The droplets of water pouring off the roof of our apartment brought sadness into the city like a virus. As the rain began to pour, I look out the window, into the night, to see the city breathe with life once more. The lights were bright enough to make the stars hide behind the clouds, scared to show their faces on such a stormy night. The sounds of sirens fading in and out, in the distance, brings back the memories of this morning as I find myself at school again. Getting peer pressured into asking out my crush - the popular girl. The feelings of anticipation and anxiety were overshadowed by the heartbreak and humiliation that followed. The look of disgust on her face will forever be etched into my brain.
I'm exhausted.
[KRAKOOM!]
My mother must've sensed the darkness emitting from me as she did her best to cheer me up. She prepared a feast, fit for a king, as we watched our favorite shows. She always knew how to cheer me up, even though I could tell she was the one that really needed her spirits lifted. The bags under her eyes grew, each night, as she tried to hide her stress with a smile. As day turned to night, the sounds of thunder rolling in the distance signaled yet another long night. My mother was already asleep from exhaustion, she's always been working herself so hard since father passed away. I tuck her into her bed, hoping she has a good nights rest for once. The sounds of sirens, closer this time, bring me back to the present as exhaustion begins to set in heavily. The rain pours heavier as it attempts to drown out the crying from my mother. My eyes begin to fall like weights as I wonder what I can do to cheer her up tomorrow.
[KRACAKOOM!]
“Our hero awakens in an unfamiliar setting. He is no longer in the comfy bed that he was so accustomed to as he is adrift in a small wooden sailboat. Dazed and confused, he looks around to see where he is at and is surprised to discover his new surroundings. The sky - black like the emptiness of space, with various spots of light throughout it, resembling stars. And the ground the boat was afloat on was an endless lake mirroring everything that touched its gaze. With no wind or momentum, the sailboat drifted forward into the endless unknown with only the sound of the water in the lake to keep our hero company. Suddenly, a magnificent ball of light floats down from the sky above and hovers on one of the benches at the front of the boat. The light bursts and, from it, emerges a very handsome man. This man had forest green skin, a golden goatee, golden bracelets, and a white beanie with bronze snakes embedded into either side of it. His shredded body wrapped in white cloth, as he holds a gold and blue cane in his right hand and a gold and blue whip in his left hand. Opening his glowing light green eyes, he says to our hero- “
“Oh, my goodness, could you please stop narrating everything?!!” I screamed at the mystery man.
“HA HA! Sorry, it’s just been a while since I’ve done this.” He jokingly replies.
I am at a loss right now. Who is this weirdo and where even am I? As if reading my mind poorly, he asks,
“I bet you’re wondering who this handsome man in front of you is?”
With a confused look on my face, I sarcastically respond,
“No, I’m just super okay with this unexplained and strange land with a mysterious glowing being appearing in front of me.”
“Oh, well then. That's unexpected but grea- “
“I WAS SARCASTIC!! What’s going on?! Who are you?!”
Sitting down onto the sailboat, the mystery man crosses his legs and throws his cane and whip in the air for them to burst into golden dust. Leaning back, he explains to me,
“Okay, well, first things first. AHEM! Todo Sarutobi - You’re dead.”
“Wha… Whatta mean I’m dead?!”
“I’ll get to that. My name is Osiris, and I am the god of the underworld. Well, one of them anyway, and I’m here to guide you onto your next journey. Normally, someone else is here to guide you but I think he was busy with some sparrow captain or something. I can’t remember but I’m here to fill you in on the details of your death and what comes next.”
"You are making no sense right now."
“Anyways, so, your moms been having it rough lately. With the loss of your father and her business failure, it’s been pretty hard for her to financially support you two in the state of the current economy. Having to work two jobs to keep you guys afloat, your mother has been stressed beyond belief. And, today, she got laid off from her first job and fired from her second. She couldn’t find it in her heart to break it to you or figure out a way to make enough money to pay the debts she owes. So, she decided to try to go out with a smile! The feast you had? Yeah, it was laced with a little something-something to help make all your problems disappear. That’s why you fell asleep so fast. She wanted you guys go to out peacefully.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Wait, wait, wait! So, you’re telling me… my mother…”
“Yeah, she poisoned you and her both. I mean, there were totally better options for her to choose from. But under tremendous stress and depression, people can do the craziest of things.”
“So, what happened to her? Did she go through here like me?”
“She didn’t necessarily go through here, but she has gone through judgment and has passed on.”
“I can’t believe she killed me…”
“If it makes you feel any better, there wasn’t any malice.”
“...That doesn’t really help.”
“Sorry kiddo, but this kind of stuff happens more than you think. Maybe no this exact situation but, ya know, the idea of the situation... It’s best not to dwell on it.”
