WTGC 05: Am I dead?

Purgatory? The room is filled with silence. No one talked after that. No words even can come out from me. I don't even know what to think? What should I ask? Should I believe them? If I think about what happened earlier, it makes sense but at the same time, it doesn't make sense.

Damon decided to leave for his other job. I guess, there's no more he needs to say. I'm at the purgatory. That's it. Liam and Johan are also silent, giving me time to process the bomb that has been dropped to me.

If purgatory does exist, why am I here? I stood up and inspected my body. My arms looks fine. My head looks fine. My body doesn't have any injuries. Didn't seem I sustain any injuries or got killed.

"When you said that there are no humans here? Are you saying, I don't count as one?"

"Well.... you were human. But now, you're a spirit or what we call as a soul."

"Then, how about you three? You're also not human?"

"No, we're not."

"How is this even possible?"

"It can happen, because you've died."

"I'm dead? No, that can't be true."

"You're not the first one to experience this. There are a lot of souls who didn't realize they've already died. Mostly because they're asleep or they fainted."

"I'm awake. I was wide awake! I was outside! How?! When did it happen?" Am I not remembering something? No. I still refuse to believe. There's only one thing to justify this.

"This must be a prank, right? Your cafe has this theme to make your customer believe they've died. Good props and costume by the way. Consistent acting. Well, I think I've already enjoyed my stay." I walked towards the elevator. "Will Lady Gum be waiting at the ground floor? Don't worry. I'll leave a good review. Ha ha ha.... Purgatory... what a unique concept." Liam and Johan just looked concern.

The elevator is not opening and starting to stress me out. I looked at the two who are still silent but they just shook their head, as a sign that I'm waiting for nothing. "Is the exit through the stairs? Do I need to go up first?"

"Stop." Finally, Liam talked. "It's almost Dead time and it will be very dangerous to go out."

"But! How am I suppose to leave!? How do I get home?"

"Eugene, I know it's hard to accept but this will be your new home. With us."

"We'll guide you here. Time will come you'll find it fun. The customers will love you."

Was this my punishment for running away? Am I really dead? Is it time to accept the hard reality?

As a sign of resignation, I walked to the living room and sat down at the sofa. Johan joined me and let my head rest at his shoulders. Minutes after, Liam joined us and offered a hot chocolate with macarons he promised for dessert.

Maybe living here with them is not as bad as I think. It might be the purgatory but I have a feeling that it's better than the hell-like life that I had. Maybe rather than a punishment, this is an opportunity to restart my life. Live how I want it.

"Since, it's Thursday tomorrow, how about we stay up all night and watch a movie." Johan suggested.

"You have movies here?"

" Of course. We live almost similarly to humans, other than the what you call monsters. Their appearance are a lot diiferent. "

"Just think of it as halloween everyday at the cafe."

"But you guys don't look like them. I ... don't look like them. "

Liam and Johan explained that. The purgatory has different kinds of souls. The things that I call monsters are considered bad souls. The ones who looks closer or similar to humans are the good souls. But, good souls are very rare at the purgatory.

To summarize, the worst the soul is, the monster looking they get and the good ones are human like. But they assured me that even the souls look bad, it doesn't mean they will cause harm to the good souls. And if they do, there will be punishment and Damon will make sure they will not set foot to the cafe ever.

We've watched a movie as Johan suggested and we've also talked more after dinner. Liam and Johan told me about the different types of customers at the cafe, appearance and food preference wise. Their stories are just similar to what normally cafes are.

One take away that I've also got from their stories is that, Gatori cafe is not only famous for their food and drinks. Customers also hangout at the cafe as what Liam said 'to look at the good looking employees'. Johan said that Damon is the most famous among them.

They've also added that Lady Gum, purposedly designed the barista counter for the customers to watch Damon working. I do agree on how captivating Damon is. Speaking of Damon, it's already past midnight and he's not yet home. I guess it's normal for Damon to stay out so late since Liam and Johan didn't look for him.

The two of them are already sleeping beside me at the sofa while another movie is playing on the background. Looking at them also made me feel groggy. I can feel myself drifting off.

Huff ..... huff.... huff....

Why am I running again? From whom am I running away? I looked back and the image of the customer appeared. I just kept running. I looked back again and the image started to distort to a familiar woman. She reached for my hand and grabbed me by my hair to stop me from running.

"Look at you! Is this how my daughter should act?! " My voice won't come out and all I could do is glare. There were suddenly scissors in arms and a sound of snip and image of falling hair. The woman infront of me just got angrier and slapped me.

The slap woke me up. It was just a dream.