Hello internet!
I was so excited to write this that I ended up writing it seven times, in seven different ways. This is actually number three, which I liked the best out of all of them because it lets me develop it further if I so choose. This is supposed to put a silver lining on my other story, No More, which is just sad and depressing from beginning to end.
To those who haven't read No More, I recommend reading it before this(with caution) so it will make a little more sense. As a warning, that story is very sad, which is the whole reason this story now exists.
A big shout out and massive thank you to iAmCC for prompting me to write this, you're officially one of my new favorite people! It's been almost exactly one month(as of the day I'm publishing this) since I wrote No More, and it's been haunting the back of my mind, so thanks for putting this in my head.
There's an important question at the end, so please check that out if you like the story!
Alright, that's the end of my notes, enjoy this silver lining.
Mike
My mouth feels like its full of cotton when I wake up, and I have a splitting pain in my head. When I sit up I feel nauseous and dizzy, and I can't focus my vision on anything around me.
It all starts to calm down when someone rests a hand on my shoulder. The room stops spinning, and gradually comes into focus. As it turns out, I'm not in a room at all, I'm sitting on one of those lounge chairs they put by pools, on the deck of some kind of ship.
After a few moments I realize that someone is talking to me. Standing to my right, his hand still on my shoulder, is an older man wearing a white and blue uniform.
"Are you feeling alright, son?" He asks, still steadying me.
I open my mouth to speak, but all that comes out is a dry croak.
"He needs water," A woman, also wearing a uniform, sitting close by says. "It's disorienting enough to wake up here, but if it happens suddenly you need to drink plenty of water."
Where is here? How did I get on a cruise ship?
"I'll go get him a glass," Another older man says, this one wearing a very nice suit, walking slowly toward a small bar where a man in a uniform is passing out drinks.
When the pain in my head starts to throb I start to remember what happened. The blanket fort, my journal, the gun...
I can barely stomach a sip of water when the man brings it back.
"Thanks," I manage to say, the throbbing going down with another sip.
"No problem at all, young man," He responds, though he has sympathy written all over his face. He looks away when he realizes I'm watching.
"Where am I?" I ask, taking another look around. "I'm supposed to be dead."
The man holding my shoulder grimaces at the question, gingerly letting go and sitting down across from me.
"I'm sorry to say, but you are, son," He says, the same sympathetic concern as the other man plastered on his face. "This is the boat to Eternity, that is, to the afterlife. It's the 'ever after' that people back home wish they knew about."
"The afterlife...?" I murmur, thinking back to all the Sundays I spent in church. "Does that mean there's a boat to heaven?"
The man actually chuckles a little at my question.
"No, nothing like that," He tells me. "Where we're going isn't necessarily the heaven they tell you about in church. Think of it more like... like a new kind of society, just for those that have passed on. It's where all people go, no matter what, and you can consider it more like a utopia."
"A utopia?" I question, having a hard time processing this with the remaining pain in my head. I take another few sips of water as he continues.
"A perfect society," The man explains. "Nothing ever goes wrong, at least not so wrong that it can't be fixed. You never have to want for anything ever again, it all comes to you as you need it. People manage to get along because there's no competition, you can spend your time however you want, forever. Everyone gets a little piece to call their own, and it turns into whatever they want."
"How is that all possible?" I ask, still trying to wrap my brain around the possibility. At the woman's prompting I take more sips of water.
"The soul is a mysterious thing," The man tells me with a smile. "Trying to understand it is something they've been working on since the first people came to Eternity, and we're still no closer now than we were then. All we really need to know, though, is that we can all be happy here, if we're willing to try."
"Happy," I murmur, almost laughing at the idea. There's only one way I can ever be happy, and if what the man says is true, every person that's ever lived is going to be in this place. Finding her there will be like shooting a needle out into space, and then trying to find it again with just your eyes.
"Just you wait," He says, standing up and patting me on the shoulder. "Give it a chance and I'm sure you'll love it here. If not, you could always choose to start over in a new life back home."
With that he walks away, leaving me with my water and my thoughts. I spend what feels like hours, but could honestly have just been minutes, trying to figure out what all of this means.
"Attention passengers, we will be arriving at Port Eternity in just a few minutes," A voice announces over some kind of intercom. "Please prepare to disembark. Staff associates can answer any questions you may have."
I look around at the few other people on the deck, mostly older and elderly men and women. A few middle aged people, and a handful of younger people are here as well, but not many. I follow the crowd, leaving my empty glass on a table on the way, soon finding a larger crowd waiting by a set of doors.
After another few minutes, people in white and blue uniforms come and open the doors, revealing a sprawling terminal where dozens, if not hundreds, of people are slowly making their way off of other boats. I follow the crowd as we leave, trying to take in all of our new surroundings.
I'd taken a few flights to Florida before when we had to visit our grandparents, but this is so much bigger than anything I'd seen then. There are dozens of lines forming out of the crowd as people wait to get through what must be some kind of security or check-in.
I end up on one of the lines without really meaning to, but it moves pretty slowly, so I still have time to take in the massive building. When it finally gets to my turn I've counted eight dozen lines, fifteen cruise liners, and a pretty constant stream of people arriving on new boats as the old ones leave.
"Next in line," The lady at the counter says with a smile. I step up nervously, not really knowing what this is supposed to be about. "Name, please."
"Um, Mike," I answer, and then realize she probably needs my full name for whatever this is. "Michael Wheeler."
"Michael Wheeler, it's nice to meet you. We just have a few logistical things to go over before you can move in," She responds, rifling through some folders until she finds what she's looking for. "We have the basics done already, we just need you to confirm a few things."
