My First Attempt at Flash Fiction

I'm taking the plunge and trying flash fiction....be kind (I'm still the new girl! ;) )

A Year After Your Death.....

“We made a mistake,” the voice from the shadows said.

“What do you mean a mistake?” I turned toward the voice confusion apparent on my face.

“We took you too early. We weren’t ready for you. Sorry, but it happens every now and then.”

Disbelief washed over me. A year ago I had been taken from my family and friends without as much as a good-bye. For 365 days I grieved for the loss of those that I loved and tried to adapt to this new world I was now a part of. Just as I had become accustomed to my new life, I was told it was a mistake.

“So what does this mean?” My eyes continued to search for the source of the voice.

“You go back,” the voice said.

“Back to my family and friends?” Hope and excitement shot through my veins at the idea of racing back to my lover’s arms. Our lips meshing perfectly again; the way they had when we shared our first kiss.

“No,” the voice said, interrupting my mental reunion. “You must take the form of another creature. It’s your choice, but you can’t go back as yourself. It’s not allowed.”

“That’s not fair,” I cried in frustration. “You made a mistake. Why should I have to suffer because of your mistake?”

“Life isn’t fair,” the voice said patiently, “but then again neither is the afterlife. Now what will it be? What do you want to go back as?”

“You expect me to decide right now, at this very moment?” My mind spun like a top trying to fathom the news I was given and the choices I would be forced to make.

“Take a few days,” the voice said reassuringly. “It’s a big decision; we know.”

I walked away from the voice and settled myself in my favorite quiet spot I had found when I had arrived in the afterlife. I wept silently as I struggled with the decisions I would have to make, and the unfairness of it all.

“Sister, why do you weep?” I looked up to find Sister Agnes standing before me.

“I’ve been told that I am going back to be amongst the living.”

Agnes drew to me and gathered me in her arms, holding me close, crooning as a mother does to her scared, injured child.

“It’s really not that bad,” she reassured me. “It’s a blessing.”

“How can this be a blessing when I cannot return to my loved ones?”

“The blessing comes in the form you choose to take. You can never return to them as you were for that would cause them considerable distress and heartache. But you can return to them in another form. The blessing is in the choice you make; this time you are in control.”

“How do you know of this Sister?”

Agnes wiped a tear from my cheek and smiled gently. “Many of us were taken at the wrong time. Some of us made choices to come back as humans hoping to win over the hearts of our loved ones. Others have made choices to come back in a completely different form.”

“How will I know I have made the right decision?”

Agnes held me for a few more minutes until my tears had subsided. “You will make the right decision Sister; the right decision for you.” She stood up, caressed my cheek and continued on her way.

My mind now clearer with the optimism from Agnes, I began to consider my choices. The next morning I returned to the shadows where the Voice could be heard and gave them my decision.

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

“Yes, I have given this decision much consideration.”

“You realize once you make this decision, it cannot be reversed?”

“Yes, I am aware of that,” I replied calmly.

“Then so be it.”

A bright light momentarily blinded me while gentle winds carried me from where I stood. When the light dimmed and the winds settled, I opened my eyes and looked around. My body rested upon a bed of hay that snapped and rustled as I attempted to move. I tried to rise and stand, but my limbs felt weak and my footing unsure. A nudge from behind me helped me regain my footing and I stood on wobbly legs. My eyes caught site of a large giraffe; my mother who loomed over me protectively as I took my first steps as a newborn giraffe. The sound of a murmur caught my attention and I gazed out at a crowd of people who were witnessing my birth.

There amongst the crowd stood my love from my previous life. I had chosen to come back as the one animal he loved; an animal I knew he would return to visit time and time again. I looked at him and walked slowly and tentatively toward him. He raised his eyes to meet mine and in that moment he knew who I was and he smiled.