Parading through the streets

Welcome

The darkness over takes me, the beeping of the heart monitor flat line fade and the sound of my aunt Marie calling for me ceases. I'm gone now.

It's quite a shame that I have died so young. I had so many opportunities but now they're all gone. I was a victim of the horrors of cancer. When I was given the news, the cancer was too advanced to try and stop it with chemo.

Now what? Is death just a never ending cycle of me in the darkness to reminisce about the life that I could've had? Or is it what people say, heaven and hell? Maybe it's all just a big hoax and you just have to relive the same life again without knowing it, over and over? How am I to know? I've only been dead for five minutes.

My eyes flutter open to something not quite as what I remember life looking like. Unlike the living world, everything seems black and white as if it is an old film that you payed a nickel to see. I try and get to my feet and fail to find my balance, falling back to the ground. Hands grab me before I can hit the dirty ground.

They belong to a man, who is wearing a jacket that resembles one of a marching band. But his has a medal on it, a cross looking medal on his right side of his chest. He doesn't smile, he doesn't say anything to me, just helps me up.

He turns to walk down a pathway and my curiosity peaks me, so I follow. He leads me down to a camp sight almost. But whoever has been camping there is definitely settled for good. He takes my hand and leads me to the largest of the tents. Once inside I notice a man who has his back turned to us. The who found me speaks for the first time," We have a new one Chief."

The new man, Chief I'm guessing, turns and looks at me from head to toe. He had short cropped hair that is so incredibly white. I just remember I'm still in my hospital gown from when I died, wow that's sounds weird to think about.

"What's your name, girl?" Chief asks.

Suddenly I'm filled with anxiety, what was my name? Why can't I remember this simple detail from my life? He must notice my predicament and laughs a bit ," it's okay, no one remembers but I always ask just in case. This means you get to pick your name. Now, choose wisely you are going to have it for the rest of eternity."

I ponder for a moment and say ,"Helena. I choose the name Helena."

"That's quite a beautiful name you have picked. You can call me Gee. I always had the feeling my living name started with a G so that's my name," he explains. He disappears for a few moments and comes back with a stack of clothes and hands them to me.

"These right here will be your clothes. Here you are given your clothes and they will be you clothes forever. Now go change," he says as he gestures to a curtain for me to change behind.

After I finish he leads me out of his tent and says that he is going to give me a tour of the grounds. Every now and again he'll gesture to someone and say who they are. I only remember a few but I do have forever to learn all of them.

He stops abruptly and turns to me and says," Do you see that woman over there with the long dress and the gas mask?" I nod yes. "That is Mother War. She is our healer, our foundation, our heart and soul of this place. None if us would be surviving through death without her. You must never speak to her unless she speaks to you, only her followers speak to her," he warns.

"Why is Mother War so important?"

"She's important because she was the first to be here, the first to colonize death. There are many stories about her death but no one knows the truth except her followers ,but they can't tell because they have a vow of silence to all but her. One of the more popular ones is that in World War Two, her son was sent to war and never came home. She was given a notice that he had died in a plane crash. Mother War was so devastated that during and air raid, she put on her gas mask and walked straight into the open where a bomb landed soon after very near to where she was standing. It was far enough away that she wasn't blown up but the shock did kill her and her mask completely burned onto her face."

"That's all so horrible!" I shrieked.

"Yes but this is what you'll be dealing with for the rest of your death. The constant sad stories of people's deaths. But you will also get to know very many people because you will be with them a very long time. Right now it seems very morbid but you will learn there is beauty in all of this sadness and that even thought you're dead doesn't mean you're gone."

He turns and faces me with a grin on his face, "Welcome to the black parade, my darling."