When I was alive, I had a massive crush on someone. The cutest girl I''ve ever laid my eyes on. She was a girl that I shared a class with- no, a school with, ever since the start of third grade.
The memory of her name alludes me, yet I remember everything else about her. Her short hair as brown as chocolate, eyes as blue as the purest of seas. She wore the cutest shirts, my personal favorite being this pink and white striped shirt with black overalls. And she grew out of those overalls when middle school rolled around, and started wearing shorts. Every outfit she wore looked perfect on her.
She was kind, bubbly, got easily excited about the smallest of things- she likes kitty cats and cupcakes, brought to class a box of chocolate cupcakes every year it was her birthday. She paid very close attention in class, did all her work in time- and she does this cute thing with her hair where she playfully twirls it with her index finger when bored.
I could go on and on about her. I remember her more than I remember my own life, truth be told. It was love at first sight, and I admired her for the longest time.
Though, we never spoke once.
While we did share classes together, I don''t remember talking to her whatsoever. We never shared any fond memories together, no conversations, no school assignments, nothing- as far as I know. I never got the chance to tell her how much she meant to me, nor did I ever get the chance to mean anything to her.
To this very day, it still... haunts me... to know that the most important memory of my life, the only person I still remember from my old life will always be a walking opportunity. One that I kept missing all of those years we never spoke.
I know, for certain, that I wasted my life with the biggest regret on my heart. I don''t think I''m ready to remember how I lived... nor will I ever be ready to understand how badly I wasted my life away. I feel as if my heart yearns for her, to this very day.
I know, I''d do anything for a second chance, just to see her again and... and...
... sigh.
"... alright, sir, please wait one moment."
Those lingering thoughts remain to this day. His mind remains focused on this one conversation long after he''s uttered the words, his heart as heavy as ever as he''s no closer to rediscovering himself.
This ghost of a tragic, unrequired love is now one of Nihil Center''s receptionists, regularly tasked with managing the long line of ghosts. Most of them were either applying for a Name Ceremony or reserving tickets to see one. Stacks upon stacks of paper being carried about by the ghosts behind him, as he''s the front and center voice to talk with the amnesiacs.
Fellow amnesiacs that have their new non-lives together, a lot better than he did.
The ghost isn''t, by any means, a lesser soul. No, he was just a moderately average soul, one with a normal height, a normal body, just... normal, in general.
The only thing that could identify him is his name tag... Cola.
On his coat reads the name "Cola" in bright silver, a standard for Nihilian employees. A name bestowed before he even knew anything about himself.
According to Nihil, these names are based on the most important truth that lingers in the soul, the innate truth that no amount of amnesia could ever get rid of: One''s greatest accomplishment, one''s greatest passion, possibly one''s most important treasure. This placeholder name marked a sort of "halfway point", where he should have learned more about himself.
However, he was just... Cola.
And in that sense, as he sees all of these ghosts signing up for these ceremonies, the ceremony that still leaves him clueless and lost... he hopes with what remains of his heart that they get more out of this than he did.
"Alright... your naming ceremony will occur in one month''s time, sir," Cola tells the ghost, stamping the front piece of paper and handing it to the ghost. "I hope all is well with your recovery."
"It is going swimmingly. Thank you... Cola," the ghost remarks as she reads off the name tag, giving a gentle nod... and giving off the faintest scent of lavender as she did so. "If I may ask, what can I expect with this ceremony?"
Cola... shakes his head. "I don''t want to spoil the surprise. Just know it''s going to be great to have a name other people can call you."
"Right, understood." The ghost gives another nod, another lavender-scented nod, before walking off out of the center.
Cola idly looks to the ghost''s paperwork, before putting it aside. A lavender soul, hm? Neat.
"Alright, next, plea-"
And he stops.
Cola stops speaking almost immediately as he stares forward, looking at the person on the other end. His eyes going wide in shock, staring at the human- the human girl on the other side.
After completely making up her tour and digging herself into a hole, Yvette decided to completely cut the line, walking past all the ghosts that have been waiting longer than she''s even been in the building.
Lost in her lie, on the verge of getting caught, she simply walked up to one of the receptionists- ready to improvise and get lucky for her own sake. Yvette didn''t have a plan otherwise, so... time to see what she can get away with.