I sit there on the sailboat, with tears clouding my eyes, as I look into the infinite space above me. Thinking about all the good times I spent with mom. Even without father, she would always try her best to make me feel happy and loved. I never realized how much of a burden I was to her... she was doing so much on her own... I wish she would’ve told me something. I would’ve done anything to help. Osiris interrupts my mourning as he flicks a hangnail into the lake,
“Hey, not to interrupt your internal crisis or whatever, but we don’t have all day. So, you’ve been selected to go to another world! Isn’t that exciting?!”
Without skipping a beat, I reply,
“Not really.”
“Wow… I haven’t had anyone respond like that so quickly before. But I know you’ll change your mind once you get there.”
“Yeah, I highly doubt that.”
“I’ll make you a wager then: If you don’t like it there, within the first thirty minutes of being there, I’ll send you back to your world and reincarnate you as a rich kid who won’t have to worry about anything or something like that. BUT, if you do like it, even for a tiny bit, then you must stay there and become its champion! Sound like a deal?”
“Sure, whatever gets me away from you.”
“Terrific!”
The sudden sound of rushing running water filled the empty noise in the air. At first, I didn’t know where it came from but then I looked ahead of the boat, and there it was – a giant waterfall. Stretching from each end of the horizon. I don’t know when it got there, or how long we’ve been floating towards it, but it looks like we’ll get a closer look real soon as the waterfalls pulls us towards it at an alarming speed. Osiris seemed unfazed as he looked back at me from looking at the waterfall,
“Ah, yes. The waterfall. That is what’s going to send you to the other world. Signaling our time together here to come to a close. Since we no longer have the luxury of small talk, I’ll speed things along and fill you in on the details later. The world you’ll be going to is an alternate one from your current world. Mystical beats roam the lands, magic can be wielded, war is constant, and a sinister power grows. Your job is to eliminate this dark power that grows. If left unchecked, this could threaten the multiverse. You won’t have your own body. But, luckily for you, one has just been made available that will be perfect. The body type, and looks, are a bit different but you both have a lot in common. Like being poisoned by someone you trusted!”
“Wait, what?”
The sailboat is lifted off the lake and slams back onto it as the winds pick up. These winds must’ve appeared with the waterfall. With the boat being in an unpredictable situation, I grip onto the sides of the boat to make sure I didn’t fall off. Who would’ve known the afterlife was like a waterpark ride?
“Smart, you definitely don’t want to fall into that water. If you do, your soul will be lost forever.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Yeah, crazy innit? Listen, once you are transported into the new world, I’ll do what I can to guide you. Now, there will be similarities between the new world and your old one but remember, it’s a different world. Not everything will be as you remembered it so try to keep an open mind.”
The sound of the rushing water grows louder and louder as get to the edge of the water fall. Osiris take a deep breath through his nose and yells to me,
"You smell that?! That's the smell of a new adventure! Now, before you go, I shall grant you my blessing. That way we can always stay in touch haha!”
“I have so many questions!”
“I’ll see you in the next life!”
“WAAAIITTT!!!!” I screamed at him as he disappeared into a million golden particles.
Osiris bursts into his golden particles as they swirl in the air, floating up to the heavens. I look over to see half the boat already over the waterfall. This is not how I thought I would go out. With a large splash of water hitting my face, the boat leans over the edge of the waterfall and tips forward. The water splashes on the boat and onto me. As the boat is dipped over the edge of the waterfall, I look down into the misty abyss below and see various images appearing from the mist below. At first, they were images of my home world. The funeral of my mother and I, all of our friends and relatives mourning, police swarming our house, and the storm covering it all. The images shift to an unfamiliar marvelously large city that’s amid celebration, a war brewing on its borders, and a feast happening with, what looks like, a hero carrying around a cyclopes head. The boat tips over, launching me off of it like a catapult. As I plummet into the unknown, in the mist, the last image I see is of a black-robed person looking into a large pot with purple steam coming from it. And in this pot, I can see me, right now, falling into the abyss. As a rush of wind floods my body, the robbed person looks at me with their glowing red eyes just as I dive into the mist.
[SPLASH!]
A warm, yet bright, light seeps through my eyes as I awake from a that crazy dream. First, I was in a place that looked like something from a movie, then some narrating green guy said I was dead and was going to be sent to another world, and then I was sent over a waterfall. That would really make a good anime or movie. I should probably go check on mom and make sure she didn’t fall asleep on the couch again. As I give my body a good stretch, my hand lands on something squishy and unfamiliar. I give it a couple of light squeezes to confirm that I did, indeed, touch something squishy. And that’s when the faint moan from a woman is heard from beside me.