Afterlife Tavern

[Author's Note] This one actually needs some explanation: my friend Kit wrote and sung a song entitled "Afterlife Tavern". It's really good. You'll have to take my word for it. Anyway, this song was one I'd listened to right before going to bed. My dreams did the rest of the shit. I blame you, Kit.[/Author's Note]

I’m a bartender and one night I saw this man walk in and decided to engage him in conversation. Once he realized that he and everyone in the tavern was dead, he asked me a ton of questions.

“How long have you been here?” He asked.

“A long time.” I refused to elaborate.

“How did you get to be in this place?” He gestured around the tavern.

“Well, Peter—that would be St. Peter to you—wouldn’t let me go to heaven, because my life had to be weighed and measured. He placed me in limbo, and eventually gave me two choices, seeing as my life was too balanced to be placed in either heaven or hell. The choices were be resurrected as a person that my friends and family knew. They wouldn’t know it was me. The other choice was to help troubled souls like yourself to make their decisions. The tavern setting was my idea, seeing how many people on earth liked the social atmosphere.” I smiled, resting my voice for a moment.

I could tell that my thick accent threw him off for a moment or two before he caught up. Once he did, a flurry of other questions came about. “So, what does one day in this place entail?”

“I open the doors at 9, when all the over-nighters start waking up. Some souls are already waiting by the door. I then serve drinks and food to everyone for the entire day. Some souls disappear during that time, smiles gracing their faces. I know that they’ve made their own choices or Peter has accepted them.”

“Over-nighters?”

“Souls that can’t make a decision during the time that I’m open, or have a long time limit for a decision. I’ve had a few that don’t have a time limit. See that soul in the corner over there? The one taking the drink?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s been here for 32 years. He was waiting for his wife, but now he’s waiting for his son. He’s one of the few that Peter purposely overlooks at the collection time.”

“Where’s he headed?”

I looked at the man, and smiled, refilling his glass. “Heaven. He lived a good life, despite not being a believer. He held his ground when Peter first spoke to him, and told Peter that he cared more about his family than getting into heaven. He said that he’d go through an eternity in hell for his family.” I sighed. “His wife was lucky to have him, and Peter admired him for that. Ended up giving him the choice to wait or go to heaven right away.”

The clock on the wall rang once, alerting me to the time. “Ah, time to lock up. Be back in a sec.” I walked around the bar and headed towards the door. A single soul made it in just before I locked the door, but another got locked out.

“Let me in, please!” She screamed, panicked look on her face. “Please!”

“Hun, you’ll be fine. St. Peter’s got it all figured out.” I closed the blinds and shook the bad vibes from locking her out off my conscience.

“Why’d you do that?” The man at the bar asked when I resumed my normal position.

“Any soul that gets locked out of my tavern between the time I close up and the time I wake up will be taken care of in fifteen minutes, if not less. That girl has nothing to be afraid of.” The clock chimed again.

“What’s that mean?”

“Three minutes left for those with time limits to choose their path.”

“By whose watch?”

I grinned. “By the clock on the wall.”

“Ah.” He thought for a moment. “What time is it?”

My grin grew wider. “God only knows! I haven’t the foggiest idea.”

“Right.” He took a drink with a shaking hand. “What will become of me?”

I took his hand. “Sunshine, you’re gonna stay here with me. You’ll be fine.”

“Really?”

“Yup! You can depend on me…well, my sixth sense, anyway.” A laugh escaped my lips.

“Hey, I’m leaving, hun.” The oldtimer I had pointed out to the man in front of me earlier was standing beside him, an arm wrapped around a strapping soldier’s shoulders. It was the last soul that made it in before I had locked the door. “This here’s my son, Phillip.”

The younger man’s blue-green eyes sparkled with delight, and his crisp uniform brought back memories of my best friend. Tears welled up in my eyes as I gave the best Marine salute I could. Phillip’s eyes grew wide, showing his surprise before he managed a solid salute in return.

“Take care, both of you.” I gave the oldtimer a hug before wiping the tears from my eyes. He cleared his throat as he let go, sending a weak glare in my direction.

“Now look what you’ve done. You’ve gone and made my vision all blurry.” He winked at me before guiding his son towards the door. They faded before even touching the handle.

The man at the bar watched with me as I looked at the other guests, smiles and worried looks going across their faces before they faded into nothing.

“Is it always this calming to watch them?”

I nodded. “Always.”

The clock chimed for a third time, and the last of the limited souls disappeared. The man sighed, downing the last of his drink. “So where would I be heading if I were to make a choice?”

I shook my head. “Choice is an illusion. They already know what you’re going to choose. But this question, I’ll answer for you once, and only once: you’re going home.”

He nodded, as if expecting the answer. “I thought so. Well, goodnight. See you in the morning.”

As he left, I frowned, shaking my head. “Everyone goes home. Except for me…” I took one look around and shook my head. “I’m already there.”