1 Dying is an Awfully Big Adventure

Well, you've heard this before, and now you're here again. Can't say I didn't see this coming, because this is one hundred percent out of left field. Yeah, right now I'm standing in a gaint open place that only has white and table with someone sitting at it.

"You seem surprisingly calm for someone in this position." The figure said, sipping something from a cup, "Would you like some condensed space? I usually add brown sugar to mine, but it tastes good without it as well." As he starts to swirl his mug.

I don't even know how to start unpacking that. "I- I think I would be good, sir." I said hesitantly. I then look down at my hands they are still there, but not all there, because I can still see the floor through them.

"Oh, don't worry about the floor, come here and take a seat," He? then points to the chair across from him. As I don't see a better option and not really questioning it, I go to sit down.

"Pardon the question, but um... where am I?" I asked intelligently. The figure doesn't answer, but he just continues sipping on his mug. As he finishes drinking, he looks up with a kind of weird look in his eye. I can't quite make it out. 'What is even happening to me right now. Fairly sure I died, but shouldn't I be somewhere else like heaven or even hell?" Because looking around, I can clearly see multiple indications of what is about to happen.

"That you are right, my boy!" The now less mysterious, but still pretty mysterious, figure says. " You are going to be reincarnated, and you get to pick the place and one wish to accompany you."

'Oh Fuck.' I think as I start to really freak out. 'I'm dead and getting reincarnated. I don't care about that. What about my family? My mom, dad, and siblings, what am I going to do?' My mind starts to go down rabbit holes 'what about my cute nieces and my friends... how did I die? Why can't I remember?'

"You can't remember because you don't want to." The figure says, " All you have to do to remember is will it to come to mind." Hearing that I start to ponder. 'Should I even remember what if it really hurt or if it was really gory.' Think of that, I don't know what to do.

*Sluuuurrrrpppp*

Looking up I see the figure taking a long sip form the mug. Getting a better look at it the mug says something. 'You can't always get what you want.' At this I dead pan and look at the figure who is starting to look more and more human as I'm sitting. "That is because I am becoming more human. You see, I've never had the chance to meet someone for your species before ascending, so I am now, and I gotta say really enjoying watching you squirm," He says, chuckling. After he says this, I take a breath. Clearly, I'm in front of a god. "It is actually a God." The God interrupts my thought train.

"How did you just say capital g?"

"It is a gift I've always had you see I'm not an organic like you. Sure, our souls are made with the same stuff, but our bodies are where all the changes begin."

'This guy is really talkative.' I remark but quickly stop thinking because I realized he had been reading my thoughts for a while, but I never noticed. Looking at his face, that has now begun looking like a face. "Can we rewind a little bit? I'm kind of lost. " With an amused glint in his eye, he nods. "Okay, so I died, and you want to reincarnate me." Once again, thinking about me being dead starts to bring a feeling of dread.

"Yes, I would like to, but you can choose to go to the afterlife as well. Me offering to reincarnate you is just me being kind because I'm using your souls body as a kind of template for my own."

'Wut? Is he taking my body?'

"No, I'm not taking your body more like making my own based on yours."

"Oh, that is a relief. Thanks for clearing that up, but could I ask you not to read my thoughts anymore?"

"Of course, as long as you stop projecting them so much." He chuckles and takes another sip from the mug.

I groan. "Alright, I'll just speak my thoughts from now on then instead." The God start laughing like I just told a good joke. "Anyway, getting back to the conversation, I want to remember my death." No matter how gruesome I decided.

The next thing I saw was my room, with me sitting on my bed reading a novel on my phone. All of sudden, I'm jolting up and looking at my window. Someone is opening, the screen has been torn off, and because I like it cold in my room, it is already slightly open. Before I could think, I was already out of the room heading to the master bedroom, where the guns were stored. As I'm running out, I slam the door shut and run down the hall to the stairs. I reach the stairs and suddenly I'm falling down them. Looking back, I see a toy truck was hidden out of view, and what caused me to trip and fall down the entire flight of stairs. Quickly reaching the bottom of the stairs, I stand up. I'm glad to be alive but hurting, now limping to the master bed room and get to the closet where the guns are. And start to unlock one of the shotguns, but realize that the keys for the lock are in the dresser. Thinking of that I make my way to the dresser. When I hear the door start to unlock and stand in the door way is my sister?

