Annie's relationship with Saki had been fixed.
That was a relief. Hopefully with time, Saki would trust her. They could attend their club meetings together. They could study together. They could be close friends.
Then there was Sabine. She had appeared distraught. She had run the opposite direction when she had seen Annie. Why had she run? And why had she been out in the rain without an umbrella?
Annie could have gotten the answer if she had not been careless and allowed herself to be hit by a car. And right before her friends too. That was so embarrassing.
Where was she anyway?
She stood alone, on what appeared to be an infinite featureless plain. Everything was white. Even the plain dress that she wore. Was she dead?
She walked aimlessly in one direction. The ground felt a little cold beneath her bare feet. The air was breathable, with a chilly taste.
Then she saw the dark outline of another girl in a dress. As she got closer, she saw more details - the long hair, the face, the dress. When she was a few steps away, she saw enough to recognize the girl. It was herself.
The other girl stared at her with narrowed eyes and assumed a haughty pose.
That was when Annie knew.
She understood what had gone on in her life. Now she understood why she was so different, why Second Sis and everyone had mentioned that she was not the same. "You're Annie," she told the other girl. The original Annie.
"Yeah," the other girl acknowledged, "Who are you?"
"Annie, apparently." The fake Annie.
"We can't both be Annie," the other said. She examined her twin from head to toe. "Though you look like me."
"Now everyone is gathered," a deep male voice said authoritatively.
Both girls turned towards the source of the new voice and saw a figure in a white robe. He had a cowl hiding his face and features. Well Annie thought he was a 'he' from his voice.
"Who are you?" one of the Annie's demanded.
"I'm someone in charge of the afterlife," the stranger announced.
"Who is she?" that Annie pointed at the other.
"She's Annie," the stranger replied.
"But I'm Annie," that same girl argued.
"This is going to be confusing." His voice was less imposing this time. He pointed at one of the girls with a gloved hand, "You are Annie." He pointed at the other, "You, you use your middle name, Gloria."
The stranger folded his arms and stood smugly. "There, settled."
"What is going on?" Gloria asked.
"There's, uh, there's been a bit of a mix-up." The cowled stranger somehow managed to appear apologetic despite the lack of visible facial features.
"What do you mean 'a mix-up'?" Gloria pressed.
"To put it simply, you, Gloria, had died."
Oh boy.
No comments:
Post a Comment