Thunder crashed, echoing around Jing as he two-handedly fought with his umbrella which was disintegrating steadily under the persistent downpour. As the umbrella gave way, Jing gave a disgruntled huff, tossing the potential lighting conductor into a nearby trash can. His threadbare brown suit was already soaked through, and as he combed back his wet hairJing finally spotted the cheerful orange and green glow of the convenience store sign. Quickening his steps, Jing glanced at the tarnished silver watch on his wrist.
The watch, a parting gift from his favourite nun at the orphanage where he'd spent his childhood, was another thing on his person that was well beyond the expiration date. But sentimentality and a lack of funds prevented Jing from letting go of the watch. Ten past noon, he had another ten minutes to gobble down some instant ramen before rushing back to work.
Swinging inside the mart, Jing shook off the droplets in his hair and swiped his scuffed brown shoes on the doormat. Nodding at the clerk's bored greeting, Jing hurriedly grabbed his favourite instant kimchi noodles off the shelf, leather shoes squeaking on the wet tiled floors. Hesitating, he glanced about the busy store, crowded with office workers shovelling food into themselves or keeping dry from the storm outside.
His usual spot in the store was occupied by two giggling schoolgirls discussing their idol, a famous singer whose face graced most of the advertisements plastered across the store. With a sharp profile, exquisitely arranged messy hair, and a sexy pout, the man on the posters was so unlike Jing's rounded features that he'd developed an unreasonable dislike of the singer.
Jing had spent most of his life feeling inadequate, a faded and jaded picture in striking contrast to the world around him, and he didn't need the additional reminders of his inadequacies. But the only available seat in the mart faced the wall, with a peeling poster of the singer selling a beer with a smirk. Rejecting the idea of spending another minute of his already sad lunch facing the annoying poster, Jing headed for the counter, grabbing a cheap umbrella to replace his broken one.
Cashing him out, the clerk barely glanced up from his phone as Jing turned towards the door and pushed open his new umbrella. He'd gobble up the ramen at his desk and try to cover some of the data analysis his supervisor had tossed him with a "get this done before the end of the day" before heading out with the other team supervisors. He'd have to stay late tonight to get the work done, not that it mattered since he rarely had after-work plans. Jing's friends were few, and he lived alone, which meant the most he looked forward to was an exciting book or TV show paired with a refreshing beer. But being a social pariah didn't mean Jing enjoyed spending extra time at work, and it rankled that he was the only one on his team who was always delegated more than his fair share of work.
The rain was still coming down hard, and there was a sudden crack of lightning as he fought his way against the rain. The umbrella was directly in front of him, like a shield against the force of wind and water roaring toward him. A following burst of thunder almost made him lose his grip on the plastic bag that held his lunch, and as he struggled to adjust his grip, Jing stepped into a deep puddle drenching his right foot to his ankle.
"Ugh, as if I'm not soaked enough," he muttered, pulling his foot out and practically tripping in his haste to dodge another puddle.
The street was strangely empty, but then again, he could barely see two feet ahead, so Jing didn't notice the oddness of a cleared road during lunch hour. Instead, he was focused on defending his upper body from the onslaught of rain, his lower body already losing the battle the minute he left work. As he shook his leg, trying to rid his foot of all the water pooling in his shoe, he also didn't notice the small puddle that glinted strangely in the lighting that cracked across the heavens. Oblivious to the mild oddities around him, Jing took another step drawing ever closer to that innocuous pool of water.
It was as if there was a hush in the air, the wind swooping and swirling, tugging him near. His left foot met the surface of the puddle, and he gasped at the cold rush against his foot. But before he could catch himself, the wind roared and tugged his umbrella out of his hand. Thrown off balance, Jing was forced to take another step and couldn't stop himself from falling through like a stone thrown from a great height. He sank as if the bottom, wherever it was, was about to devour him whole. Taking a deep breath was a mistake.
Water rushed into his nose and mouth as Jing opened his eyes, suddenly feeling a rush of emotion. He'd felt upset with his lot in life, angry, disillusioned and bitter at times, but he'd still wanted to keep living. Even as he felt like he was experiencing a washed-out version of life, the contrast between him and everyone else made him want to find out what he was missing out on. And why he couldn't be included in life's pleasures.
Every smile directed away from him, every hug, was a stab through his heart. A reminder of the life he never had and might never have again. He wanted to live. He wanted to hold someone's hand, smile at them in understanding, and feel he was a part of something instead of what he'd always been—an outsider.
There was a rush of water on every side, and complete darkness enveloped him. Blindly pushing his arms and legs, Jing knew this was the end. He couldn't take another breath. With water everywhere, there was no escape. He sank even lower, choking and struggling against the current, dragging him to the depths. Suddenly blinding light jabbed his eyelids. The light seemed to pierce his entire being, and he was immediately weightless as if floating in the air.
The water was gone, and relief washed over him even as he thought, "Am I dead?". Jing risked cracking open his eyes, happily taking in deep, beautiful gulps of air. The light was truly blinding, and he had to shut his eyes against the pain of the white brightness surrounding him.
Taking in steady deep breaths, Jing calmed his racing heart. With each breath, the light seemed to decrease or his eyes became more accustomed to the harsh brightness. A minute or an hour passed until the light felt bearable and Jing risked another glimpse of his surroundings. He almost stopped breathing as he looked around.