*laughter* "How was that lil' brudder!" More laughter ensues and causes her to fall on her back hold her sides. "I saw you fall down the stairs after tripping, that was so funny!" I look at her with the gun in my hand thinking should I still use it? I then start to relax.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" My head and stomach starts to hurt, I groan and fall to my knees. Then pass out, and that is where my memory ends with a fake intruder and a gun in my hands. 'That didn't clear anything up. How did I just die?! Did I have a heart attack? But it was my head that hurt, wut?' Suddenly I'm back in the white place.

"You see your memories of your death?" The now human looking man says to me. I just stare back at him deadpan. He looks to be bursting with amusement and I now know what the look in his eye was when we first made eye contact it was. It was a mischievous look.

"Yes I saw my supposed death but I still don't know how I died."

"Yeah it turns out you had appendicitis but instead of it exploding it just leaked into your blood stream, and when your sister scared you into thinking that an intruder was invading your home, your adrenalin moved your poisoned blood that much faster then it should have and when you fell down that stairs your appendix exploded. Which should have killed you but adrenalin kept you going, but ultimately you died when you relaxed enough."

"Bruh, what a way to go, like what."

" I know it was hilarious when I saw that. I simply had to meet you."

"What happened after that, with the rest of my family?"

"Well your sister at first thought you were trying to get back at her. But she quickly realized that you weren't breathing and had no pulse. She called 911 but you were announced dead on site. Once taken to the mortuary they found out what happened and told her how you had died." He stopped and looked at me to see how I was reacting. Needless to say I was obviously as cool as a cucumber, not. My head was down and my face only had the emotions of guilt and remorse, wanting nothing more than to tell her that in no way was it her fault, because even if she hadn't scared me, my appendix would have burst anyway. "Hey you need a break?" The God says like a friend worried about his pal.

"Yeah, I could probably use some of that condensed space you were offering but no brown sugar, please."

"I knew you would want some, hehe, alright, let's see how you like this." In his hand, sudden, there was a mug that said,'Well done is better than well said.' Taking the mug from him, I looked into it and saw a pitch black liquid that seemed to shift and swirl all on its own. Leaning back in the chair, I took a swig of the drink. Surprisingly, it tasted like nothing. Not like the water kind of nothing but literally, when the condensed space entered my mouth it seemed to disappear. But after I started to drink I suddenly couldn't stop. One gulp after the other, I felt like a man in the middle of the desert who had just found an oasis. Soon, I finished my mug and also felt much better. I look up at the man in front of me with a confused face. " I knew you would want some because condensed space is able to solidify and maintain souls with no body. You also use a lot of your energy as a soul when you experience high emotion." He said, sounding increasingly wise and smug.

"Well, thank you for the drink, I don't think I asked for your name. Would you mind telling me it? I feel a little rude just calling you the God or the man." He felt the figure in front of him was a little astonished at the question.

"You know my species doesn't have names and I never thought of having one. Hmmmm I know I will think of one and you tell me if it is good." Now it was my turn to feel astonished.

"You never had a name?"

"Yes and I would like help picking a good one if don't mind."

"Well I don't mind helping you out."

"Fantastic now how about the name Antelope?" Bewildered I shook my head and said

"That isn't really a name more of an animal."

"Hmm your right that probably get confusing if I decided to talk to one, then how about the name Tarrant?" Looking at him I thought of what he said and his name thought 'eh that is good enough.' And before I could even say anything he already responded " Fantastic! From now on I shall be called Tarrant!" Getting a lot of excitement from him over finding a good name.

"Well Tarrant it is very good to meet you."

"Yes thank you I appreciate the help in getting a good name. Now let's continue on with your death and aftermath."