Chapter Fourteen
I wake up on a cold metal surface and a faint beeping noise meets my ears. I open my eyes and immediately close them again because of a blinding light. I try to open my eyes again, only squinting this time, and eventually my eyes adjust. I move my head side to side taking in my surroundings, and see that I'm in a… hospital room. How could that be? If David ever took me to the hospital, we both know they would ID me and arrest David. But here I am, in the hospital. I notice David in the corner of the room arguing with some guy I don't recognize.
"We have to take her off life support." The guy says.
"She's not going to make it."
"No!" David yells, and the guy flinches.
"I'm in love with her. She can't just die. It's my fault she fell, so I need to fix this. I won't let you take her off of life support, not in a million years."
David's the one who pushed me? I think. But why?
"David." I groan, feeling a sharp pain in my stomach. I look down and see my hospital gown is covered in blood.
"Juliette." David says, noticing I'm awake. He runs up next to me, the other guy right behind him.
"Juliette! You're alive!" David exclaims, kissing me.
"David, I don't feel too good. Am I….. am I dying?" I ask.
"No." David says, shaking his head.
"You're going to be fine." Suddenly, the beeping stops, holding out a long screech instead.
"David, we're losing her. We need to get her to the emergency room!" The other guy says urgently. A bunch of people come in and take me out of the room, David and the guy walking briskly beside me.
"Juliette, please don't go." David pleads.
"It's not your time yet. You have so much to live for. Think about our future. We were going to get married, have kids, grow old together. You just have to hold on. I love you." And then the surgery room door closes and I'm stuck with a bunch of strangers.
As the people are hurrying and hurrying to try to save me, I get this pull in my gut. It's a strange feeling, one I have never experienced before. The pull gets stronger and stronger and stronger until I can barely stand it. The pull is tempting me to let go, to stop trying, to let it overcome me. My eyes get droopy, and I reluctantly close them. I'm guessing the people are surgeons and they're trying to save me, but I can't feel it. I can't feel anything. All I can feel is that strange pull.
Maybe dying won't be so bad. I think.
Goodbye Chloe. Goodbye Ben. Goodbye Marsa. Goodbye World.
And then I let the darkness consume me forever.
I wake up again, but this time, not on a cold metal surface. It feels soft and fluffy, like I'm sleeping on a cloud. I open my eyes and sit up, looking around the room. It's completely white, except for a bouquet of roses on the bed stand. There is a rose every color, even some colors I've never seen before. And then I look down and gasp. I'm wearing a long white satin dress that is probably the most comfortable thing I've ever worn. And the bed I'm laying on…. Is a cloud? That's what it certainly looks like.
I stand up slowly, a million questions running through my mind. Where am I? How did I get here? Why am I here? Did I die? Is this heaven? Or Hell? And why is there nothing in this room?
It was true. Besides the bed and bed stand, there was only a window and a door. I walk over to the door and try to open it, but it's locked. I back over to the bed and put my head in my hands. What is happening? I'm so confused and disoriented I barely even notice that my hair hides my face in soft curls, something my hair usually never does.
Suddenly, the door opens and a familiar figure appears in the doorway. Brownish skin, gray shorts and shirt, hair straightened and pulled back. She walks in with the attitude and sass the level of Gerard Way, and a mouth like his too. I look into her eyes and see mischief and happiness. It can only be one person.
"Alisa." I breathe out, running over to her. I hug her tightly, as if I would let go, and she would disappear again.
"Alisa, I missed you so much." I say, tears forming in my eyes.
"I missed you too, Juliette." Alisa says, laughing. We pull apart and Alisa looks down at my dress.
"You look beautiful." She comments, making me blush.
"So do you." I answer back, smiling. Alisa rolls her eyes.
"Believe me, when I got here, I was not the happiest camper that I was in a dress." I laugh. That's the Alisa I know.
"Now, let's go into the hallway, shall we? The lack of color in this room makes me want to puke." Alisa leads me out of the room and into a large hallway. On the right side, are large windows stretching up to the ceiling. Outside the windows, I see a beautiful silver and gold fountain, depicting a hand forming an orb made of rock and water. And, amazingly, the rock and water are just floating there, with nothing supporting them.
On the other side of the hall, are paintings. Lots of them. They are all masterfully made and very beautiful. I wonder where they got all of them. We pass a particular piece of art that looks like the style of Vincent Van Gogh, but it's a painting I don't recognize.
"Alisa, who did this?" I ask, gesturing to the painting.
"Oh, Vincent did." She says nonchalantly.
"Wait, Vincent Van Gogh is still painting up here?" I ask. Alisa nods.
"What else would he do, write? I've actually met him, and he's a very nice fellow, but his writing is rubbish, to put it nicely." We continue down the hall until we reach a part of the hallway where the walls stretch out so people can sit and chat. Instead of a painting on the left wall, however, there is a large mirror. We stand facing the mirror, and I gasp at what I see inside of it.
