The Name of This Afterlife

There were a lot of things I’d had to get used to not being on Earth.

That, right there, was one of the big things: I’m not on Earth; not even close to the same Milky Way galaxy I’d been staring up into my entire life up to then. And that concept was going to take some time to properly digest.

The place where I found myself was called Oeuvre. (That’s pronounced OF-ruh if you’re wondering, I certainly had a mini panic when I tried to spell it for the first time after only hearing it.)

Generally speaking -as it was explained to me- the word ‘Oeuvre’ means the amalgamation of created things; so the title made sense when you looked at the inhabitants and the widely varying spectrum of them.

Everyone here had a job; or a Designation as they called it.

Pre-Designated -as in before you receive Designation- people who arrived on Oeuvre were called Portants; I’ve since been told the official term for that process of ‘death-than-revival’ was ‘Displaced’.

After the Portant received Designation their title was then graduated to Herald, which meant they were processed into the ‘system’ as more than someone who was simply Passing Through. (I didn’t know what that meant yet.)

I’m not sure what would happen if you didn’t choose to go through Processing and receive your Designation, and I still haven’t worked up the courage to ask just in case… I didn’t even know.

Regardless of who you were, everyone on Oeuvre was under this ‘Herald’ title once your Designation was received; the difference was what kind of Herald you were.

And, as it turned out, I was a Cupid.

Congratulations!

Read the screen.

You are Designated as a Cupid, please take your new permanent ID from the dispenser and dispose of your temporary ID by placing it into the return chute located directly to the right of the dispenser. An Auspice will be with you shortly, thank you for your cooperation and congratulations once again!

I was… speechless?

“I’m a Cupid?”

“Mm, I see you’ve been Designated Cupid; congratulations, Herald.”

My eyes shot up, shoulders jumping and spine hurrying to straighten into proper posture as a familiar voice stole my attention. It was that Auspice from earlier, the begrudging one with a prickly exterior and presumed heart of gold; of course, it was also the one I got pathetic and desperate with.

“I guess so?”

“Take your ID and come with me…” Their eyes flicked down, scanning over my name briefly, “-Sir Azuma, I’m pleased to see you remembered. Your name, that is.”

Their words were positive but, somehow, altogether they didn’t come across exactly as such. I didn’t have any reason to believe that the intent was any different from what the words themselves meant so I voiced my thanks.

Regardless of potential sarcasm or over-thinking, I scrambled to do as they said and grabbed my ID from the dispenser before looping it around my neck so it wouldn’t be so easily lost. Then I fell into step to their left and forced out a few words before I lost my nerve.

“You can… you can call me Jin, I don’t mind; nice to meet you...”

I held out my hand, a little awkward since we were walking and the Auspice was keeping at least a half step in front but they still indulged me and shook my hand, nodding their head politely in answer to my sentence still dangling as a question.

“Jun. S0, you are going to be-”

“-Our names both start with ‘J’. Heh, what are the chances of that?”

End my suffering and smite me down any higher being that’s listening, I beg of you.

“...pardon?”

“Nothing! Go on please, sorry I interrupted.”

“Mhm.”

They let me simmer in my own embarrassment for far longer than I would have preferred.

And then they moved on like nothing had happened, which I was eternally grateful for.

“I’m sure you’re familiar with the basic reputation of a Cupid, correct? Historically, I mean, I’d like to establish a baseline; if not, I will elaborate.”

I nodded slowly, following close behind as the Auspice -Jun- let us straight past the previous queues and out into an elaborate courtyard of sorts; champagne pink skies with violet plush clouds slowly drifting over the large square of space above now available for my viewing pleasure.

“-are you listening to me, Jin?”

Absolutely not.

“Yes.”

“Excellent, so further explanation is no longer required on these topics?”

Once again, their words were positive but the way they were delivered made me feel like a child receiving a talking to from a particularly persnickety instructor, the height of ‘I’m not mad, just disappointment’ that ruined countless childhoods and eviscerated more consciousness' than anyone in the history of ever.

