Chapter 9 - Beyond the Dark

My eyes widened as I heard something shocking from her. She told me that I was run over by a truck, where my face became unrecognizable. Honestly, I was unaware of where and how did that happen. I couldn’t remember anything about it, not even a single idea about it.

“I got run over… by a truck?” I asked.

She nodded slowly. “Yeah… I was surprised about it. But I guess everyone in the scene did, as seeing a truck within the town is already a rare thing to see.”

She was right. Our town is fairly small, and seeing a truck and other heavy vehicles is a rare occurrence. But, it’s not like there’s no truck driving around the town, it’s just being in a small town, only light vehicles drove around the area.

But getting run over by a truck… I am really unlucky… I thought as I took a deep sigh.

“Where did it happen?”

“It happened near the school.”

“Really?” I paused then continued, “But it’s not like we were near the highway, right? How did it happen?”

“It was a hit and run.” she revealed.

I let out a chuckle. Not because it was funny, but because I felt sorry for myself. “That’s kind of a sad death for me huh…”

“Luckily the driver got caught immediately, and was imprisoned when he was caught.” she continued.

“Good thing. I think I would be heartbroken if I learned that he wasn’t punished after killing me like that.” I said, looking at her. “Don’t you think so?”

“Well… I guess so…”

“But jokes aside, it’s sad that I wasn’t even able to live longer.” I muttered.

“…” she remained silent.

I chuckled softly. “Living as a skeleton might not be so bad after all…”

I approached her and walked past her. I turned my head around, looking at my back, I called her, “Amara, right? There’s something I want to know.”

She turned around and looked at me. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s walk towards the exit.” I said.

We walked together towards the exit, not saying anything. Then as we got closer, I was able to see the ground over the gate of the cemetery. As usual, it looked incredibly dark and mysterious.

“You walked through here earlier right?” I asked as we stood behind the gate.

She nodded in response. “Yeah, there’s only one gate in here. Why?”

“There’s a road past the gate right?”

“Huh?” she muttered in confusion. “Why wouldn’t there be a road past the gate?”

“That’s what I was wondering about!” I said as I approached and looked through the gate. “I hope this doesn’t sound ridiculous… But I can’t see anything past this gate… There’s only dark…”

“Only dark?”

“Yeah…” I nodded once and turned to her. “This is what I was worried about since yesterday… I am trapped inside this cemetery.”

“Wait, wait, wait. I don’t understand you, what do you mean you are trapped?”

“To put it simply, I can’t see anything past this gate or anything past this cemetery.” I paused, and continued, “I already tried checking past the wall around the cemetery, and all I can see is darkness! I can’t see any road, any grass, or anything!”

“What…” she muttered. “You mean the only thing you could see are all within this cemetery only?”

I nodded. “That’s right. That’s why I wanted to ask a favor of you… I wanted to see if you can walk past the gate.”

“Well… that shouldn’t take too much time.” she said, approaching the gate and opening it. “I’m not sure what are you seeing, but all I can see in my eyes is the road.”

Then she floated past the gate, exiting the cemetery. I immediately noticed something odd about it.

“You are floating over the darkness!” I exclaimed, seeing her floating over it with no problem.

“Floating? Oh right, I looked like a floating fire to you.” she said, continuing floating a bit more. “Why don’t you try walking here?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Walk there? But isn’t it dangerous?”

“I don’t know what’s dangerous about exiting a cemetery.” she said.

“But…” I whispered.

There’s no telling what would happen to me if I tried walking through the dark. The thought of me getting sucked into the darkness is scary enough. But… I looked at the floating fire in front of me, thinking whether I should take a step forward or become trapped in here for who knows how long.

Maybe I should try stepping on one of my feet. I thought, walking towards the gate slowly until I was able to near the dark ground.

I couldn’t explain what it felt like nearing the dark ground. I couldn’t see anything, it was all darkness, and there was no telling what was going to happen to me if I stepped on it.

I took one final breath, readying myself, and with a slow motion and throbbing heart, I took a step forward into the darkness. With my eyes half-closed, trying to escape the sight of my foot in the darkness, I took a peek at my foot, only to realize I was stepping on a road.

“W-what?” I whispered, looking around the area, only to be surprised by the sight of the road slowly coming to life. The darkness gradually faded away, replaced by the view of the surroundings. It felt like I was using a flashlight in the middle of the night.

“T-this is…” I stammered, turning to her. “What is happening?”

“I don’t know. As I said earlier, there’s nothing wrong with the road. And you were able to step in here with no problem.” she said.

I continued walking, passing her, and slowly the darkness gradually faded away. I walked, and walked, not stopping in my tracks.

“Hey wait!” she called me. “Don’t go around walking like that!”

“But I can see the road!” I said to her, amused by what I was seeing. “It felt like the world is slowly coming to life!”

“Uh…” she muttered, couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “It was always alive you know—No! Not that!” she shook her head, floating near me.

Suddenly I felt a warmth in my left hand.

“Huh?” I muttered and turned to her.

It felt like someone was holding my left hand. Then it felt like something was pulling me back with my left hand. But, there’s no one in my sight other than Amara.

“Don’t go around walking looking like that!” she shouted. “Did you forget you are a skeleton now?”

“I don’t… I was just surprised to see that I was able to exit the cemetery…” I murmured, looking at my left hand.

There’s nothing in it…

But why did it feel warm, and it felt like someone’s holding it?

I turned my head back to the floating fire in front of me.

She sighed. “I know. But you need to be careful, you can’t just walk around looking like that. There’s no telling what might happen to you if they learned that there was a walking skeleton in the cemetery.” she explained.

I held my left hand a bit tighter, trying to feel the warmth a bit more.

It’s warm… I can’t feel anything, but I can feel there’s a warmth in my hand right now… I think I need more—

Suddenly the warmth was gone. “W-what are you doing!” she stammered, floating back a little. “Why were you doing that?”

I tilted my head. “Doing what?”

“Your hand! Why were you holding my hand tighter!”

What… Was she holding me?

“Were you holding me?” I asked, surprised about it. “I have no idea! I can’t even see your hands!”

“But even so! I thought you couldn’t feel anything?”

“That’s what I was surprised about too. I honestly can’t feel anything. But suddenly…” I paused and raised my left hand. “Suddenly I felt something warm in my hand. It was the first time I felt something, so I was both surprised and overjoyed about it.”

“But that doesn’t mean…” she whispered in an unrecognizable voice.

“Thanks.” I said out of nowhere.

“Why say that suddenly?” she asked.

“Because I say so?” I reasoned, shrugging my shoulders. “I never thought it’s still possible to have fun even afterlife.”

Maybe it isn’t so bad after all… I thought as I turned back to the road.

“I don’t know about dying and being in the afterlife… But if you don’t mind, I’ll help you have fun…” she suggested.

“You’ll help me? Why would you even do that in the first place?”

“Because I say so.” she reasoned back.

I chuckled. “I see that makes sense.” I said back, as I looked at the road in front of me with the darkness behind it.

I guess there’s a lot of things to see.