Afterworld

by Lynnette Lounsbury

Dom pulled her in tightly. ‘Do you think it is really goodbye this time?’

  Kaide hugged him back, ‘No. I don’t think it ever is. I love you, Dominic Mathers, best brother ever. Better than blood.’

  Dom felt tears in his throat. ‘Same to you, Rice Paddy, better than blood.’

  He looked at Satarial. They met eyes and nodded. It was enough. Dom took Eva’s hand and walked towards the water. Eduardo waited for them.

  ‘I will come with you as far as I can. It seems fitting. You came into the Afterworld with the two of us, you should leave the same way.’ They approached the water at the edge of the River and it peeled back gently, allowing them to pass. Dom looked back one last time and saw Kaide’s hand over her mouth. Overcome. She didn’t wave, so he didn’t either.

  15

  Dominic’s Hourglass

  14 Minutes

  Eva’s Hourglass

  3 Minutes

  Maya was waiting for them and though her eyes greeted Eduardo first, and with wonder, she smiled at the two of them and gestured towards the door to the Room of Judgement.

  ‘When you enter the Room, there is no return, Dominic, Eva. Your heart will be weighed against the feather of truth and you will pass onwards, or be destroyed by it. Are you ready?’

  ‘We are.’ Dom answered for both of them.

  Eduardo pulled them both into his arms. ‘Now, be gone. There will be another time, I am sure of it. We will be here.’

  Dom nodded. There was no time for wallowing in sentimentality.

  ‘Are you ready for this?’ Eva asked, her hand poised by the door.

  Dom laughed. ‘What choice do I have? Of course I’m not!’ He raised his own hand and together they placed them on the door. It slid open and another narrow stone corridor, filled with light, lay before them. They walked through and before he could even turn to see the Angel one last time, the door slid firmly shut behind him. Dom sighed.

  ‘Is this as awful as it sounds?’

  ‘Not awful. A little scary, though. I hope my heart is still . . . good.’ Eva bit her lip. ‘There are . . . weird things in here.’

  She didn’t have to explain, they rounded the corner into a cavernous room filled with light and Dom was met by a creature with the head of a bird. He stepped back involuntarily. The creature wore a cloth tunic skirt, had a bare, muscled chest and yet, the head of a long-beaked, beady-eyed bird.

  ‘This is Thoth, he keeps the chronicles. I will go first.’ Eva stepped forward. She addressed the bird-man. ‘Thoth, God of Records, I am here to be judged.’

  Dom had been unable to take his eyes off the bird-man at first, but when he did he realised they were not the only three in the room. It was lit with dozens of torches and the walls were again covered in brightly painted hieroglyphs. The top of the room, which arched away high in the middle, was black and had glistening white stars painted across it. It was beautiful and incredibly gaudy at the same time. On a broad golden table in the centre of the room was an oversized set of measuring scales and at the end of the table, crouched on the floor, was another frightening creature. It met his eyes and growled. It had the scaled thick hide of a crocodile and a crocodile’s head, but its feet were long and muscled like a lion’s and it crouched semi-upright.

  ‘What the hell is that?’ he whispered.

  It growled long and low at him.

  ‘Ammit. He will,’ she glanced at Dom to gauge his reaction, ‘attack you, if you fail the Judgement.’

  ‘Great. And then what?’

  ‘I don’t know. But you will not pass on to see the Awe.’

  Thoth did not speak, but led Eva to the table and took her hand, laying it on one side of the scales. She looked at Dom, and then closed her eyes.

  ‘I am true of voice,’ she said gently and slowly and Dom felt his heart swell with love for the girl in front of him. He had no doubt she would pass the test.

  Nevertheless, he held his breath. On the other plate of the scales was a large white feather. It shifted slightly as the scales were activated, moved up and down a little and then slowly drifted downwards until it made a gentle clang against the table. The crocodile, who he had watched with interest, looked away and curled up like a disappointed puppy on the floor. Thoth nodded at Eva and bowed graciously, gesturing towards another door, a carved wooden one on the other side of the room.

  ‘I will wait. We will go together,’ she said to the bird.

