Zavier who had recently died was hardly able to feel the extraordinary nature of what was happening to him. All the concepts of death that he had previously had or had studied previously during his life had been rendered null and void at this time.
He couldn't help himself from asking whether all of it was real or not. His mind was unable to accept what was happening right in front of him. He thought that all of this might have been an elaborate dream or something.
Previously he had read somewhere that whatever you think about during the day, chances are that you might have a related dream at night and lately all he had done was fantasize about the various ways he could die in and the things that would happen to him after death.
That's why he had to get rid of the confusion by directly relating his worries to 'the cosmic consciousness'.
"Is this happening for real? If I am still dreaming, you better tell me right now."
"Depends on the definition of reality. If we are talking in human terms, then yes what you are experiencing is all really happening."
Zavier seemed to have been relieved of a huge burden all of a sudden. In reality, he didn't want to have to go through all the pain of dying all over again.
The curious bone in Zavier was jolted awake and he wanted to know more about what happened after death.
"Is this where all the dead souls come after the death of the person on earth?"
"No"
"Then where do they go if not here?"
"Is that really the question that you want to ask right now? Is it the time to be concerned about what others experience?"
The voice of the 'cosmic consciousness' seemed to be teasing him like an elder of the household when lecturing a mischievous a young one.
Zavier hesitated for a while showing his inner struggle. After a while, his gaze looked determined and clear as if he had already decided on the path ahead.
"If the others don't go through the same process, then why am I here? Is it because I did something wrong?"
"Because the life that you experienced was full of misery and sorrow. I have seen how miserable of a life you have led until your eventual death. The injustice that you have suffered from, during your whole life have led to this current situation.
Since you didn't get to live your life like all the other souls that were given the gift of life, there must be some compensation for you. As such I am responsible for giving you a choice."
"What choice?"
Zavier was a little apprehensive at the moment. He had never felt so nervous in his entire life even when the doctors had said that he wouldn't survive the night. But at this moment he was so nervous that he was hardly able to form a coherent thought let alone a sentence.
He didn't know what kind of a choice it was going to be but from the solemn tone of the collective consciousness, he was sure that it was something of paramount importance, something life changing.
"It isn't a difficult choice if you know what you want. You don't have to be afraid."
Zavier knew that he had been seen through by the entity that he was communicating with at the moment. He decided to go through with it as soon as possible so that he didn't have to feel the same uncomfortable feeling anymore.
"I am ready. What is it that I have to choose?"
"You have to choose whether you want to be reborn or not."
Zavier felt as if a hundred-pound sack had hit him right in the face. He was shocked to hear the options that he had to choose from at first because the concept of rebirth was something unheard of, but then he thought that it wasn't a choice at all for him.
He didn't want to live such a horrible life again. He was sure that no matter how many times he was asked to choose, his answer would not have changed. Because once you have tasted hell, there was no way you would jump into it out of your own volition again.
Zavier after the initial shock came back to his senses and maintained a calm expression as if all this was happening to someone else and he was just a passer-by because he already knew what he wanted. He didn't want to face the same situation of scrounging for hope in the middle of an ocean of hopelessness every day for another lifetime.
He opened his lips to utter the answer that was at the tip of his tongue but restrained himself due to a sudden feeling in his heart.
Almost subconsciously he asked aloud from the collective consciousness something that he dare not have high hopes about.
"I want to ask something before I tell you, my choice."
"Feel at ease to ask anything that you aren't sure about."
"I want to ask whether I will get a healthy body once I choose to be reborn."
Zavier seemed to have expended a lot of his energy in just asking this question while keeping his hopes low.
"Naturally you will get a healthy body as a compensation for all the hardships you have endured during your previous life but the world that you will be reborn in will be different from the one that you are used to. It will be a completely different world."