After Life - 2. Chapter 2 - Perpetual Limbo

Chapter 2 – Perpetual Limbo

*Sam’s POV*

My eyes fluttered open as the light of the morning sun filtered into the room. I stared at the ceiling and remembered last night’s conversation with Paul and sighed. I’d told Paul how I felt about him last night. Hell, I even asked for a kiss! And yes, while I was glad that I’d finally communicated my feelings to Paul, which he accepted, I knew that I couldn’t have him. Paul was firmly with Will.

And that was just that.

I looked over to my right to look at Paul. When I looked over, I saw that Paul was not in the bed. Perhaps he’d already gone downstairs for breakfast? That would make sense since I could smell the scent of bacon permeating throughout the entire house.

I let out a sigh and got up, my morning wood seriously tenting through my boxers. I made my way around the bed to head to the bathroom when I found Paul on the floor face down.

“Paul, what are you doing on the floor?” I asked, thinking about his comment to me last night.

I didn’t get a response from Paul. I lightly shoved him with my foot.

“Paul, wake up.” He still didn’t respond. An uneasy feeling began to come over me.

“Come on, Paul, get up off the floor,” I said as I knelt beside him and touched him. He was cool to the touch.

I carefully turned him over so that he was lying on his back. His eyes slightly open and his nose was broken. There was coagulated blood all over his face as well as the carpet. I started to panic as I felt no pulse.

“Paul? Paul, come on buddy, wake up. Oh my God, no no no no no, this cannot be happening. Paul?! My GOD, PAUL!”

I started to sob uncontrollably as I held his body. I held onto him for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, I got my wits together.

“Carol! Howard! Call 911! Get up here now!”

Instantly I heard the sound of scampering feet coming up the stairs.

“Sam, what’s going…” began Carol. “Paul, my baby!”

Carol rushed over to Paul’s side and held his face in her hands. She began to sob.

“Mommy, what’s going on? Why is Paul on the floor?”

Immediately I got up and went to Dana, who was standing in the doorway.

“Baby, you don’t need to be in here. Go get your dad quickly. Tell him to call 911! Now!”

“But, what’s going on?”

“Now, Dana!”

Dana ran downstairs to get her dad as she was told. I went back over to Carol, who was holding Paul in her arms, crying and rocking him back and forth.

“My baby’s dead, my baby’s dead. My baby’s dead,” she said.

I backed up and took the scene before of me. There, on the floor, was my best friend, and love of my life. My next thought was to call Will, but now didn’t seem like the right time.

Howard appeared moments later looking bewildered at the scene in front of him. He just stood there, wiping tears from his eyes and not saying anything.

“The ambulance is on its way,” he said looking at me. I nodded and went to him and hugged him. By this time, he was already sobbing.

“My only son,” he kept saying.

“I’m here for you all,” I said quietly. “Always,”

“Daddy,” said Dana who had just come back into the room.

Harold looked at her and then me.

“Get her out of here. Don’t let her come back up here, you understand me?”

“Yes sir,” I replied. “Come on Dana, let’s go.”

I took her hand and led her down the stairs. We went into the family room and sat down on the couch. Dana latched onto me and began to cry softly.

“Is Paul dead? Did he die?” she asked me.

I began to cry with her as I held onto her tightly.

“Yes baby, I think he’s gone.”

I held onto her for dear life as our bodies shook in despair. Today was, decidedly, the worst day of my life.

My best friend and love of my life, was gone.

And he wasn’t coming back.

~*~*~*~*

*Paul’s POV*

I felt like I was flying through the air. I could feel the wind rushing through my hair and all over my body. All I could see was the bright white light that surrounded me.

Suddenly, everything stopped. I was standing there going nowhere. The light around me had begun to dim, allowing me to get a look at my surroundings. Soon, I was looking at a dimly lit tunnel. The floor and the walls were made of the most sparkling of crystals. The sparkles looked as though they pulsed in some un-recognizable pattern. I slowly walked forward, not knowing where I was. As I continued, I began to have this feeling like I didn’t belong here. I knew, that wherever I was, I was not anywhere near Earth.

As I continued to walk, the pulse of the crystal around me began to slowing quicken its pace. I began to feel a strange sense of peace, mixed with some elements of confusion. Suddenly, at the apparent end of the tunnel, a bright light, similar to what surrounded me mere moments ago, began to materialize. I picked up my pace as I had this immense feeling of wanting to get to the light. As soon as I thought I was going to approach the light, I stopped. There in front of me, materializing before my eyes was another being.

The being approached me. I couldn’t make out what it looked like. All I could tell was that it took on the form of a human. It came closer and closer to me. Then, when it stepped into the dimly lit tunnel, it stopped. The light at the end of the tunnel faded. I began to make my way to the being.

The closer I got, the more defined the being looked. I finally approached it, taken by surprise. There standing in front of me, was my grandfather.

“Grandpa,” I said, stunned.

“Hello, Paul.” He smiled at me.

“Um, what’s going on?”

“Come with me. There are others you should meet.” He placed a hand on my shoulder and we began walking.

“Others?”

“Yes, there are others here to greet you. I think you’ll recognize them as well.”

“Okay.”

We walked along the tunnel and approached the area where the light had originated. We came into a room dimly lit with candles. We then went to the left of a doorway that lead into a completely darkened area. I couldn’t see anything beyond the doorway. Eventually we stopped in front of a wall made completely of glass that cast a light around the immediate area. As I looked through the glass, I saw what appeared to be my house within an ambulance parked in my driveway, its lights flashing brightly.

