Obols and the Charon

"This is the afterlife. Why should I wait?" Impatience could translate my true feelings at this moment. Everything was over. Why am I here?

"People have not buried you." Charon said it nonchalantly, as if it were something quite obvious.

"What? Do you need to wait for my burial to end? What kind of flawed reasoning is this?"

"If you are rushing, you could swim the Styx."

His reply was something that I was not expecting. Swim the Styx? This river does not erase our memories as soon as I go in?

"But recall that your memories will be lost if you swim there."

Was he reading my mind? Well, he is somewhat godlike, I believe.

"If you are wondering whether I can or cannot read minds, do not fret over that. I cannot. I am not a proper god. This is just personal experience from thousands of souls along the eons."

My flabbergast expression was as clear as the day for him.

"I did not intend to be disrespectful. Sorry. I don't grasp my situation. Why did I have to die?"

"I do not have an answer for that, sorry. You should look over for a priest at your final destination."

"About my destination, do I have to pay an obol for the transfer?"

"Now I am impressed. You know my name and the custom. But answering your question, yes, and that is the reason I am here. To wait for your burial, to see if people will put the obol in your mouth."

"This place is connected to the physical world. Time flows equally here and there. That's why we are waiting here."

"You are right and wrong. We have not yet left the physical world. This is somewhere between the worlds. Acheron is over there, and here are the Styx's waters."

He was pointing to the water in front of us. There was a place where one could see that two different colors of water did not mix among themselves. This was fascinating!

--

I kept waiting with him on that mysterious pier, when soon something like a floating screen appeared in front of us.

"Your burial has started." Charon proclaimed.

I saw my family there: my father, my mother, and my two sisters. My boss and Cintia were there too, as well as some other colleagues. The burial went as anyone would imagine, with people crying, emotional speeches, and a funny moment: some souvenirs from people were being added to my coffin. Of course, while it was open. At the end of my mother's speech, everyone was crying, and my funeral was reaching its end.

"And now it has ended. Welcome to the afterlife, Rufus." Charon once again proclaimed.

"Right, should I feel different somehow?"

"No. But I think that is yours." Charon crouched near the pier's border and got a small chest.

"These are your burial souvenirs. It is heavy. People left a lot of stuff for you. I hope they help you in your journey."

I don't know why, but I was impressed that Charon took from the water a floating chest made of steel. Do metal boxes float? I do not recall this particular feature. Nevertheless, I do not believe that anything here makes sense according to my usual common sense.

I searched throughout the chest. Firstly, it was some magical subspace like the ones we usually see in fantasy fiction. Secondly, as soon as I opened the chest, if it seemed as if a list of contents was downloaded directly into my mind. It was not like a system screen, but I could simply recall everything that was inside as if I always knew what was inside.

"My burial flowers—a lot of them. My clothes, my favorite mug, and, last but not least, my coin collection!" Jackpot! Mother was always complaining that I started gathering old coins, and that she needed to free up space.

I left my parents house some years ago, but I left most of my stuff at my folks' house, as my studio did not support many things to be stored. I collected several coins from Brazil and nearby countries for some years, to think that this would have a use in the Hades!

"So, do you have an obol?" Now Charon seemed to be anxious, quite a change may I say.

"Oh man, for sure, I have obols."

"Plural? I only need one. You know, but I can exchange them for something else."

I was delighted that I could pay the fee; it meant that I would not forget myself after crossing the Styx. As far as I know, only people who swim in that water have their memories wiped clean.

"Sorry, it is not usual to have people with a single coin. But you have more than one."

"More than one? I even have gold, silver, and platinum coins here!" I proudly declared to Charon. His reaction was superb. He instantly went from impressed to instantly bewildered.

Charon went silent for a moment. He seemed to be thinking.

"Even in the glorious times of Ancient Greece, few had the opportunity to negotiate a lot. Did platinum and gold remain valuable? Why did they bury you with that?"

The Charon question was reasonable, I also fail to see why parents decided for that. Not that they require my money or something like that, but it seemed odd to left so precious coins in my coffin forever.

"Yes, they are pretty expensive, some gold coins were heirlooms from my grandfather. I don't understand why they decided to do that."

