It's About That Time

A man and woman exit a restaurant, hand in hand. They walk down a crowded street, snowflakes obscuring the nighttime lights. After making their way to a park, they sit on a bench, the woman leaning into the man. "I had such a good time tonight! Same time next week?"

The man smiles, ecstatic that his efforts weren't in vain. "I'd love to." He hugs her, and silence fills the air. Though, that is before a bell tolls. "A bell? I've never heard one around here before." He looks at the woman, whose face has widened in surprise. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Damn, just when things were getting good too..." She says in an annoyed tone.

"Excuse me?" The man is confused by her sudden change in attitude.

"Sorry, it's not your fault. It's just unfortunate, really. You were a cool guy too." A second bell tolls.

"What are you talking about?"

"It doesn't really matter. Even if I do tell you, the same thing is going to happen. Welp..." The woman stands up and walks towards the park's exit.

"Hey...C'mon! What's going on? I thought you had a good time!?"

The woman turns back, her body becoming transparent. "I told you; nothing is going to change." A third bell tolls, and her body vanishes completely.

The man stands and reaches out to her before she's gone, but as she said, there was nothing he could do. "What the hell...WHAT THE HELL!" For the first time in his life, he had found someone who he felt as though he could truly love, and now for circumstances he'd never understand, she was taken from him. Feeling a mix of anger and sadness, he punches the ground, but when he does, his hand turns to dust. "Huh?"

All around him, everything in the area is turning to dust: people, trees, roads, buildings, streetlights- everything. Screams of terror fill the air, and his eyes widen in disbelief. Then, he remembers her words: It's just unfortunate, really. You were a cool guy too. His legs disappear, only leaving his upper body. All he can do is stare as everything he'd ever known turns to dust. It's only as his vision fades away does he realize that he was the one who was going to disappear.

"Ah man…I really liked it there too!" A woman stands in an empty void, hands rested behind her head. "I had a house, a stable job, and I'd just found a good husband…Oh well, onto the next I guess!" Suddenly, memories of another life begin to appear in her head. "Okay okay…I understand. Let's do it!" She disappears from the void and enters the body of her new host. This will be the thousandth time 'she's' gone through this process.

In their first life, it was as normal as could be. They grew up in a nice family home, lived a long life, and died peacefully. For some reason however, they were met with an unusual fate. No heaven, no hell, no Gods; just an empty space. Then, the memories of someone else's life appeared in their mind, and they went on to live that life. If it ended there, it wouldn't be so bad, but the real curse began at any moment after.

In every next life without fail, an ominous bell would toll three times. Any amount of time, any place, and for no reason at all, the bell would toll. The first few times it happened, it was surprising, but after that, it was no different than a sunset. The bell tolling simply meant that they'd live their next life. But for everyone else…

"Honey, I'm home!" The next victim of this possession was a loving husband and father of three. According to the man's memories, they've been living in this house for 10 years, and their life has only been going up from this point.

"Hey, welcome home! Did you get my text, Susie has soccer practice late tonight and you'll have to pick her up."

"Yeah, I'll take care of it. I just came home to drop off my things." Ever since the first possession, they've made sure to not disrupt the lives they take if it's a stable one. They'd feel bad ruining more people's lives than they'd already have been. They set down their keys on a table, and a bell tolls.

"A bell?" The wife is puzzled, as a bell has never tolled in the area before.

"I just got here too…So very unfortunate."

"What?" The wife asks, a second bell tolling.

"You have a nice family too…I hate to see you go, but there's nothing I can do about it. It makes me wonder though, what actually happens to all of you?" Their body becomes transparent.

"What's going on!? What's happening!?" She reaches out to her husband, but her legs turn to dust.

"It doesn't really matter, because even if I tell you; nothing is going to change." The final bell tolls and they disappear from the world, forced to watch the same scene unfold once again and everything in the world turns to dust. The house they were supposed to live in, the wife they were supposed to love, the schools he'd pick his daughters up from; everything. After the entire planet turns to dust, so does the moon, the sun, the neighboring planets, and the faraway stars. Everything.

For one thousand lifetimes, this being has been forced to steal the life of an unsuspecting person, newborn or dying, and has had to watch existence itself perish. To their knowledge, no one gave them this power, and so far, no one has been kind enough to spare them from it. At first, it was a personal hell, but overtime, their human connection and empathy only existed in the time before the bell. They'd done everything possible to make people happy, but what was it for? The moment they enter a world, the universe is fated to be erased, so is it their duty to make people happy, or should they live only for themself? They still don't have a clear answer, but only one thing is certain: They will live, and for the time being, that's good enough for them.

They sigh deeply. "Oh well! Let's see what we have next!"