This isn''t going well for Yvette, however. The receptionist in front of her, Cola, knows full well that this person didn''t wait in line, and was initially ready to dismiss her.
But... but the moment he laid his eyes on her, the moment he saw the girl before him and really thought about it- Cola was left speechless, gazing at this girl with a sense of familiarity...
Yvette''s long hair is silky smooth, and shines with a vibrant shade of cocoa brown...This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Yvette has matching black shorts, and has a kitty cat notebook holstered at her side...
Yvette''s eyes, while red instead of blue, have an identical soft and soothing look to them...
Cola couldn''t say a single thing, because he''s face to face with someone who looks so much like his one memory, his one true love. His dead heart simply racing as his starry-eyed gaze sparkles and shines at this girl, trying his best to- keep his cool.
"Hey, sorry for the, uhm, inconvenience-" Yvette began to politely speak, trying to think of some sort of excuse as to why she should get thirteen whole tickets to some Name Ceremony- let alone why she''s allowed to cut in line.
And as Yvette spoke to him, Cola tunes everything out with one thought: this girl sounds IDENTICAL to her...!
Who is she, and why is she here?
Why is there a living girl resemblant of Cola''s almost decade-long school crush standing before him in this strange afterlife?
... maybe it''s a sign that- that he''s getting a second chance?
Yes, that must be it. It''s unlikely that it''s her, what are the odds of that? But the coincidences aren''t to be thrown away, Cola is possibly being given a miracle to- to talk to this girl, to not make the same mistakes as before. Somehow, he''s been given the one chance to face his life''s biggest regret.
"... and, like, uhm, I hope it''s not too much trouble?" Yvette asks.
Already, however, Cola is messing up. The ghost didn''t hear anything that Yvette said whatsoever. He was too distracted by her cute sweater, the shoulder-revealing brown sweater that...
... that makes Cola- holds a hand over his chest, breathing- heavily. This girl gave him heavy feelings of life, made him feel alive again- and... and he doesn''t understand why.
"Dude?" Yvette speaks up, getting his attention.
"H-Huh?" Cola noises, hand raising to cover his mouth as he clears his throat. "Uhm- yes, mhmm? Could you repeat that again, please? Apologies."
Yvette tensely, ever so tensely hesitates in response, feeling herself sweat a little.
The way this receptionist said that - without knowing his inner thoughts, for the record - gives off a strong implication of "excuse me, what?" Expressing some sort of disbelief, asking her to repeat it.
Maybe it''s too much to ask this guy ''hey, can I have 13 whole tickets to a naming ceremony starting in the next two to five minutes?''
Yeah, no, it''s definitely too much to ask in hindsight.
Yvette thinks very, very hard to herself. Hands on the counter, knowing full well the best way out of this is honesty, full blown honesty. Being as honest as possible about this problem of hers. This guy will understand, right?
"Yes, I have about twelve ghosts here ready for their Naming Ceremonies, and I''d like to check them in? Their Naming Ceremonies should be taking place within the next two to ten minutes or so, collectively."
YVETTE
YVETTE WHY DO YOU DO THESE THINGS
Yvette is screaming at herself in her head as it gets worse, as she has a bold smile on her face. Looking the receptionist straight in the eyes and telling him that twelve entire ghosts are ready to receive their names, going so far as to point them out. Her foot is firmly on the gas of this car crash.
The receptionist, Cola, stares at this in- mild shock. "Oh, I see. I''ll check right away. So... so you''re one of Nihil''s employees? How long have you been with us, if you don''t mind me asking?" he asks, a warm smile on his face as he makes a bit of conversation.
Yvette is taking several quiet, yet deep breaths. "Not too long ago, really. Maybe a day or two," she tells the truth. "See, I arrived at my new realm recently, and-"
"O-Oh! Y-You''re a Realm Keeper!" Cola blurts out with a slight hint of panic in his voice.
"... yes, I am," Yvette answers, also only now learning about her official job title?
Cola has a wide smile with wide eyes, and nods ever so eagerly as he turns to a table in the back. "Okay! Uhm. I see. Well- uhm- give me one moment, if you will?"
