we meet again." With that the voice faded away. I sat quietly and listened to see if he was still here. After a long sum of silence, I finally found the courage to open the box. Inside of it was a blue flame. Like the one I created when I kissed Phoenicia for the first time. I held my hand out to it and it jumped onto my hand and latched onto it. As I closed my fist, I felt its energy spread through me.

I have hope. Hope to do what I have to do to help my friends and family. 

I leap out the window. Into the white. 

I wake up to the sight of black charred ground. I feel pain all over me. I roll over on my back and look up at the bright blue sky. It must be morning now. I look at my shoulder and the knife is still in it. I grab it and with one tug pull it out of my shoulder. I twitch in pain, but I overcome it. As the wound heals it pushes out the pieces of the bullet. The other bullets also become pushed out of my body as it heals. Within minutes I am fine and well. I'm drenched in blood. I get up and stretch as I walk over the charred ground. I can smell all of the scents of everyone last night. It is probably going to be far as hell that's for sure.

How am I going to get there fast enough? As I think I run straight towards my house. I force the door open with ease and grab the house phone. I start dialing and I impatiently walk back and forth as I wait for an answer. Finally, a voice comes on the other end.

"Hey Daniel or Sparrow whatever. I need your help buddy. You have your car right? Okay meet me at my place in half an hour."

I will find them. I won't fail.