Today is the day I died. It’s not what I expected to happen but here I am, floating in endless darkness. As I reflect on my life I can’t help but feel as if I wasted it. I didn’t accomplish much, I wasn’t handsome, smart, or popular. I was just average. The last thing I remember is being pulled over by a cop. He asked for my license then when I reached I heard a loud bang. I always heard of people like me being treated differently by the police. I just never thought it would be me.

"Sir do you know why I pulled you over today?"

"I'm not sure officer. Was I speeding or something?"

"Don't be a smart ass. You know what you were doing. Your kind is always trying to play dumb."

"...My kind?..."

"License and registrations. Let's go."

*Kinkaru extends his arm to his glove compartment in compliance with the officers orders.*

"He's got a gun!"

*POP* *POP* *POP*

"Unit 303 there has been shots fired. Suspect Is down. Send backup."

Kinkarus vision begins to fade. All he can hear is the faint thumping of his heart beat as it begins to slow. He could feel the warmth of his blood as his life drained away. AHis heart stopped thumping and all he had was the darkness for what seemed like an eternity. A light shines in the distance as Kinkaru loses himself in self-pity. He decides swimming in the sea of blackness towards the only light source is the best move to make. As he swims the finality of death swells up within him. This must be the light at the end of the tunnel. This must be “moving on”. Suddenly Kinkaru fears not death but the possibility of judgment and who knows where that could lead.

The light engulfs him blinding him for a second. When his vision regains he is in what appears to be a library. “This isn’t what I expected,” he says as he scans the room. There are no angels, no demons. There aren't any Viking warriors or any other religious finality that he was familiar with. All he saw was the silhouette of a man. The scary thing was the room was brightly lit, yet the man was a mass of blackness. A black figure sits behind a desk looking at a book. The figure has no defining features and appears to be a black mass. Kinkaru wonders to himself if the creature is even solid. He thinks this thing maybe a ghost or something far worse.

“Hello Kinkaru, I have been expecting you. I am what you’re kind may refer to as a god of death. I am in charge of the books of life. I can see every mortal’s life and death in these pages. Welcome to the afterlife. I am sure you have many questions, speak to them now.”

Kinkaru knew he was dead but hearing it so casually really bothered him. He felt no fear because the mass in front of him radiated pure neutrality. It was apparent that the being meant him no harm. “Am I to be judged and sent to heaven or hell?”

“There is no heaven or hell. Just life and death. However, death may not always be permanent. There are many ways to return but in most cases never to your original world.” The figure’s body begins to swirl and expand while speaking

Kinkaru pauses reflecting on his circumstances. Then he asks “what will happen to me now then.” As he speaks there’s a gust of wind that lifts him off his feet. He begins being pulled towards the creature. Kinkaru is set on the table in front of him. In comparison, Kinkaru isn’t even as big as the book in front of the creature. The shadow hovered its finger over the pages of the massive book. He seemed to scan through the pages and as he did so they begin to glow letting out a ominous hum. The shadows face seemed to peer as if it were trapped in deep thought. It then shifted its empty gaze at Kinkaru before speaking.

“Your story says you shall be sent to another world. As a reward for a deed, you did as a kid. When you reached out to a suicidal friend and saved his life you were granted a redo. Normally you would need better karma to be revived as a human again, however, the life you saved had become a practitioner of medicine. As a result, you have saved many lives. When you saved his life you set in motion a series of events that lead to the saving of many other lives. Had you chosen to ignore the pleas from your friend many of these lives would have been forfeited.”

Kinkaru is shocked to hear this from the creature. He long forgot about his friend who was suicidal. When he was 14 a kid who he played with was bullied all the time for his sexual preference. Kinkaru befriended him and would actively discourage the Boy from self-harm. Then suddenly he remembered the boy was sent away by his parents. He smiles, maybe his life wasn’t so mediocre at all.

“The world you’re going to is much different. There will be magic and all manners of creatures you are unfamiliar with. As such you will be reborn as a baby and you must learn to adapt. As a bonus for the good deeds you brought on, I will make you extraordinary. I would also like to inform you that you can only live in a world once. That means you cannot be reincarnated to the same world ever again. ”

“Please don’t, I would like to be like everyone else. I only ask that I keep my memories” he says in an almost begging manner.

“Farwell Kinkaru. Make this life count” as the creature speaks Kinkaru is surrounded in darkness again. Kinkaru couldn't help but notice that death did not answer his plea or even really acknowledge it.

This time the light is pulling him further and further out. Suddenly he feels as if there is great pressure on his body and he’s forcibly pushed by this invisible pressure. Kinkaru sees a room filled with light. A man who is in torn clothing is extending his hands as Kinkaru drops into them. Kinkaru began to finally understand what was happening. He was being born and now everything made sense. This moment showed him that maybe having his intelligence so early was not a good thing. Being born is a traumatic experience, even more so when it is in a foreign land and the people speak a language you do not understand. Kinkaru could feel the body fluid and fecal matter on his body. He was utterly disgusted but there was nothing he could do about it.