Chapter Text
Her eyes fluttered open slowly. Everything was white and bright.
She sat up slowly, looking around her carefully. She was completely alone in a huge white hall. There was no living soul but her there. She blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the brightness around her. She looked down and found that she was wearing a white T-shirt and long white pants. What is this place?
She got up and started walking, letting her legs lead her. Her body felt exceptionally light. The white floor under her bare feet was hard and cool, but the misty air around her made it feel like she was walking inside a warm cloud. She kept walking forward, not knowing where she is heading. How did she get there? Everything was a complete blur.
She walked for what felt like hours with nothing but that cloud-like substance surrounding her. She kept walking for a while when the scenery in front of her has finally changed. Thick round clouds parted in front of her and revealed a huge golden gate framed by light blue skies. A white marble path stretched from where she was standing to the gate and she crossed it slowly, curious.
It was only when she got closer to the gate when she noticed the man standing there, guarding the gate. He was wearing all white, a royal prince-like suit with matching white tailored pants. There was something both strong and fragile about him. But the most impressive thing about his look was the delicate white wings which sprang from his back. On his left chest, where military people would wear their medals, was a blue sapphire stone almost the size of a walnut. His silk soft light brown hair gleamed under the golden light that was shining from the gate. His delicate face looked softer than the clouds but there was something tough in his dark eyes. He was the purest, most beautiful thing she has seen in her life.
“Welcome,” he smiled softly when she stopped in front of him. His smile was like a warm sunny day and she was at lost for words for a moment.
“I… Where am I?” she asked nervously.
“This is heaven,” he said gently, as if explaining to a small child. “You do know that you are dead, do you?”
“I… I died?” she marveled.
He looked at her right in the eyes and she felt as if his penetrating dark eyes were making holes in her. And then it all came back. The lights. The shouts. And the complete darkness that came after.
“Yes, you did,” he said, looking slightly amused.
She breathed heavily. She never imagined dying would feel like this. She imagined it much more scary and painful.
“What… what do I do now?” she asked cautiously.
“It depends on what you choose,” he said, his soft smile back on his lips. “If you want, you can go through this gate,”
She waited for him to continue, as it was clear he did not finish.
“Or you can go down this road, if you prefer,” he continued, gesturing to his left, where a narrow path made of dirty dark stones was suddenly revealed, covered by the clouds till that very moment. She could hear faded screams in the distance. “Whichever you choose, there is no turning back.”
She gulped then took a deep breath. “I think I’ll take the gate.”
“Smart decision,” he smiled softly. He opened the gate for her and bowed lightly.
She took a step, then another, her heart beating fast. When she passed through the gate she felt a warm feeling enveloping her for a moment.
“Oh, by the way,” he added suddenly, right when she crossed the no-turning-back border, and she turned back to look at him. “I am not the most beautiful thing you have seen in your life.”
She looked at him in awe. He closed the gate and looked at her through the bars.
“I am the most beautiful thing you have seen in your death,” he smirked.
She opened her mouth to respond, not even sure what to say, but before she could say anything those thick round clouds concealed her vision, hiding the gate and its guard once again.
* * *
She stood in her place, trying to process what had just happened. She had just found out that she died, fortunately made it to heaven, and met a disturbingly handsome mind-reading angel. After a couple of moments of arranging her thoughts she realized she can’t stay standing there forever, and started walking through that white cloudy air again. Not long after, the clouds parted again, revealing a new scenery once again.
She was in the outskirts of a big white city. Everything there was white. The buildings, the trees, the sidewalks, the clothes the people were wearing. Everything.
She walked down the streets, examining her new surroundings. The place was spectacular, but awfully quiet. Some people were sitting on the balconies reading white books, others were strolling the white streets leisurely. She kept walking for a while until she reached the park. Another angel, who looked like he came out of a Shoujo manga, sat at one of the benches, surrounded by four or five girls who looked at him with love-stricken eyes. Her feet hurt from all the walking and she sat down to rest on another bench, as far from the group of fangirls as she could.
“So this is what heaven is like?” she mumbled to herself, slightly disappointed.
An angel that just passed by seemed to hear her. He stopped in his track and looked at her. She dropped her head in embarrassment immediately to not meet his eyes.
“Well, not quite,” he said as he approached her. “This is just the first stop before you can go to heaven.”
“Oh… I see… sorry…” she mumbled in embarrassment.
“No need to be sorry,” he shrugged. “They probably didn’t explain anything to you when you got here, did they? It happens every time too many girls die on the same day and it’s Arata’s shift to guide. They keep his hands full.”
