My head hurts like hell.
I'm lying on the ground, or at least something that felt like the ground. It felt cold and smooth like tile or marble. I try to force myself to move, but I can't so I try to open my eyes. It is incredibly difficult to do so but I somehow manage to do so. The room I'm in looks like a waiting room at a doctor's office. The walls were painted brown and there were several chairs made out of metal. There was a window with an older looking woman behind it. Her graying hair was pulled into a tight bun and round spectacles that framed her cloudy blue eyes.
"Excuse me," I said. "But can you tell me where I am?"
She looked at me over her glasses.
"Go through that door," she ordered pointing to the only door that was in the room.
"But –"
"Just go!"
"Okay, Okay," I muttered. "No need to be so pushy!"
I opened the door slowly, hoping that nothing was going to pop out and grab me. It was a long corridor. It had a gothic design that extremely contrasted with the reception room that I was just in. I close the door behind me and begin to walk down the corridor. As I walked, I admired the architecture of the area I was now in. It was a little strange but I could help but have a sense of wonder fill me. It was beautiful, strange, but beautiful nonetheless. After what felt like a lifetime of walking, I came to a large wooden door that fit the gothic theme perfectly. I put my hands on the door and smiled. I wonder what the next place will look like?
I was not disappointed. The room had a circus theme with all sorts of toys thrown all about the place, clowns painted on the wall, and even a clown car parked in the corner. In the back center of the room, was a white desk decorated with polka dots. Behind the desk, sat a man that was dressed in a white collared shirt with a rainbow colored tie. He reminded me of a "gentleman" from one of those old fashion movies. He had slick back brown hair and warm brown eyes that made you want to trust him.
"Hello Dear!" he cheered; standing up to reveal that he was wearing black slacks. "Welcome to my humble abode!"
I grinned at his enthusiasm and waved.
"Hi!"
"I bet you are wondering where you are right now," he said. "But first, allow me to introduce myself." He gave me a dramatic bow.
"I am Death."
This made my grin completely disappear and I quickly felt dread consume me.
"Death?" I squeaked. He gave me a pitying look.
"Yes, Dear. Death."
"Where am I?" I whispered, looking at the ground as I tried to gather myself.
"You're in the place where souls go once they pass on," he said, a little more subdued than before. My head shot up so I could meet his eyes.
"Pass on!?" I yelled. "Are you trying to tell me that I'm dead?"
"That's exactly what I'm telling you." I glared at him.
"Prove it!" I dared him. "Prove to me that I'm dead!"
He sighed and shook his head as if he had expected it. He walked back to his desk and beckoned me to follow him. He tapped a place on his desk and a small screen came out. I gaped. Where the heck did that come from?
The screen suddenly turned on and a scene started playing. A girl was walking across the street to reach what looked like a parking garage. I instinctively knew that the girl and I were the same person. As she was crossing, a car came speeding down the road. The girl didn't even see it coming when it hit her. She was slammed into the ground and blood went everywhere.
"You died instantly," Death said softly.
I felt numb and I could feel the tears start to well up in my eyes. I swallowed thickly and took deep breaths. I had to calm down or I was going to pass out.
"So what's going to happen now?" I choked.
"Well, the thing is," he said hesitantly, "You weren't supposed to die there."
"WHAT!" He flinched at my response.
"You see," he responded, "There was a mix up in the paperwork and you got assigned another person's death date."
By the time he finished speaking, I was crying and angry. I had died because some idiot messed up some paperwork! I grabbed the nearest object, a stapler, and chucked it at Death.
"How the hell did that happen?!" He was cowering under my glare.
"It happens sometimes!" he wailed. "I'm sorry!"
I continued to grab for things and throw them at him. I needed some way to get rid of my anger, so why not take it out on the source? He managed to doge a few objects but a few hit him, leaving bruises. Once I finally got all of my anger out, I stopped and smiled a chilling smile at him.
"So what happens now?" I asked.
"Due to the way you died, you have two choices," he responded. He had recovered completely from my tantrum but seemed a little shaken by my smile. "You can either move on to the afterlife or you can be reborn."
"Reborn?"
"Yes," he said, "Normally you would be given a completely new set of memories and a new body, but in order to make up for the mix up, you will be sent to a body that matches the one you had and you will be able to keep your memories."
I thought about my two choices. On one hand, I could move on and not have to worry about anything else. On the other hand, I could live again. The choice should really be simple, but it's not. I couldn't decide whether or not I actually wanted to live or not. At that thought, I let out a little laugh that surprised Death. I couldn't help it. I mean, really, how many people get to decide whether or not they live again? Not many. I continued to try to decide on what I wanted to do until I finally came to a decision.
"I'm going to go with the rebirth!" I announced.
"Okay!" Death clapped his hands and a mirror appeared on the wall next to us. As soon as it appeared, it began to fog up.
"Just step through this mirror and you will be in the new world!"
I did a double take.
"New world?"
"Yep," he said. "I can't send you back to the world you are from because that could cause suspicion, sorry! But don't worry, I will send you to a world you are familiar with."
I sighed and shook my head as I walked to the mirror. I looked back at Death and smiled.
"The next time we see each other, I will be an old lady who died a natural death."
I jumped into the mirror and hoped for the best.