CHAPTER 1

"Welcome Sir, please wait here for some minute, I'll be back, but before that may I know your details", said the receptionist at the lobby. "My name is Erick, 21 years old next month", said a guy with pale lips and red eyes. "Ok, Sir would you mind telling me how long it has been since you have passed away?", questioned the receptionist. "I don't quite remember but the last I remember is that it was very dark and lonely", answered the soul of the boy.

There are stories about how souls disappear when we pass away but that is not where the stories end. Death is just a neglected realm which can never be explored but people like to imagine death to be the end of all our suffering. Erik is left in the lobby while the receptionist has gone to bring the owner of the hotel. Erik was a wonderful soul born to shine but his luster faded away and before he could bloom, he wilted away.

An old lady on her late 80's walked down the stairs with a smile on her face. "You arrived earlier than your time. What went wrong? My dear, if only you had persisted", said the old lady. The boy before her looked at her without any emotions but he had a violet aura around him. "Follow me", said the old lady. The boy followed her, and they walked through a long hallway and entered into a room. They sat opposite to one another, and the lady placed a pot and a bowl in front of the boy. "Pour it yourself", said the lady. "I can't see anything, what to pour?", inquired the boy. "Your time on earth has not finished yet and also the grudges you bear. If I let you go then you will have to dwell on earth for a long time and you may turn in a vengeful one but since you were a kind person, I will let you work here but I will erase you from the memory of the people you loved", said the old lady. She then held the hand of the boy and kissed his forehead. The boy's pale eyes suddenly shined and the first uttered from his mouth was, "Boss, what is my job profile here?"

Hotel "WELCOME" is situated in the heart of a hustling and bustling city we all know as "NEW YORK". During the day it only receives "humans" as guests but late at night it only caters to the "special" clients. The employees here are not many, but they are collected souls by the boss of the hotel. Before they walk into this hotel, they are just souls but once the boss places a kiss on their forehead their memories are erased and they themselves think that they are still alive. The receptionist who welcomes everyone is a special case who entered into the hotel before his body could break down. There are two types of souls that work here. One is souls that enter before their body breaks down and the other are souls that have passed in an unfortunate way. The souls that have passed away in a natural way are taken to the heaven from the place of their demise, but the bowl of soup is served to them by the boss of the hotel on the bridge of the afterlife. She is one of the gods who look after the souls so she has taken it upon her to make sure everyone crosses the bridge but for those who cannot she erases their memories so that they can forget about their grievances and once their aura cleanses from a dark color to light she sees them off. This process takes a very long time, but it is not always the case. If their vengeance is greater than they can recover their memories and turn into an evil one. Evil souls like these are bound on earth for years without salvation. The goddess aka the boss is very merciful, so she tries her best to heal these souls and sends them off.

Erik had a strong vengeance, so he had a dark violet color aura. Even after the goddess help his memory was only temporarily removed. "21 years old with such strong hatred", thought the goddess.