Death as a Springboard

I never saw the bus. One second I was stepping into the crosswalk, the next I was hovering over my body wondering how I could've missed it.

Death isn't like anything they tell you. There's no white light, no St Peter, no pearly gates. There is no grim reaper, heaven, or hell. You simply separate from your body. I was grateful it was quick. I had felt nothing.

I watched as people gathered around. Some took out their phones to call 911, most took them out to film. They looked worried, sad. A few on the fringes of the crowd started to wander away, going back to their day with a story to tell their coworkers, families, and friends. Some of them would carry the sadness with them for days, weeks, and others would forget it all once they got to where they were going.

I hung around until they took my body away. She was gone, she would be cremated, then spread over the sea. That is if my family did what I asked. I suppose at this point it didn't really matter. I had no point of view about it anymore.

I started to look around me. Were there others like me? No body, just an ethereal being? At first all I saw was the living, breathing, connected with a body. Then, gradually, I started to notice them. I perceived shimmering at first, then shapes started to form. I was a bit shocked at the number lingering about.

I saw beings trying to speak with the living walking by them. I saw some who were stationary, starting off as if they could not fathom what was going on, and could not guess what to do.

It was strange, really, to see the differences. I suppose the ones with faculties remaining after death were gone, somewhere I had yet to discover in my newly attained state.

I found that without my body holding me to the earth, I could get where I wanted to go much faster. It was almost like flying. I went all over the city looking at things I didn't think I would be seeing much longer. I floated in and out of downtown building, museums, and galleries. I went to the beach to smell the sea, found I couldn't of course, having no nose, so I sat for a quite some time looking out. I stayed long enough to watch the sunset. It was the most beautiful I had ever seen.

Once night fell, I looked up. That simple action caused me to soar into the sky. I wondered what was next. Was there a next? I thought of all of the things I had learned, the different beliefs out there about what happens to the "soul" after death. You think it would've been scary, that wondering as I drifted up into the stars, but there was only curiousity.

I looked all around me with such joy, if feelings were still a thing for me now. The universe was vast, and I knew I was only seeing a small part. I did not know how long I was drifting there with time no longer existing.

I turned and looked back. The earth was so small, and I knew that if I still could, I would be crying. It was so beautiful, blue, green, and white shining there in the black of space. I felt the urge to go back. I ignored it for what was to come.

I started to get pulled, like a tractor beam had locked onto me, and was drawing me somewhere without my consent. All of sudden there was a flash of light and I was in some sort of chamber. No, it was not heaven. It was a scholarly place. The beings there were lively, communicating, almost as if they were human again. I looked down, and saw that I had materialized somewhat, had a bit of structure back. I started to hear voices so I tried mine.

"What is this place?" I barely spoke louder than a whisper, yet everyone looked my way.

The crowd parted a bit to allow a small group to pass. They came directly toward me, arms outstretched. When they reached me they formed a semi circle so I could see each of them.

"Welcome, we are so happy you are here." When they spoke it was as if each one spoke one word of the sentence, also as if they all spoke it in unison. It was quite disorienting.

"You are here because you questioned what was next, without a point of view. We are sure you noticed that not everyone who leaves their bodies leaves the planet."

All I could do was nod. "This is the place where you get to choose what is next. There is no one next, there is many. The choices will be laid before you. You can stay here as long as you like. Make a choice when you are ready."

They invited me to go with them through the doors they came out of. We walked into another room, this one was very large with hallways leading off into the fogginess, and there were more of us mingling. The ceiling was this ethereal cloudlike ceiling that moved around a bit as if there was wind.

The room had a glow. I started to feel gravity, and a bit of heaviness came into my ever so slightly more solid being. They beckoned me down a hallway with many doors at the end.

We stopped in front of one. "This is your space. You can imagine it to be anything you wish. A bedroom for resting, a sitting area for lounging, any place on earth, or beyond, and you can change it with a thought. There is a gathering later you are invited to. You will know when to come."

With that, they left me to my space. I imaged a luxurious living area with a fireplace, a huge couch with many pillows and soft blankets laying about. I imagined a dog. And LOOK! It was one of mine that was long gone. This time, when I cried, I could feel the tears.

I jumped onto the couch and my dog followed. I settled into the pillows and he curled up next to me. I laid my head back and closed my eyes. Maybe this WAS heaven, I thought.

Later, I slowly opened my eyes. A gong had sounded. I got up and imagined the room was filled with clouds, then I left.

I followed the others back down the hallway and into the large room once again, but it had changed.

There was a dais with chairs lined up, gently curving. The beings that greeted me were sitting on them. When everyone that was coming arrived, they spoke.

"Welcome new arrivals! We are so happy you have found your way here. You are all from different planets, each with your own stories about what happens after you die. They are mostly all wrong." A chuckle moved through them, It sounded like chimes.

"This is a place of choice, and death is a springboard into a new state of being. Whether it is this state we are in now, another human state, or something else, that is solely up to you. Each choice also has choices within that choice. For example: should you choose another human experience, you will be able to choose your parents, the circumstances you are born into, your capacities. With a caveat. Once you arrive, you will forget ever being here. You will start anew."

A murmuring went through the crowd. I could tell this idea intrigued a lot of them. Once they quieted back down, the wise ones, which is what I started to call them inside my head, spoke again.

"When you are ready to choose, maybe that is now, maybe it is generations from now, we will guide you through your choice. Behind you", they motioned , and we all turned to look, "the choices are listed for you to take a look at. We advise you to choose that which seems like most fun, for that is what this is all about. Enjoyment."

Quite a few formed a line in front of the wise ones. They had liked the idea of trying another human existence. The rest of us moved toward the list of things to choose. I was in the back and waited for some time until I could see the wall on which they were.

So many of them! I knew it was going to be some time before I could make up my mind. Did I want to stay as an etheral being, enjoying this realm of imagination, creating my own little worlds in my room? Did I want a job assisting ethereals into their new existences? Did I want to go back to earth, or try another planet? There we many others too.

We started to drift down our hallways, and into our rooms, while the rest were being led in new directions to leave this place for a while.

Once back in my room, I created a place that had up until now, only existed in my mind, my human imagination. A garden, in the middle of space. It had a fountain in the center, with walkways around and from end to end. There were flowering plants that had a soft glow, and there was a bench at the edge of the island that looked out at a nebula full of color and light. I sat on the bench. My mom appeared and sat next to me. She put her arm around and we sat there for quite some time.

Yes. I think I shall stay here a while.