Sponsored Story: The Afterlife: Richard: First Conversation with Charis
Sponsored by Elizabeth Barrette (LJ user ysabetwordsmith)
“What do I call you?” Richard asked, looking at the woman he only knew as Death.
She smiled at him. “It’s been a very long time since I used a name,” she replied, sounding wistful. “Since the day I became Death I haven’t really needed a name. The name I was given the during my last incarnation was Charis so you can call me that.”
“How long have you been Death?”
“I haven’t really been keeping very good count but I think it’s been about five hundred years, maybe a little more. I am not the first Death and you won’t be the last. As long as there are people dying then there will be a need for someone in our position.”
Charis looked at him and it felt like she saw everything. All of his incarnations, everything that came together to make him Richard, was being viewed. He already knew that the council believed he was right for the job but that didn’t stop him from worrying that she might see something that she didn’t like, such as a lesson he hadn’t learnt.
“You were my choice,” she said. “Once the council members have all chosen a candidate for the job I get to choose the next one. I was worried you wouldn’t agree because you’ll make a good Death.”
He raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”
“It’s something that someone in our position can see when it’s time for us to move on. The Death who passed the position on to me said the same thing to me, but he didn’t feel the need to give me any training. I decided that I couldn’t do that to the person who took over from me because it’s such a huge learning curve.” She smiled again. “Especially when you first visit the places of death.”
“The council mentioned them.”
“I don’t know how to describe what it’s like when you visit them. They are such strange places. Most of them don’t get used any more because the view of the afterlife had changed so much so they’ve very lonely but at the same time they have the same power that they always had. You will find that some of the dead are drawn to them due to past lives and it will be your job to help them. We’re not spirit guides in the sense that we will guide spirits throughout their death and then their next life but we do guide some specific spirits during some of their death.”
“How do I know if there are people in the places of death?”
“You’ll feel it. Once you have the full power of the position of Death you’ll understand because it’s another one of those feelings that I can’t really explain. It’s kind of like having a weight in your head.” Charis shook her head. “Maybe I don’t have a brain any more in the sense that it’s not physical but I still feel like it’s there, even after so long in the afterlife.”
“What’s it like being here for five hundred years?”
“Some days are harder than others. I can’t describe what it would be like for someone else, but for me it’s been difficult to watch the people who were a part of my life before I became Death changing because of their new lives. At the same time I’ve loved my job. Being Death has taught me some lessons that I would never have learnt in any lives so I’m grateful that I got this opportunity.”
“I don’t have that problem.”
Charis looked at Richard. “People did care for you, Richard. I know that might be hard for you to believe but they did do what was best for you.”
“It just never felt like that.” He sighed. “Maybe that’s why I did stupid things during my last life.”
“We all do stupid things. That’s a part of being human. Just remember that you also did some good things during your last life too.” She put her hand out and squeezed his. “The compassion and empathy you showed was one of the reasons I chose you.”
“Sometimes it’s much easier to remember the stupid things than it is to remember the good things.”
“That’s something you will see a lot of. Wandering spirits often focus on the stupid things they did or the things they would define as nasty in some way. It can be very difficult to get them to remember the good things that they did.”
“Have you ever had to try to convince someone who never did anything good to come to the afterlife?”
“I’ve never met someone who is all bad. Even those who have done the evilest things in their lives have done some good things, no matter how small.” Charis looked at Richard thoughtfully. “It’s strange but I have never met anyone I could call evil. Most of the wandering spirits are more misguided. I think it might be because those who have done something evil have truly believed that they were right and that makes them less likely to end up wandering.”
“Either that or they’ve hidden from you.”
“A spirit who manages to hide from Death for any length of time is likely to become a poltergeist. They become so angry that other people are living and that makes them turn nasty. It’s difficult to get a poltergeist back to the afterlife. Sometimes we do actually have to wait for an exorcist because otherwise we can’t get them to detach from a house or a person that they have attached themselves to. Once they’re here it’s up to a certain group of spirit guides who have to help them refind who it was they were before they died.” Charis sighed. “A lot of the poltergeists I’ve gathered are still here undergoing their rehabilitation. The first one I brought back here in my fifth year as Death.”
Richard squeezed her hand back. “It was their choice.”
“I know that but it doesn’t make the job any less difficult. I try my hardest to bring all wandering spirits to the afterlife before they get to that stage but some of them are stubborn.”
Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.