[Original] Chronicles of the Paranormal [Novel]

Chapter 4: A Promise To Reunite Lovers!

Chapter 4: A Promise To Reunite Lovers!
"That's how it all happened," Hana confessed after she finished telling her story to Kotone and Ayano.

"It sounds like it was really hard for you," Kotone said. "You never got to confess to your lover."

"That is a touching story and all," Ayano said with an expressionless tone, "but there are complications in the matter that you'll be facing. First of all, committing suicide messes with the Shinigami's scheduling of deaths. It takes a carefully regulated system that handles the influx of souls that are being born, dying, and reincarnating."

"So this shinigami is in control of everything?" Kotone crossed her arms. "Are there several shinigami or just one?"

"There are several shinigami that oversee the soul flow in the afterlife," Ayano explained. "Just having one Overseer would be a tremendous task to put upon a single individual. Most of the shinigami would agree that Hana committing suicide is an inconvenience and they would have to rewrite their systems to accommodate her."

"I didn't know all that before committing suicide..." Hana said, while casting her gaze to the ground and putting a hand against her chest. "But even if I did know, I probably still would have done it. Without Misaki, there was just no reason for me to continue living."

"That kind of selfish thinking only inconveniences people," Ayano said matter of factly, to which Kotone frowned.

"Hey, I think it's already punishment enough that she has to go through all these spiritual procedures without seeing her lover," Kotone protested. "Besides, Ayano-san, why are you being so tough on her? Haven't you ever been in love or loved someone before?"

"Are you encouraging people to commit suicide, Kotone?" Ayano asked.

"I'm not encouraging it, but I can at least understand the reasons behind someone would do that."

"What matters now is solving the situation at hand, not the emotional reasons behind something," Ayano said.

Kotone agreed, though she didn't want to admit this out loud; she didn't want Hana to feel any more worse than she probably already did. Besides, it would be a waste of breath trying to argue with Ayano further. The little white-haired girl could be quite as stubborn as she was.

"So let me think for a moment," Kotone said as she tried to reason to herself what was going on. "When a person dies, they either go on to reincarnate or go to the void. Is that correct?"

"Yes, that is correct," Ayano answered while Hana nodded.

"Are there any alternatives to the void?" Kotone asked.

"Usually a spirit tries to pay off their karmic debts by performing good deeds, though this is no small task either. It would take several lifetimes to pay off the ones that they currently have, and then there is a backlog of karmic debts from their current lifetime that needs to be paid off to the people it has affected. They are usually overseen by a Shinigami, and they work souls ragged."

"But I don't have lifetimes to wait!" Hana interjected when she heard Ayano's explanation about the void and the performing deeds underneath a Shinigami taskmaster. "I need to see Misaki sooner than that! I know this is selfish of me to ask, but I want to see her as soon as possible, instead of having to go to the void or performing good deeds for several lifetimes. That is because I need to let her know that I love her. Before she reincarnates."

Kotone could understand Hana's reasoning. After being separated from her lover so cruelly, it's only natural that she would want to see Misaki's face again. However, there were more questions that bubbled into Kotone's consciousness, along with a lingering doubt about whether or not she was capable of doing this for Hana. The pressure to perform had been something that Kotone thrived on, though determining the fate of a soul in the afterlife wasn't a small thing.