Sans Repose

Van was absolutely distraught. Their romantic partner of sixteen years had died in their arms. The pain of losing her was made all the more unbearable by the thought that she might never truly rest in the afterlife. After Achilles had died, the souls of the dead had stopped passing over to the other side. It was a bad dream. Had Achilles made it to the afterlife? Would anyone complete the journey ever again? And what is the point of living if there's no promise of rest on the other side?

Van jumped with fright. They thought they had seen their dead partner's ghost. She was roaming the halls of their cottage in the hills. Van shouted out to her, and Achilles turned around. Van went in for an embrace only to find they couldn't touch her. They talk for hours, though, and Achilles tells them that she hasn't passed over because there is no Charon to ferry her across the river of Death. Achilles told them of the unbearable anxiety she felt about the possibility of never finding rest in the afterlife and the hordes of dead souls that were also now unable to cross over.

Van considered the choices they had before them. They were happy that they had the love of their life back, in a way. But what was the point of having her back if she couldn't rest? If they genuinely believed they could be happy with her like this forever, why was there a nagging in their head about the unrest that was surely coming? Finally, Van decided to ignore the little voice and try to be happy with what they had, a ghost for a housemate.

But when the ghosts of the others arrived from the underworld, things got really insane. Van knew they needed to do something about it, but it felt like a monumental task. They got angry at Achilles for dying and the Charon, that had abandoned their duties. Van got pissed at the other souls that hadn't crossed over like it was their fault. Finally, they had to step back and see that all this anger was directed toward the wrong place. They knew it was up to them to bring Death back to the world, no matter the cost.

Van had to prepare for their journey, but they needed some supplies. They packed everything they thought they would need for the trip, including the small heart-shaped locket Achilles had given them. On the inside, it had a video of each of them blowing kisses at the other. Van also brought golden coins from the underworld that they had received from an elderly man who had wandered across their land in the days before Achilles' Death.

With that, Van set out on their journey to the underworld. They hoped that things would get easier once they set out for the destination, but they did not. There were ghosts everywhere. The whole world was overrun with them. But that didn't stop Van from continuing on the trek. When they got to the entrance to hell, they stopped for a moment to consider the ramifications of their decision. But they thought about their life with Achilles, the wonderful things they'd done together, and how she had only wanted peace in life and Death. With renewed determination, Van set forward, paying the cost to enter with the gold coins.

When they got into the underworld, though, things got complicated. It became hard to remember why they had come and why they were sad. Van became so overwhelmed that they began to doubt that they were alive. It started to get hard to walk, and they had a hard time recalling why they were even there. That's when Van remembered about the necklace. They opened the locket seeing Achilles' smile; it brought such weightlessness that they began to weep with joy and sadness. They finally reached their destination, the dock where the ferry was tied.

Van cautiously approached the boat, but no one was on board. Souls tried to grab the oar to steer it, but they couldn't succeed. Van jumped onto the ferry, took the oar into their hands, and ferried their girlfriend's soul across the river. On the other side, Death greeted them, and Van accepted their role as the new living Charon.