Zhang Mei Xing died.
There was no truck or bus that claimed her life. There was also no rival in love or at work that stabbed her in the chest out of jealousy. However, the pain was genuine and so was the helplessness and despair one only felt when on the verge of death.
Yet before she knew it, when she reopened her eyes, there she was in front of a mirror, staring at her youthful reflection.
"What?"
A soft cry could not help but escape out of her mouth, carrying all her confusion, doubt, and fright. When the young lady blinked her eyes, she realized the thing reflecting her own image was not a mirror, but a coffee-colored glass window.
She was naturally stunned.
'Wait. What is happening?'
'Aren't I supposed to be meeting a grim reaper?
'Is the ride to the underworld this extravagance? A stable train or something?'
She had not yet collected herself, but Zhang Mei Xing knew when confronted with a very strange situation it was imperative to inspect herself and the place. She checked her body.
She died by an earthquake, squashed into a meat paste underneath several floors that collapsed. Zhang Mei Xing was expecting to see a bloody scene, especially after remembering that on the first wave, her right arm was punctured badly by a four-finger wide metal, her whole stomach crushed by a boulder.
But when she looked down, she was confronted with several strange things that left her utterly baffled.
She was seated in an armchair, a wooden one, and she was wearing a familiar ugly uniform, one she used to wear in high school.
There were no whatsoever wounds in her body. In fact, she was strangely unharmed... And like what was reflected by the window, her face looked blander and younger, her hands a lot smaller.
It was hard not to raise a brow at this discovery.
Because the noise around escalated, her gaze went up and that was when she realized she was not on any ride. But in a classroom. One that immediately invoked nostalgia in her.
'This...' Zhang Mei Xing's eyes slowly widened as she subconsciously inhaled and held her breath.
She took in the messy room filled with strangely familiar yet unfamiliar faces. It was a normal classroom setup, further confusing her.
They were laughing, chatting, fighting with each other. The time was 9:41.
Surely, it was a scene that should not appear in the afterlife, no?
Or is it that when memories flashed back, the ones dying would not only see precious images, but would also be dragged into it?
'Is that even possible?'
Zhang Mei Xing continued to look around.
A teacher was seated in front. It was Teacher Liu who seemed to be recording the scores of her student as she went through a stack of paper. There was a serious and focused expression on her face. However, the little ones in the place made it hard for anybody doing serious job to concentrate. Soon, a frown surfaced on Teacher Liu's face as the noises reached a crescendo. Zhang Mei Xing saw her turned to the left wall where the list of classroom officers could be seen.
"Student Xu, immediately list down your noisy classmates," said Teacher Liu in a displeased tone. Those who heard her already knew the names to be listed would suffer some point deduction in the most recent test.
"It's recess time soon."
Zhang Mei Xing was not sure why she sounded so sure about it. But it did come from her mouth, almost instinctively.
Then she fell into contemplation.
Recess time? Wasn't that only a term used for a snack break in high school? In the past, was she always looking forward to this to the point her mouth would subconsciously blurt it out?
The things happening to her were driving her crazy.
"At this rate, I would have no choice but to believe that a bored god is playing with me, sending me back to my teen days to temporarily experience it." She whispered to herself, laughing dryly.
"Everyone, quiet down, otherwise, don't blame me for including your names in the list." A crisp female voice rang right after Teacher Liu's.
The baffled girl's attention was no longer on them though.
When her gaze went to the windows again, Zhang Mei Xing could partly see the sky at the end of the corridor and it looked quite clear.
If her guess was correct and it was a replicated reality from nine years ago, then it was truly something wonderful and nice. The air was fresher than almost a decade in the future. The sky too looks broader and more inspiring.
Time passed and no change in Zhang Mei Xing's state happened.
The snack break did come, and a group of girls approached her to take her to the cafeteria. It gave Zhang Mei Xing an odd feeling, but she went along with them. When a few coins and a single bill came out of her pocket, she frowned as she was used to having hundreds if not thousands of denominations in hand, but later, she convinced herself that this was a dream.
'Of course, newly deceased people are poor. Our families have yet to offer paper money to us.' She inwardly giggled.
At this point, Zhang Mei Xing had already determined that thinking about it was useless. She chose not to bother with the small details. Since it was obvious she had no say or power over what was happening, she chose to just go with the flow. Anyway, she didn't think bad people would be given good service like this where they were given a chance to experience a sweet memory from their past.
With that said though, Zhang Mei Xing was still clear-headed and knew what she went through before finding herself in the current situation. She was not one to deny that she had already died. It was simply impossible to suddenly be in a classroom when a minute ago, she was still in a falling building.
Because she was aware of it, a playful thought popped up in her mind. 'Since I am going through a sweet time like this, I should be on my way to heaven, right?'
'My life is pretty generic and boring, but since I'm sure I'm a good person, I should be quite welcomed above, right?'
Suddenly, somebody tugged at her sleeve which brought her back to her senses.
"Mei Xing, a while ago, I saw you admiring your face again in the windows." A giggle came from one of the girls who gave her a teasing look.
She looked at the person and was hit nostalgia. The girl's name was An Qi, a cute shorty she last met in high school graduation. The twenty-four years old soul of Mei Xing sighed inwardly since it had been more or less eight years for her. To be honest, the person's face was already quite blurry in her memory and she would not have recognized who this girl was if not for remembering that she had very few friends around this time.
How did her fifteen-year-old self usually reply to her cute immature-looking friends back then?
Should she get into a full role-play mode since this was a dream anyway?
Zhang Mei Xing momentarily paused and went through her memories. Afterward, a boastful smile appeared on her lips. "Sorry, there's just some things that I can't help but do. Because I just look so cute."
"As if." She got an eye-roll from An Qi and a laugh from another girl whose name should be… uhhh, surnamed Gao?
'Girls in their teens are okay to be this full of themselves, right? As long as no others are annoyed.' She laughingly thought, giving up on guessing names.
Her friends giggle and then began to tease each other. A whole break passed just like that. Zhang Mei Xing's heart was filled with happiness as this period of her life was very different from a stressful corporate one.
She thought, to let them enjoy this kind of thing, the afterlife was actually a good one. Comforting. And considerate. At least to the deceased ones like her.
'Perhaps, once the school today ended… Or once the hands of the clock strike twelve midnight later, the soul collectors would finally meet me.'
'But if my guess were to become true...'
Rare opportunities should be cherished to the fullest. She covertly whispered to herself, looking forward to the people she would meet after school.