Chapter 2 - My funeral day

The day of the funeral had arrived. My family, close friends, neighbors, and co-workers attended the funeral hall with sadness. My spirit had separated from my own body, only able to stare at the events happening around me with heavy eyes. My mother looked fragile, her tears breaking out in sobs, and my father, with a strong face but teary eyes, tried to calm my mother down by gently stroking her back. I longed to talk to them, to comfort them, but my words were inaudible and unreachable to their ears because I had become a supernatural being.

My body was placed in a coffin, dressed in a neat black suit, and sprinkled with fragrant flowers. The priest who led the funeral ceremony began to pray for me, and the whole audience prayed for me as well. For some reason, I felt cool and calm when they started praying, as if their prayers were being directly answered by the God and had a direct impact on me. I was happy that there were people who cared about me. All this time I had misunderstood, I thought that my family and those closest to me were ignoring me, their crying showed that they didn't want me to leave this world.

After the funeral ceremony was over, people carried my coffin into the hearse. And then the hearse moved to the nearest cemetery, followed by a group of vehicles of my family and relatives.

As I sat on the hearse, I couldn't move away from my own body, because there was some sort of chain on my chest that was connected to my corpse, and it held me back when I tried to leave. Apparently, this chain holding me back won't come off before my body is properly buried. Or perhaps, the grim reaper will release it, but I haven't seen any angel coming to see me since yesterday.

....

Once at the cemetery, people carried my coffin into the ground that had been dug by the cemetery officials. All my relatives witnessed the process of putting my coffin into the deep grave. Some cemetery officials entered the grave and placed my heavy coffin slowly. My relatives began to shed their tears when my coffin was put into the grave, especially my mother, she cried loudly as if she was not willing for me to leave this world.

I could only watch as my mother fell into a bottomless pit of sorrow. I felt sad to see my mother, who gave birth to me into this world, having to usher my departure from this world with loud cries. I felt like crying because I couldn't bear to see my mother, but I couldn't shed any tears, perhaps because I had become a spirit.

If I cannot cry, then I come to my mother and embrace her even though my spirit form cannot physically touch her. And then, in a soft voice, I say, "I am here, mom. I'm glad you cried over my departure. I'm glad you took good care of me and trying to let me go, even though it was very hard for you. Please don't drown in sadness."

My voice could not be heard by my mother, she kept crying. However, a moment later my mother gasped, as if she sensed something. With her mouth open, she spoke in a low tone, "Lisa, is that you? Are you here, dear?"

I was surprised, who would have thought that my mother could realize my existence even though she couldn't see my figure directly with both eyes. My mother turned her head around to look for my whereabouts, she kept shouting my name repeatedly while crying bitterly.

"I'm here, mom."

"Lisa? Lisa!!!? You're there, right? You can hear and see me, right? I love you, Lisa! Please, don't leave me!"

My mother cried out loudly as she said it, her tears like a waterfall, pouring down her eyes like a torrent. My other relatives thought my mother was having hallucinations or was in deep shock over the loss of her daughter, due to her old age. So, they took my mother away from the cemetery even though the burial of my coffin was not yet complete. She seemed to resist being taken away and kept shouting my name.

I could only smile as my mother was led away by people. I waved my hand, then said, "Goodbye, mom. Lisa will always love you and will never forget you. I'm sorry that I've been too busy working lately and haven't had time to spend with you, mom."

....

After the funeral ceremony was over, people left the location where I was buried, while I was still near my own grave, as the chain on my chest was still connected to my dead body. I sat pensively on the tombstone of someone else's grave, looking up at the bright blue sky. Moments later, the clear sky suddenly developed a wide crack and a terrible noise was heard. I was shocked when the sky cracked, but somehow I didn't feel scared.

"What made the sky crack?"

I looked up and kept watching the cracked sky. The cracks were getting wider as time went on, and so I realized that there was something inside the cracks. In the crack, there was an enormous red-colored eye. It was glaring at me and looked terrifying. However, I didn't feel the slightest fear, I didn't get goosebumps, instead I felt amazed by what I was seeing.

Before long, a pair of enormous hands emerged from within the cracks and tore through the sky, and that huge red-eyed figure also came out from within the cracks. The figure that came out of the crack was a little strange, it didn't have a body, but only eyeballs, then it had six white wings that spanned the sky, and also a pair of huge hands.

"Ah, this is the true form of an angel of death, it looks like a monster, doesn't have a scythe, and it's completely different from the angels that people illustrate. However, even though its form is not that of a winged human and seems terrifying, this angel emits a light that feels very... holy."

