Waiting Room of Rebirth

Beyond that door, I knew I was going to reborn. My wrinkled skin will give away to the soft flesh of a new-born, after spending nine months in the womb of a mother I don’t know. The memories of my past life, before I entered this white-walled room, flood my mind. A simple life. A decent childhood and family. I even had a friendly relationship with my wife, with a few fights on the bumpy road, but every couple had that. Not everyone can say that honestly.

“Wanna play charades grandpa?” the little lady twirls the cigarette between her thin fingers.

That’s the first words she spoke ever since she stomped in with her biker boots.

“No thanks.”

She puckered her plum, pink lips, ”You’re no fun.”

Then she returned to fiddling with her purple plastic nails.

She seemed more like an art piece rather than a person. Her bobbed violet hair matched her feline fake nails. Flamed eyeliner accented her hazel hawk-like eyes.  Piercings embezzled her pale tea-cup ears and a mica black chain wrung over her nose, like the cows from my mother’s farm in New Haven.

Poor girl. Barely eighteen…yet already here. Eighteen was still a kid with slightly more freedom. The biological growth may have stopped, but not the mind. Never the mind.

I stared at her, pity stirring in my stomach, like a sewer rat. Recklessness no doubt. Nowadays youngsters had too more freedom than they knew what to do with. They did plenty mistakes and barely learnt from them…

Hopefully her next life wouldn’t end so tragically early.

We waited and waited for God knows how long. They really should keep some magazines or books around here. Was some form of entertainment to ask? Most waiting rooms had something, even if it was crummy Spanish soap operas playing on end, it was still something.

“So what’s your name?” I sighed.

She arched her brow at me.

“Now you want to get all buddy-buddy with me?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

Her tone reminded me so much of my daughter’s, Clarisse’s, more complicated years. Teenager years were always a nightmare. God, did I have to get through puberty all over again? Once was enough.

“Well there’s nothing much else do, here, besides well, talk.” I scratched the back of my neck.

“Got a point there, grandpa, except for like charades, but obviously you don’t want to play that.” She propped her right leg onto her left one.

“Still angry about that?”

“Of course I love charades, wanted to play it one last time, before I…have to go.”

Go to another life.

“Maybe we can do that …later.”

“We don’t have later oldie. We’ll probably be called any time by now.” She huffed.

The silence was as a thick as an iron-wrung noose over my neck. It pricked the tender flesh of my neck. She’s right.

“My name’s Paige by the way and yours?” She waved her hand flippantly, like we were going out for coffee, instead of waiting for our new lives to begin.

“Gregory.”

“So..”She drawled the ‘o’, like a bored, languid feline,” What was your life like.”

“Does it matter at this point. It’s not like we will remember any of this after we go through that door.”

“Just something to pass the time…”She shrugged.

“I had a…simple life. I was an accountant, would farm a bit-“

“You farmed! Did you raise cows and chickens. Or was it just crops?”

“Just crops. It wasn’t really my farm, just a relative.”

“Cool.”She waved, her hand gesturing for me to go on, like the child hearing an intriguing bedtime story.

For some odd reason…I didn’t want to continue.

“I had a few children, one daughter and two sons. My wife loved me too…I still remember her hands on mine during my last moments.

Her sharp eyes soften at that, ”She was a keeper.”

“She certainly was.”

I opened my mouth about to say more, but…There was nothing else to say. Then I realized my hesitance, my life was comfortable and so so boring. The most exciting thing to really happen to me was when I drove to Arizona all by myself and went sight-seeing for a bit. But that’s just it, I’ve lived my life respecting my limits, I could never taste the thrill of off-limits territories. I trod my life so carefully; I never strayed from the path to observe the foliage at the cracks.

“So what about you?” I asked.

She scratched the back of her head,” Ah It wasn’t the greatest one but…I had the time of my life.”

She giggled at herself nervously.

“I loved music. So I started a band for myself in my school. I wanted to be solo and since my Mama really didn’t care where I went, I decided why not tour the country?”

“How old were you when you ran away?”

“Twelve.”

That was still way too young for someone to actually run away.

“How did you do it?” I asked

“Just took the train. I had a butter knife to protect me from any creeps…Of course I had my doubts and missed my Mama, but I feel like I made the right decision. I was on the roads, just me and my guitar, and the bit of money I got from my performances.”She sighed, as if remembering a distant, fond dream,” It was pretty hard and I cried at times…But I had so much fun. People even sang along with me…I got a girlfriend, Lily, she’s…really sweet, and played the fiddle like a God”

Tears welled up in her eyes, ”If only her driving skills were better, we could have spent more time together.”

I stood up, went up to her and stroked her back. Pity wasn’t the only thing stirred in my core. Envy. That ugly, crude snake constricted my torso. My life was a soggy, plain toast while her was the exotic spicy  chicken rice bowl.

“Thanks you aren’t so bad. Mr.Solomon.” She stared back at me.

I averted her tender, sensitive eyes.

Then shame was added to the stew-pot of my conflicting emotions. She still was a girl, still died too young, still died from somebody else’s mistake.

“Don’t be sad Mister…I had a good life and you had one too. I can tell you aren’t satisfied with yours. But you still had a nice one…anyways once you go through that door, Simple doesn’t always mean boring.”

My corn crops and the smiling faces of my family spun in mind. Trips to the country, swimming in pools and kissing my wife after a terrible day… I did have a great life, still full of love. And if there’s love, there’s fun. That’s the one thing both of our lives had in common: love.

“You’re right.”

She gave me a thumbs up ,”Let’s live our next lives the way we want it, alright?”

I shook her hand as the door of our next lives opened.