Chapter 1: Will I Ever Be Free

Everyone has their moments of wanting to be alone and shutting everything out. I for one am one of those people but for a different reason.

I like to spend my time on car drives, wherever the road takes me. I tend to think about my life and what chapter I want to write next. However, this one was different... it was different in such that I recently broke up with my girlfriend.

"What did I do wrong? Why did she do that? Was I not a good enough boyfriend to her? How long has she been doing these things behind my back?"

These questions, constantly burst into my head over and over to the point that I have forgotten I was driving. At that moment, it was too late for me to realize I was speeding and crossed a busy intersection.

As I was tossed in multiple directions there was a moment of silence yet subtleness of noise. It was as if an orchestra began playing silently after a crescendo of sounds.

The last thing I saw were people's gazes...

The last thing I heard was people's screams...

The last thing I felt... I couldn't feel...

The view before me is slowly turning dark. These important loving memories start coming into my head. My parents who loved me, mistakingly killed because the murderer thought they were someone else. My sister who I loved dearly, passed away at the age of 19 from cancer. The youngest of us all my baby sister who is still in middle school.

My beloved baby sister who we all cared for dearly is going to be alone...

Everything is dark, I hear nothing nor feel anything. It's quiet but a glimmer of light is piercing through this darkness I'm enveloped in.

I put my hand out to this light and in shock and pain, I open my eyes abruptly. The air is burning my eyes and the smell is terrible. I slowly get up and look at my surroundings but all I can see are gravestones of different shapes.

"Am I... dead?", I ask myself.

As I look around I spot a ruined temple in the distance. I stagger my way to this place while holding my abdomen.

*Cough*

This pain that I'm feeling must be from the car accident but why am I still feeling pain if I'm dead.

Getting closer to this ruined temple I faintly hear a voice coming from within. I can't make out what it's saying but its voice sounds like a woman's. I muster forward finally making it to the bottom of the steps of this ruined temple and look up at the engraved glowing words. I'm not sure what it says but I know one thing, it's a foreign language I have never seen before.

"What are you so mesmerized about? Come in I want to have a chat with you."

Frightened, I immediately stare at the hollow and dark entrance with pillars aligned on both sides. I don't know who this person is and why she wants to talk with me. Is she perhaps one of those deathly beings that guide you to the afterlife?

I decided to venture into the temple to find answers but the pain from the accident is beginning to hurt more. As I stagger my way into the temple, I am greeted by a person sitting on a throne made of bones. She smiles with a grin, staring down at my injured self. Gazing up at her eyes, it is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Crimson red eyes with long white hair and a slim waist.

I am awed by her beauty and for a moment I forgot the reason why I came in here.

"Hello there Talaghan. I've been waiting for you since your accident."

How did she know I was in an accident? I never once said a word nor seen anyone since the time I've been here.

"Who are you and how do you know me?"

She stands up from her chair and begins to walk toward me. I slowly back away from her but she instantly moves in front of me. Startled, I trip and fall to the ground, now staring up at her.

*Chuckles*

"What are you so scared for? I'm not going to hurt you since you're already dead. My name is Eshtaed and I am death itself."

Saying with a grin she slowly lowers herself to my level and looks into my eyes. It feels like she's looking deep into my heart, my soul, and I can't move away from her.

I muster the strength to move her away from me, but as I try to she grabs both my wrists and pulls me in closer to her face. It's close enough to where I can smell a floral scent coming from her.

"W-w-what are you doing to me?!"

Blushing, I gaze into her eyes and what happened next made me feel sick. Images and short "clips" of what happened after the accident were appearing in my head. There were so many injured, some severe and some minor. Blood was spilled everywhere from the elderly to the young.

"STOP!"

Hearing me scream at the top of my lungs Eshtaed immediately stopped showing the images.

"What's wrong, this is the result of my magnificent work to bring you over to this side."

Still feeling nauseous from the things she showed me, I couldn't hold it back anymore and vomited.

"W-what do you mean by the result of your work to bring me over here?"

*Laughs*

"It's exactly as how it sounds like. I made the accident happen, I made the other drivers crash into you while you weren't paying attention."

Infuriated I look her in the eyes with tears. I still have a sister waiting for me to come back home yet she finds amusement in creating my death. Eshtaed stands up, towering over me again, and just smiles.

Making her way back to her throne she sits with one leg crossing over the other and resting her hand on her chin.

"I know you're angry with me but I have two choices for you if you want to live again. Reincarnate back to your world with a slight change or begin a new life in another world. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

It would be great to go to another world if I had no one else waiting for me back home. But I still have my youngest sister with no one to support or care for her. I don't care if there's a change or whatever is in this "new" world, I want to go back for my sister.

"I want to go back to my world!"

I screamed at the top of my lungs with anger and tears flowing from my eyes.