Check Why Lived #1 if you are new to the story.

Chapter II – Life

Life is convenient in heaven, at least, much easier than it was on Earth. There is no need for me to eat, drink, take a shower, go to a toilet, and even sleep.

The only flower allowed to grow here is Lycoris Radiata, of which the scarlet color astonished me at first. Day cycles slowly, though, I didn’t find anyone I could recognize here in the early days. There are Lycoris fields distributed like chessboard, and what in the very center is the Observatory, a gigantic tree-like tower where I can stay for an entire day, the only ports between two worlds.

I can watch everything happened on Earth, though I can’t physically affect it. Even if it’s kind of playing Minecraft in spectator mode, many people stayed here for more than a decade, even centuries. Here I can review and witness my life and other lives regardless of my death. Anyways, my life in heaven really begins here in an insignificant branch of the Observatory. Aside from observing, there are literally nothing fun to do.

Sun rose in quietude when I came back to my little room. My mom was already preparing my breakfast and I could hear the sizzling oil in the pan. The window was open and an ambulance arrived, making noisy alarm sound echoing between apartments.

Nobody acknowledged my death yet, and it was an ordinary morning up until then.

My mom was a diligent woman, a go-getter. She persisted on running in the field for a few dozen rounds every weekend, and it’s a pity that she was forced to stop by a tumor growing in one of her bosoms. The cancer was cured, though, her immune system was nearly destroyed by treatments, which made her chubby and weaker.

Despite all of these, she still managed to be optimistic and take care of her only kid. She rarely cried, and the last time she cried, well, I remembered that it was after she knew that I had got depression and tended to cut myself. I felt miserable each time when I reviewed these things in mind.

I heard the step sounds of my mom going upstairs. At the moment she knew nothing about what she would realize very soon. It was heartbreaking, though I was an invisible beholder standing in heaven. When I saw she twisting the door handle, I cut off the connection, like a little boy watching horror movies, and stepped out of the Observatory with no turning back.

It was night outside the tower. Scarlet flowers were glowing red like tiny lanterns. I lay on meadow and saw a couple of meteors traveling out there. Wind was whispering. I could see the Observatory settled everlastingly all the way up to the firmament, like a sort of ancient tomb stone.

“You look weird, don’t you?” It’s Ann, looking down at me sardonically. She was still covered in pure black outfit, which made her look elegant more or less.

“Nothing, I am just breathing some fresh air here.” I answered sneakily, thinking that the girl was, well, such a weird guy, and she would look better in a purple suit.

“You can’t lie me, and I like to wear black coat, by the way.” Ann spoke like a robot, I literally couldn’t get any emotions in her voice.

“Your daisy is turning red.” Ann suddenly noticed.” It means that your body on Earth he’s either burning to ash, or getting rotted, so you absolutely lost your chances to go back, I mean, by something medical.” I nodded with a sigh. It’s ok-ish though. I like the life in heaven, after all.

“Do you want to join me?” Ann sat down, gazing at somewhere. “Join the guide team of heaven.” She asked quietly. “Life is somehow boring here, right?”

I looked at Ann’s collar and found her daisy was grey. I was increasingly curious about this girl, though I eventually said nothing and gazed at her side until she vanished like a ghost. Who knows? Maybe I would join her in the future.

I was determined to go back to the Observatory the next morning. I wanted to witness everything however delightful or miserable, though I was afraid to see if there were anything bad happened.

To be continued…

Author’s Comment

Although nobody alive know what exactly the heaven looks like, I have my own imagination about the heaven.

Lycoris, as mentioned, is a kind of red flower which is commonly to symbolize death, also known as “Flower of the other side”. In my own version of heaven, the flower is ubiquitous.

Anyways, the next chapter will be certainly longer, depicting what is going on in the observation of Sora.