His heart almost stopped beating, unsurprisingly since he didn't seem to possess a body anymore. He was surrounded by mist and couldn't move, let alone tell if all his limbs were present and accounted for. Directly ahead of him was a Being. It had a diaphanous quality similar to its surroundings and if not for the glowing, unblinking red eyes, Jing would not have been aware of its presence. Much to Jing's dismay, the red eyes floated closer.
"Hello mortal one", thundered the Being.
Jing winced as the voice reverberated around him. The mist around him seemed to bounce with the echoes of the din.
"So you've lost your way, have you? Why don't you speak up and ask for directions?", boomed the Being.
Lost his way? Jing supposed his near-drowning, hypothermic journey before appearing in a cloud dimension could be considered him losing his way. Filled with questions, he didn't really care to ask for directions. His whole life, he'd had more than a fair share of misfortunes. From a bullied orphan to a bullied employee, living paycheque to paycheque to pay off his student loans, he'd still done his best to be a decent if not good person. And now he was stuck in another dimension in some freak accident.
"Where am I?", he whispered. Or rather the thought seemed to float from his consciousness, since he had no mouth to speak from, and was heard by the Being which blinked its red eyes. A rush of anger filled him within the invisible confines of his mist-concealed body. Perhaps it was this anger that spurred him to say, "If you're going to kill me, stop hanging about and just do it!"
"Where has that spark of determination I sensed in the Waters of Destiny disappeared off to? You seemed to want to live then. Fate, calculated long before you or I, has brought you here before Me, mortal" cried the Being.
A pause ensued, the mist swirling and curling around them. A heartbeat later the red eyes blinked at him before the mist vanished and the Being began forming into a beautiful, robed young woman. Her silken black hair hung unadorned, with white robes that floated as if shaken by an invisible wind. Her features were lovely but strangely distorted so that Jing couldn't register what she looked like no matter how much he tried to concentrate.
Meanwhile, changes began to take place as Jing's form solidified into himself. Never more grateful for a corporeal body, he was in the process of being adorned with finery he'd only observed in historical shows. Instead of the brown suit he'd previously worn, he now donned a pale blue robe much like the one the Being was wearing. White silk layers crossed over his chest, under the pale sky blue robe that also floated in the breeze which he couldn't feel.
"Come now. Why do you wish for death when life has so much promise?" spoke the Being gently, as it floated toward him. "Your previous life has been lost. There is no regaining it. But I am here to give you an opportunity. A gift. I have granted you another life."
As it spoke, the Being moved to Jing's side and waved their hands through the air in a complicated pattern. Rapid visions of Jing's life on Earth flickered in front of them as if they were watching a movie. A holographic Jing wavered through humbling, disturbing and disquieting scenes that made up a significant portion of his life.
Disquieted he turned to the Being, asking "Why are you showing me this?".
The Being barely glanced at him as it bluntly proclaimed, "I am on a quest to accumulate good karma. Helping one of the most pathetic mortals will likely benefit me."
The most pathetic mortal? With over seven billion humans, he'd managed to rank among the world's most pathetic men. Though he could claim it as no fault of his own, shame reverberated through his heart. Jing felt like crawling into the nearest hiding spot before perishing from the embarrassment of it all.
But then he took a deep breath, carefully reviewing the Being's words.
"What do you mean? What other life have I been granted? Who's able to grant me this 'gift'?", he urgently asked the flickering Being floating at his right.
"Who?" cried the long-haired Being angrily. "You dare ask for the Name of the One giving a mortal such as yourself such a gift? Gratitude would serve you well, oh unworthy one."
Subdued by the sharp anger, Jing bowed his head. "I'm sorry", he mumbled, knowing he couldn't lose this opportunity for answers. The anger had faded as soon as he was presented with the opportunity for a new life. A gift indeed. Determination flooded his entire consciousness with desperation and happiness threaded throughout.
"Am I going to return to Earth as myself?", he asked tentatively. "Will-"
"Indeed mortals do not have the gift of understanding. I shall try not to blame an unstudied one such as yourself, but please refrain from insulting my own intelligence" the Being interrupted coldly. Their hair whipped in the mysterious breeze as they paced away from Jing, mist parting like the Red Sea with each footfall.
"Earth, as I have mentioned, is lost to you. But within your grasp is a new life. A life that once shared similarities to your previous one, in ways that will slowly make itself known to you. That soul drowned due to its own unfortunate fate. "
Jing hesitated. What question would be safest to ask? The Being was his only source of information before the nightmare into which he would be thrust.
"Where will you be sending me?"
"Much better! I choose to send you where I think you might be most needed. I will not help you in this new life. In fact, it has already begun being lived. But you will have what you need, look no further than your own self. Trust in your heart", announced the Being, their cryptic words clarifying nothing.
What did that even mean? Jing opened his mouth to question the Being further but before his mouth could frame the first word, mist filled the space around him. The Being was somehow less solid and in panic, Jing realized his corporeal body was fading too.
"Go now. Be well. Do better."
The words echoed in his mind as even as he looked around him, everything faded to a deepening black. The Being seemed to whisper something further but it was as if the mist enveloped everything, muffling even the Being's words.
Jing strained to hear but found he couldn't move. He felt torn apart at the seams, lost in a vast universe without his body. He was everywhere, feeling everything all at once. As he lost consciousness, Jing's panicked last thoughts included a farewell to his past life and regret that he hadn't savoured his instant noodles.