When I opened my eyes or was finally able to see, there was nothing but white all around me. There was absurdly nothing around me. Oh, there was. I was sitting on a chair and there was a small table in front of me. And also, there was a small cup of tea too. Is this some kind of prank? Is someone messing with me? Or am I kidnapped or abducted, since I'm an adult. There's always been a debate on whether the word "kidnap" can be used on adults. What am I even thinking? I need to get out of here.
"Slurp slurp"
"Huh?"
"Slurp Slurp Slurp"
Listening to this strange slurping noise, Satoru decided to look for the source of that sounds. It didn't take him a long time to find out, where the noise was coming from. Because the person was right in front of him. So, Satoru decided to observe the person. From her body shape and the cloths, she was wearing, Satoru could deduce that person in front of him was a female. He was holding a plate and eating what it looks like noodles. For some reason he couldn't observe her face. It's like something was obstructing his view. But that plate looks a bit familiar though.
But she was his only option to find out
about his current situation. So, he decided to speak up.
"Excuse me"
Satoru called but she ignored him and kept eating. So, he thought to speak loudly this time.
"Excuse me!!!!"
Then she finally noticed him. She looked a bit annoyed and said,
"Young man, don't you this it's rude to interrupt someone when they are eating?"
"I'm sorry"
Satoru apologized, and decided to wait for her to finish. The whole situation was quite strange.
~~~~~~~~
After sometime she finished her meal and put the plate aside. Then Satoru spoke up again,
"What's going on here? Who are you? Where are we? Why am I here?
"Youngman slow down, slow down, we have a lot of time in out hands. I'll answer all of your doubts. But first calm down."
Satoru took a deep breath to steady his mind and asked again,
"So, what's going on here?"
"First of all, you are dead and....
Before she could finish Satoru stood up and shouted .....
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat ?"
After panicking a bit Satoru quickly became calm and sat down. He let out a long sigh and said,
"Now it kinda makes sense, about the white space and stuff. So, is there where you decide whether I go to hell or not?"
She let out a small chuckle. Now that I think about it, her voice is quite soothing. No wonder I calmed down so fast.
"Oh really? Thank you for the complement"
Satoru looked bewildered.
"Can you read minds also? What I even asking, of course you can. You are a God after all if I am assuming correctly."
"Yes, you are correct on your assumption. I'll get straight to the point. You didn't die of some kind of illness or accident or was kill by someone. Technically you were. I'd like to apologize. You died because of a mistake on our end. I'm very sorry."
"Oh," Satoru looked surprised but didn't make a fuss about it.
She looked surprised or at least he thought so. Then she said,
"You are really calm for a person who was killed by mistake. I thought you would make a ruckus. Because you were doing quite well financially and living a good and happy life."
Satoru let out a small chuckle hearing this. And said,
"Living a good life? Yes. But, a happy sone? Not so much"
She looked intrigued and asked,
"Oh, really? Why is that?"
With a sight Satoru decide to speak up about his life experiences,
"As you know I was an orphan. My parents left me at the door of the orphanage, that's what the sisters told me. Growing up was like a challenge. Bigger kids would bully you, take your food. Everyday was harsh. So, I studied hard knowing it was my only way out. Thankfully I had a good memory and understanding. I did well in school and got into a good college with a scholarship. I didn't have to pay for both school and college because of mu good grades. But I had to work multiple part-time jobs to get my living expenses. After graduation, thankfully I got a job in a good company. From an outsider's perspective, that's the ideal life. I won't completely disagree with them. But my whole life was like I was chasing after an empty goal. In kindergarten during parents visit, children were answering teachers' questions and their parents were cheering. At that time, I was all alone. Nobody was in my corner, cheering for me. That was the first time I really felt that I was an orphan. I had no one. Why did they abandon me? What was that I did wrong, that was my thought. I cried alone at the toilet thinking of this. At some point I accepted reality. When I was in high school, I was the orphanage struggling with managing so many children, so I left the orphanage to lighten up some of their burden. I worked part-time, took care of my food expenses and even send some to the orphanage. That's how my college life went too. And now I'm here. Where was my childhood? People sat High School life is one of the best periods of one life. But mine was pent doing part-time. I had no friends. I had no life. I was like a worker ant, my purpose was to work, work, work."
At some point tears started to fall. Well, I guess ghosts can also cay.
"Poor child", she said with a sorry tone.
I wiped my tears. Then asked,
"So, what happens next?"
"First of all, let me introduce myself, I'm Trista, the Goddess of Reincarnation. Learning that you might have guessed. Yes, I'm going to reincarnate you."