Of course, I had to showcase my shortcomings to this Auspice for the second time.

It was better for me to be honest, this wasn’t a good way to start off my new– well, my death I guess. I didn’t want to be on anyone’s bad side.

“...you’re right, I wasn’t listening; I’m sorry, I’ve just never seen a sky like-”

I bit my tongue, curbing the rest of my words from flowing out at the risk I would seem foolish and airheaded.

…More foolish and airheaded.

I was distracted by the sky because it’s pretty and I’ve seen so many moons.

It was true, but that didn’t mean I wanted to say it.

My quiet confession had caused them to look up, taking in the cotton candy clouds and creatures from every corner of my imagination taking off into the sky on dangerously beautiful wings. They seemed to consider the spectacle for a moment, blinking up at the star dusted canopy with a contemplative expression and eventually sighing; shoulders visibly relaxing a degree.

“I see.”

My tongue reattached itself to the roof of my mouth again, my mind lost on what I should say to try and restore the mood to something more manageable than the somber one my words had evoked. (The act of savaging the wreckage caused by my social prowess and presenting it to the best of my abilities -which were admittedly poor- was too large of a task for my overwhelmed mind to try and undertake.)

Thankfully, I didn’t have the time to toss out one of my conversation saving interstitials since Jun spoke before I could, their voice a little more contrite then I had expected.

“I forget that Oeuvre is overwhelming for new arrivals.”

They were quick to correct themselves.

“-I am fully aware that it is, I mean that I occasionally misremember the magnitude of the disorientation… I apologize, Jin.”

Call it anxiousness or foolishness on my part, but I couldn’t help but to smile a little bit when I chuckled self deprecatingly and shook my head, always ready to refuse an apology in favor and taking the blame myself.

I found it was an easy thing to do for the Auspice since they were far more tolerable without their previous professional bruskness ushering their words along; and I couldn’t blame them for being annoyed.

It must have been utterly exhausting to say the same thing over and over, all while having to deal with confused and frustrated people with their anxiety presenting in all different forms of anger or nonverbal gaping like I had done in the beginning.

As someone who had worked multiple customer service jobs, I could fully understand the irritation and being Displaced from your entire world was decidedly more than simply receiving a wrong food order; so of course the people would be proportionally more agitated and the ones who dealt with those people would be under additional strain.

“I get that so there’s no need to say you’re sorry, but thank you for apologizing. I’m… could you say what you were explaining again? I’ll listen this time, promise.”

They complied easily, directing us to a vacant bench and offering me a refreshment before sitting down as well.

“Where was all this polite hospitality before?”

I mused teasingly, taking a sip of water as I carefully gauged their reaction. I wasn’t sure if we were at joking status quite yet. To my amusement, they huffed with a slight roll of their eyes and fiddled with their ID badge in lieu of answering right away.

“That’s not what I was meant to be doing at the moment, we can’t personally offer all the Displaced beverages right upon arrival or there would be a horrible amount of traffic congestion; there are automated vending machines available every twenty paces for this very reason.”

Ah, so sarcasm was a no go at least pertaining to this particular topic. (Or maybe they just didn’t understand, I didn’t know.)

“You’re right, my bad.”

“Mm.”

They seemed to accept my words as fact and moved on with no sign of their prior tartness. (Additionally, I’d also later come to learn that they were also joking with me; their humor and delivery was just far, far drier than mine.)

“As I was saying before, Cupids have been historically known for…”

They raised a brow leadingly, prompting my input.

I took a shot in the dark going off of the loose tidbits of information I knew.

“...being the catalyst for love?”

They made a noise of pleased surprise.

“Exactly on the target; I’m impressed.”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“I’m… not.”

“I think… somehow that’s worse.”

The grin tugging the corners of my lips upward tempered the sharpness in my words so I wasn’t worried about how they would be perceived. I was happy to see the way the Auspice -Jun- took a moment to roll their eyes in response to my slight obstinance before continuing.