She nodded slightly, still keeping her gaze on her hands, grabbing her knees and hoping the angel would leave her alone. To her dismay, he moved to sit right next to her.
“You must be hungry. Take this,” he said, and handed her a big white apple.
“I’m good,” she declined his offer, still aiming her words to her knees. “I ate not so long before I apparently died, so I’m fine.”
The angel giggled. It was the sweetest and most carefree laugh, which made all her embarrassment and nervous feelings disappear in an instant. She finally raised her head to look at him, but the moment her eyes fell on him her jaw dropped and it was like time has stopped.
He was as beautiful as a painting. His gentle face was breathtakingly beautiful. His dark hair fluttering slightly in the breeze. His defined jawline and plump lips made him look inhumanly attractive, as if he was sculptured by the most talented sculptor. The amethyst stone on his left chest was shining playfully in the sunlight, just like his eyes. Those beautiful dark eyes. She felt herself drowning in them. He was less formally dressed than the angel guarding the gate, but somehow managed to look even more impressive. And his wings. He had a pair of huge pearly white wings.
“Are you alright?” he asked, moving his face closer to hers. She could feel her face growing red and flinched back, unable to speak.
“I’m f-fine,” she stuttered.
“I don’t remember seeing you here before,” he said, looking at her curiously.
“I just got here actually,” she answered, tucking her curls behind her ears nervously.
“So that’s why you’re all by yourself,” he concluded. “Normally someone would take you around and explain things to you.”
“I didn’t get anything like that,” she mumbled. “I didn’t even know this was heaven until the guy at the gate told me.”
The angel laughed again. He had the sweetest laugh and the cutest dimples when he smiled, and she found herself smiling back.
“So you thought this was hell? That’s a bit insulting.”
“No, no, no,” she hurried to explain. “I just didn’t realize I was… well, dead.”
He examined her for a while, holding back a laugh.
“You sure are a funny one,” he said, laughing again. “Come with me. I’ll show you around.”
They strolled the streets together, walking side by side, the angel pausing here and there, pointing at different places and buildings and explaining her what they were.
“This is my house, by the way,” he added when they passed by it, stopping at the stairs to a beautiful small house. She looked at him in half-expectation, waiting for him to invite her in.
“Oh, no, you are not coming in,” he laughed. “I don’t invite even other angels in.”
“Why?” she asked, slightly disappointed.
“Because if you enter my house you’ll turn into vapor and completely cease to exist,” he said and winked.
She wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. She decided to leave it at it and they continued their tour.
“Usually you would stay here between one day to a week, depends on how urgent your case is,” he explained as they passed by a big fountain in the very middle of the city. “Yours doesn’t seem very urgent, so I imagine you’ll stay here at least a couple more days,” he said, his eyes sparkling in what seemed like excitement.
“Oh, right. I forgot to introduce myself,” he stopped in his place. “My name is Yokohara. Yokohara Yuki.”
She couldn’t help it and found herself thinking ‘Can I call you Yokopi?’ to herself, but of course didn’t say a word of it out loud. Instead she said a very composed ‘”It’s nice to meet you” and introduced herself as well.
“She wants to call you Yokopi,” an angel who passed right next to them said, a hint of amusement in his voice. She turned to look at him, her face red with embarrassment. It was the guy from the gate.
‘Stop. Reading. My. Mind,’ she thought and looked at him furiously. The guard angel lowered his gaze apologetically and mumbled “Sorry…”.
Yokohara scratched his head in embarrassment. Even that simple motion was incredibly cute.
“I don’t mind,” he said shyly. “My friend Reia always gives me weird nicknames, so I’m used to it.”
“Is he also an angel here?” she asked, desperate to change the topic.
“Not exactly…” he murmured.
“Yokopi has friends on the other side,” the guard angel said with a little smile.
“The other side?” she asked confusedly, then the meaning dawned upon her. “Oh. Oh… I see.”
“I’m heading to dinner. You two should come soon too or you won’t have anything left.” he said and left them.
They continue walking.
“Do you eat?” she asked curiously.
He laughed. “You sure ask the weirdest questions.”
“Sorry?” she apologized, but smiled.
“I like it.” he said with a smile.
She felt her cheeks growing warm again.
“And no, we don’t eat. But we do guide the people who come here around and keep them company while they eat.”
“Will you keep me company?” she asked, cursing herself for daring to ask it out loud.
“If you won’t mind,” he said shyly.
“I won’t,” she answered, smiling shyly as well.
