Suddenly, I saw a bright light. I didn't know what was happening, but I was going toward the light. I turned around to try to run, but I saw my body on the ground. Cold and unmoving, my body was laying in the middle of the street, but not of brutal causes. It seemed to be a peaceful death; more of old age than being stabbed in the eye. I snickered at that thought. It had been a long time since I thought of the incident in the Dauntless compound. So much had changed since then, so much had been lost. Yet, I remembered an initiate named Edward being stabbed in the eye because of his number one rank during training. How ridiculous that seemed to me now. We didn't have the factions anymore since our world was opened to the real world. My name is Tobias Eaton, or Four, as many Dauntless still liked to call me. I continued to live in Chicago for many years after our world was opened up to the outside. I stayed to help the kids whose parents died in the rebellion, but I mostly stayed for the memories. The love of my life's name was Tris Prior. She died trying to save me and create this new world we lived in and staying in the city was the one way I could guarantee that my memories of her would never fade.
As soon as I was enveloped by the shining light, my life flashed before my eyes. My life in Abnegation with my abusive father, my choosing ceremony, my time at Dauntless, my time with Tris and everything that happened afterwards. I never married, I never dated and as much as I knew she would have wanted me to, I never got over Tris. Death was an out of body experience, no pun intended. I felt myself rising higher and higher and for the first time in years, I felt something. I felt fear. I didn't know what was coming, but all I heard were three words in my head. "Be brave, Tobias," Tris whispered to me, in my head. Suddenly, I wondered if she would be here. Hopefully, she hadn't been lonely, I thought, as a tear descended down my cheek.
When I finally "landed", all I saw were bright lights. There were no people, but it had the faint feeling of life. The irony that even after death, there was life all around you. The place seemed like a cloud, yet had the structure of the Dauntless compound. Maybe it resembled where you were happiest in your life. Yet, without Tris, there would be no happiness for me. Looking forward, a figure came out from one of the walls, shining with light. "Christina?" I asked. The figure didn't respond, but kept approaching me, until it stood right in front of me. "I am not Christina, Tobias," the figure said in a motherly tone. "I only resemble her because she helped you through the most difficult time of your life."
After Tris died, Christina and I had both lost the people we loved. I remember, after going down the zip line, that Christina had hugged me and slowly, I fell to the ground, stricken with grief and I sobbed into her shoulder. Christina had been the only person, besides Tris, that I had ever been vulnerable with. She didn't date either, but we decided to live near each other and she helped govern the city. A few weeks ago, she had passed away too. It was a car accident and I lost the last person I had left. Death was the only way out for me, but a few of the kids I helped raise kept an eye out for me. "Come with me, Tobias," the figure said. "This is death and the afterlife."
I was right; this place did resemble the Dauntless compound. We walked to the pit where Dauntless life usually took place, but it was almost empty. The figure and I approached a bench sitting in the middle of the pit. "Hello?" I called out. I walked forward and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. This time it was Christina. "Four!" she shouted, relieved. I hugged her and felt happy, but I was confused. "What are we doing here, Christina?" I asked. I looked around, but now it only was me and Christina, the figure resembling her left. "I'm here to show you around, Four." She said. And so we walked. This place was exactly like the city, except it was white and glowing, with a sense of peace. We walked through the several faction compounds, where no life was lingering. Christina explained to me that we just couldn't see them right now, but they were there. Walking through this Chicago look-alike flooded me with memories of Tris and our time together, but I just couldn't bring myself to ask if Tris was here. It would be too painful if she wasn't.
As we walked back to the Dauntless compound, we decided to go on the train. Jumping on the train wasn't as easy at an older age, but I managed. "What's it like here, Christina?" I asked. As soon as I finished my question, she smiled. "It's beautiful, Four. All fears are gone and the sense of peace is overwhelming. Not everyone made it here though." She said, somewhat sad. Not everyone made it here, I thought. I felt my heart start to ache, worried that she just basically told me Tris wasn't here. We arrived at the Dauntless compound and jumped onto the roof. We were going the way the initiates went when they entered Dauntless for the first time. The Stiff had jumped first, I thought, not even I had jumped first. So this time, that's exactly what I did. I jumped first. I channeled Tris' bravery and jumped. And, as if by fate, I hit the net. Suddenly, the net moved and I was pulled off. I looked up to see who pulled me off and for the first time in 50 years, I smiled. It was Tris. As soon as I got off, she touched my face. Suddenly, I was 18 years old again, and I felt true happiness for the first time in years. She pulled me close and whispered in my ear, "I love you, Four." Tears streaked my face and I whispered, "I love you too, Tris," as I kissed her.