In the reflection, I see a teenage girl with curly, long, dark brown hair that reaches down to her chest. She has soft chocolate brown eyes that show happiness and excitement, and a bit of amusement. She smiles a smile that shows her beautiful pearly white teeth and dimples. Her face is clear of any blemishes and has a natural, healthy glow to it. She has curves in all of the right places, which are complimented by her white satin dress. The girl in the reflection is beautiful. And she's me.
After a few moments of staring in the mirror in wonder, I finally turn to Alisa.
"So… Where are we?" I ask.
"This is the passing of the realms." Alisa explains.
"This is where you go after you die. Here, they determine whether you go to Heaven or Hell. Eternal paradise or eternal torture. A blessing better than life or a fate worse than death." I nod my head in understanding.
"So, I died?"
"Yes." Alisa says sadly.
"That's why I'm here to talk to you, actually. Very occasionally, someone will die before their time. They die very unexpectedly, usually because of some else's rash decision. They are given the choice to go back to Earth and continue their life, or stay here and face judgment now." I'm shocked.
"I-I can go back?" I ask. Alisa nods.
"But why would I want to go back? I'm tortured down there." I say.
"You have some unfinished business to attend to. Without you, what do you think happens to Chloe and Marsa? It doesn't end well, I can tell you that. Look, I'm not saying you have to go back. It's completely your choice. I'm just saying that there are people on Earth who are counting on you." I look back at the mirror.
"Can I ask you something?" I ask, turning my head slightly to look at Alisa.
"Ask away." She answers, smiling.
"What is Ben? He died, but he's still on Earth. Is that what I'll become if I go back? A ghost? A glitch? And apparition?" Alisa sighs.
"I knew you were going to ask that." Alisa shakes her head slightly and continues.
"Ben is a very special case. When he died, his soul latched unto his Majora's Mask game instead of coming here. When the guy who bought Ben's game uploaded those videos about his game play, he spread Ben's soul like a virus. Every time someone watched one of the videos, Ben would get a little bit stronger. Eventually, Ben became so powerful, he created an actual body for himself. The only way for him to passover, however, is to burn his original Majora's Mask game. And he needs help from a human. A live human." I nod my head. I finally understand how to help Ben.
I turn my head back to look in the mirror again. I look at myself for so long, my eyes get crossed. I just can't believe that's me.
You could stay. I think. You could stay here with Alisa and always look like that. And then, soon enough, Chloe and Marsa would come here and we would all be happy. I mentally shake my head.
But what about Ben? I answer myself. I'm the only one that knows how to help him. And then I make up my mind.
"I'll do it." I say.
"I'll go back." Alisa smiles so wide I think her jaw might break.
"Great. Let's go to the departure department." Alisa leads me further down the hallway to a very large, open room. On the left side, is a large elevator labeled 'Hell.' On the right side, an identical elevator labeled 'Heaven.' And, on the opposite wall, lies a smaller elevator labeled 'Earth.'
"The elevator to Earth is so small since it's not used nearly as much as the other two." Alisa explains as we make our way to the back wall. As we're walking, I notice that even without the labels, it's pretty obvious which elevator goes to where. The elevator to Hell is surrounded with a bunch of grubby looking characters. They are all in chains and are being whipped from what I'm guessing is a demon. The other side, tough, is a totally different story. Everyone is calmly and orderly going into the Heaven elevator, and everyone is laughing and joking and getting to know each other. An angel is greeting and helping everyone through the elevator.
Eventually, Alisa and I make it to the vacant back wall.
"Well, this is where we say goodbye." Alisa says sadly. I pull her into a tight hug, reluctant to let go. We pull apart slowly. I walk into the elevator and turn around. Alisa turns around and starts walking back to the other elevators. Just as the doors are closing, I remember something I forgot to ask Alisa. I shove my arm between the doors, hoping this elevator will work like the ones at Earth and open back up. The elevator door opens back up and I yell to Alisa.
"Alisa! Wait!" Alisa turns back around.
"Yes?"
"Did you get to Heaven or Hell?" I ask.
"Juliette, do you really think they would've let me talk to you if I went to Hell?" Alisa asks, laughing. I smile.
"True." Alisa and I wave to each other as the elevators start to close again. Just as they're about to close completely, I yell out a quick "Goodbye!" and Alisa smiles and turns around. And then the elevator doors close shut completely.
The elevator starts going down as I wonder what will happen now. Seeing as I'm the only one in the elevator, I walk to the back and lean against the wall. I slide down to the floor and my eyes start to droop. I'm really tired. I should take a nap. Right before I fall asleep, I wonder when I'll see Alisa again.
I can tell you right now, I wouldn't see her for a very long time.