"If you want, after deciding how to spend your obols, I can hold them for your relatives for when they reached here." 

"Can I accrue some earnings from leaving them with you, or can I carry my obols and use on a later date?"

Charon stopped and looked me in the eyes. He was studying me like a seller when he noticed that he was dealing with a potential big client.

"Yes to both of your questions. You can compare leaving your obols with me as a savings account. Alternatively, you might carry your money, invest it elsewhere, and then come back to pay for your relatives or… anyone else."

I was speechless. A moment ago, he was stoically waiting for a potential trip that most likely would not happen. This explains his indifference towards me. People do not cross to the afterlife with money; they would need to swim!

"If I lack the coin, would I need to swim?"

A grimace appeared on his face, so devilish that it gave me goosebumps throughout my body.

"No, I usually lend them some obols."

Seriously? Shark lending in the afterlife? What the hell?

"However, I am forbidden to accrue interest in this lending."

"Wait a minute, but how does that work? If you do not accrue interest, but I can leave my coins with you for an interest rate. How do you make a profit here?"

"A merchant, I see. Wonderful! A smart and rich soul for a change."

His demeanor was undergoing a dynamic transformation, while the docile ferryman sank before me. 

"For just crossing the Styx, I do not accrue interest. However, for any services besides that, I am not obliged to adhere to this commandment. First of all, I understand that you do not have enough information to make a fair deal with me. Please wait a minute." Charon jumped on his ferry and got something, then went back to the pier. It seemed like a fancy restaurant menu.

"There you are. You are a rich person. So I can offer you something more appropriated."

I started to skim through the whole "menu". Actually, the crossing value for Styx was very low, and the prices were given based on the type of metal used. An iron coin would get over the river, but I would be left at Tartarus. For a meager two gold coins, I can travel to Olympus! Charon was not a mere ferryman, but rather a sophisticated travel machine. He could take me anywhere I wanted.

"I would like to travel to Olympus."

"Why there?" He started to scratch his head.

"I would love to know the place where the gods live."

"Mortal curiosity. Fair enough." He agreed with me because most people don't have enough money for that. And according to the menu, the interest builds up fast, with a full 100% yield per year. I do not know how someone could make money in the afterlife. But in the physical world, gold coins were rather rare to find.

"I normally do not offer the Olympus, only to the affluent ones. There are some other requirements to travel to Olympus."

"Ok, I understand. I would like to know the Hades abode."

Charon seemed confused.

"Were you going to Olympus?"

"Yes, but I didn't know about these other requirements."

"Oh, I see. My mistake here. There are some requirements, but you already fulfill them, if not, Olympus would not even appear to you. The menu is attuned to the soul carrying it. You can go to any place listed there."

Charon made a pause. He had an expression of curiosity like children when they were told to keep what we were about to say a secret.

"Probably, some god wants to have a talk with you. Mortals can't go there unless in exceptional cases."

"If some god wishes to speak with me, why do I have to pay to see them?"

"It is a toll. How much is it? My fee is about a silver coin."

Again, something odd. I couldn't grasp the logic here, as I see clearly written, in proper English, by the way, two gold coins.

"Two gold coins."

"Wow, congratulations. Even if you had to take a loan, I would suggest you to. The higher the fee, and how much is the interest rate?"

"100% per year."

"Holy shit! Are you going to see Zeus?"

I lack too much information to comprehend what is happening here, but something serious is taking place now. From stoic, to overjoyed and now cursing.

Apparently, the higher the fee and the interest rate, the more important the trip is. I searched for options, and I noticed that they were considerably cheaper. They ranged from 10 iron coins to 3 silver coins: Elysium, Hades abode, Land of Dreams, and the Fortunate Isles. There were some specific options within those places, but I think none could hold a candle to Olympus.

"I think we have a deal. I will take you to Olympus. Jump on the ferry. The journey will be quick."

Charon did not wait for my answer about Zeus because it was a rhetorical question, I think. He went ahead to his ferry. I am truly uncomfortable with the lack of understanding about what is happening. Regardless of that, I followed him automatically.