Afterlife Adventures

As the couple left the house, I immediately went back to that storage room and removed the contents of the boxes. I finally found what I was looking for. The couple's grandson and Anabel's son is Michael. He's young and quite mischievous looking, about mid twenties and a little bit chubby. I grabbed his photograph and placed the things back to where they belong. The only problem now was where is this young man is located. The picture had no description whatsoever and I haven't seen any other photos that have clues to where he lives.

I sighed, oh Gabriel, I'm a bit stuck, please help me.

Instantly, bright light appeared in the room. I had to look sideways to avoid Gabriel's intense rays.

"You called for me?" he asked.

"Yes, I need a bit of help. I now know what this boy looks like but I'm having a bit of difficulty in knowing where he lives. Any idea where?" I felt stupid asking him this question since I know he knows everything.

Gabriel chuckled "I may not point it out to you but keep this in mind. This is something with a bark, but it doesn't have a bite,with a lot of sun and rain, it can grow into a great height. You need to think and figure this out and before I leave, I'll give you one more clue. I am larger than the stream, but smaller than an ocean. I can start off in the mountains, which keeps my flow in motion. Good luck Winter" and just like before, Gabriel vanished in specs of light, leaving me with all those clues in which I have no idea.

I wandered outside to clear my head looking at the scenery. Okay first, I need to figure out the first riddle. This is something with a bark, what is something with a bark? It could be a tree, it could be a dog barking. It could be a person expressing their intense emotion towards another. But it doesn't have a bite which means the dog is out. With a lot of sun and rain, it could grow into a great height. As I repeated the phrase over and over in my head, I realized the answer was just right in front of me.

A tree!

It grows heights and needs sun and rain and it has a bark! I smiled triumphantly in thin air. Boy I've never felt so pumped up even though I'm dead.

I took a few steps and sat on the bottom of the tree. Now, for the next I am larger than the stream but smaller than the ocean well, this could be a puddle, majestic falls, a canal by the side, a creek, river. I can start off in the mountains, which keeps my flow in motion. Something that starts in the mountains. . .is there even such a thing? I looked at Michael's picture again. His background was a refrigerator with magnets and a picture of what looked like a body of water. Wait. . . it looked like a river of some sort or it could be a stream! Is this it??? I asked myself excitedly as I was able to solve the second riddle. Well quite frankly unlike the first, I wasn't sure of the answer because it could be both. If that's true, then Michael could be living near a forest with a stream or river just like his grandparents but where? The world is so big for me to find the exact spot.

The sound of a car's engine began to draw close as the elderly couple came back. I've always wondered where they were going throughout the day, are they still working? Or maybe volunteering? An idea struck my head, I needed to gather info and where might I get it? Of course! From them! They might be talking about their grandson and Alicia's daughter! Why didn't I think of that before? How stupid can I get?

I checked my arm for the timer, I still had four more days before all of this would be invalid. I sighed feeling the grass under my feet. I never knew being a soul would be this lonely but then again, why look for company when I can see everything without being noticed. I could also travel and be at the destination in an instant.

I decided to take a break and visit Greece. This place had been one of my dreams since I was a kid but in my time, I never got the chance to see the beautiful scenery. I lived a good life but not the luxurious one. Just the average, we can afford what we need but not for something expensive. Closing my eyes, I visioned the place with the picture I've always kept in my bedroom.

In an instant my surroundings changed, I was in the middle of a pathway full of tourists. Vendors shouting from the side eager to sell their goods. I smiled and walked around, how beautiful this place was. Watching the stalls full of goodies, I noticed a boy staring straight at me. He was sitting by the side of the road. He was clutching some sort of paper, or photo. As I moved closer, he stood up but didn't walk away, instead, he kept his gaze at me.

"Hello, can you see me clearly? I asked gently.

He nodded not saying anything so I tried again. "Are you waiting for someone?" he nodded again.

All right, let's try a different question."Who are you waiting for?"

The boy pointed to a woman who was talking with a customer. Clearly she's alive and kicking but this boy certainly is not. I looked back at him again.

"Is she your mom?" he nodded clutching the paper tighter to his chest.

I was about to tap the woman's shoulder when Gabriel's voice echoed in my head the holy father would always be watching so mind your actions.

I took my finger back deciding not to interfere and faced the boy again. But the second I looked, he vanished in thin air. Okay, that was weird and a bit creepy but still weird but then again, I'm dead. Why should I be freaked out? Oh, right, being a scaredy cat was in my system. Deciding that my time here has been truly fulfilled, I imagined the old couples house and brainstormed on what I had to do.