Status: Complete!
Escape from this Afterlife.
One of One
Naomi wandered around this place, devoid of life, trying to find some indication of where she was. It appeared to be some kind of park though which one she had no idea. In the distance she could hear waves, so she figured she must be somewhere on the coast. The last thing Naomi remembered she was driving down the PCH. She was angry but she was struggling to remember why. Naomi vaguely remembered crying, her vision had been blurry at best. She kept going faster, not wanting to stop. Just wanting to get far away. She had barely been in control of the car and it had hardly registered in her brain to slow down on the corner. She remembered crashing into the guard rail, teetering on the edge of the cliff before the car went over, plunging into the Pacific.
It hit her then, why she had been so upset. She had just found out about Jimmy dying. She couldn’t believe it at the time. How could her hero, a man so full of love and life, be gone? He was only 28 years old. It was way too soon, he was far too young. It was never supposed to happen. He was supposed to live forever.
Naomi felt something warm on her face. Bringing a hand up she discovered she was crying. This realisation only made the tears come faster and she wandered further into the park. She discovered a little alcove hideout littered with beer bottles and cigarette butts. An occasional piece of sheet music also littered the ground. Picking it up she found the title to a song she was all too familiar with; Afterlife. Picking up another piece of paper, and then another, she also found Almost Easy and Dear God.
Naomi was starting to get a sense of where she was when she heard a man shouting. Startled, Naomi dropped the music and turned to where the noise was. Seeing nothing as her vision was blocked by the trees, Naomi stepped out of the alcove and went to investigate. She knew then exactly where she was as she walked towards the pond because there he was, chasing the ducks and rambling semi-drunkenly. Jimmy. She was in central park.
Unable to contain her overwhelming excitement Naomi ran as fast as she could and tackled him in a hug. “I FUCKING KNEW YOU WEREN’T DEAD! It just wasn’t possible, there was no way. But you’re not dead, you’re here. You’re alive! We need to tell everyone, they have to know!” Jimmy, startled by the new addition to this world, stood and watched her ramble, wondering what in the fucking hell she was talking about. Of course he was dead; this was the afterlife after all. The middle ground between heaven and hell for those who fit into neither. And then he realised, she had no idea.
Leading her over to a rock, he pulled her to sit down and waited until she was quiet before he spoke. “What’s your name?” Suddenly shy, Naomi stuttered out her name. He smiled at this before becoming serious once again. How was he supposed to tell her that she was kinda, sorta dead? “Naomi, that’s a nice name. Do you know where we are?” Naomi nodded, smiling slightly at the compliment. “Do you know how we got here Naomi, or where here really is?” Slightly confused by his line of questioning Naomi shook her head negative.
“We’ve died Naomi. I died from an overdose and you from a car accident. This is the Afterlife. Not quite heaven and not quite hell, just a nice peaceful middle ground that allows us to be on earth. You, however, are not quite dead. They’re trying to save you now, trying to take you back to life. You get to decide here what you want to do. Whether you want to live or die. You have a little time of course, as time means less here than it does to the truly living. But soon you will have to make your choice.”
“What about you JimJam, why did you choose to die? We’re all so devastated that you’re gone.”
“I never got to make the choice Naomi, because by the time anyone tried to revive me, my time to choose had run out. I wish I could go back, even just to be able to say goodbye. I watch them every day. I see them cry, drink themselves into oblivion and push everyone around them away. I watch helplessly as they slowly destroy themselves. I hate that there’s nothing I can do to help. I keep trying to find a way but so far there’s nothing. I’ve been able to visit them though, through their dreams. They never remember but I tell them I miss them, that I love them and that I want them to move on and be happy.”
“Are you angry that no one was there to save you?”
“I was, but then I realised that it would do no good. I was home alone, how could any of them have known?”
“I don’t want to go back Jimmy. I just want to stay here, stay with you. You meant so much to me, even though we never met. You inspired me, helped me stay sane, and got me through some of the hardest times in my life. And now you’re not there anymore, and you never will be there again.”
“You need to go back Naomi. I’ve seen the damage that losing someone does to people. Your friends and family need you. Don’t put them through the hell of losing you. And I need you to do something for me as well. I need you tell the guys that I miss them, and that I love them and that I’ll be waiting for them when their time comes. But tell them to live their lives, not to end them to see me. Brian especially. Tell them to make this record and make it massive. Tell them to continue making music for as long as they can. Tell them to live the life that I wish I got to.”
“Ok. Ok I will. But promise me you’ll visit me when I dream. And promise me I’ll get to see you again.”
“I promise kid. Now, you’ve got to go. I’m so glad I got to meet you. And thank you for what you’re about to do.”
