The unknown is not always good to know

After-death, astral dreaming and soul stuff together in a short story? I honestly don't know how to describe this story, but enjoy!

I woke up at my brother banging at my door and asking me if we'd order in that day. He said it was after 2 o'clock already and that was enough to get me on my feet. We agreed to order some Thai food while I got up and got myself decent to leave the room.

 

But that's not really where the story starts. I went into the bathroom, minding my business as always and was shocked when I crossed by the mirror and saw... well, a white guy I've never seen before in my life. But I looked at my arms and they were still the same black rustic arms and I've always had. I touched my face and still had the big lips and wide nose that I know I have. I touched my hair and it's still short like anything's hardly there. But the guy in the mirror, he's coping all my movements as if he was me, but he's a blonde white guy with my same height and no other thing in common with me.

 

So, I thought for a moment that I must be going crazy! I'm not anyone who does drugs or even drinks at all, but it made me wonder that maybe last night getting out of work before my day off, I got wasted and have no memory of it, who knows. I decided to shower and go about my day minding my business like nothing's happening. Hell, I thought I'd laugh my a*s off after getting out of the shower realizing it was all some kind of mistake, but it wasn't.

 

The white guy was still looking back at me through the mirror. I dressed up and got out of the room. I found my bro in the kitchen, he just received our food and was setting it up on the table.

 

"Yo, man," I said, looking everywhere but at him, I was even ashamed of what I was asking, "do you, by any chance, see anything different on me?"

 

He stared at me for the longest moment of my life. "No man, not a thing, why'd you do?" He finally said.

 

I took a good deep breath and accepted it must have all been my weird imagination. "Nothin', never mind that." I went to the table and chatted with my bro like nothing was happening.

 

After we finished eating, I went to do the dishes and he turned on the TV on the news channel. I’m no fan of the news, but it’s hard to ignore it when it feels like it’s right in your ears; I heard about a huge car crash that happened this morning. A bus wrecked a car and several people died. When I’m done, I go over to the sofa.

 

“Dude, that happened right in front of our house early this morning and you seriously didn’t hear a thing?” Theo asked.

 

I looked at him for a few second, he knows what a heck of a heavy sleeper I am, especially on my days off from work, he just laughed. The news started passing pictures of some of the people who died and no one has claimed to be their family, one of which looked exactly like the guy looking back at me in the mirror earlier.

 

“Holy s**t.” I said after looking at him.

 

“Yeah Nate, that was messed up, don’t know how people can be reckless enough to let that stuff happen.” Said my bro.

 

“Uh-huh.” I acted like that’s what I was talking about cause there ain’t no way I explain to him what’s going on. He’d lock me up in a mental hospital. Ok, maybe he wouldn’t, but I wasn’t about to take that chance.

 

I stood up and went back to my room, locked up the door and stared at the mirror again. I stare at the guy, challenging him to do something, to give me a clue of what the heck is going on, but he doesn’t do anything unless I do it first. I take my phone, open the frontal camera and only see myself. I open the rear camera and again, it captures me, not the guy in the mirror. So I ended up even more confused than before. I lock my phone and my reflection on the screen is the white guy, so he’s only on my reflection, I figured.

 

That gave me the option of never ever looking at my reflection again and use a selfie camera as a mirror for the rest of my life, or… talk to someone that can help. But who on earth would even believe this nonsense? Nobody, that’s who.

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Later that day I played some video-games and avoided looking at mirrors for hours, but then I had to go to the bathroom again, and there he was. I was getting pissed off at that point. I decided to go running before sunset to give myself a break and connect a bit with nature, ya know. So I went to a big park about two blocks from my house, put music on, some hip hop, and just ran my way through the park, which took right about 15 minutes.

 

At the end of the path, there were a few parked cars. By that point, I had almost forgotten ‘bout the whole thing, but then I passed by the cars and took a glimpse at my reflection without thinking. Nothing had changed. I stared at my reflection for a while, challenging it to do something, give a clue of what the heck was going on, but it didn’t move unless I moved, he didn’t talk, didn’t do anything.

 

I looked over at the sky and it was gonna get dark soon, so I took a few steps back, cleared my head and started pumping up to resume my run. That’s when stuff started to get even weirder, man. I had a vague thought that didn’t sound with my rough voice. It was incomplete even, and I kept on repeating it while I tried to clear my mind. Once I had no thoughts of my own, he talked. “Can you hear me now?” He must have been asking me that question a million times already, and all I had to do was shut myself up in my head.

