WHATEVER WILL WILLS (PART 2)

Will maintained his position in the line as he was led down the path with the others. He didn’t know where they were headed, but he wasn’t eager to find out. He had heard stories about the life after death, but he never believed them. At a young age, he had frequented the neighborhood worship center with his mother and siblings, he remembered what the preacher said would happen to those who had no faith in the Supreme. If that was the fate he was being led to, he didn’t want anything to do with it.

“Where are we going?” he whispered to the rotund man walking in-front of him. “Where are they taking us?” he was referring to the giant beings leading the seemingly never-ending line of people. They had very small heads, muscular bodies, and they held thick clubs which each of them balanced on one shoulder. Will had been frightened when he woke up amidst the trees flanking the path to find the smaller giant staring down at him. Since then, he’d been walking with the group.

“They are taking us to our final resting place,” the rotund man said with a loving smile. Will guessed he was a preacher in his previous life. “Each of us has a place reserved here, and that is where we’re headed. A number of other souls were deposited along the way before we got to you. In the same manner, each of us will be deposited once we get to our destination.”

“So you’ve been here for a while?”

The rotund man sighed as a worried look replaced his smile. “I have been in line for a while now. I have witnessed many souls being deposited but I am yet to get to my final resting place. This is a never ending walk, the giants are always on duty. They deposit souls along the way and pick up other souls which replace those they’ve deposited, so prepare yourself, you may be in line for a while – if you’re not so lucky.”

Will shook his head. “I can’t do that. I wasn’t a spiritual man while I was alive, I never believed in this ‘after-life’ business, I am not sure a good fate awaits me.”

The rotund man scoffed. “So what do you plan on doing?” he asked, with a curious expression on his face.

“I need to get out of here somehow, I want to return to my previous life. I need to ensure those I left behind obeyed my last commands. Is it possible to do that?”

The rotund man nodded slowly. “Some souls have tried it, but I wouldn’t know if they succeeded.”

Will exhaled, happy to know that he had options. “What did they do? How did they do it? Where did they go?”

“It is believed that there is a portal to the east. If you pay the price demanded by its gatekeeper, it will take you to the future and will allow you spend some time there with family. I hear they won’t see or hear you, but you’ll experience everything.”

Will shook his head. “I don’t want to go to the future, I want to return to the present. I need to see what they have done with my estate.”

The loving smile returned to the rotund man’s face. “When you die, your time ends. Anything after that is the future as far as you’re concerned. There is no time here, and you’ve been here for a while, so if you return now, you won’t be returning to your burial service, you’ll be returning to life sometime after your burial. That is the future as far as you’re concerned.”

Will shrugged. “How do I find this portal?”

“Travel east, the portal can’t be missed. It will guide you towards itself.”

Will looked ahead at the giants leading the way, they were deep in conversation. He shook the hand of the rotund man just before jumping out of line and disappearing between the trees.

***

The rotund man was right. Finding the portal was a breeze. Since there was no time and no fatigue in the after-life, there was no way to tell how long he’d spent walking to the portal, but he was sure that it hadn’t taken too long. 

He approached the cloaked figure standing by the portal, but the figure gestured for him to stop. Will did a quick head-to-toe, but there was nothing to see, all parts of the figure were covered except the bony hand used to issue the command and the sickle peeking out from the part of the cloak where its other hand should have been.

“What do you want?” a voice said in a drawn-out whisper. The voice was so close that it caused Will to jump. The figure was standing a distance away, but the voice was right in Will’s ear. “How can I help you?” the voice asked again, Will stood his ground this time.

“I want to return to my previous life. I want to ensure my orders were followed.”

“Why? Why not trust Flora and Tom to do the right thing?”

Will was surprised. “How do you know…” he stopped himself when he realized it was a dumb question.

“I know everything.” The voice said, gruffly. 

“It is very important that I know.” Will said. “I can’t rest in peace if I don’t know, so I must find out. It is for my peace of mind.”

“Are you ready to pay the price?”

“What is the price?” Will asked, putting on his negotiation hat.

“You must sell me your soul.”

Will shrugged. “Make me an offer.”

***

The terms were not overwhelmingly in his favor but it was a good-enough deal. The gatekeeper threw in a few more perks than he expected, and he got the gatekeeper to give him more time than he said he was accustomed to giving. All in all, Will was satisfied with the deal he got.

After passing through the portal, Will found himself in the fields of his ranch. He instantly noticed something felt different. There was something about his surroundings that alerted him to the fact that a lot had changed. 