Getting up from the rock, Jimmy pulled Naomi into a tight hug, placing a kiss to her head. He let her go after a few minutes and watched her walk away. Taking one last look back at the man who never should have died, she walked into the darkness, ready to face life once again. She knew that the next few months were going to be tough, and she had no idea how she was supposed to pass his message along, but she knew she would do it. She was far from over Jimmy’s death, but she was at peace with it. He was watching over all of them now, and one day they’d all see him again. But, until then, she had work to do.
-FIN-
It hit her then, why she had been so upset. She had just found out about Jimmy dying. She couldn’t believe it at the time. How could her hero, a man so full of love and life, be gone? He was only 28 years old. It was way too soon, he was far too young. It was never supposed to happen. He was supposed to live forever.
Naomi felt something warm on her face. Bringing a hand up she discovered she was crying. This realisation only made the tears come faster and she wandered further into the park. She discovered a little alcove hideout littered with beer bottles and cigarette butts. An occasional piece of sheet music also littered the ground. Picking it up she found the title to a song she was all too familiar with; Afterlife. Picking up another piece of paper, and then another, she also found Almost Easy and Dear God.
Naomi was starting to get a sense of where she was when she heard a man shouting. Startled, Naomi dropped the music and turned to where the noise was. Seeing nothing as her vision was blocked by the trees, Naomi stepped out of the alcove and went to investigate. She knew then exactly where she was as she walked towards the pond because there he was, chasing the ducks and rambling semi-drunkenly. Jimmy. She was in central park.
Unable to contain her overwhelming excitement Naomi ran as fast as she could and tackled him in a hug. “I FUCKING KNEW YOU WEREN’T DEAD! It just wasn’t possible, there was no way. But you’re not dead, you’re here. You’re alive! We need to tell everyone, they have to know!” Jimmy, startled by the new addition to this world, stood and watched her ramble, wondering what in the fucking hell she was talking about. Of course he was dead; this was the afterlife after all. The middle ground between heaven and hell for those who fit into neither. And then he realised, she had no idea.
Leading her over to a rock, he pulled her to sit down and waited until she was quiet before he spoke. “What’s your name?” Suddenly shy, Naomi stuttered out her name. He smiled at this before becoming serious once again. How was he supposed to tell her that she was kinda, sorta dead? “Naomi, that’s a nice name. Do you know where we are?” Naomi nodded, smiling slightly at the compliment. “Do you know how we got here Naomi, or where here really is?” Slightly confused by his line of questioning Naomi shook her head negative.
“We’ve died Naomi. I died from an overdose and you from a car accident. This is the Afterlife. Not quite heaven and not quite hell, just a nice peaceful middle ground that allows us to be on earth. You, however, are not quite dead. They’re trying to save you now, trying to take you back to life. You get to decide here what you want to do. Whether you want to live or die. You have a little time of course, as time means less here than it does to the truly living. But soon you will have to make your choice.”
“What about you JimJam, why did you choose to die? We’re all so devastated that you’re gone.”
“I never got to make the choice Naomi, because by the time anyone tried to revive me, my time to choose had run out. I wish I could go back, even just to be able to say goodbye. I watch them every day. I see them cry, drink themselves into oblivion and push everyone around them away. I watch helplessly as they slowly destroy themselves. I hate that there’s nothing I can do to help. I keep trying to find a way but so far there’s nothing. I’ve been able to visit them though, through their dreams. They never remember but I tell them I miss them, that I love them and that I want them to move on and be happy.”
“Are you angry that no one was there to save you?”
“I was, but then I realised that it would do no good. I was home alone, how could any of them have known?”
“I don’t want to go back Jimmy. I just want to stay here, stay with you. You meant so much to me, even though we never met. You inspired me, helped me stay sane, and got me through some of the hardest times in my life. And now you’re not there anymore, and you never will be there again.”
“You need to go back Naomi. I’ve seen the damage that losing someone does to people. Your friends and family need you. Don’t put them through the hell of losing you. And I need you to do something for me as well. I need you tell the guys that I miss them, and that I love them and that I’ll be waiting for them when their time comes. But tell them to live their lives, not to end them to see me. Brian especially. Tell them to make this record and make it massive. Tell them to continue making music for as long as they can. Tell them to live the life that I wish I got to.”
“Ok. Ok I will. But promise me you’ll visit me when I dream. And promise me I’ll get to see you again.”
“I promise kid. Now, you’ve got to go. I’m so glad I got to meet you. And thank you for what you’re about to do.”
Getting up from the rock, Jimmy pulled Naomi into a tight hug, placing a kiss to her head. He let her go after a few minutes and watched her walk away. Taking one last look back at the man who never should have died, she walked into the darkness, ready to face life once again. She knew that the next few months were going to be tough, and she had no idea how she was supposed to pass his message along, but she knew she would do it. She was far from over Jimmy’s death, but she was at peace with it. He was watching over all of them now, and one day they’d all see him again. But, until then, she had work to do.
-FIN-
♠ ♠ ♠
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