Some Boots and a Sparrow
Death wasn't something that Jason thought most people imagined very much. Sure, everyone thought about it to one extent or the other, and the question of what happened after death was likely the oldest there was, but most normal people didn't go much beyond that. Jason was one of those people. Thinking about death just seemed like more stress than he wanted to deal with. He couldn't stop it; couldn't even know about it until after it happened, so what was the point?
His biggest surprise upon experiencing death, was how much better he felt. He thought he could feel warmth pressing down on him, like he was basking in the sun. He wasn't lying on a hard surface either, and he realized that he could still move his body. He raised his arm and felt it brush against…was that grass? He opened his eyes, and was surprised to find…something. No whiteness or fluffy clouds, but a perfectly clear sky. He stood up, and felt the rush of wind against his skin.
A field of grass extended as far as the eye could see, and without any major hills, he could see incredibly far. In fact, the only feature that he could make out at all was an incredible range of mountains far in the distance. They were obviously tall, but Jason knew that distance could be deceiving out on the plains. Based on the bluish tint of the mountains they were likely hundreds of miles away. He looked around him and couldn't find a single hint of civilization. There wasn't even a tree in sight.
He walked a few steps forward, feeling the smooth grass against his bare feet. Even the ground felt soft and free of rocks. The wind was strong, but it didn't carry the layer of dust and debris that he expected, instead it felt cool and almost damp against his bare chest. He found that he was wearing nothing aside from a thin loincloth. Was this the afterlife? What was he supposed to do here? Wasn't he supposed to be able to look down on Mina and Yoona and make sure they were safe?
Suddenly the warm air seemed stifling, the cool breeze razor sharp. The ground felt rough and the landscape dull and colorless. He had saved Mina, he was sure of it, but he felt empty. No, not empty. Sadness? Anger? He wasn't sure, but this was wrong. If he wasn't going to lose his memories or be able to watch over them as they lived their lives then what was the point of all this? His wife and daughter were everything to him. He had no desire to be wherever they weren't no matter how ideal it must be. Something had to be wrong.
Jason screamed into the empty plains and clenched his fist in anger. No fury. No helplessness. He was a man without purpose or drive. What was the point of this beautiful scenery if he was all alone?
A sound caught him by surprise, and he quickly turned, expecting, hoping to find someone there, but he was still alone. He sank to his knees and was about to scream again, but his breath caught. In front of him were a pair of glistening boots, and on top of them sat a tiny sparrow.
They were golden, inlaid with purple gems and looked like they might have been taken from the most expensive suit of armor in the world. The sparrow, though, was even more interesting. It was tiny, small enough that he thought he might be able to fit four or five of them in his hand, and it was white as fresh snow. It even seemed to glisten lightly, further increasing the illusion. It's eyes, however, were a warm yellow and they followed him as he crept closer. He reached out his hand towards the boots, and nearly jumped when the sparrow leaped off of its perch and flew up onto his outstretched hand.
Jason was frozen in shock, but quickly recovered, moving the bird slowly towards him. The sparrow watched him intently as it grew closer and closer. Jason marveled at the bird. Its gaze was so intent as if it were trying to have a conversation through sight alone. It stared into his eyes before turning a chirping towards the boots. "You want me to take the boots?" Jason felt foolish talking to the bird like that, but there was nobody here to see and he was supposed to be dead anyway.
The sparrow turned back towards him and chirped again as it stared into his eyes, then it flew back to the boots and sat atop, eyes beckoning him closer. He approached and reached for the boots as the bird flew off again, flying circles around him before finally alighting on his shoulder. Jason looked at the bird, and it gestured with his head towards the boots. Now that had to be deliberate, Jason thought apprehensively.
He looked back up at the sea of vibrant green grass surrounding him and the picturesque mountains in the distance. They really were beautiful. They seemed to blend into the sky, and their white tops could have been mistaken for clouds if he didn't look too hard. There really was nothing out here. Did he dare ignore the bird and walk into the distance? Did it even matter? Jason had never thought about death, but he still wasn't surprised at how empty he felt. If he could just see Mina and Yoona one more time.
Jason reached for the boots and was surprised. The metal was warm. Not hot like a seatbelt on a summer day, but a comfortable warm, radiating heat. Like lying in bed on a cold winter night and feeling his wife's body against his. He would never feel that again would he? It was difficult to find the drive to do anything, but he lifted them anyway. The bird began hopping excitedly, and Jason was surprised by how heavy the boots felt. He had never touched a suit of armor, but were they really this heavy?
The bird took to the air again flying down to his feet and circling before landing on his arm again. Was this some kind of afterworld symbolic thing that he had to do? What would happen if he decided to ignore the bird and just walk away? He set the boots down and without thinking, began doing just that. The bird didn't move. It didn't flit away or start pecking at him angrily like he had assumed. It just stood there on his arm looking at him. Why did it have to be so calm, Jason thought with frustration. The bird was obviously intelligent. It's yellow eyes were pleading. If they were human eyes he would have expected tears to be running down them.
He turned back with a sigh. What could it hurt to do what the bird wanted? It wasn't like he had any idea of what to do anyway. Might as well make one of us happy, he thought, shoving the boots onto his feet. The world twisted violently beneath him, and he found himself standing in a very different location.