Eh?
What's this place?
…
Ah, yeah. I forgot.
I died.
Marco opens his eyes and blinks against the sudden light stinging his face.
After he grows accustomed to the brightness, he realizes everything around him is white. Pure white, like snow.
His body feels numb and he feels like going back to sleep again.
Wait, sleep?
Marco jolts up.
Wait, how can I…?
He pats the surface he is sitting on.
Soft.
A bed.
A hospital bed.
He lets out a little squeal and a young nurse comes in, smiling. He wonders if she actually heard him.
"Hello, Mr Bodt, is it?" She stands beside the dazed Marco. "I'm sorry that you had just woken up, but I need you to follow me."
Marco sits there for a second or two before getting up. "This way, please," the nurse leads the way.
Marco walks and feels like he has not walked for ages. He glances around as he continues behind the nurse. The ward is completely empty. There is not even a single soul around. A chill creeps down his spine.
He follows the nurse as they walk out of the door. The moment he steps out, he is met with what he - or anyone - did not expect.
It isn't a hospital at all, or at least it is one just a second ago, when Marco steps out and stops right in front of a castle.
The first thing that catches Marco's attention is that the castle is white. Completely white, from the metal gates to the top of the triangular rooftops.
There isn't any tinge of black or even grey. It is just white.
"I can only escort you up to here," the nurse says and Marco wonders once more if she is really a nurse, speaking so politely to him. She turns and leaves before Marco can get a hold of her. In the blink of an eye - literally - she disappears behind him.
Marco staggers back, his head overflowing with questions he wants to ask, but cannot spill them out, like his mouth was sewn up.
He looks around.
Everywhere is white and he is sure there is definitely something wrong with his eyes. There is only the outline of the castle and the horizon. Everything is white, but he can still make out the things around him. He turns toward the castle and heads toward the wooden bridge.
The bridge is more stable than it looks, and Marco starts to jog across it.
There are so many questions popping up inside his head that he is about to explode. He needs to ask someone, anyone, as soon as possible.
He steps into the castle and the same thing happens : everything goes blank for an instant and something different from what he expects to see appears instead, like what usually happens in those fantasy-ish films.
This time, an old man appears.
He has a long white beard and wearing a white bathrobe, barefoot, moist hair and smiling to himself.
The old man halts and turns to Marco on the spot.
Silence.
"Uh, I…" Marco starts to say. The old man holds up a hand and Marco stops immediately.
"I'll answer your questions soon, my dear," the old man turns to walk away and Marco follows.
However, as soon as the old man takes a step toward the other end, a white carpet unfolds slowly in front of him, unrolling itself according to his walking speed.
At the end of the carpet rests a chair above a small flight of stairs just big enough for him and the old man plops down heavily.
Marco subconsciously kneels down in front of the flight of stairs but the old man says, "No, it's okay, don't mind it."
"Eh?" Marco looks up.
"I'm not really a god or king or anything," the old man replies with a smile, a couple of wrinkles peeping out of the corners of his eyes.
"Oh… Okay…" Marco straightens himself up.
The old man then speaks, "Shoot."
Marco barely has the time to digest when the words come tumbling out like bowling balls, "Where am I? Why am I here? Where's everyone? I didn't see anyone… What's this place, it's all white! And who was that girl just now, how could she disappear like that? I mean, what is this place?"
The old man tries to hold himself back but to no avail and burst out laughing, holding his stomach and tearing up. After he stops, he says, "You're the first one I've seen so desperate! The others are all pretty composed."
"The others?"
"Humans, like you. Or rather, in another aspect, dead people," the old man says matter-of-factly.
"De- Excuse me?" Marco's eyes widen upon hearing what the old man said.
"I'll go straight to the point. This is what you guys call the Afterlife. I'm sure it looks very much different from what you all imagined, huh?" The old man chuckled. "But this is where people reside after they die - the Afterlife. However, here, we call it the Crossroads."
"Crossroads…" Marco absorbs whatever the old man had said into his mind.
"Yes. Now don't ask me why it's called that, but just keep in mind that there are a couple or more choices you have once you come here. Listen well, dear. One, you can move on to another life, which I will tell you how later on. Two, you can stay here temporarily to have a break or even start a new life. Or three, stay here forever and serve this world."
Marco shudders after listening to the old man and the old man laughed, "Don't worry, don't worry. Usually, no one chooses the third option… Or maybe…" The old man grows serious. "You can be the first."
Marco pales and the old man giggled, "I'm just joking, man! Don't take it so seriously. The three choices can be chosen anytime you want, so it's not really much of a choice anymore. One way or another, the choice is always yours to choose."
