LOLA IS DEAD [ COMPLETED ]

Chapter Five

I woke up in a small room with a single bed and a squared window covered with thin fabric. Darkness flooded the small corners and I didn't know what time it was. I must have lost consciousness because I didn't know how I got here and worst, I didn't know where I was. The last thing I remember was the sight of clouds covering the top of the giant citadel and that was it. I sat up and let my feet touched the concrete floor. It was cold beneath my bare skin but manageable. I stood up slowly, planting the sole of my feet calculating my strength. I was bracing for the odd feeling of dizziness, but it didn't come. I must have slept soundlessly for hours for it had cured the exhaustion that I had been feeling since the first time I got here. I didn't know dying would take so much of my strength in the afterlife. But I was feeling better now, not a hundred percent but good enough. There was a thin light seeping through the window from the outside, so I walked slowly towards it and peeked. Cold air brushed my face the moment I put the curtain aside. But I realized that it wasn't a curtain to begin with, it's a worn-out fabric cut in half of what used to be a blanket. The cold breeze on my face refreshed me, allowing my pores to breathe and released the stress. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply to fill my lungs with air and exhaled it along with a satisfying sigh. When I opened my eyes, I saw the moon hanging closely above the sky. Myriad stars splattered across the horizon, sparkling diamond against the dark. I stepped closer to the window and leaned forward on the edge to peruse further. I found out that I was in a building, tenth or fifteenth floor, I wasn't sure. My eyes surveyed the surrounding and despite of the darkness, the moon shone closely shedding us her divine light that made me see rooftops, maze like alleyways and building structures downstairs. My gaze looked horizontally in front of me and farther ahead I saw it once again, the massive wall that enclosed this semi urban jungle, dividing the consecrated ground from the forsaken land.

"Beautiful isn't it?" I turned around to see Olga standing on the doorway holding a candelabrum with three candle lights flickering. She walked to close the gap between us and stood next to me facing the window. Her eyes took the deeper shade of green from the dim light as she gazed out into the night.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"You're in the holy city of Iduri, consecrated by God himself to hold souls that are waiting to be judge before they travel to the next realm." She paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "This entire city is under the protection of the Archangel Raphael, the healer of the Lord, watcher of the East, Prince of the Cherubim." She looked at me and allowed the knowledge to sink in.

"Archangel? You mean the angels are real?" My eyes filled with amazement while my heart leaped with excitement. Olga smiled to see the surprised look on my face before she answered.

"Yes, they are real... and so is God." She said.

"And so are the demons." I murmured.

"Unfortunately, yes... so are the demons." Her lips pulled together as if she was sorry about the truth about the demons.

I looked down and stared at my hands, it looked whiter than it used to. Probably this was normal when you died - as life left you, your skin would turn white to signify the absence of the warmness of being alive.

"What is it Lola?" Olga asked. She was concerned with the sudden changes in my face.

"So, am I really dead?" I was afraid to confirm the truth to myself. It felt weird to accept the reality of being dead. I couldn't just embrace it. I wanted to be alive again, to be part of the living world and breathed the living air.

"I know this is hard for you as it always is for everyone else. But sooner you accept the truth, the sooner you can move on. I can't promise you anything. I will not tell you that it'll going to be easy because it's not. Iduri City is the Purgatory. We are in the lowest realm in the afterlife. Every soul here is waiting for a higher purpose and that alone isn't easy." She turned and paced back to the room and left me standing in front of the window. She placed the candelabrum on the only table in the room, walked a few steps and sat on the bed. I was thinking about my own predicament and when my eyes met hers, she beckoned for me to sit beside her on the bed and so I fallowed.