The afterlife. Such a controversial topic. Is there a heaven? A hell? A spirit realm? Are we rebirthed? Or maybe we just float around aimlessly for the rest of time, nodding at our former friends as we pass by. Everyone has an idea of their own.
What do I agree with? None of them. All these theories are bogus. Why? Because there is no such thing as an afterlife. Only science. The human body decays, and the brain shuts down. That's it. We evolved from bacteria, and die like bacteria.
The afterlife is not real.
I repeat this to myself over and over again as float in my ghostly body, staring at my own corpse.
The afterlife is not real.
But then why am I floating above the ground, staring at my own corpse? A ghost? Ridiculous! I mean, scientists can't even prove if souls exist. You can't touch them, hear them, see them...
As a struggle through my conundrum, the door slams open from behind me. My sister comes running in, in a black silk dress and a elephant skin hat. Julia J. Roberts, first child of Macy and Kyle Roberts and a self made billionaire. If anyone could figure out what was going on, it would be her. She looks around the empty room, before her gaze lands on my dead body.
"Bomakyliso!" she mutters, recognizing me. Behind her, a man in black appears but she ignores him.
"Are you dead?" she asks my dead body. Slowly, Julia leans down to check my pulse. Then, she frowns.
Yes! She knows that I'm actually alive! I would have shouted with joy if I could. Julia will prove this was a mistake! After that, we can sit and laugh about how I thought I was a ghost! To be honest, I probably just spilled some chemicals and had a hallucination or something as a result. Typical me.
Wait. I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Bomakyliso A. Roberts. I work as a chemist in a FortuneLabs, studying radiation. I am 20 years old and graduated from Harvard Law School with a degree in engineering. I am not in a relationship.
I know what you're probably thinking. Woah! Some things in his life do not add up. I mean, he got an engineering degree from law school, but he doesn't have a girlfriend! Even though he has a cool name! And even though his work is curing cancer! Believe me, I know.
Let me explain some things. First of all, I have had girlfriends before. I still have one, kind of. Me and Julia are just on a break. And no, it is not that weird that my sister and my ex(ish)- girfriend have the same name. Okay, it is a little but still. Moving on.
You're probably also wondering why my sister has such a normal name while I come in with Bomakyliso. My parents were drunk when they gave me my name. They waited 8 months to name me, just in case I died. The 8th month, they went to the bar to discuss names. Long story short, they got into a bunch of fights, drunk it off, and thought it would be funny to have my initials be B.A.R. Then, as the story goes, they went to the hospital and rambled off a name, but they must have been laughing too hard and whoever wrote my name for them just picked random syllables.
Side note, my nickname is Bart. Self given. Everyone else calls me Barnacle, even though I tell them not to.
Ok. On a less touchy note, I should mention why I graduated at 20 with an engineering degree from law school. Actually, I would but it's confidential. Sorry. Government stuff, you know.
Anyway, my sister frowns, and calls out to a man in black standing outside of the room. I smiles to myself. This is where the moment of truth happens. The moment the sibling loyalty comes out. Julia hands the man a stack of bills, leans in, and asks him, "Did you kill him quickly?"
I shoot up into the ceiling. If anyone could have seen the look on my face, they would have seen a look of pure shock. And I mean eyes bulging, mouth unhinged, hair sticking up. Shock.
The man, aka my killer, looks around and then leans in whispering, "Clean kill. You can collect the life insurance and money from the will later. Pay me the other million dollars tomorrow."
Then, he runs off leaving me and Julia alone in a room.
The arrow of betrayal punctures my heart. I float down, trying half-heartedly to punch Julia. She doesn't even react. Her face remains stone cold.
Then, Julia sighs and looks down at my body sadly. I wait for an apology, for something to acknowledge the murder of her brother.
Instead, without saying anything, she tucks a note into my pocket, pockets my wallet, and walks off after my killer
I float down, left in silence. My corpse stares back at me.
"The afterlife is not real" I try to tell him, but nothing comes out.
Turns out, ghosts don't have vocal cords.
After a moment of hesitation, I shuffle over to my body and grab the note. Well, try to. It was like trying to pry and piece off a steel wall. I could push it, but nothing happened. Finally, I crouch down and read the note through the corner of my eye.
It reads:
To Julia,
I'm sorry for leaving you alone in this cruel cruel world. But, I couldn't take it anymore. There are a few things I would like to say.
1. You can have all my money.
2. You can have all my land.
3. You can have my job.
Love, Barnalcle
Wow. Not only did Julia just give herself all my stuff and gave me a fake (and badly written) suicide note, she also signed it Barnalcle. Which is not only my hated nickname but its also spelled Barnacle.
I fall to the ground in tears. What could I do now? Find a way to revive myself? Work on removing the note? Chase after her? I wish I could say that I went around doing something productive, but that would be a lie.
The truth is, I fell asleep.
Well kind of. It was more of hitting my head on the ground and getting knocked out, but it did the trick.