Marco keeps silent for a while before asking, "Why is this world white?"
The old man's eyes soften as he looks at Marco, "It's only white in your eyes, my dear. It's white because when you were alive, your life was pure and beautiful, you committed no sins and harbored no negative feelings toward anyone. That's why it's white." The old man smiles and continues, leaning back in his chair, "Someone like you is very rare. You should cherish it, man."
"So that means it's not white for everyone?"
"I guess you can say that, but when a sinner comes to Crossroads, the color is different from what you're seeing now. Much, much different. So different it's scary. Of course, they can request for a cleansing session. However, it's extremely painful. It's basically going through hell."
"How different are the colors, then?" Marco asks, curious.
"There are some things you are better off not knowing, dear."
"How's a 'cleansing session' like?"
"Ohoho… It's like burning you with fire while you're tied down with no means of escape… That's not the end of it, so I'll leave the rest to your imagination."
Marco still looks lost like a little lamb, and the old man says, "There's nothing to worry, dear. For now, I'll let you choose what you want to do from here on out."
"From here on out?"
"Yeah, but I can't give you any options, so you need to tell me what you want."
Marco looks down at his hands and something hits him, "W-Wait! There's something I haven't asked yet!"
The old man tilts his head to the side, beckoning Marco to continue, "Why… Why am I not paralyzed?"
"Finally… I've been waiting for you to ask that question. Well, you see, everyone comes here in perfect condition, even if you've sinned or even if you're torn apart in a freak accident, you'll still come here in one piece, a hundred percent okay."
"Then… Why was I in the hospital just now?"
"Everyone starts off from where they last were when they were still alive."
"Who was the nurse just now?"
"Oh, her? That was just an escort I sent for you. She's dressed as a nurse, well, because it's a hospital."
"Then how did she disappear into thin air just now?"
"Man, you have so many questions. That's just how the escorts are in this world. I send them to various places all at once and they have to make it there in record time, so… Yeah."
Marco bites his lips. He does not know what to say now. He has asked what he wanted to, but feels like there is still something missing, something he needs to ask no matter what.
"If you don't know what to do, then why not this? I'll show you what's happening right now, or rather right after you died, in the world where you came from?" The old man smiled once more.
"Eh? You can do that? I mean…"
"You're not ready, are you?"
Marco does not say anything and the old man knows he has hit the nail on the head.
"But… Isn't that what you really want to know? That's what you're telling me, deep inside the dark yet pure chamber which is your heart."
Marco clutches at his chest with his right hand, and his hand feels alien. "Yeah, that's right. That's what I want to know…"
Marco's heart pounds harder against his ribcage as he nods.
"Very well," the old man says as he lifts both arms and a black rectangular hologram-like screen appears in the air in front him.
Marco is completely not ready for this, since he did not expect this to happen, however, he tries to steel himself and watch on.
The first thing that appears on the black screen is him himself. His eyes are closed and he isn't breathing. Then, the scene changes and his mother is seen running toward the ward panting. It was like watching a movie, but more of a dream in this case. Marco takes a step closer to the screen, wanting to touch her, since he had not seen her for a very long time.
The scene is now his mother standing beside the bed crying her heart out. Marco's heart aches as a pang of guilt smacks him hard in the face. A few moments later, Jean comes.
Marco holds his breath.
The screen does not produce any sound, so Marco can only watch. He does not know whether to feel relief or disappointment.
Jean stands beside his mother and the scene fast-forwards to the point where Marco's mother hugs Jean and both of them break down.
Marco covers his eyes for about three seconds before he continues. He dare not watch on.
"It's okay if you don't wanna watch, my dear. Just tell me and I'll stop," the old man's voice echoes from behind the opaque screen.
"No, i-it's fine," Marco says, nearly choking on his tears.
The scene fast-forwards again and Marco's mother is gone from the screen, leaving Jean and his dead body.
The scene, from there, did not fast-forward again, and Marco thanks the old man in his heart silently.
As Marco watches on, salty tears stings his eyes and collapses onto his knees with a thud, the way Jean did in the ward after he read his letter.
Muttering apologies to himself, or rather Jean, Marco breaks down, like a glass shattering into a millions of tiny pieces.
The screen fades off slowly as the old man steps down from the chair and goes over to hug Marco gently.
"It's okay, my dear, it's okay," the old man pats Marco slowly on the back as he soothes him.
