Elysium Chapter 3

Maeve uses a digital afterlife service provider; 'Elysium'. This follows her journey.

3

So you're dead.

         

Your guide to the hereafter

          It's natural for one to feel a tad out of place upon death. You're dead for goodness sake, who could blame you? but death doesn't mean you should stop living and now you're here, why not live a little? Start your much deserved retirement with a nice coffee, hot chocolate or beverage of your choice. Which brings us to your first lesson in the afterlife. Manifesting. Focus on a spot in front of you (Ideally a stable flat surface) and picture what you want in your mind's eye. ( For those with aphantasia please call Sharon.)

          Maeve put the tablet down on the couch beside her and pictured a hazelnut latte, the one she would always get with Juno at the coffee shop. Yellow cup of speckled porcelain, accompanying terrible biscuit on the side, the foam in that weird fern leaf pattern. A faint light glowed and there it was, steaming, exactly as she had imagined it.

          With a little trepidation, she reached out for it fearing her hand would slip right through it like a ghost or a hologram but as she touched it, it touched back, warm and solid. She lifted it to her mouth and sipped the contents... Not the best but what she had imagined. It seemed there would still be some practice required for this manifesting thing.

          A thought occurred. She could manifest Juno but then she thought again. She could manifest her but would she really want to? She imagined this construct. Most likely, it would be the spitting image, same voice, same way of acting but it wouldn't really be her would it? Also, what would she —the real Juno— think when she came to visit? She could almost hear her.

          "I'm SORRY babe, you were away from me for less than an hour and you did what?"

          She could wait , she decided. She took another sip of the latte, picked up the tablet and continued reading.

          Now you have successfully manifested a beverage, we encourage you to practice manifesting other things. We should mention, however, that at this stage you will be limited to smaller items. Trust us; this is for your own psychological well being. Once you've mastered this ability a bit more, however, you will find yourself naturally being able to manifest multiple, more complex and larger constructs to your heart's content. Finally, as a close to this section on 'Manifesting'; The body you inhabit, right now, is the one that you perished in, but it needn't be. Just as you manifested items; you can manifest any appearance or form you wish. This book recommends, should you wish to change your appearance, to start off with small changes and keep a photo of your original form, for reference, should you wish to revert quickly. Good luck.

***

          Maeve looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Start off small. She thought. She focused on her hair. She had inherited her mum's hair : thin, brown and stringy. She had never liked her hair. Red. She thought. I have red hair. Nothing happened at first, then —slowly— she watched in amazement as the hue of her hair shifted unmistakably from her roots diffusing down. In a few moments, her hair had changed completely. Still stringy, though. Thicker. She thought. Her hair became fuller; starting at her roots then spreading out. Without warning, her hair became thick as wool; like a rag doll. The scales of her hair follicles visible to the naked eye. Too thick. She thought at her reflection, desperately. She let out a sigh of relief as it reverted a comfortable midrange. I see why they said to start off small. She spent a while trying different things; Made herself: taller, curvier, shorter, thinner, fatter. Tried different: skin colours, hair types, clothes styles.

          "Having fun?"

          Maeve spun on the spot bracing herself against the sink staring speechless at the intruder. Sharon sat on the edge of the bathtub, arms folded.

          Currently, Maeve was tanned; resembling an ethnicity of asian descent wearing a 1950's style dress and hair with curls to match.

          "Retro." Sharon mused.

          Maeve became aware of herself and focused on reverting back. "I was just--"

          "Experimenting," She gave Maeve a wink "Trust me, completely natural, everyone experiments a bit."

          Maeve furrowed her brow. She sort of looked how she used to but it was off, like an A.I. image. Uncanny.

          "How quickly we forget the lives we lead."

          "What?" Maeve turned to watch Sharon hop off the bathtub and trot over to join her by the mirror.

          Sharon motioned to Maeve's reflection. "Hard to undo it isn't it? You get so used to things staying the same, in the end you forget ... even what your own face looks like." She snapped her fingers and Maeve was herself again.
          Maeve felt the contours of her face as she looked at herself in the mirror. Familiar, yet strangely forgettable.

          Sharon handed her a photograph. It was the photo Juno had asked a tourist to take when she first came over to visit. They had spent the day in London.

          The photo filled Maeve with nostalgia for that day; there she was, smiling at the camera, with Juno kissing her from the side, eyes closed like prince charming.

          "For reference; if you forget again. Don't worry Maeve, happens all the time."

          Maeve looked pensive at the photograph, touching Juno's face. She would always remember her face. Juno's wonderful face. "When can she come visit?"

          "Come again?" Sharon asked, puzzled.

          "Juno... my partner, when will she visit me?"

          Sharon looked away, clearly hiding something. "Right, about that... There's been a bit of a problem."

          "What kind of problem, Sharon, what are you talking about?"

          "At this time I would like to offer my apologies on behalf of the Elysium Cooperation as the visitation of Juno White may temporarily be unavailable."

          "But you said she would be able to visit me. She said she would visit me." a tear rolled down Maeve's cheek."

          Sharon put her hand on Maeve's shoulder. "I'm really sorry, it's just not possible at this time."

          "But I want to see her." Maeve's voice quivered

          "Well you can see her."

         Maeve wiped the tear from her cheek "What?"

         Sharon smiled. "She can't visit yet, but you can see her. Probably easier if I show you."

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