She takes out a form, and when I scan over it, there are two things that it covers. A cold shiver runs down my spine.
"This is about your cause of death and last words," She tells me, and then hands me a pen. "If they seem correct, please sign."
Cause of death- suicide(gunshot)
Last words- "I'm coming El."
I hold back a few tears as I sign my name beneath each section. It seems infinitely more depressing reading it about myself than just thinking about it. At least in my mind I know why it happened, on paper it's just a couple of words in ink.
"Thank you," She says when I hand the paper back, and then she hands me a tissue. "I know it's emotional, it's okay if you cry."
I take the tissue from her and dry my eyes, and then blow my nose. I manage to recompose myself a little, stuffing the tissue in my pocket until I find a garbage can. The lady smiles again, and then hands me a small packet.
"This is your introduction to Eternity, as well as the key to your allotment," She explains. "There are directions to the allotment inside, as well as a few basic laws you'll need to know. I would read the intro first, it'll tell you everything you need to know to get situated."
"Thanks," I mumble, staring into the packet after opening it.
"Welcome to Eternity," She says, which I take as the cue to leave.
I follow the smaller crowd of people leaving the lines, entering into the terminal and walking through a maze of hallways. I manage to find a garbage can to throw out the tissue, and when I get lost there are people in uniforms that give me directions to the arrivals area for where my allotment will be.
The longer I walk the smaller the crowd gets, until there are only about a dozen people around me. I'm supposed to leave through area number one forty-six, which takes forever to find in the maze of hallways and exits.
When we finally manage to find the door to one forty-six I'm surprised to see that it's just like an airport, where people wait to pick up their relatives. There are a few bunches of people waiting, holding signs with names on them.
And then I see her...
The entire world around me ceases to exist. The only things I know are real are the thumping of my heart in my chest, loud enough that everyone can probably hear, and that across the room, holding a little sign that says 'Mike Wheeler', is El.
When our eyes meet everything goes blurry, tears starting to cloud my vision. My feet start to move on their own. I don't notice dropping the packet they'd given me, and I barely register the fact that I almost crash straight through one of the people who'd walked in with me.
Until we finally touch, our arms wrapping around each other tighter than ever before, she's the only other thing that exists in the universe. It's like finally waking up from the worst nightmare ever.
All the things that I'd missed for three hundred and fifty-three days, like the way her hair, her curly hair, just barely smells like some kind of flower. Or the way she makes even the simplest outfit, denim overalls and a flannel shirt, seem more beautiful than anything the actresses on tv ever wore. All of it jumps out at me at the same time she does, making my head spin as we spin around each other from the force of our hug.
"El," I manage to croak out, my voice choking with emotion, not in the least because I can finally feel her there with me.
"Mike," She murmurs back, her voice like the sweetest song I'd ever heard, even muffled against my sweater.
I don't know how long we stand there, it could have been forever for all I care, but the world finally comes back into existence when I feel a tap on my shoulder.
"You have all eternity to hug her, Mike," A familiar voice tells me. "But if you don't give your grandma one hug today she might get upset."
El and I half separate, our arms still linked together, and I turn toward the voice. Standing right in front of me is my grandmother, the one we used to visit in Florida before she lost her fight with cancer, except not the way I remember.
She's younger, around the same age as my mother, but I can still recognize her. She has the same little crinkle on her nose when she smiles that I remember.
Somewhat reluctantly, having to let go of El, I give her a hug too. As soon as it's done El and I are linked again, our bodies pressed close together.
"Hey, keep that pda under control," Another familiar voice chastises lightly.
Coming up alongside us, and handing me the packet I'd dropped before, are none other than Benny, Barb, and Bob. Benny had been the one to speak, giving El a similar look to what Mrs. Byers always gave Jonathan and Nancy.
"Welcome to Eternity, Mike," Bob greets, extending a hand.
We hadn't known each other well, but that doesn't stop the pang of guilt that spikes through me. I shake his hand uneasily, which he seems to notice.
"You don't have to feel guilty, Mike," He says with a smile. "I made my choices, and I don't regret them."
"We don't do a lot of accusing here in Eternity," Barb tells me with a smile. I'd never really known her very well either, but the fact that she's here means a lot. "We make our peace with what happened, it comes with the territory."
I feel El's grip tighten on my arm, and I immediately turn to her. It's like there's a magnet pulling me toward her, and it takes all I have to resist it for a few more moments while we all talk.
"Oh, go on," My grandmother tells me, rolling her eyes. "We have all eternity to catch up, we don't have to do it right now."
"Show him the ropes, El," Bob adds. "We'll stop by tomorrow."
"Don't over do it, you two," Barb warns with a sly grin, which turns both of our faces a shade of red tomatoes would be jealous of.
"If you need anything, you know where to find us," Benny says, eyeing how close we are with some suspicion.
With that the four of them leave, chatting among themselves on their way out.
El and I are together almost instantly, and it's all I could ever ask for. Standing there in the arrivals area, El finally in my arms, her head buried against my chest as we both try and fail to hold back our tears.
She's here, she's safe, and we're together.
It's perfect.
I hope that gave my readers some closure from No More, they get their happily ever after together, just not the one they'd hoped for.
Now, as for the important question I mentioned: Should I leave this off as a one-shot or make it a fluff series?
I have a few things I would definitely want to do, so I'm leaning toward a short series of fluff pieces, but I'm curious what all of you think.
Until next time, wander somewhere interesting!
