Chapter 2: Afterlife

The tears poured like waterfalls onto the blanketed body of her son as she sobbed uncontrollably. Tomoya observed the scene, paralyzed by the unbelievable situation.

"It's a dream, right?" Tomoya asked himself before closing his eyes, hoping to wake up from nightmare. He, however, continued to hear the weeping of his mother and still saw the loss in front of him.

The petrified boy stared at his motionless self in his bed with a mix of confusion and fear in his eyes, clueless as to what to do next as he watched the woman continue to sob over her son's motionless body. She kept asking why the inevitable had to occur so soon.

Tomoya ambled toward his mother with a saddened expression on his face and moved to hesitantly place his hand on her shoulder, but it immediately passed through without any sort of resistance.

Tomoya's eyes widened at the ghostly event that he witnessed. He recalled his previous interactions with the objects around him and felt intense confusion.

"Mom…" Tomoya quietly called to her, but he received no response, and could only hear her whimpers.

Tomoya approached his own body and attempted to place his hand on his physical component's forehead, which resulted in a highly unusual feeling as Tomoya's hand came closer to "his" forehead. Tomoya couldn't believe that he was reaching out to his own self.

The now-invisible boy moved to sit on the bed and repeatedly glanced between his cadaver and his mother, who kept releasing streams of tears onto the blanket, leaving many damp spots on the fabric.

Five minutes passed, and vehicle sirens could be heard approaching.

Almost immediately after they became as loud as they could have, several personnel rushed into the bedroom, where they had to pull away the grieving mother. One of the men placed two fingers on the body's neck before looking to his coworkers and slowly shaking his head.

All the while, Tomoya watched the event with disbelief as the men carried the body away, presumably into the ambulance.

At last, tears began rolling down Tomoya's face as he witnessed the sorrow of her mother.

"Mom, I'm still here…" Tomoya said as he continued to observe his distressed mother.

Part of Tomoya strongly believed that he could make himself heard by his mother, explaining his persistent attempts to communicate with her.

His mother continued to shed her tears, still completely unaware of Tomoya's spiritual presence. Again, Tomoya attempted physical contact by placing his hand over his mother's, but his hand completely phased through.

Tomoya, acknowledging that there was nothing he could do, began to depart from the bedroom. He forced himself away from the sound of a mother weeping and slowly descended down the stairs.

Tomoya couldn't ignore the incredibly strange feeling that stemmed from now being deceased, yet still existent. The relationship between him and everyone else dawned on Tomoya when he noticed a yen coin on the kitchen counter.

The newly-freed spirit, released too soon from his body, exited his abode and proceeded down the few stairs in front of his home. He sat down upon one of the steps and silently observed the road in front of him with vehicles occasionally passing.

Tomoya closed his eyes and repeatedly claimed that what he was experiencing was simply a nightmare while ordering himself to awake, but he remained there.

His eyes opened to let him stare at the road in front of him. For some time, he did not move and only kept his gaze on the road, not paying attention to anything else. The world continued as if he were still alive.

Tomoya finally lifted himself and stood on his feet. Although his ghostly existence was quite similar to his live one during summer break; no responsibilities, free from the world, Tomoya felt as if his new state of being was completely different.

It was easy for him to enjoy himself and his surroundings while alive, but it had become unexplainably difficult for him to find joy in the sky, trees, and buildings.

The spirit began journeying on the same road he had walked upon during his previous walk, this time in the opposite direction. The sky had suddenly become overcast without a single opening to the blue above.

A light drizzle began to develop, which quickly escalated into rain, forming a light fog and turning the neighborhood into a palette of shades of gray and light forest green as Tomoya continued walking silently uphill through the white noise of the countless rain droplets, the rain passing through the teenage spirit.

Along the way, the angle of the road became zero, allowing several puddles of rainwater to form. Noticing a rather large pool, Tomoya knelt down to stare at his reflection, but could not see anything. Tomoya then looked at his own self with only his vision; a white, short-sleeved button-up shirt, and a pair of black dress pants. Thinking that his clothes should've fallen through him like any other object, he wondered what they truly were.

Tomoya stood back up and continued on the same path without a destination through the pouring rain. The road developed an incline and quickly carried rainwater down it, forming small streams.