  It did not acknowledge her, but simply turned to Dominic and gestured for him to move towards the scales. Dom had a sudden rapid burst of heartbeats, a flutter of fear different to the adrenaline that had coursed through him many times over the last seven days. He did not know if his heart was good enough. His mind flashed through all the good things he had done, hoping it was enough. He had volunteered at a soup kitchen at school, he had played in charity basketball matches, he regularly gave coins to the street beggars in India, but his heart? His mind filled suddenly with all the angry, disgusted thoughts he had about his parents’ behaviour, the intense jealousy he often felt towards other more confident people, even Kaide, the selfish reasons for which he did even the good things. Putting that out here for evaluation was mortifying, particularly in front of Eva. He hesitated. The bird gestured again.

  ‘You have a good heart, Dom. I know you do.’ Eva said it kindly, in a gentle tone he had rarely heard her use. ‘The fact that you even wonder, makes me sure of it.’

  Eva’s eyes gave him courage and he placed his hand on the cold golden surface of the scales.

  He cleared his throat and inhaled. ‘Thoth, God of Records, I am true of voice.’ He watched the scale and it shook slightly, moving upwards. Ammit stood up with interest and the beast’s bright eyes watched him. Dom was certain its jaws were grinning. The feather shifted slowly downwards until the golden plate on which it rested again clanked gently against the table. He exhaled and Thoth bowed and gestured again towards the wooden carved door. Wasting no time in skirting the fearsome jaws of Ammit, Dom joined Eva. The door swung open on huge iron hinges and he grasped her hand as they walked through into the next room together.

  16

  It was a simple room. It was a little like some of the ashrams Dom had visited in India. Large, flat cushions of bright, embroidered fabric were scattered across the floor and at the far end of the circle was the Awe, as Dom remembered her, in her dark-haired, dark-eyed loveliness, seated cross-legged on one of them.

  ‘Dominic. It is so wonderful to see you here. I have been looking forward to this. And Eva. I am in a different form to when we last met, but I am no less happy to see your beautiful face. Sit with me.’

  The two of them sat on one of the cushions beside the woman and waited. Dom absorbed again the energy in the air, which made him feel peaceful and invigorated at the same time.

  ‘This is where we are reunited briefly – or eternally.’ She smiled. ‘You are my energy, in the form of humans. This is where you decide what your souls want to do next.’

  ‘And our bodies?’ Dom asked.

  ‘Most people are done with their bodies at this point. But it is always your choice, Dominic.’ She tilted her head. ‘You have questions?’

  ‘Deora. What will happen to her? She wants to destroy you.’

  ‘I know this, of course, Dominic, I know everything.’ She gazed at both of them, her gracious face serious. ‘But just as I have given you freedom to choose your lives and actions, I have also given it to the Superios. It takes time to evolve, much time. Fortunately we are not in short supply of time. Deora has not learned everything she needs to yet and she will try again to reach me, to destroy me. Aro and Amalia, your friends, will no doubt face her again. They have a great many things to teach her.’

  ‘And my sister? What happens to her?’

  The Awe smiled. ‘Whatever she wishes and whatever she chooses. Part of mortality is letting go, Dominic. You may have to let go of your sister here. You may not.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Eva interrup
ted in a low voice. ‘I came before you a long time ago. I am sure I did not choose to be a Guide for so many, many years. How was that my choice?’

  ‘It was not the choice of your conscious mind, Eva, it was the choice of your soul,’ the Awe explained. ‘Your soul knew you needed more time to process your own grief at your death, and you found that in helping others do the same thing. Your soul yearned for love, and in becoming a Guide, you met Dominic, whom you love.’

  Eva blushed a little and looked at Dom quickly.

  ‘We want to be together,’ Dom said. ‘Don’t we?’

  Eva nodded.

  ‘That is what your mind says, Dominic. And that is what your heart says. But I will only be able to listen to your soul, which weighs up all of those things and makes the wisest decisions. I will listen to your soul and I will send you each on the journey you need.’ She put her palms together and placed them at her lips. ‘Such a beautiful passage you have had through this Afterworld, Eva and Dominic. I am blessed by your lives and proud of your journey. Are you ready?’

  Dom turned to Eva. ‘I don’t really understand this. But if, you know, my soul, is messed up and chooses something weird, I just want you to know . . .’