They entered the wide dining hall together, Yokohara finding her a place to sit next to an elderly couple around the long table, which was already almost fully occupied by many other people wearing white. Here and there she could spot an angel sitting between the humans.
The food, although white, tasted heavenly. She ate peacefully for a while when she caught Yokohara looking at her and smiling.
“...What?” she asked him nervously.
His smile grew wider. “You sure seem to enjoy eating.”
“It’s delicious! Also, I never imagined I’ll be eating after dying, if I’m honest…” she replied.
He laughed his sweet soothing laugh again.
“I’ll go get you a dessert,” he said and got up.
She watched him as he went to a table on the other side of the dining hall. He was the sweetest guy she had met in both her life and death, and deep down she found herself wishing he wasn’t as handsome and wasn’t an angel, so she could have stood even a slight chance to get closer to him. She kept eating quietly as she watched him stopping next to another angel and chatting with them. He seemed to be having a serious talk with one of the angels and looked back at her, looking worried. He came back after a while, without the dessert, looking distracted.
“Is everything alright?” she asked him.
“Yes…” he said, looking into the distance, lost in thought. Regaining his senses, he looked at her again and smiled. “Yes.”
After dinner they went out again, Yokohara escorting her to where she would be sleeping at that night.
“This is the girls dorm. You can just enter any room with an open door and it will be your room during your stay here,” he explained as they reached the building.
“Thank you,” she thanked him, looking at him curiously. He was still as smiley as he was when they first met that afternoon, but there was something sad and distant about his smile when he looked at her. He waved at her good night and left.
The next morning, she found the way to the dining hall by herself and looked around, searching for Yokohara with her eyes, but he wasn’t there. After breakfast, she stayed sitting at the table, trying to plan what to do that day. Eventually she decided to go to the park. It was where she first met Yokohara and she slightly hoped to meet him there again.
She barely got up from her seat when another angel approached her. It was the shoujo manga-like angel she has seen surrounded by fangirls when she first got there. A small pink diamond decorated his left chest.
“Hi, I am the angel who was supposed to welcome and guide you here yesterday but I’m glad to see Yokohara showed you everything in my place,” he said.
“Hi,” she greeted him back, looking at him in question.
“Actually we have a vacant place for the train that leaves this afternoon, if you want,” he continued.
“Train? Where to?” she asked in confusion.
“To the next stop,” he answered simply without farther explanation.
“Oh… okay, I’ll take that,” she agreed.
“Good, I’ll add you to the list. Please come to the train station next to the fountain by 4 PM,” he said and flew away from there.
She went out and walked the streets absentmindedly, feeling hollow. She hoped to see him one more time before proceeding to wherever she has to go from there. She spent the time alone, taking walks in the park and around the city. Stopping to sit here and there, looking for someone who wasn’t there. When the big clock in the city stroke three o’clock, she gave up and made her way to the train station slowly. In front of the train station she could see a short line of people waiting to go inside and on the train and she joined the end of the queue. Another angel, a tall and slender figure with a yellow topaz stone on his left chest and a notepad is his hand, went between the humans in line and checked their names on his list. She identified herself and the angel checked in her name and left with a deep bow and a wide charming smile. Time stretched like gum and she felt like she was waiting for hours and hours.
“Arata said you added your name to the list. Are you leaving already?”
She jumped in surprise and turned around.
It was Yokohara. He looked at her with a sad expression. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him.
“Well, I didn’t have anything better to d—“
He pulled her by her wrist out of the queue and took her aside. She looked at him in surprise.
“You didn’t have to come here. Ga-chan told you, didn’t he? You could have chosen to go back to the mortal world. So why are you here?” he asked her desperately.
“What? You mean the other path? I thought it was the way to hell!” she said in utter shock.
“Hell is nowhere near here. It’s on the other side,” he said simply.
He tried hard not to smile at her comment and the disbelief on her face. But somehow it seemed to give him courage and make him make up his mind about whatever he was trying to decide. He looked her right in the eyes with a determined expression.
“It’s not too late, as long as you don’t take the train from here you can still go back,” he said determinedly.
“But how? The guy from the gate said there is no turning back,” she said, completely confused.
“Do you want to live?” he asked her seriously.
“I… yes. Of course I do, but-“
“Then you shouldn’t be here,” he said, smiling sadly.
He reached to his chest, tore out the amethyst stone that decorated its left side and put it in her hand.
“Take it,” he said, and looked at her with a relaxed soft smile.
She looked at the stone in her palm in bewilderment. But the moment she closed her fingers around it the angel in front of her collapsed. She tried to shout and call for help but before she could say anything she passed out as well.