Yvette- nods to the receptionist, watching him turn his attention to a bunch of papers. Idly just- waiting, and looking back to the twelve members of the Tour Group that patiently waited for her.
Meanwhile, Cola is freaking out, completely shaken.
It''s bad enough that he couldn''t talk to his school crush when they were just classmates in the same year- but in terms of hierarchy, this girl is basically his superior, and... and that makes him even more anxious. No way is he going to be able to hold a conversation with her.
In fact, Cola knows he''s never going to be able to talk to this girl ever again if he messes this up. He''ll be unable to ever look her in the face, and he''ll live the rest of his death still in shame and agony at wasting this one chance.
So he reaches for a pair of reading glasses, then begins to rummage through the papers of ghosts scheduled for today. Having access to their records and seeing if there''s 12 whole spots open for these ghosts in particular, and... and...
...
No.
No, none of them are scheduled?!
Wait, did he- did Nihil Center miss this? It could be an error, but- no, nonono, a scheduling error of twelve whole entire unnamed amnesiac ghosts?! Most of their notes minimal at best, with no signs of even being eligible for the ceremonies, a-and yet they''re NOW here for their ceremonies?!
This... this is horrible!
Cola is now starting to absolutely panic his heart out, absolutely frantic and going insane. He gazes back at the girl, needing to come up with something immediately to fix this.
He could take the time to request new forms for them, but- but there''s no possible way he can do it in two to ten minutes! They''re already here, and waiting any longer will ruin everything!
No, no, okay, he can''t mess this up, he can''t! He just can''t! So in the short amount of time he has, he... he...!
"... alright, thank you for waiting," Cola speaks aloud, getting Yvette''s attention as he brings over some spiritual lanyards. All of them made in a span of twenty seconds by Cola, each having a laminated card marked with various ID numbers. "All twelve of them should report to Auditorium 4-C. Someone there should be able to assist them."
"Oh. Wonderful, thanks!" Yvette exclaims, accepting the twelve lanyards and leaving the desk.
These ceremonies are apparently prestigious, with long waits, and... and Yvette now has twelve whole lanyards obtained for all of them.
And as she walks back to the tour group, Yvette is thinking to herself: How- HOW IN NIHIL IS SHE GETTING AWAY WITH THIS?!
This is the most insane lie she''s ever done and Yvette feels like she''s going absolutely unhinged in this moment. Her entire walk back to the tour group consisted of the longest moments of her life, trying her best not to completely break down mentally. The adrenaline courses through her veins with each step, completely and utterly shaken.
... and the ghosts are also absolutely shocked as well.
Each of them handed their own lanyards, and processing what Miss Tour Guide Jolivette managed to do for them. Just a while ago, she told them she was getting their tickets to see a Ceremony... and now all of them were getting their names!
An eruption of cheers filled the lobby in that moment, and - as quickly as they shouted and roared with joy - they all ran for the stairs. Yvette and the ghosts fleeing, quickly running as fast as they could to make it to their scheduled auditorium.
Cola sat behind that desk with arms on the table, his eyes having not left Yvette for one single moment as he''s calming his nerves. As the weight of what he just did crashes against him.
He basically found one single Naming Ceremony that had vacant spots... and is now setting himself for a mad sprint to finish and fill out all the paperwork for those twelve ghosts as quickly and diligently as he could.
Cola''s heart completely races as he processes what had just happened, leaning forward with arms on the desk, slumped over and out of breath, and... and...
... his... his eyes start to water. Tears dripping down onto his folded arms, on the verge of crying.
Cola''s hand feels warm.
His hand was once held a long time ago.
In that moment, after that hectic interaction with whoever that girl was, Cola... Cola has a memory just... flash right before his eyes, him- sitting on a Ferris wheel with his crush.
It was the Fourth of July. Fireworks were setting off, and the two- went on one, single date. Their hands were locked together, their carriage at the highest point of the wheel. Her hand felt soft and warm. She wore this vibrant t-shirt with the American Flag on it, her blue eyes gazing elsewhere- enjoying the sparkling colors in the night sky.
As they sat, they were enjoying... amusement park concessions. She had a big clump of pink cotton candy on a stick, while he had a...
... a single bottle of cherry cola.
"................."