With a light knock on the door, Raphael entered the local headquarters of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or as his parents called it - Atheists Incorporated. Neither of his parents were what one would call religious, quite the contrary, they singularly believed that there was no higher power and that they would only live once. While that may seem bleak to some, Raphael acknowledged and accepted their viewpoint - he was not religious himself. Growing up, he discovered that part of the reason why his parents were so happy was that they were atheists - it allowed them to let go and live their lives to the fullest.
The office he had entered opened up into a small room, which had other doors that were closed. There were a few chairs and even a couch, neatly arranged in the leftmost corner for anyone that had to wait for their turn. In front of the entrance, there was an open desk with a computer and stacks of various documents.
A young woman with short blond hair, ends dyed blue, was sitting behind the desk. She had freckles and glasses, which made her look young, although she was probably at least four or five years older than Raphael.
She glanced away from her screen, and with a smile, she asked, "Hello, what may I help you with?"
Raphael looked at her for a second, before rummaging around in his pocket and fishing out a small ticket, handing it over to the young lady. She scrutinized the loose paper with curiosity, before recognizing it as a delivery ticket for one of their services. With a nod, she took the ticket with her and entered one of the adjacent rooms, closing the door behind herself.
Raphael sighed and sat down at the couch, gingerly examining the building. He had spent a lot of time in this place during his past life. He had even grown close to the young secretary that had just left the room. Her name was Jeanne and she was actually almost seven years older than him. She had helped him a lot during his hour of need, and with time they had grown close and even dated for a few years, but in the end they had had too many differing opinions to last.
'It's kind of sad that we grew so far apart. I wonder what went on with her life after we split up…, darn it, should have kept in contact…' Raphael chastised himself. Jeanne had been the first real girlfriend he had ever had. At one point, he had even considered marrying her, but she had been so opposed and angered by the idea that his proposal had become the straw that broke the camel's back. They had parted ways, as amicably as possible, even promising each other to stay friends, but the rift between them had only grown until they had drifted apart permanently.
'Can't beat yourself up about it. Mistakes were made, best not to repeat them.' Raphael encouraged himself, as one of the three doors opened and Jeanne came back. She was carrying a gray container in one arm, and yet another stack of papers in the other.
Raphael stood up and went to her desk, where she handed him the stack of papers and a pen.
"I'm sorry for your loss. The forms were prepared in advance, you just have to sign them for confirmation. The ashes are in this container, which is biodegradable should you wish to bury it." she said as she also handed him the gray container, which Raphael took and studied. It was faintly cylindrical in shape, but in a rough sort of way, as if somebody had started carving it out of marble and given up half way through. "If you need any help, please don't hesitate. We can get you in contact with a lot of groups and programs."
Raphael nodded, as he flipped through the documents and signed his name half a dozen times.
"Thank you for the offer, I'll keep it in mind." he said, as he gave the pen back to Jeanne, a faint smile tinged with sadness on his face.
The girl accepted it and watched Raphael as he quietly walked out of the room, closing the door behind himself. She shook her head as she sat down, trying to get rid of the small current of emotions that swept through her every time she had to give somebody their 'delivery'.
Meanwhile, Raphael Simon had made his way down the stairs and back onto the street, his head buried in his hiPhone XXS once again, as his parents had left a specific route for him, which he had to adhere to. After a few swipes, his phone locked onto the nearest GALILEO satellites, quickly tracing out the quickest way to pass through the 'checkpoints', as his parents had named them.
Raphael put on his wireless earbuds and started listening to the instructions left behind by his parents as he walked according to the route he was given.
Jack and Ines Simon could truly be considered weird. The day he was born, they had started laying out this 'route', which took him through places that had a special meaning to them. Their voices, carried from beyond the grave through the magic of technology, were currently happily chattering away, with their favorite songs faintly playing somewhere in the background. The checkpoints he passed through were plain things - the shops they had bought their favorite foods from, the park that they loved to play with him when he was a child, a little café where they loved to lounge about. There was even a checkpoint, which they had named 'Extra Life', which was the bakery where Ines had told Jack he was going to be a father, over twenty years ago.
Finally, after a couple of hours of walking about, Raphael reached the creaky metal bridge, which stood atop the town's river. It had started to rust, as it was out of the way and rarely used.
There were a lot of padlocks hung on the bridge itself, each inscribed with couples' names and messages, professing their eternal love. A few of them were damaged, no doubt in an attempt by one of the former lovers to remove every memory of their previous relationship. The municipality would clear them out every year or so, as the added weight would endanger the stability of the bridge itself.
"Too bad they can't paint it as often." Raphael noted with a chuckle, as he leaned against the rails, looking at the river flowing underneath. Suddenly, his earbuds which had gone silent for close to half an hour, came back to life.
"And remember son, nothing lasts forever, so do what makes you happy." his parents' voices rang out together. They sounded peaceful. Raphael didn't doubt that they'd be just as serene, no matter the circumstances. He could hear the crackling of a fireplace in the background, before the sound changed once again.
A song started playing, as Raphael opened the container and tilted it towards the river beneath him.
♫♪♫ One more time, we're gonna celebrate! Oh yeah, all right, don't stop the dancing!–♫♪♫
The young man couldn't help himself from laughing out, as tears started trickling down his face. This was his parents' favorite song, played only for him, on the bridge they had met on for the first time.
'At least this time I did right by them. I thought I'd never be able to let go of my anger after I buried them in the past, against their wishes...' he agonized, as the tears across his face grew closer to the stream underneath the bridge. 'Hah, I guess the meteorologists were only half right. It's not raining, but my face is going to be soaking wet soon.' Raphael joked, as he wiped at his face with his jacket's sleeve.
The ashes fell through the air, some being taken away by the light wind, others by the current of the waterway. Soon, the container was empty and a dejected Raphael forced himself to stand tall as he brusquely walked away.
Unlike his previous life, he was going to try to honestly stay true to his parents' wishes.
Whether in reality, or in Origo.