The death angel's large hand descended slowly towards me, as if asking me to climb onto the palm of the death angel's hand. Without hesitation, I lifted my right foot and placed it on that large palm. I paused for a moment to stare at the grim reaper's red eyes that continued to glare at me, and I felt that the angel wasn't looking down on me or anything like that, I felt that the winged creature in the sky respected me even as it glared intimidatingly at me.

I moved and climbed all the way up into the angel's palm. I was surprised to see all sorts of beautiful flowers growing in the death angel's palm. The scent of those flowers also smelled very good, like the scent of the most expensive perfume in the world, but even better. I felt that this angel was trying to welcome me warmly, or perhaps trying to be friendly towards me, but why? Why was this enormous death angel so kind to me? Even though I wasn't a holy woman or anything like that.

The death angel's hand lifted upwards, carrying me up into the vast sky, I tried to glance down and found a beautiful view of the world. The chains on my chest that were connected to my dead body had been shattered by the feathers of the angel's six wings that fell as it flapped, thus allowing myself to separate from my dead body forever.

The death angel led me into a large crack in the sky. When I entered the crack, the atmosphere instantly became calm, then all around me were millions of bright and beautiful twinkling lights, and then there were violent waves of water, like being in outer space and at the same time being on the sea. However, I believed that this was neither in outer space nor on the sea, but in a different layer of the sky; the first of the seven skies.

My religion says that the spirits of the dead will be taken to the seventh heaven, where the afterlife is located and spirits are judged. Now I knew where this death angel was taking me. I sighed and sat in the palm of the angel's hand that was covered in a carpet of blooming flowers, while looking at the scenery of the various layers of the sky that was truly beautiful, its beauty could not be carved by words, it was too beautiful to describe. I was completely stunned.

"Am I going to hell? Or to heaven? I don't know. I don't even remember myself doing any good or evil. The memory that is deeply imprinted on my mind even after becoming a spirit is work, work, work, work, work, and work. Even though I worked a lot, I didn't become a rich woman, instead I had a heart attack. Truly, I am a dumbass hard worker."

....

In the end, I entered the seventh layer of the sky with death angel, this place was so bright and there was a vast expanse of golden clouds, then I saw a palace that was truly massive in size, myself and this death angel were like bacteria compared to the palace because of its unusual size.

"Gosh, what a huge, luxurious palace! Is that heaven? Or is it the palace where God is?" I was stunned and asked myself.

The angel of death who took me to the seventh heaven didn't respond when I said so, it continued to flap its six wings and fly above the vast golden clouds. I wasn't really expecting an answer about the palace, so I wasn't disappointed when the death angel remained silent, after all, this angel never spoke throughout its journey across the layers of skies, probably because this one didn't have a mouth.

I stood up and walked cautiously toward the tip of the death angel's palm, then I peered down, wanting to see the golden cloud that looked like a desert. My eyes found a very long line of people heading toward a large wall that had two gates, each guarded by two black and white figures.

"Humans? Or rather the spirits of humans. It seems they are all just like me, having died and been taken to the seventh heaven," I turned my head towards the two black and white figures, "then who are those two figures? Are they angels? They both seem to be wearing black and white armor, their faces are not visible because they are covered by steel helmets, large like giants, and then have a pair of wings."

After saying that, I sat on the tip of the death angel's index finger as I wiggled my feet slowly, still watching the long rows below. For some reason, I felt like those rows of people were getting clearer and clearer. I realized that the death angel carrying me was lowering his altitude.

"Looks like you're going to drop me off at the back of the line, huh? Angel of death."

....

The angel of death who carrying me in the palm of his hand descended slowly with an elegant flap of wings, and he carefully reached out and lowered his hand onto the glittering golden cloud. The death angel's red eyes glanced at me, one of his wings twitched, as if beckoning me to descend from his palm.

I immediately understood what the death angel meant. I gave a small nod and smiled. Without hesitation I jumped down from the death angel's palm and landed on a golden cloud that was soft as cotton. As I descended, the death angel flapped its six wings again and flew up high, away from me. I could only stare at the death angel from a distance and eventually he disappeared from my sight.

"The angel of death who brought me here must be returning to the realm of the living, to pick up the souls of the living creatures who have passed away."

Having said so, I walked and entered the line and lined up at the very back, waiting to face the two black and white figures standing in front of the two gates.

To be continued....