Marco's sobs quickly evaporate into the air as the old man says, "Actually, there was supposed to be sound, but not what they are saying, but instead what they're thinking. But after seeing your frail heart, I thought I'd rather not." Marco sniffs hard and thanks the old man.
"Anyway, I think it's better if I don't tell you any more for today. I'll leave it to you to explore this place. It's not very big, but if you ever get lost, just ask for directions. The people here are all very sweet," the old man smiles at Marco.
Standing up, Marco asks, "I was just wondering… But what are you?"
The old man turns to head back to the chair, which is slowly deforming itself, becoming an entrance to a room, "I'm just an old man."
Leaving the castle, Marco steps onto a concrete pavement. The place he is now at is the town.
Crossroads.
It is a normal-looking town, with shops, apartments, convenience stores, facilities, restaurants and such. It looks really different from what Marco imagines it to be.
"Hm? You're new here?" Marco turns to the voice to find a young man with long blond hair up to his chin staring back at him with gentle eyes.
"Y-Yes," Marco replies, blinking away the sight of the young man's eyes. They are really pretty, Marco thought.
The young man smiles and thrusts a hand out to him, "Arami Aiko, nice to meet you."
"Marco. Marco Bodt," Marco shakes his hand.
"Since you're new here, you don't have a place to stay, and the apartments here in Crossroads don't come cheap, so is it okay for you to stay at my place for now?" He asks all of a sudden.
"Eh? It's pretty sudden…" Marco says shyly. "Are you… Are you some kind of escort?"
Aiko bursts out laughing and replies, "No, no I'm not! I'm just a passer-by who happened to see a newbie coming into Crossroads."
"Ohh… I see… Then pardon me, but I'll have to stay at your place for now… I promise I'll move out as soon as I find an apartment!"
Aiko smiles and leads the way.
Past fashion shops, cosmetic shops, cafés, bookstores, and many more. There are even electronics shops. "It's not a long way from here, so don't worry!" Aiko calls over his shoulder to Marco who is gazing around in awe.
Aiko laughs and throws an arm around Marco's shoulder, "I'm sure you weren't expecting something like this right?"
"Y-Yes, I wasn't! I thought the Afterlife would be more… Gruesome?"
Aiko laughs once more, "I see, I see."
They walk in silence for a few minutes or so before Aiko says with much enthusiasm, "Here it is! My apartment!"
When they enter the cozy house, Aiko guides Marco.
"Just make yourself at home, Marco-kun."
Aiko then brings Marco to a room, "Well, fortunately, when I moved in, there's already a double-decked bed in here, so you can take the top bunk!"
Marco replies, "Thank you so much, Arami-san."
"Haha, come on, no need to be so formal! Just call me Ai or something."
Aiko walks over to the window and pushes it open, allowing a fresh gust of wind circulate the air.
"Unfortunately, it's pretty late so we can't go out to buy clothes and stuff for you, so you'll have to sleep topless or with your clothes on. Sadly, my clothes are too small for you so…" Aiko smiles sheepishly.
"It's okay! I'll just sleep in these!"
"Now that that's settled, let's take a break…" Aiko sits down on the bottom bunk, sighing a little from the exhaustion.
Marco awkwardly sits beside Aiko, then blurts out a question he had wanted to ask, "Aiko-kun, what color is your world?" He does not know exactly how to phrase it.
"Mine's… Blue," Aiko says with a tinge of sadness in his voice.
"Blue? What does it represent?"
"Regret."
Marco immediately falls into a deep silence, feeling somewhat guilty. Aiko smiles and assures him, "It's okay, nothing to worry about."
Marco hesitates before asking again, "Why didn't you… Erm… Have the cleansing session?"
"It's really painful and scary. I'd rather not. Besides, blue is somewhat my favorite color."
Another phase of silence ensues before Aiko breaks the silence, "So, why did you die?"
"Oh, I got into a fatal car accident and my brain started to produce cells at a much slower rate… It was a pretty slow death. However, I'm glad it was… Since I managed to spend some time with my loved one," Marco replies softly.
"Ehh… That's nice. I'm glad for you."
"W-What about you?" Marco asks enthusiastically yet with a bit of nervousness. "Oh, and how old are you?" Marco wants to know more but is afraid that he may hurt his new friend.
Aiko pulls his lips into a thin line and replies, "I'm officially turning eighteen this year. I came here three years ago…"
"Eh? That means you… So young!" Marco gasps a little.
Aiko grins - somewhat painfully and Marco regrets ever saying that - and continued, "When I was fifteen," he looks up at the empty shelf in front of him, recollecting the worn out memories. "I was… Accidentally murdered, I died protecting someone I love."