Afterlife || irwin

[ 21 ] 2014

[ 21 ] 2014

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"I can't blame you for things that happened after I died. While I was alive you always respected my relationship with her, and you respected me as your friend. You were like a brother to me."

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After saying goodbye to Harley at the hospital, Ashton found himself in a dark hallway. On each side were doors, as far as the eye could see in the dimly lit space. The only other sound was the ticking of a timer on the top side above all the doors. 

04:59:59.

Ashton didn't know what to do. This was the afterlife and he had to pick one door from the dozens that were there. It was like a game of chance and he had to pick the correct one. But he thought as though it was all sealed in fate. It had already been predetermined which door he would be choosing. He just didn't know it yet. He took one step, and then another, and he found that most doors had symbols on them. One with a fire symbol, one a water, one wind, one earth. As he continued, he saw a door with a cross, like the catholics believed in.

His parents had been Catholics when they were alive and Ashton attended church a few times, but he essentially gave up on that idea once he was brutally murdered by his best friend. He thought God had abandoned him. What kind of higher power could allow the death of so many innocent people? His mother always explained to him and his siblings as kids that God had given everyone free will, and some people just chose to be bad.

As the clock continued counting down, he heard footsteps coming from the other end of the hallway. He looked up and suddenly he was met with a blinding white light. Like people always talked about, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The light slowly got closer and as his eyes began to adjust, he was met with both confusion and a bit of relief when he saw a familiar face. It was Anne-Sophie, one of the last people he had seen that night before he passed away. She seemed a few years older than he was, and he had learned from Claire that she had been murdered when she was around twenty three years old. She was dressed in all white, a flowing white dress, blonde hair cascading past her shoulders, and she was glowing like an angel.

"What are you doing here, Annie?" He asked her, finding that his voice echoed and bounced off the walls of that dark hallway. 

A smile formed on her lips. "I wasn't sure if you'd remember me."

Out of sheer instinct, he grabbed her and pulled her in for a hug. He had always liked Anne-Sophie. She was such a kind person, and she had always been good to him. "Of course I remember you." He assured her. It had been over fifty years since he was murdered. But all of his memories from when he was alive were still fresh in his mind.

As they pulled away, a small smile formed on her lips. It held a bit of sadness to it. "I know you've struggled all alone for fifty years. That's why He wanted me to come out and guide you home." She explained, and he knew that by He, she was most likely referring to God. Taking his hand in hers, she started pulling him further into the hallway, towards one of the doors in the back. "Your family is waiting there too. They wanted to come, but God said someone more composed should be the one to guide you. You'll be seeing them shortly. They've really missed you."

"I've missed them too." Ashton nodded as he followed her.

With only about a minute left on the timer, Anne-Sophie stopped at one specific door and gestured for him to open it. Ashton grabbed the door knob a bit hesitantly and opened the door slowly. Suddenly, all the darkness in the hallway around him disappeared and he stepped inside, letting the door close behind them.