“Moving on, in a more general sense a Cupid is a harbinger of love or deeper connection. They are one of the many subsections of Heralds. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

I did, and since I was forcing myself to focus on what was currently happening instead of letting my thoughts spiral to other things -like the fact that I was dead or the various other fascinating things around me- I think I was starting to anticipate where we were heading next as well.

“As you’ve been informed, every Displaced here on Oeuvre is called a Herald -a term colloquially used for one who transports messages or a person acting as the flagship for change- because-”

The part of me who studied late and strived for exemplary grades sparked to life and I cut in before I could stop myself.

“-Heralds are all harbingers in some way? Like-through ‘Designation’ or something like that?”

“Exactly like that. Excellent– truly, you’ve impressed me once again.”

I preened. Internally, because I’d managed to keep some handle on myself and responded with a cool, unaffected answer.

“And yet somehow I don’t feel complimented, how do you manage that?”

They chuckled, barely a huff of air disguised as a ‘tch’ but I still heard it and recognized it for what it was. Which was a laugh.

So they did understand sarcasm; I didn’t know how someone dealing with humans on a regular basis couldn’t know at least the basic outlines of sarcasm or humor.

“Following that line of thinking, each Herald is a harbinger in some way as you previously intuited.”

They nodded in acknowledgement to my conclusion, their explanation purposefully echoing the words I used.

“It’s nearly self explanatory by simply knowing the titles for each individual Herald to guess what their tasks are. I, as you know, am an Auspice, which means I provide guidance and oversee that everyone is properly Processed or cared for; we are tokens to be used in the procurement of knowledge. Or, to put it in familiar terms, we are the harbingers of said knowledge, which is why Auspices work to greet, aid, and accompany the Displaced Portants where they are meant to be.”

They paused, leaving ample room for questions provided I had any to interject.

So long as they continued elaborating, I had none for the time being so they kept talking.

“Oeuvre exists in a place between physical worlds.”

I personally thought that they should have paused for questions here, but they didn’t and continued on unbothered.

“As a place for all kinds to coalesce, the inhabitants of Oeuvre are tasked with overlooking the place where they came from; Earth for you, correct?”

“Yeah-yes, I’m from Earth.”

I didn’t think I’d ever get used to using a whole planet as a defining feature.

“So naturally, your sector will cover the places where you inhabited when you were still an occupant of Earth for familiarity and comfort’s sake; additionally, because you are familiar with the surroundings you will be best suited for aiding the humans in your previous community.”

“Wait, I’ll be what?-”

“Of course, in the beginning you will be heavily monitored until you fully understand the magnitude of your duties but, eventually, you will have the authority to suggest life altering decisions provided you perform admirably.”

“Wha-how is that even possible?!”

“How is what possible?”

“How can I alter– suggest to alter someone's life if I’m not even on the same-same plain or whatever as them?!”

My bottle was pressed a little more firmly into my hand, a prompting nod from then motioning for me to take a sip so I could calm a little since my heartrate had been steadily rising.

“Oeuvre is nothing like where you are from, Jin, the sooner you can realize that concept the easier it will be to start actually benefiting the people you care about.”

That made me pause, letting the words and their meaning sink in as I exhaled slowly.

I could help the friends and family I left behind? Somehow, I could help them.

That appealed to me greatly; helping and making a difference.

I capped my water, setting it next to my shoe amongst the trimmed local flora more akin to plush black carpeting than grass. Sleek, clean, and business comfortable to create an easy atmosphere for chatting and comings or goings.

As it usually did, my mind immediately began to consider the consequences of my supposed required actions and I had to ask:

“What if-what if I make a mistake?”

My eyes flicked to theirs, self conscious and still bordering on overwhelmed as I fidgeted with my fingers. They were solemn, exceedingly serious but visibly trying to exude a comforting aura as they mirrored my actions and set their bottle down as well; posture relaxed and open so I didn’t feel threatened or pressured.

They didn’t succeed in assuaging my worries, only succeeding in boosting my nerves further as they answered; calm and matter of fact.

“A Herald can not make a mistake when performing official duties, the repercussions for our Subjects would be far too high.”