Death Academy

A flash. A light. A whisper. And suddenly he was not where he was before.

Morton, who had just ventured to end his own life, found himself in an uncertain place. He thought he would be in Heaven, Hell, Purgatorio, or somewhere in between, but this felt like a familiar place - a university.

It occurred to him that he did not remember the resolve to die. He was certain that there was a gun, or maybe pills, but he didn't ask himself what the culprit was. He felt that this would be more interesting than painful.

He was greeted by a being dressed in black, with some fascinating features - a general's star on his chest, a leather-like jacket, shoes that looked to be made of obsidian, but he did not have wings or horns, nothing pretentious.

"Are you ready to forgive yourself?" He said.

Did he know about my suicide? How could a fool be forgiven?

"Yes, I'd like to try", Morton barely managed to squeak out.

The being then straightened up.

"Are you sure this is about trying? You just need to forgive yourself."

There was a definite feeling of uncertainty running through Morton.

He finally steeled himself and said "If I must, then I will."

The being smiled.

"Do you like listening to Grouper?"

Morton was shocked.

"How do you know about that?" he asked.

"We know you've been trying to find peace through her pained lyrics. We appreciate her too, for figuring out something about the human condition."

After hearing this, Morton was convinced that he was in the right place.

He then offered his hand to shake the being's hand.

"Oh?" exclaimed the being.

"I plead of you to cure me of my sins!!!"

As Morton cried out, the being seemed to hold out his arms without any hesitation, and seemingly embraced Morton as one embraces a child.

"You may call me Perseverance. I am the gatekeeper of inner self-belief."

Morton did not know what to expect. He must have known by now that Death Academy was not just for anyone. Indeed, his strivings were not in vain, he thought, because he may find out the reasoning behind his death.

He was sweating. He remembered that his family fought over unhinged reasons, and constantly summoned the police to see their awful bickering.

Though he was steadfast, his heart was weaker than anything.

"Do you wish to heal yourself?" Perseverance asked.

And perhaps Morton should.

"Fine. What can I even do?"

He mustered a cry.

Perseverance sent him to a special, personal class. This was not for everyone. It is owed to special cases that have lost family, suffered from severe drug abuse, and lost all their human attachment to the Earth.

Morton did not fret. Though he cried on the inside, he was ready to forgive himself. He knew what was coming... virtue was crying out in his fragility.

He found himself in a tight room, with a beautiful and forlorn woman.

She called herself "Reconciliation".

"Are you hurt because of what you've done?" she asked.

He could not answer. Shaken by his regret, he knew that the gun, pills, or whatever else would hurt him forever. He let his family and friends down.

She looked at him with sentimental eyes.

"Do you truly think you could undo anything?"

Morton cried like he hadn't cried in years. He wasn't ready for confrontation, and his soul certainly hadn't settled in the new plane.

"I just want... peace...." he managed to say.

She struck him with a startlingly precise look.

"Don't you deserve to feel joy again?" she quickly said.

He couldn't handle it. His anxiety was flaring; his dread was firing in all directions; he knew that he made the decision to leave the land of the living.

"Probably."

Reconciliation took this answer as proof that he had a chance.

"Do you miss your cat?"

He would now cry even more uncontrollably.

"Of course I fucking do!!!"

This meant that he was understanding his place.

"Won't you come back to him when you find your peace?" she asked.

Morton was a lost soul. His expression showed his despondency.

"I... I... hope... I can be there again." he finally said.

She suddenly extended her arms the same way as Perseverance did.

She embraced him so much that even his own mother couldn't match it.

Morton cried for half a minute, and asked "what the hell is all this, anyway?"

For the first time, Reconciliation cracked a smile.

"You're a special human. Many don't know what their souls are doing here. They end up being rejected by everyone, including themselves. But I see you rejecting yourself without any good reason. I want you to feel your heart."

He did not get it. He never felt joyful around humans. Even if he indulged in drugs and alcohol, his soul was now here, feeling a whole new world.

"What have I done wrong?" he suddenly asked.

She smiled and let out a slight, cutesy laugh.

"Nothing. That is why you're here. Death Academy teaches the sinless."

No wonder that he was confused. He expected to be punished again.

"Are you... testing me?"

She laughed loudly this time.

"No, my dear human. I want you to understand that the circumstances of your suicide were not selfish. You were trying to intervene in your family's affairs, and they did not seem to understand your intentions. They hugged you when you did well, but their overall disposition was too heavy for you. You ought to forgive yourself and become like us, self-forgiven archangels."

Having heard this, Morton was dumbfounded and silent.

He stared at Reconciliation for at least a minute until he said:

"I am ready to forgive myself."

This confidence impressed her.

"Very well, we're taking you to the next teacher."

Morton was whisked away to another room, seemingly shinier and more beautiful than the previous, and was unable to relax himself too much.

He was now met by a being with a half-male and half-female face.

This was the "grand teacher".

"Are you happy with your self-nature?" they asked.

This being shook Morton out of his comfort zone, seeing as he was not very happy with his self-nature at all. He thought, what can I really do about it?

"I am called Salvation. I have no identifiable characteristics, because salvation is not to be identified. Are you ready to save yourself?"

This felt somewhat strange to Morton, since he had some lightness from his previous hosts. This was surely a more personal encounter.

"Am I capable of doing that as I am?" he asked.

Salvation slapped him with a wing of Heaven.

"Are you not always capable?" they asked.

This feeling was like being hit by the creator himself.

"Yes, I finally get it. I killed myself out of fear."

Salvation turned his hurtful wing into an arm, and embraced Morton.

"Behold, how quickly you are finding Heaven again."

Morton now cried for 5 minutes, and did not hesitate to pity himself.

"Why do we hate ourselves so!?"

Salvation observed him with warm eyes.

Morton felt the warmth, and changed his tune entirely.

"Perhaps I would like to graduate from this academy."

Salvation chuckled slightly.

"I do hope so, because now you will now be talking to yourself!"

Morton hugged Salvation. He spent hours talking to himself.

Eventually, he opened the door and graduated from Death Academy.

This was several days after. He could now face his wife, children, and cat.

He hugged them with a great love that he could've only found in the afterlife.

*We now understand the purpose of Death Academy. When one reaches the point of no return, they must consult their self-nature and fight. When one has done something reprehensible, they must consult their hearts. When one has lost their minds, they must find another one. The entities discussed have shown our hero the way forward, and there is always a chance for the unfortunate one, the seeker who pains, to be found again and redeemed.

Redeem yourself.