“Rule number one. Always stay on script. You went off script, so this to be expected.”

“But. How can you expect me to stay happy doing something like that.”

“This is just how it goes. Lar, look. She has an idea how these things are supposed to go, right?”

“Ye, I guess.”

“And what did she expect would happen when she dragged you to that flea market?”

“That. Hm.”

“Come on, you have to at least know this.”

“To have fun?”

“That’s right! So you can protest going, you can sulk for a while but you have to come around.”

“If I do that, won’t she believe I want to do things like spend three hours sifting through trash people want to peddle? And all that under the blaring sun.”

“That doesn’t matter. If your job is to drink sea water every fifteen minutes, that’s what you do.”

“Sea water?”

“Sten seemed to travel somewhere and quickly return. Fortunately, Larry didn’t notice the slight change in expression. He is too concerned with his own affairs.”

“Okay, bad analogy. Anyway. You can protest and try to get her to do something else, whatever it is. But once you’re out there, she’ll be expecting you to come around and enjoy yourself.”

“That’s impossible. How can she expect me to enjoy a dirty flea market under the overwhelming sun?”

“That’s just how this goes. She has a movie playing in her head of how your relationship goes. She wants the back and forth, as long as ultimately, she wins. After she wins she’ll ride that high, and will be expecting you take a liking to the activity she enjoys.”

“I don’t think I’m cut out for this.”

“Not everyone is. Here want a cig?”

“I don’t think she’ll like it.”

“Well, at least you know that much.”

“Screw it, I need a smoke.”

“And this is why you its all so difficult. It’s menthol so it's not too bad.”

“I might ask for a transfer.”

“It’s not all bad is it?”

“No.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“The sex is good, right?”

“It’s alright. She has this thing about. About, the ass, and I’m not too sure abou-.”

“What? Most guys would love that. Hell some guys would kill for a little backdoor action.”

“No. No you don’t understand. It’s not hers, its mine.”

“Woah. She likes pegging you?”

“No! God damnit Sten, no. just a finger or two. And.”

“And?”

“She likes to eat ass.”

“Holy shit.”

“Nothing holy about it.”

“God dammit Lar. And I was out here consoling you. Man. Maybe I should recommend you for a transfer, ungrateful bastard.”

“Huh?”

“Forget it.”

“It wasn’t Larry was ungrateful. His client is something of a controller. And not everyone can handle being manipulated. At least not too blatantly.”

“Either way Larry, It's just a four year gig. Four years might not be the short. But experienced people will tell you it's preferable over a bunch of shorter ones.”

“I’ve gone through the program, I know I’m considered lucky to get the part.”

“It’s human nature to complain. You’d feel better if you attended some meetings. There is a lot of different perspectives that would benefit you.”

“I never liked the ‘You have it better than most’ argument.”

“That’s not what it is. This is actually witnessing it first hand. Ye it's not the same as experiencing yourself, but it's the next best thing. And i’ll say this, it has saved countless guys and girls.”

“You make it seem like life and death.”

“Well. isn’t it?”

“I don’t think so.”

“One of those, eh?”

“If this is an afterlife, who's to say there isn’t another one after this one?”

“That’s the whole thing, I guess. No one knows for sure.”

“Right?”

“But we do know that if you complete your duty, you get to go back.”

“That’s disingenuous. We won’t remember anything, is that going back. I mean. You know?”

“I don’t know Lar. You know I’m just here cause you are an alright guy that was dealt a shitty hand.”

“And I appreciate that Sten.”

“Good, at least someone appreciates me.”

“How long do you have left?”

“That’s not a polite question.”

“I get that its a sensitive subject, If you don't want to anwer, no harm done.”

“Nawh. It’s alright. Just don’t go spreading it.”

“I won’t! These lips are sealed.”

“Four hundred.”

“What?”

“Four hundred sixty seven years, Eight months and twenty days. I wont go into the hours and seconds.”

“What the fuck. Wait. How long have you been in purgatory?”

“...”

“It is an understatement to say that asking someone how much time they have left in purgatory is not polite. Yet, to ask an old veteran how long they have been here is even worse.”

“Larry. Let’s just say I've been here too long.”

“Alright.”

“As Sten expected, Larry was uncomfortable. In purgatory people have different number of time allocated to them that they have to work off. And the prevalent theory is that bad people get allocated more time than others.”

“Back on subject. So your client. She drags you to a lot of these things?”

“No. But every time is like time stops moving. Maybe if I could just mind my own business it wouldn't be that bad. But she expects me to enjoy the activity and be enthusiastic about it.”

“It's a common problem. A lot more common than you would think. It’s not the worst offender but it’s up there.”

“I have a hard time imagining anything worse.”

“Well if you endure this deployment, I’m sure you’ll get to experience the varied taste of misery.”

“Don’t try to over sell it.”

“The two guys have a light chuckle and take a final drag of their cigarettes. Larry doesn’t realize the value of a luxury commodity like a cigarette. Sten might be wealthy in some terms, but even he doesn’t casually offer people a treat.”

“I got to go Lar. But you can call me if you think your at your wits end, I’ll try to make time. Otherwise I’ll see you in a week or so.”

“Alright. Thanks Sten, I needed this chat.”

“Sten is a rather apathetic individual in general but Larry reminded him of his previous life. His memory of his life can be said to be blurry and majority of it one large negative.

Larry has the duty of being the companion of a living individual. This is not the job everyone gets, but it is one of them. In general, Larry understands what he has to do, but knowing what he knows, he cannot get comfortable in his own skin.”

“Guess I have to get back. The smell of smoke won't carry over will it?”

…

“What’s that smell?”

“...”

“Were you smoking!?”

“Eh. No.”

“It’ll be four years until this particular contract is over. Until then, Larry has to persevere or fail purgatories test and die a second time. Where that second death will lead is a complete unknown to him. And that fear can be enough to allow people to endure misery for millenia.”