 

Of course, I didn’t wanna look like a lunatic on the street, so I just thought to myself “uh-huh”.

 

“Finally! Dude, the craziest thing happened this morning!” he said with excitement. He’s telling me about it? oh please. But one part caught my attention. “Everyone is going to hell man, every single soul on the planet. Except maybe babies, depending how old.”

 

I got that we can communicate through thoughts, which was a relieve; I resumed my path, but walking instead, while thinking about his words.

 

“But that’s not possible. How about the Pope? There’s lots of good people here that have faith and always do what’s right.” I thought.

 

“But all of them sin and think that asking for forgiveness will give them a ticket to Heaven.” He explained. “Two portals are opened when a person dies, you stay in the middle of it to see which one sucks you up; every single person in that accident went to hell, yes, even kids” I felt his feelings, wanted to cry about the tragedy, but also about the fact that everyone is going to hell no matter what.

 

“I don’t suppose you have a ‘how-to’ guide to get to heaven, do ya?” I asked. He declined. “But then how come you’re here, technically still on earth?”

 

“That’s the catch, my friend.” I do everything I can to not mimic his facial expressions; luckily, this park is mostly empty anyway. “There is a 24-hour period where you get to stay roaming as a ghost on Earth… if you stay the 24 hours in whatever body is alive or if you escape the portals, which is impossible.”

 

“But why me? Out of all people around here, you chose me randomly or what?” I ask, pressing my eyebrows.

 

“It’s funny, but believe it or not, you were the only one available. I was fast and lucky enough to inhabit you first.”

 

His words creep the hell out of me. I keep up my pace, slowly running, trying to process all this information, but it still makes no sense no matter where I see it from.

 

“Wait, you don’t know?” he asked.

 

“Know what?”

 

“Wow, I can’t believe you have the ability of astral dreaming and didn’t know it. You sleep so deeply that your soul leaves your body, that’s how you were the only one available.”

 

“But a body can only have one soul, or is this a lie too?”

 

“It’s technically not. We’re not sure how you were able to get back into your body while I was in it too.” He clarified.

 

“Hold on!” I stopped, probably making the funniest confused face ever. “We, who?”

 

“Oh, yeah, I forgot. There like a guarding guy, he’s no God or anything of that power, but he has your whole backstory and decides if you’re worthy of inhabiting another person’s body to roam as a ghost forever after 24 hours.”

 

Good to know that at this this is a good guy I’m dealing with then; I think to myself, but them remember we actually share thoughts now.

 

“So what do you think made you worthy of ghosting around?” I ask, almost getting home now.

 

“Well, I’m just a farmer that came to visit some friends. Never done anything too wrong to be in hell, I suppose.” He responds. We both vaguely laugh.

 

“Well mate, I’ll give you those 24 hours so you’re free of this gate-keeping and I’m free of you.” I say, entering home.

 

“Thank you, man, much appreciated. I thought you’d have a bunch of other questions, though.”

 

“Oh, I most definitely do. But you know what?” I pause as I enter the house and head to the room, facing the mirror. “Sometimes it’s better not to know how things work; I’ll know all about it when my time comes. Until then, I wish you good luck.”

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“And that was the last time I heard his thoughts, and I feel… I’m not sure what I feel, ya know? Like I really wanted to know a bunch of stuff, but then… what would be of the world if everyone knew there’s no entrance to heaven and they’re all going to hell? There would be no reason to be good anymore, and that’d probably end the world as we know it.” I explained to my therapist, who fixed her eyes on me without writing a word on her notepad the whole session.

Author's Note

Any comment and honest feedback is appreciated :). Help me improve my writing with your criticism.

Reviews

[emmajoy]

Read at a rush, aloud - and found fascinating, different, written well and yet in relaxed dialogue; the characters are quixotic but clear, ) and the change from one extraordinary happening to a topic about.. let's say, 'faith' as spoken of and put to page, is quite exceptional Take deep breath! I'll be back to read your post again. Welcome to the cafe.. your writing deserves more than curiosity: sincere appreciation. Many thank yous, MelGo30 - take care, keep safe. Please.