  Eva leaned forward and kissed him, holding his head tight to hers, and he kissed her back because he was out of words and tired and didn’t want to make any more decisions.

  When she pulled back, Eva met his eyes. ‘I love you. I have since . . . since soon after I met you. Thank you for getting me out of the City. And finding me here. And . . . everything. And if we aren’t together on the next part of our journey, we will be eventually. Look at Eduardo.’

  Dom smiled. ‘Okay. I’ll believe you. You’ve always been right about everything.’ He held her hand. ‘I love you, too. You’re the most amazing, strong, brilliant dead girl I’ve ever met.’

  She laughed and so did the Awe, the sound a symphony.

  ‘Are you ready to speak to me?’ she asked gently.

  ‘Yes.’ Eva sat up straight, still holding Dom’s hand.

  ‘Yes,’ Dom said. He squeezed Eva’s hand.

  ‘Then close your eyes and continue your endless journey of life,’ the Awe commanded, and they did.

  Dom felt nothing at first. Then he had a sensation of sudden and powerful movement as though he had fallen. His grip on Eva’s hand slipped.

  He opened his eyes. And smiled. It was exactly where he wanted to be.

  EPILOGUE

  The air was full of dust and flying things. Tiny sounds whirred around him, overlaid with deeper ones and occasionally interspersed with shrill high-pitched ones. Light came to him from sharp angles, harsh and soft. There was a scent. More than one. Strong and pungent, making his nose quiver. He was lying down, and above him was a murky white roof, around him four equally muted blue walls. He was in bed. Sitting up, he realised he was tied to the bed by a tube that skirted his neck and went down his throat. He pulled at it, scraping his throat and making himself gag. The sound roused a movement in the corner of the room and he turned to meet the eyes of a woman who was putting flowers into a glass vase. Dropping them immediately in a pile on the floor she leaped towards him.

  ‘Dominic!’

  He narrowed his eyes. The woman had long, ginger-blonde hair, skimming her shoulders. Her face was full and round, and she smiled at him. He looked closely for a clue as to who it was.

  ‘Dominic?’

  He noticed a string of crystals hanging around her neck, along with a pendant made from two wings. Angel wings.

  ‘Aunt Milly?’

  She burst into tears as he said it, and put her arms around him, squeezing him tight. The sensation was so intense, his skin stung where hers pulled at his, his eyes struggled to deal with the dust in the air.

  ‘Can I have water?’ he croaked.

  His aunt found a bottle in her handbag and gave it to him. His hands struggled with the plastic lid and his aunt took it back from him and smiled while she opened it.

  Taking a long swig, he was astonished at how dirty and tart it tasted. And how delicious. ‘Can I have food, too?’

  She laughed. ‘Oh, wait, I need to call your father. And your mother. They need to know you are awake. They are in Mumbai and they will want to come back immediately. Let me call the doctor.’ Millicent Mathers stood to leave.

  ‘Milly? Where is Kaide?’

  Her smile vanished and she sat back down, her hand reaching for the side of his face. ‘Oh, Dom. Do you know where you are?’

  ‘It’s a hospital. We had a car accident. I remember.’ Dom watched her face tense as he mentioned it.

  ‘It was last year, Dom, seven, nearly eight months ago. You have been here, unconscious, for all of that time. Kaide, she . . . didn’t make it. She died a few weeks after the accident.’

  Dom smiled gently at his aunt. ‘It’s okay. She’s fine. I promise.’

  She looked at him worriedly, but nodded. ‘I’m going to get the doctor.’

  By the time they returned Dom had pulled out half a dozen cords, cannulas and an intimidating catheter and was out of the bed testing his body. It worked well; there was no pain, just stiffness. The doctor, a slim Indian man, shook his head in disbelief.

  ‘I’m very surprised by the lack of atrophy. You have not used your body in months, it should not work at all.’

  Dom smiled at him. ‘I guess I was sleep-walking or something.’

  The doctor and Milly glanced at each other and she shrugged. ‘I’m just glad he’s awake. That’s all. That’s everything.’ She burst into tears and Dom put his hand on her shoulder, a woman he barely knew and who he hadn’t seen in almost two years.

