I… I’m dead, aren’t I…

I have to be…

Then, this place must be… the afterlife?

I glanced around the room I was sitting in. Rather bland floral patterns decorated the beige and blue walls, and a half dozen chairs neatly lined up on one side of the room, all empty save the one I sat in. The only other features were a clock and a single closed door. I checked the clock for the 4th time so far: it had been about 15 minutes since I had opened my eyes and found myself here.

Whatever here even is. The afterlife? I’d be a bit disappointed if heaven looked like a suburban dentist’s office. Even more so if this was hell. I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. I suppose the dentist’s office could be a hell for some people. Not me though! I always brushed my teeth responsibly, and never failed to lie about flossing too!

Haa… it’s no use.

Before I could think about my unceremonious departure from life even more, the door clicked and swung open slightly. An older woman’s face, framed by gray hair peered through the opening, and squinted at me over her glasses.

“Mia Jones?”

“Umm.. yes, that’s me,” I said, startled.

“I apologize for the wait, please follow me.”

With this, the woman opened the door fully and gestured with a ‘follow me’ type body movement. Still pretty confused, I awkwardly got up and shuffled over to the door and followed her. As we walked through some sort of office, the woman introduced herself.

“My name is Dolores, I’m a section manager here at the Balance Management Bureau. Ah- here, take my card.”

As she walked, Dolores shoved the business card into my hand and motioned me towards an open door. Bewildered, I walked towards it, only half-aware of the other people scattered throughout the large room, going through the motions of officework, typing on computers, and talking amongst themselves.

Seeing my confusion, Dolores placed a hand on my shoulder reassuringly, “Don’t fret dear, I’ll explain once we are in my office. Come now.”

With that, we entered her office, a small, neatly organized room with a large desk with a computer. Filing cabinets and bookshelves lined the walls behind the desk, but what caught my attention were the two people at the desk. A girl, probably in her early twenties with circular glasses and auburn hair sat at the computer, and smiled at us when we came in. The other person was a guy with short brown hair, leaning against one of the cabinets, looking bored as anything.

Dolores quickly started talking, “Mia, this is Amy and Jean, they are interns in my department. They’ve only been training for a couple days, but I assume you don’t mind them being here?”

“Uh.. no, that’s fine. Wait, interns? Isn't this the afterlife?”

“Oh! Excuse me, I’ve been inconsiderate. I’ve yet to explain this place to you. We are currently in the main branch of the Balance Management Bureau. Myself, along with all my wonderful colleagues are appointed by God to manage the balance of living beings across the many worlds.”

Dolores smiled at me with endless positivity, waiting for a response.

“So this isn’t heaven or purgatory or something like that?”

Dolores gently shook or head, “No, not quite. Essentially, we are here to correct any imbalances that might occur. Think of us as… beings who keep track of karma. Your planet was the one with this word, correct?”

“Yes, I think I know… MY PLANET? And did you say appointed by God?”

At this point, Dolores had sat me in a chair facing the desk, and shut the door. “Please do not worry too much about the specifics, just know we are here to help you.”

The girl at the computer -Amy, I suppose- gave me a sympathetic smile and said, “Mia, you’re here because your life was one that did not follow the normal balance of the universe. Let me guess, you always thought you had horrible luck, yes?”

“I, uh, I suppose so…”

“Well, for those like you, who’s cosmic balance falls out of the norm, we’re here to give you a second chance! If it helps, see all this as a second try at life, a way for the universe to say: ‘Sorry for all the bad luck!’”. With this she grinned widely and gave a little thumbs up.

“Mia, please do not worry too much over this. Just know that you are getting a second chance at life. Alright?” Dolores patted my shoulder with this, and looked at me expectantly.

“No, it’s… it’s ok. I believe you guys.”

At least, I believed in my own shitty luck. That part at least seemed to fit… and I certainly remembered dying and waking here.

“Great!” Dolores clapped her hands together and turned to the interns. “Amy, please bring her information up, and the transfer form as well.”

With a few taps of the keyboard, Amy seemed to find what she wanted and started to read the information off to me. “Mia Jones, human female, age 17. Birthplace: Richmond, Virginia, United States of America, Earth. Place of death, the same?”