Suddenly, a bright light burst through the doorway we passed before. It began to fade away, leaving behind another human form in its wake. There, the next being looked towards us and began walking in our direction.

“Hello Margaret,” said my grandfather.

“Hello. I see you have him,” said the lady, dressed in a beautiful white gown, her voice familiar.

The lady approached us. When she stood in front of me, I was completely shocked. It was my grandmother.

“Grandma!” I ran to give her a hug.

“Oh, my sweet baby! I am so glad to finally hug you again.”

“Grandma, I’ve missed you so much. I’m so confused. What is going on?”

“Ah, I see your grandfather hasn’t yet explained. Well, we’ll tend to that in a moment,” she said dismissively.

“Did I die?” I asked. “I mean, you both died when was young.”

“In a minute, bud,” my grandfather said from behind me as he looked through the glass at my house.

“Shouldn’t there me one or two more coming, Mason?” asked my grandmother after a few minutes.

My grandfather nodded. “Yes, I think one more is coming. These things usually happen in threes.”

“I see,” replied my grandmother.

We stood there for what seemed like a few more minutes, just looking through the glass down at my house. Eventually, I saw a stretcher coming out the front door and down the front walkway towards the driveway where the ambulance had parked. On the stretcher was a black bag. It was zipped up and strapped down to the stretcher.

It had to be my body in the bag.

I turned away from the glass to look at my grandparents. As I did so, the bright light once again shone through the doorway. As before, when the light faded, it gave way to another human form. This form walked towards us. When it came into view I was, once again, floored.

“Eddie?” I asked perplexed.

“Hey, Paul.”

Eddie stepped forward and gave me a warm hug. When the hug was finished he patted my back and smiled at me.

“Welcome home,” he said.

“Um, thanks,” I said.

“So Paul,” said my grandfather. “I suppose you have some questions.”

“Well, I’ve been looking through the glass, here, and have determined that I am most likely dead,” I said.

“Yes, dear,” said my grandmother, nodding. “You have died.”

“Ok. So where am I?”

“You are now in what is called the Afterlife,” said Eddie.

“Yes, however, you are not yet fully crossed over,” added grandpa.

“Ok/ So how do I do that?”

My grandmother smiled at me. “It’s relatively simple; all you have to do is go through the doorway. Once you do that, you have crossed over and have fully entered the Afterlife.”

“Alright. So when I do that, can I still go back and be with my family and friends? I mean, they are obviously going to be dealing with some tough emotions due to my death. I want to be there for them.”

My grandparents and Eddie exchanged concerned looks with each other.

“You will always be able to keep a watch over them when you have crossed over, but you will not be able to go back to them. You will still be able to see them and hear them, however,” replied Eddie.

“Ok, well why can’t I just stay here so that I can come and go as I please?” I asked.

“Because, your life energy will only hold on for so long before you must decide to either cross over, or risk remaining in limbo. Right now here, is considered limbo. You don’t want to stay here,” answered grandpa.

“What happens if I stay here?”

“Then you can never cross over. Your soul becomes trapped in limbo, which will leave you in despair and regret about your death. It’s the most unhappy of existences, Paul. You’d never forgive yourself,” replied Eddie.

“How long before I must make this decision?”

“That depends on how strong your life energy was at the time of your death. Considering that you were very happy, very much in love with your boyfriend Will, very much in a happy household with your family, and happy overall in your life, your life energy will likely hold out for quite some time,” explained my grandmother.

“However, once your family and friends come to terms with your passing, your life energy will begin to quickly disappear, causing your spirt to be pulled towards the doorway. When that happens, you almost certainly will have to choose between crossing over and being left in limbo. If you do not cross over and remain in limbo, your spirit becomes tainted, leaving you feeling sad, lonely, and unfulfilled for all eternity.”

“Ok.” I nodded at her explanation.

“You do not want that,” said my grandfather.

“So, you have enough time to stick around your family and friends and make sure they’re going to be ok. After that, you will have to choose. Know that if you don’t cross over, you will not see any of us or any of your other relatives who have crossed, nor would you see your still living family or friends, ever again if you remained in limbo,” said Eddie.

I nodded at him.

“If you remain in limbo,” he continued. “You risk affecting your family and friend’s transition to crossing over as well. You don’t want to do that. You want them to cross over as quickly as possible so that you may be reunited with them.”

“Ok.” I nodded. “How do I go back to be with them?”

“You stand in front of the glass and think about who you want to see. They will appear in the glass. All you do at that point is touch it. You will then be taken to them. They will not necessarily see or hear you. But your presence may be felt,” replied my grandmother.

“Ok.” I smiled at everyone. “I’m going to the glass. Are you all going to wait for me until I’m ready to cross over?”

“Yes, we will be here, waiting,” replied my grandfather.

“Ok.”

I left my grandparents and Eddie behind and walked over to the glass wall. I began thinking about who I wanted to see. I approached the wall to see my parents, Dana, Will, and Sam all standing together in front of what appeared to be a casket; my casket. I touched the glass and instantly felt a sensation similar to when I first came to being in limbo.

The bright light overcame me as I soared through nothingness on my way back down to Earth.

I was finally ready to begin the process of saying goodbye.

This was my final journey.

I was ready.