Your Guide to the Afterlife

Chapter 1

She pins me to the ground.

"Serena!" I yelp. "Serena, it's me!"

There's a dark glint in her eyes.

"Serena, you're supposed to kill him!" I explain, a little frantically. "There must be some mistake, you know I'm Elo, right?"

A shadow falls across my face. I look up to see him leaning against the door frame.

"Oh, she knows." He smiles at me.

Then Serena plunges the knife into my heart.

***

I open my eyes, blinking at how bright it is. The sky is bright blue, the air is fresh and salty, and the wind gently caresses my face. I smile, leaning back into the water.

Wait. Water?!?!

I scream, splashing around. I'm in the middle of the ocean! Horrified, I kick my legs around and flounder about, trying not to drown.

Abruptly, I stop. I try to stick my head under the water, but it floats back up. I flip over onto my side. Still, I can't seem to stay under the water. It's like it's impossible for me to drown--like I'm wearing a life vest or something. I don't even need to tread water, I just float.

"So you finally stopped panicking, huh?" A voice says from behind me.

I whirl around, trying to find out who this mystery person is. A woman, seemingly around thirty or so, is floating above the water. I close my eyes, then open them again. What is going on?

"Where... am I?" I stutter. 

She smiles condescendingly at me. "Honey... you're in the afterlife."

I blink. "Huh?"

"Aw, you're confused! I said," she answers, "you're in the afterlife." She flips her hair over her shoulder and onto her back. She pushes some stray strands behind her ears. The woman has long, brown hair, thin eyebrows, and a hooked nose. She is wearing a flowy white dress that hangs off her shoulders elegantly.

"So there is an afterlife!" I exclaim.

She falters. "That's... not what they usually say."

"The afterlife's nice," I continue. "Why's it an ocean, though?"

She smiles. "I don't know, why is it an ocean?"

Why's she asking me? "How should I know?"

"You made it," she says.

I laugh. "Yes, I totally made the afterlife."

"It's true. What you see after you die is a figment of your own imagination. It's a place that's most calming to you."

My mouth falls open a little. "But, I've never been to the ocean..." I whisper.

The woman looks at me, her eyes a little misty. "Poor child... you seem so innocent. How much do you remember?"

"I..." I pause. Who am I?

I remember a soft hug, maybe a mother figure? I remember a teddy bear and pink ribbons. I remember the pain of scraping my knee on... a sidewalk? A blacktop? I remember being in the rain, the feeling of the cold water running down my back... but everything's blurry.

"I remember..." A sharp, stabbing pain rips through my chest. I scream, my eyes wide open. I don't remember pain like that.

"Oh dear... this is troublesome," the woman says.

"What?" I wince, trying to keep my eyes from brimming with tears.

"It seems you are going through final pain--the pain you experienced the moment you died," she explains.

"Why was I in so much pain when I died?"

This seems to trouble the woman. She frowns, biting her lip. "You must remember that on your own. All I can say for now is, my name is Dina, and I'll be your guide to the afterlife."