  ‘Did you call Dad and Mum?’

  ‘No. I can’t get through. They were at the ASCON meetings, so no phones inside. I’ll have to wait till tonight.’

  ‘Can you take me to see someone, Milly?’

  The doctor shook his head. ‘Oh, I don’t think so. Dominic will be weak for some time. And we need to do tests. We need to see if there is any damage to his brain.’

  Dom laughed. ‘I’m sure there is plenty. But I’m fine. And I’m going. I’ll sign myself out if I have to.’

  ‘Well actually, you can’t. You’re only sixteen. But I will sign him out, Doctor, and I promise I will bring him back if anything happens. His mother gave me medical guardianship while she was away.’ Milly glanced at Dom apologetically. ‘In case, you know . . .’

  He smiled at her. ‘I know.’

  The doctor frowned again. ‘I don’t like this at all. It is not a wise decision, Ms Mathers.’

  ‘I want to go see Angie McCourt. She can check me out over at the clinic.’

  The doctor remained unconvinced, but Milly was as officious as her brother and had already bustled to the drawer, scooped up Dominic’s clothes and was packing her own giant, fringed tote bag.

  She had wiped away her tears. ‘I cannot wait for your father to see you. And your mother. They have been down here almost every day. Every day, Dominic. There is only that one set of clothes, will that be all right?’

  ‘It’s great. Thanks.’ Dom started to strip off the hospital gown and his aunt was instantly flustered, turning away. ‘Oh, I’ll just wait . . . over, there.’

  Dom grinned. ‘Didn’t you change my diapers? Surely you’ve seen it all before.’

  She blushed. ‘Well, yes of course, but you’re, you’re a man, Dominic. You aren’t a little boy anymore. Come on, let’s go.’

  They left the hospital in his mother’s Mercedes and as they drove he observed the city through the deeply tinted windows. The noise was a force of its own, able to move his body physically. He tried to keep his thoughts clear, but noticed they were starting to feel thicker. He was alive. Again. Another chance to live. It made him smile and cry at the same time. He swiped away a tear and his aunt caught him.

  ‘I know.’ She rubbed his arm with her free hand. ‘I miss her too, Dom. Kaide was one of a kind.’

  He smiled.


  His aunt finally pulled onto the dusty road that led to the clinic and it felt like a lifetime since he had travelled it with Kaide.

  ‘You know they’ve been working here since the accident. Your parents.’

  He looked at Milly in surprise. ‘Here? Doing what?’

  ‘Helping Angie with the clinic. Administration, giving vaccinations. I saw your dad cleaning the surgery the other day. I’ve never seen him clean anything in our whole lives. Your mother comes in every day.’ She squinted into the sun as she found a place to park.

  Dom began to unfold himself from the car and was stopped by Milly’s hand on his leg. It was starting to age, the soft skin sun-spotted and crepey.

  ‘Dom. Something has changed about you, you know.’

  ‘What is it, Milly?’

  ‘It’s your Angel, Dominic.’

  He suppressed a smile. ‘My Angel?’

  ‘Your Guardian Angel. He is smiling now. He knows you are happy.’ Her face was completely serious and her other hand was clasped around the winged pendant on her chest.

  Dom smiled at her. ‘That is good to know, Milly. Really good to know. Are you coming in?’

  She rifled through her bag for the giant old phone she carried. ‘I will. I’m just going to try your parents again.’

  He walked towards the few stairs that led to the open door of the clinic. They weren’t so shiny or new anymore. They were as dusty as everything else and scuffed in places. Once inside he saw in his mind the moment Kaide had been held hostage by the man desperate for medication. It felt like a story he had been told. The front room was empty. There was a line of people at the back door, waiting their turn to see the doctor, but she was nowhere in sight.

  ‘Angie?’

  There was no reply. There was a can of soda on the silver workbench and an open folder. He glanced inside. It was a medical journal. And a day-planner. She had been halfway through a sentence so she must be here somewhere.

  ‘Angie?’

  ‘She is in her office, Mister Sir,’ a little boy crouched in the doorway called to him in a high-pitched voice. Dom smiled at him. ‘Thank you very much. I think her soda here is going to get warm if she leaves it much longer. Would you like to finish it for her?’