k_a_webb | Afterlife: Caitlyn: Guiding a War Veteran (Reply)

Written for LJ user ysabetwordsmith’s prompt: Caitlyn offers her services as a spirit guide to the newly deceased veteran that Death brings to the Afterlife.

All spirits were assigned guides, because that was the way system worked. The guide watched over the spirit during their life. Sometimes they were needed during the spirit’s lifetime and sometimes they weren’t called on until the spirit died. Being a new spirit guide meant that Caitlyn was an unknown, so she worked with other spirit guides, Death and Samael to help find those she felt she was capable of guiding. To begin with she would just be assigned the newly dead, rather than those who were part way through their lives, because she didn’t feel ready to deal with guiding the still living.

When Richard walked into the office with a war veteran, who was under the guidance of one of the guides Caitlyn had worked closely with, she knew she could offer her services as a guide. Her eyes met Richard’s first and he nodded, so it was obvious he agreed with her, before she looked at Asus. Asus smiled at her, knowing the experience she’d had during her life with war veterans, because he’d been her husband’s spirit guide and knew her life almost as well as he’d know her husband’s.

“I think you’re the right guide,” Asus said, as he walked towards her. “I’m happy to pass my spirit onto you and remember you can ask me for help if you need it.” He squeezed her shoulder. “I doubt you will, but the offer is open as long as we’re both guides.”

“Thank you, Asus.” Smiling back she stood up and, after taking a deep breath, Caitlyn walked towards the war veteran standing with Richard. “Welcome to the afterlife. I’m Caitlyn and I’m going to be your guide during your time here.”

The spirit ran her tongue over her bottom lip, looking as though she was about to cry. “I’m Hannah,” the spirit replied. “I…” There was a long silence. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

“Death or the afterlife?”

“Both, really, and being guided to the afterlife by Death.” Hannah glanced at Richard before looking back at Caitlyn. “When he said he was Death I asked him where his scythe was.”

Caitlyn smiled. “I asked exactly the same thing when he told me he was Death.” She reached over and touched Richard’s shoulder without taking her eyes off Hannah. “He’s a good Death, Hannah. You were lucky to have someone like him coming to look after you during your journey. It can be hard for someone who’s been through wars to die, because you’ve spent so much time around it.”

Hannah nodded, a single tear trickling down her cheek. “Death permanently stalks a soldier.” She wiped it away. “I lost friends to death, but I don’t think that death was the hardest part. It was the injuries.” She ran a hand over her arm. “Losing my arm wasn’t so hard, in comparison to what some people had to deal with. They lost multiple limbs, broke their backs, and occasional had injuries that affected their minds.”

“When they come here all the physical problems fade, but it’s not just the physical that is affected by war.”

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.