Second Chances

Arya felt as if something had split her head in two. She tried opening her eyes, but the lights of the room were too bright.

"Dammit!" Arya cursed in a low voice.

"Ms. Ling, it seems you are awake!" A male voice which Arya assumed was the doctor said.

"Doctor, good thing you are here! Can you lower the intensity of the lights? It's really burning my eyes!"

"Hahaha. Sorry, but that is not possible, also I'm no doctor."

"Oh… are you the nurse or the police officer in charge of my case?"

"Neither. Ms. Ling, I recommend you opening your eyes. To see where you are."

Arya felt the softness of the bed she was in. It was the most comfortable bed she had ever been to. She did not want to stand up, especially after almost being killed by a truck. She does not remember how she got to the hospital, but if she is still holding a conversation with someone it must mean that she is still alive.

"I knew the heavens wouldn't be so cruel to kill someone like me!" Arya thought.

"Ms. Ling, I seriously recommend you opening your eyes."

"Ugh… fine!" Arya then rose from the bed and slowly opened her eyes, trying to adapt them to the lights in the room.

"Where the hell am I! This is no hospital!" Arya panicked as she realized she was alone in a completely white space, her bed also white as her clothes. It seemed as if someone had sucked her into a white void.

"Ms. Ling, it seems that you finally opened your eyes." The voice came from somewhere in the void, but Arya could see anyone.

"Who… who… are you? Where am I?"

"You are Arya Ling, and you are dead."

Arya's face went pale. Did the voice just say she was dead?

"No… No way! I can't be dead! This must be a dream! I may just be too sedated because of the accident! This must be a very lucid dream. Yeah, just that..." Arya had fallen from the bed, crawling through the endless white floor while panicking.

"Ms. Ling, please look at the screen in front of you. I think this is enough proof that you are dead."

Arya raised her head, at the semi-transparent futuristic screen that flashed in front of her. There was a white Porsche that Arya recognized as her car in the video. The video then played by itself. Arya saw how the truck came and rammed through her car as if it was made of paper. Her car then turned around many times before a light post fell and finished smashing the top of her car, exactly in the driver's seat. Killing her instantly. The video then showed a close-up of how she ended up looking after the accident.

Arya's face was unrecognizable. There was so much blood. It seemed as if she had suffered a rib fracture since her chest looked uneven. Her eyes opened and lifeless, and her half-smashed skull rested in the steering wheel. If you removed the blood, it may still look as if she was alive. There were so many things that should not be outside of her, that were outside all sprawled in the car and the street as the video kept that last image.

"No! I look too ugly! Turn it off! I don't want to see more!" Arya shouted hysterically as she covered her eyes and cried.

"Ms. Ling, don't be so sad, there is still hope for you."

"Hope? I'm already fucking dead! Just in case you didn't receive the memo!" she continued crying.

Just then a man appeared in front of her. He was dressed in all black and had black wavy hair and piercing grey eyes. His skin was as pale as snow. Arya raised her head and saw that man was approaching her. She somehow felt as if she had met him before, but right now she could not remember where.

"So, you are my grim reaper and the voice that was torturing me a few minutes ago. Are you here to take my spirit?"

"That's not my job, also the voice you heard is not mine. I'm just here in case you accept the offer."

"Offer? What offer? This isn't a trip where I can choose what hotel I want to stay in! I'm dead. I can only go to heaven or hell!"

"You are going to hell," the man said crudely.

"What? But… I donate so much each year. I took part in every charity event. Reporters on Earth called me an angel descended from heaven! Why am I going to hell?"

"Easy, you did nothing for others. It was always for you. You are the most egotistical person we have ever had. I don't even know why you are going to be offered a second chance." The man was clearly annoyed.

"Second chance?"

Just then the voice appeared again. "It seems that my assistant had just arrived. Ms. Ling, please meet, the grim reaper of division 436. He will be the one in charge of your case if you accept our offer."

Arya wiped her tears. The man next to her was a grim reaper, was he the one who took her soul?

"What offer?"

"As my assistant had told you, you were offered a second chance. You will go back to Earth, and you must mend all those egotistical decisions you have made. Each time you correct one of them, you will get a petal. Gather a thousand of them, and you may choose to continue living on Earth, or you may ascend to heaven."

"That's all I need to do? Mend my mistakes and I can be alive again or go to heaven?"

"Do you accept?"

"Yes! Obviously, yes!"

"Perfect then, you only have till your twenty-first birthday to fulfill the goal. If you fail, you will go directly to hell."

"Wait… twenty-first? But I'm twenty-two already!" Before Arya could finish talking, the light blinded her sight again.