"The Second Circle " by Geraldine D

 

            It was the fifth of May at 8:50 in the morning; the beginning of hell. Every morning was always the same: get out of bed, take a shower, get dressed, make coffee. Except something was off. The house was unusually quiet. My wife wasn’t around to nag at me about the bills and how I never help with chores around the house. Long story short, we got into an argument last night so she left to spend the night at a friend’s house. Not only was the house quiet, but the strong wind and rainy weather was odd since I live in California, but then again the weather is always changing here so maybe it wasn’t too odd.

            Before going to work, I decided to drop by Vons to shop for some groceries and flowers to make amends in hopes that my wife will forgive me for the fight last night. As I walked into Vons, I noticed that it was eerily quiet and the usual music that played throughout the store wasn’t on. I walked around to find a worker to double check if it was open, but all of the checkout lanes were empty. After a minute or two of walking around, I finally found someone who was standing by the door. He didn’t look like he worked here. His pale complexion and dead gaze were a little freaky, but I thought he might have some answers for me.

            “Hi! I was wondering if you could help me figure out if this place is open yet?”

            “It is open, but only to those above,” replied the stranger.

The stranger’s reply was unsettling, but unlike any normal person who would attempt to leave as fast as they could, I continued to ask questions. He could be some sort of psycho, but curiosity got the best of me.

            “What’s the ‘above’?”

            “The above is where the living dwell.”

The more questions I asked, the more twisted his responses got. None of it made any sense.

            “But I am the living. What do you mean?”

            “Your death occurred four years ago today. You are of the many misfortunate who

 ended up in the second circle.”

I froze. I died? The second circle? No no no. It was all coming back to me.

It was late at night and I was driving after the fight with my wife. I don’t remember where I was heading, but I wanted to get as far away as I can from the house and forget the awful acts I’d committed. Knuckles bruised, the foul breath of alcohol, yelling, crying. I don’t know what had come over me. The amount of power that I held in my hands gave me a sense of dominance and strength; the power that I’d long wished to have ever since I was a kid. If only those who would pick and laugh at me could see me in that moment.

Though I remember my crimes, there was no way I could be dead. I have to apologize to my wife.

“How do I return to the above?”

“You can not. The punishment for the sins you have committed are everlasting.”

“You aren’t real. None of this is real. I’m only dreaming.”

I ran out of the store and got into my car. In an effort to ease my mind, I turned on the Christmas radio. Static. Is this really a dream or am I just crazy? Heading home, I never noticed the passengers in the other cars because of the wind and rain. As I was at a stop light, what I made out to be a man turned his head to look at me, but one thing was missing: his face. I stepped on the pedal and sped all the way back home. I hurried into bed, but it was difficult to fall asleep after encountering that strange man. I took a couple of sleeping pills to help speed up my disappearance from this weird alternate universe. I drifted off deeper and deeper into sleep.

            Finally, it was the next morning. The house was still, my wife was gone, and the weather outside continued to rage. I checked the date and time- May 5th, 8:50 A.M.