Amy looked up at me to ask my confirmation, and I simply nodded, not wanting to think about the implications of having ‘Earth’ listed in the locations.

“Oh wow… really unlucky! Your death is just a bunch of unfortunate decisions and events, huh.”

“How did…” I started to ask.

Amy confirmed what I had thought, “Cause of death: blunt trauma from a motor vehicle. Seems like the driver dozed off. Looks like you were the only casualty.”

“Ah no, I just wanted to confirm it.”

At this point, Dolores once again cut in, “Unfortunately, we cannot send you back to Earth.”

I stared blankly at her and said nothing.

Apologetically, Dolores quickly continued, “The system cannot work that way, I’m sorry, but we have the next best thing! There is a planet, Ethera, similar to earth that all of our humans are sent to!”

I’m pretty sure my thoughts were visible in my expression, as Dolores frantically tried to move on, “It’s truly an amazing world! Ummm, much like your fantasy novels on Earth! Magic, fantastical creatures, great heroes and dastardly villains! Elves, dwarves, dragons!! Many of our past clients like it more than their old homes!!!”

Magic, fantastical creatures… huh. As much as I tried, a bit of excitement seeped into my mind. How could it not? I wanted to know more.

“That sounds interesting, I think. How does all this work? You said something about a transfer?”

Obviously relieved that I showed interest, Dolores continued, “It’s quite simple really. We transfer you, as you are now, down to one of our many designated reception points. Once you are on site, someone will be waiting to pick you up. Your liaison will help you acclimate to your new life as much as you need it. For you Mia, I believe the city of Draughton in the Olivar Kingdom would be a good location. It’s one of our best, and quite peaceful.”

“Well, uh, I guess that’s fine,” I agreed. It didn’t really seem to matter though, I doubted I had much of a choice in the matter.

As if reading my mind, Dolores added, “Well assuming you’d like to stay human? All of our information on you suggested you would likely prefer staying human to merging with another sentient race.”

“Merging with another sentient race?”

“Well, if you were to so choose, we could transfer you into Ethera by merging you with another race. You would, essentially, become a demihuman. Half-human, half-orc, for example.”

“Can I be-”

“You cannot become half-elf. Or another one of the higher races.”

Dismayed, I leaned back in the chair. “No, human is perfectly fine, to be honest.”

Dolores continued gently, “Sorry. Most people ask about elves and dwarves and the like during this process. The higher races, especially ones like elves with small populations, are not open for transfers. It is harder to acclimate and has a higher chance to go wrong. There are other options..”

“No, human is good. And the place you said earlier, that’s probably fine too.”

Elves, huh. I was only going to ask to satisfy my own curiosity, but I probably shouldn’t get too ahead of myself. The less ways this could go wrong, the better.

Dolores nodded towards Amy, who started tapping at the keyboard. “In that case, let’s move along. Everything else you need will be provided by the liaison you meet once you arrive. Do know however, that once you are on Ethera, we can no longer help you from here. It is up to you to live your life to the fullest.”

I nodded, and took a few deep breaths. I hadn’t realized it until now, but I was exhausted. It’s decided! First thing to do with my new life: sleep. Sounds perfect!

“Alrighty! Everything is good to go! Mia Jones, I wish you good luck.” Dolores smiled and nodded slightly. Amy hit a key and a bright light started to glow from under the chair I was sitting in.

Tired and done worrying about anything, I closed my eyes. A few seconds later, I drifted into sleep.

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“Good work Amy, another transfer complete! For the next one, Jean, you switch in.” Dolores energetically waved her hands to hurry the two interns along; she enjoyed her job more than anything.

Amy got up as Jean slid into the seat in front of the computer, and let out a sigh. Squinting, he scrolled through the list that was still up on the screen.

“Hey, Amy, where did you send that human again?”

Amy, who was halfway around the desk, stopped and gave him a confused look. “Draughton, right?”

“Uhhh.. I think you clicked the wrong one.”

Amy and Dolores hurried to look where Jean was pointing on the screen.

Highlighted from a list of location names, just below Draughton read:

Draughton(A): Dragon’s Den

Dolores let out a exasperated ‘Oh dear’ and a high-pitched squeak escaped Amy’s lips.

Jean simply scratched his head and muttered, “Unlucky.”