After taking-in more of his surroundings, he realized what it was. It was the neighing of horses. It was the lights shining everywhere around the property. It was the smell of cattle poop in the fields around him. It was the remodeled exterior the home he left to his wife and son. It was the giant water-plant sitting beside the house. It was everything. It was a far cry from what he’d imagined he would see, it was nothing like the ranch he had left behind. He would never waste the amount of money he imagined had been spent on the ranch, never. And Flora shouldn’t have been able to afford to waste that much money if all she’d gotten was what he left her.

He floated towards the house slowly, taking in the changes that had been made. A lot had been spent on the ranch, he was sure of it, and even more was being spent maintaining it. 

He stopped abruptly when he saw the luxury cars parked in the driveway. As he stared at them, wide-eyed, a sharp pain attacked his chest. He had left behind a ramshackle ranch, but what he returned to looked like something taken out of a magazine.

He burst through the walls into the house and stared in horror at the new interior. He was surrounded by so much luxury that his body began to itch. He couldn’t understand how Flora could have afforded all that luxury on her own. She had never earned a penny all her life!

As his anger transformed into fury, he burst through the ceiling into Flora’s room. The opulence flowed through every nook and cranny of the house, he could even smell it, and it irritated him. How could she spend so much on a mere house? Hadn’t she picked up anything about managing finances in the decades she had spent as his wife?

He found her sitting on the bed. She donned an expensive evening gown and she was tightening equally expensive shoes. She looked like a model. She was everything he’d never wanted her to be. 

Seeing her glow was the stroke that broke the camel’s back. Will activated one of the perks the gatekeeper had gifted him; when the gatekeeper said he would need it, he didn’t understand, but now he did. 

He materialized.

“You dog!” he screamed as loudly as he could. Flora was so stunned when she set her eyes on him that she froze in place. “What have you done?!”

“How? How?! How?!!” those were the only words she could bring herself to utter as she backed away from him.

“I came back, Flora, to check on you and to make sure you obeyed my orders, but I doubt that you did.” He slowly approached her. “What have you done, Flora? How are you able to afford all this luxury?” he watched her, suspiciously, hoping she would tell him she won the lottery and give him some proof. 

A smile spread on Flora’s face as she recovered from the shock. “I did what I had to do, Will. You wouldn’t give me what I asked for, so I took it.” She shrugged. “Everything you see inside the house, and everything outside, I bought with what you left me.”

“I left you this house and nothing else.” He was seething, but he kept himself in check. He needed more information before he decided what next steps to take.

“That’s not what your last will and testament says.” She mocked. With her shoe fastened, she rose to her feet. “I don’t know how you got back here, but a part of me is happy you came back. It gives me joy to know you’ve seen everything I’ve done with your wealth. This is payback for everything you put my son and me through.” She checked herself in the mirror and then turned back to face Will.

Will didn’t know if he could touch her, but he knew he had to attack her somehow. That was the only way to avenge the injustice he felt she’d meted out. That was the only way to ease his pain. That was the only way to return her to the sorry state he’d left her in.

Just as he was about to charge towards her, she raised her bag and stopped him in his tracks. She said, with a sneer, “Guess how much this bag costs, Will.” Will started to breathe heavily. He didn’t know if he could take it. He took a few steps back, but she volunteered the information before he could decide whether to fight or take flight. “It cost ten thousand.” Will felt a sharper pain in his chest, it was so severe it caused him to stagger backwards. “I don’t know how different it is from the used ones I was accustomed to buying while you were alive, but who cares.” she shrugged. “It smells nice, it feels nice, and it comes with a designer name too! Isn’t that great?!”

Will staggered again as the pain intensified. His breath became shallow. He felt beads of sweat form on his forehead.

“And I guess you’ve taken a tour of the house, guess how much I spent renovating the interior and exterior of the house?” she grinned.

Will shook his head. He searched for an escape route and settled on the window to his right. He had to get out of there and find a way to rid himself of the pain he was in. Flora had gone mad, she would kill him the second time if he listened to any more of what she had to say. He had begun dragging his feet towards the window when she made the revelation.

“Twenty-five million.” She said, emphatically.

The pain Will felt was indescribable. It was as though a thousand daggers pierced his chest all at the same time. He staggered and collapsed to his knees. She laughed.

When he recovered slightly from the pain, he said, “All I wanted was to be remembered fondly – to make up for all the errors I made while I was alive. What have you done, Flora? How will the world remember me? What have you done?”

Flora scoffed. “I know everything about the PR stunt you tried to pull by donating your entire wealth to charity. I couldn’t let it happen. Now, the world remembers you for who you are – the same way both I and your son remember you. When they hear your name, they remember a self-centered and miserly old man who never cared enough about others to share even a penny of what fortune bestowed on him. A few months ago, I swear I saw someone spit on your grave.”

She had barely said the final words when Will lost consciousness.