"What now…? What do I do?" He questioned. "I guess it's nice to have an afterlife, but… I don't know, shouldn't there be heaven?"

Tomoya looked up to the solid layer of gray clouds dispensing tiny particles of water unto the earth.

"And, perhaps a hell? Maybe… maybe that's how it is?"

Tomoya looked down at his hand and pondered the reason for his current state of existence. He sorted through his mind and searched his memory for any information on life after death.

"Am I between earth and heaven? Where is that, then?"

He continued to sift his mind while walking through the rainy neighborhood. One word finally stuck out to Tomoya.

"Limbo." Tomoya stopped in his tracks.

"Limbo, right? Right? But why?" Tomoya held his hand out to collect the rain into his palm, which remained completely dry and free of any droplets.

"Better yet, why now? At only fifteen? Not seventy or something? It had to happen now? And how did it even happen?" Tomoya felt a great sense of bitterness with being forced to leave early.

Tomoya looked up at nearby house to his right and could make out a teenage-looking individual behind a rainy window, who appeared to be busy, presumably with studies.

"But I didn't get to stay… and finish what I wanted."

Tomoya continued staring at the young student while feeling mild envy for their continued life.

"Between heaven and hell…" Tomoya said, explaining the concept of Limbo.

Tomoya sat himself down on the side of the road. He was left thinking about the deeds he committed during his life, wondering where he may have gone wrong.

"So, was I not good enough?" He asked. "Not good enough to go to heaven? That is if it exists."

Feeling confused and lost, Tomoya wondered even further about the reason for his continued presence in the world.

"Maybe I *am* supposed to be in heaven or something, but was I left behind?" Tomoya kept asking questions without any obvious answers.

A young couple ran past Tomoya, laughing happily with each other under the protection of their umbrellas.

Following them with his eyes, Tomoya found himself looking at two young men sitting in outdoor chairs under an awning while conversing.

One of them had black hair that reached his forehead, and the other wore a plain blue baseball cap. The both of them began laughing, likely at some sort of joke between them or an entertaining story.

As the couple kept running alongside each other and the two friends enjoyed the rain, a car drove by at a gentle speed, leaving behind a trail of mist. Tomoya turned his head to keep his eyes on the passing vehicle that was being controlled by a seemingly 30 year-old man in a black suit.

"Lucky." Tomoya felt greatly upset with his sudden loss of opportunities while observing the individuals around him who continued with their being. They were free to accept the new events and experiences that could come their way.

"That's not fair at all! Not at all!" Tomoya shouted. "I had… well, who knows, ahead of me?! Did someone decide that now would be the time? And did they decide this is what would happen to me in the afterlife? To just be left here?" Tomoya hung his head low, still seated in the middle of the rain.

"I surely could've breezed through senior high school. Surely. My marks were excellent, as best as possible. Better than the rest!" Tomoya bragged. He turned his head to look up at the sky, blanketed by gray clouds.

"Well… at least I have no responsibilities anymore." Tomoya tried to look on the bright side. As if in response to this statement, a school bus full of excited students drove by to remind the spirit of what he could no longer be involved in. Tomoya sighed.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically with regards to the bus.

Tomoya rose from the curb and proceeded up the wet asphalt road. In an attempt to shield himself from the upset feelings from observing the still-alive students, Tomoya mildly felt as if he was sharper than them.

The light fog formed by countless rain droplets in the distance continued to hover. The small houses appeared silent, sitting still and protecting their inhabitants from becoming drenched. The leaves of tropical green-color plants gently shook up and down from being impacted by armies of droplets.

"Where to, then? Where the hell do I go?" Tomoya thought to himself while wandering up the road. Tomoya thought hard and attempted to explore each corner of his mind.

The neighborhood stood empty. There wasn't a single person in sight outside. There were not even any animals to be seen. The world became silent, save for the white noise of the rain. In each direction, there was no one. Tomoya remained in solitude during his pensive walk.

"Maybe that's it." Tomoya slowly lifted his head up to the sky.

Tomoya began walking through the neighborhood, moving by the arrays of houses with a clear destination. Passing by familiar scenes in his area, the spirit strolled down the glossy road layered with water. Within three or so minutes, the young specter found himself at the exit of the neighborhood, from where he set off.