In the middle of the night, I sat atop the roof of my house. I was snacking on a bag of peanuts, while I was listening to "Fountain of Youth" by Michael Franks (you should listen to it). I was gazing at the sky for most of the night, and gosh it felt terrible.
The stars really had to choose that day of all days to disappear, reminding me of how alone I was. Mean.
Love is a crazy thing, it makes you do the stupidest things you could think of, assuming you're thinking at all. Even after what happened, I only sat outside to look at the moon, hoping that she was looking at it too. Corny, right? I was too distraught to care. For 2 years, we were so close and our bond was genuine, yet she thought of me like a brother? I didn't even get to confess my feelings to her. Talk about rubbing salt on a wound.
'Why? Why? Whyyyy?'
That really hurt me, I guess I never stood a chance with her.
'God, was this your doing? Were you trying to tell me to give up? It all ended before it could start, and to me that's worse than being rejected! So tell me why?Why?Whyyyy would you do that?'
I screamed my lungs out from that rooftop, and I didnt care. I couldve been heard by the whole neighborhood for all, and I would still continue. I was only focused on one thing.
Not the neighborhood
Not my ear-splitting chorus
And not even the peanut in my mouth for the worst.
No
I was so focused on Rebecca, and that was my undoing.
For the worst, I lost grasp of the peanut I was eating, until I heard a gulp, and a cough.
It wasnt super loud, so I thought the sound came from someone else in the street.
However, there was no one outside who couldve been coughing. Except...
'... Me?"
I realized that I was the one coughing. I wondered why, until I looked at the bag of peanuts in my hand. I tried coughing harder peanut and kept hitting my chest, but all that was in vain.
It wouldn't stop, and I began to struggle to breathe.
' I'm... about... to die, and sh-sh-she won't even know...'
I knew that me speaking was bringing me closer to deaths door, but it wasn't like keeping quiet was going to save my life.
I wasn't even thinking about the small peanut that was hiding in my throat like a coward, slowly killing me. I wasn't even thinking of finding a way to save myself. I didn't even hope to survive.
'Gosh, now I wish I confessed to her when I saw her.'
My only regret. I worded it out to the world, like a wish I wanted to be granted. I prioritized that over my life. How foolish of me.
Just like how I lost sight of my priorities, my vision faded to black. Everything was quiet. No pulse could be felt from me, no breathe could be heard from. Along with all that, the hopes I reflected in my eyes suddenly faded away.
You could basically say that I flatlined my way out of Earth. Though, that wouldn't make a funny joke.
All of a sudden I woke up. I shouldnt have been, but I noticed that something else was wrong.
'Where am I?'
I was somewhere completely different from home. I was surrounded by light. The surrounding area was blank. No one around, nothing aroud, except the white background.
"I need to get away, and find her again."
And as if my legs responded to my call, they tore away from the ground beneath, and ran as far as they could, but the space seemed to be unlimited. Nonetheless, they continued to push me forward, in hopes of an exit.
An exit? I didn't even know if there was one. Then it really got me thinking about where I was.
An endless void.
An endless void.
An endless void...
'Oh shit, I--"
-- was stuck in limbo
'So I really am dead?' I said, breathing heavily.
'Indeed, you are.'
'Who's there?'
I kept turning around, in search of that voice, for so long. I started thinking that maybe that was my voice that said so.
'That's not important. What is important though, is why you are here.'
I guess there actually was someone else.
'What do you mean by that. It's because I'm dead, right?'
'Wrong.'
He appeared right in front me, which was quite scary if you ask me. He looked strange too. He wore a black cloak, and it covered his face, but not his grey hair. Though what really stood out was the scythe in his right hand and... his wings?
'Wait... you're the Gri-'
'Wrong again. I am Azrael, the archangel of death.'
I mightve been dead, which was absolutely terrivle, but seeing him made it seem less bad
'This is so cool.'
'I assure you young boy that you are in over your head. This situation is not good for you.'
'How so?'
'How may I put it...you see this area around you. You called it 'limbo' and the moment you arrived, you could tell that something was wrong, am I correct?'
'Yes I did.'
'Well you were correct to think so, because you are not supposed to be here.'
'Explain.'
'When you died, you were supposed to see the pearly gates where the dead are tried and sent to either heaven or hell, but something went awry in the process.'
'What happened?'
'Before you died, you were regretting something. Sure, people always regret something when they're near the end of their lives, but in your case it was different. You were regretting something really badly, to the point where your soul clinged to your body stopping you from entering the gates. Of course, you died so it wasn't possible to go back so you ended up here. The world where you're neither be alive or dead.
'WHAT?!'
'Did my explanation confuse you?'
'Oh no, it didn't. I'm just shocked. What can we do about it?'
'Well, There is something. When you died no one saw you, and you only died from suffocation. It seems that I can revive you, but I need you to do something.'
'What is it?'
'Within the next X days, you must resolve your 'unfinished business' or you'll go to heaven. Trust me.'
'Roger that!'
*****
I opened my eyes again. Instead of a big blank void all around me, I saw things.
I saw the rooftop which was brown instead of white.
I saw cars in the neighborhood streets.
I saw the empty which reminded me of my loneliness.
And I saw the bag of peanuts which killed me.
I was back on Earth. At first, I doubted it until I saw a lone peanut coated in saliva, as if it was gagged out of someone's throat. Coincidentally, the peanut in my throat was gone.
I couldn't believe that I was revived. I really couldn't.
But... there was no way that everything that happened was a dream. It felt all too real.
Normally, one would be excited at such an incident, but it didn't really make me happy.
I was just glad I was given another chance to do it.
Though, I had to put it off for another day, so I went to bed.
I wondered what this 'unfinished business' that the archangel Azrael was referring to meant though. Anyways, I eventually dozed off and my phone which was beside me showed the time was 23:59.
Three seconds later, it hit 00:00.
Unknowingly to me, the prologue of my love story ended, and the first day of my X-day catastrophe began