Howling

Having come to realize their misfortune, two friends had braced each other, recognizing that they had already breathed their last.

"I can't believe that it happened. It was so quick, so sudden, so instant, that I never even realized it took place."

Gripping onto their friend, the other spoke, "I know. It's just... unbelievable. I never would've thought that it would've come to this so early. "

"So, what do we do now?"

"Wait, I guess. If not I suppose we have to move where we belong."

At the mention of those words external forces started to take place, fulfilling their instantaneous roles.

"Wait," one friend looked, "why me? Why am I headed this way?"

"I don't know," the other replied, "yet, I'm also glad that I'm headed in my own direction."

"Why? Why am I headed in this direction and you're not? Shouldn't we at least be together? How many times have we not influenced one another?"

"I don't have the answers, but I'll accept the gift that I'm being given."

As they slowly started to drift apart, the one friend being pulled downwards gripped on with strength that was beyond this worldly domain. "Well, let's see if we can switch!"

With a firm grip and a sharp twist of their hips, the two friends had rotated changing positions, but not vectors.

"Looks like I'm still going where I'm supposed to, and so are you. I can feel your force trying to push past me, as I'm trying to push past you. I'm sorry, but this is how it is."

"NO! I REFUSE TO DIE LIKE THIS!"

A hand caressed their cheek, "Don't worry, forever doesn't mean for infinity."

"IT DOES FOR ETERNITY!"

The friend being pulled upwards did their best to not fight, but to allow the forces to do what their purpose. Becoming limp, a sly smile came to their face.

"Take me, for I am ready." As if responding to the riser's words, the forces acting upon their bodies increased in intensity, forcing a near instantaneous reversal. Arms spread open, a smile a mile wide upon the riser's face, the elevated opened their eyes at their struggling friend. "I'll never forget you, my friend."

Barely holding on, but having scrambled for any sense of an idea, the descender had wrapped their leg around the riser's calf. Grasping their own ankle, acting as a makeshift anchor, the descender rummaged through their pants pocket. Almost as if in shock and disbelief that such material items such as their clothing remained with them, the descender pulled out their cellphone.

"Oh yeah! Well, if I'm going down," with the haste of a person texting their significant other after realizing that a message had been received hours ago, the descender had unlocked the phone and pulled up a video within its search function, "YOUR GOING DOWN WITH ME!" Shoving the screen in their friend's face with the volume on full blast, a video played, "TAKE A LOOK AT THIS!"

"Huh?" The other friend though, their smile fading away. Then in a few seconds, the moment was upon them. Upon realizing what they had just watched, their jaw opened wide, and they exhaled as vigorously as they possibly could. "No. I can't. No. I can't. No. I can't."

"I DARE YOU! I DARE YOU TO SMILE!"

For all riser wanted to, they knew that they couldn't. For the riser believed so fervently that if they did that they'd no longer be pulled in the current direction that they're headed into. It was as if instinct instructed the riser, "Not to enjoy what was shown."

"I DARE YOU TO LAUGH!"

"I WON'T!" Realizing what was potentially at stake, the riser kept their mouth as open as possible, trying to breathe out as fast as possible. "I can't laugh if I don't have BREATH!"

Unable to hold on any longer, the descender was ripped from their friend, as they were both wrenched towards their destinations. From out of the depths and in the elevation above two separate gates had opened up, one reeked of charcoal and piercing wails could be heard emitting from it, meanwhile the other had bells ringing with lustrous, illuminating, light emerging from behind its golden bars.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The friend flying upwards was doing their best not to laugh. All of the air from the riser's lungs was almost out, their diaphragm was near empty. Soon, in mere moments, the riser would be behind the closed gates, hopefully in the clear.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THAT EASILY!" The strength of a thousand hurricanes burned in the descender's muscles, though they knew that doing said action would only further accelerate their arrival to their despised destination, they swung their arms, bring their hands together, making a clap so loud that it would bring thunderstorms to shame.

That one clap, even though they were now miles apart from each other, a sonic boom of air blasted its way towards the elevated friend, rising faster than the riser could be pulled. Incapable of seeing it, let alone hearing it, it pushed past the riser, rushing into their wind pipes, expanding their lungs by just minutest amount for them to have the folly of screaming, "HA!"

The faintest laugh.

Not slowing down, the riser had barely just reached the edge of the gates, before their momentum was spun around and they were sent flying back towards the descender. Meanwhile, the descender saw through tear filled eyes and the slit of the gates that was dreadfully closing upon them that their friend was now hurtling towards their direction.

In a small whimpered voice, the friend that betrayed the other said, "Yes," before closing their eyes. Hoping to keep them shut forever, not wishing to know of the horrors that they'd be subjected to.

However, the charcoal, wails, and sense of heat with foreboding coldness was replaced, vanished, from them.

"Hey! Wake up! Where are we?!" The betrayed asked.

"You can't trick me, I'm not looking."

Opening the betrayer's eyelid with their fingers, the betrayed stated, "Relax, we're not where we thought we were headed."

Upon seeing the vastness of the cosmos around them, the betrayer spoke, "How? I saw the gates close on me. "

As if to answer their questions, the stars around them flashed and they inherently understood it as a language. For them, feeling and seeing the flashes was as natural of a language as breathing is for most organisms.

"Hahaha! You two are a riot!"

"What's the meaning of all of this," the betrayed demanded to know.

"Relax, you're both fine. Welcome to the afterlife."

"Wait, a minute, what about heaven and hell," the betrayor demanded to know.

"Heaven and Hell are gifts upon which you give to yourselves. For this is eternity perpetuated."

"What do you mean eternity perpetuated? Are the good and evil not judged?"

"They are, and the universe judges them so. Yet, as they are being judged they are also part of the universe too. From ashes you were and to ashes you have returned. As you judge you are judged. As you do so to the universe, you are of the universe, so the universe does unto you."

"I don't get it, what's the meaning of all of this," the betrayed continued. "What was the meaning of what we just experienced."

"Relax, it was just a prank. You gave the entire universe a giggle. Especially you," the initial descender realized that they were the subject of that 'you.' "Your ingenuity to use humor as a weapon split my atoms. I haven't had a decent laugh like that in millennia."

The two friends turned towards each other, then back towards the cosmos, "THAT WAS A PRANK?!"

"Oh relax, the two of you have all of eternity to get over it. I promise you, some century from now you'll look back at that moment fondly. Till then, enjoy the splendors that is forever. Remember, you can give yourselves and each other heaven, but just don't give yourselves too much hell."