Gift of the Cherub (eBook)

Shane Graham (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023 | 1. Auflage
320 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-0848-0 (ISBN)

Infos

Getting a second chance at life, a young man is reincarnated in a new world filled with magic, monsters, and adventure. Will he choose to live as a hero or a villain?

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When a young man suddenly dies, he makes an unlikely friend and ally: a cherub. The Cherub gives the man a second chance at life, and he is reincarnated as Aramis Korin in an alternate dimension. He arrives in a new world filled with magic, monsters, and adventure. What will he do with his new life? Will he choose to live as a hero or a villain? One thing is certain: this time, he will live however he pleases.

Textauszug

1

The Space Between,
The Choice Given

The day I died started with a conversation …

“We really are in the red, aren’t we?”

I was so negative that day. My wife and I were going over our budget, and I was begrudgingly scooping cereal into my mouth before heading out. My two-year-old son, James, was sitting at the table watching his tablet and eating a banana. He loved bananas in the morning. It’s great considering how affordable they were. Our three-month-old girl, Jane, was in her child seat staring up at me. She was stunning. Her big blue eyes look at me calmly, and I grinned despite my mood.

“Babe, I’m trying to have a serious conversation here.”

Ah, right. The topic at hand. Money. My wife, Keely, stared at me waiting for a response. She was wearing a perplexed face, but even so, she was beautiful. We were both thirty, but she looked much younger. Not a day over nineteen. She slid me a cup of coffee as if to say, “you are clearly not awake.”

As an out-of-work digital artist, it had been over a year since my last job. At one point I tried my hand as an MMA fighter, but as I started a fight camp, Keeley told me she was pregnant. I had a bad premonition about continuing that path and abandoned that pursuit.

I just kept working side jobs, but as of late, it’s my full-time work. I had not earned a degree or even followed a stable path, and the results of my lazy choices were starting to show. I was on a roll for a while with digital art. Riding a wave so to speak. But being an artist was like surfing. You can easily land back on the beach. We were now in a situation no one wanted to be in at thirty. We had two kids we were funding by running out of savings, and making less than our monthly expenses. I kept thinking that my wife was a trouper to even stay with me. We spent most of our funds on paying off credit debt, and not thinking that the acting money would abruptly end. My current job title was janitor. I worked long shifts at a nearby gym.

“Have you talked with your father yet? Did he get you an interview with his friend?”

It’s not something I wanted to discuss. I groaned slightly at the words. My father was pulling the strings for me to get a desk job from his friend Damion. It effectively meant my aspirations as an artist would end, should that come to fruition. I would be a nine-to-five man. No room to audition. But it was my duty to pull my weight.

“No, sweetheart. I haven’t heard from Damion.”

Keely made a sullen face and nodded. She works from home as a customer service representative, and does the best she can while watching two kids. She was contributing much more than me. She brought money to the table, and the childcare and housework was immensely valuable. Kids were hard. People tell you that, but you never really know to what extent. Worth it to be sure. But, maintaining friendships, missing events, no personal time, and overall cost add up in your mind. The joy of having my kids is overwhelming and amazing. I can’t say the difficulty outweighs it, but we didn’t live anywhere near our families. There’s no help or relief for us. I can’t remember our last date as husband and wife.

“Keely, I love you.”

We kissed. And I gave her a second kiss. She nodded.

“I love you.”

I grab the keys to the car and head toward the door. Off to scrub some toilets.

“Baby, I need the car today. James has his appointment, remember?”

At those words, I couldn’t help but to look at her dumbfounded. I should have left five minutes ago then. Why have I been so forgetful lately? I hung the keys back on the hook and quickly open the garage to retrieve my bicycle. I gave one last look to my little family huddled around the kitchen table. There are toys on the floor, a training potty by the wall, and both kids are happy. Keely wears a forced smile. I love them. She gives me a small wave.

“Be safe.”

I took off, pumping the pedals in my work uniform. It was nice out today. And with the gym only a few intersections away, it was an easy ride. I took this job due to the location. The pay is terrible, but it’s the best pay I can muster. No one was hiring full-time employees with the market being in a state of inflation.

There was a silver lining though. I was a student at an online college, sixty credits into a degree in political science. I settled on that while having big dreams of becoming the president or a congressman. I loved my economics classes, and history courses. But I knew that any degree regardless of major, was useful.

We discussed getting another credit card to pay for the classes last night. I was taking this class period off, but I was excited about getting back to my studies. And just as I got lost in my own thoughts, my phone rang … I pulled out the phone from my pocket on the go. On the screen imposed was a name, DAMION WALTER. For a moment of hesitation, I considered not answering. This would be a huge change in my life. In a fraction of a second, I see the image of my children and wife sitting around the kitchen table. My wife forcing a smile, my son eating a cheap banana, and my daughter gazing up at the ceiling lights.

Yeah. They came before me. I would answer it. As I kept pedaling along, I hoped it wasn’t too windy for the audio. Glancing up, the walking symbol showed green at the intersection. Good. I pressed the green answer symbol, and the screen showed “connecting.” I brought the phone to my ear, and my eyes slid to the right of me …. It was the front of a city bus. “Connected.”

My hand, the phone, my head … the entire right side of my body caved into the front of the bus.

I blinked. Or I thought I blinked. But I couldn’t see anything. Or rather, I could see nothing. The color white. I saw only white in a seemingly empty space. Perhaps I was in a room? I couldn’t tell if I was standing. No …. Yes. I was standing in a white space. There was nothing here. A cold sweat started to bead on my forehead. My heart still raced from the bus. Where was the bus?! What happened to me.

“Hello?”

I cried out. I was starting to become afraid. I had to get a grip on myself … and oh, I was naked. I was in nothing but my birthday suit.

“AHHH!! Hello?!”

Was I ...? I couldn’t hear an echo to my own scream. The room I was in seemed endless. The brightness of the white room started to grow. Please, no. … My thoughts started to drift to the last moment I remembered. I had to be.

“Interesting.”

A voice. A deep and hard-to-define voice rang out all around. With a startled jump, I instinctively let out a scream

“AH!”

A long silence carried on. I was too afraid after that to speak and stayed completely silent, controlling my breathing as best I could. A long minute passed as I waited, glancing back and forth to the emptiness. But then …

“The words of your origins. You speak English. American Standard accent. Do you understand my words?”

The voice rang out again. As it spoke, it’s words became more and more clear. A tremble started in my hands. I remained silent.

“You do understand my words. You remain silent. Fear. You are afraid. Be not afraid. For I am not an enemy. This space remains safe.”

I was being told to calm down by a voice all around me. How was it possible? I took a deep breath of what I thought was air and my breath began to slow. Okay then. I had to reply.

“Am I dead?”

I respond quietly. The words hang in my mouth, and I start crying without noise. Of course, I was dead. As the thought set in, the image of my family I had just said goodbye to crept into my mind. My son was dancing in his seat to a song on his tablet chewing his banana. My daughter … My tears were steadily falling. They weren’t landing on anything. I looked down to the void of white. My family. I left my family.

“You are without vessel. How have you come to this space? Interesting. You are interesting. Unprecedented.”

The voice came from every direction. This time while sobbing, I could at least reply.

“My vessel is dead? My body?”

“Ah, yes. The body. You have no body. Yet your soul retains the form of your body. Why do you have a physical form? How have you come here? And you can speak. Your memories are intact. Interesting.”

I really didn’t understand the question. For whatever reason, this voice believed I had answers he did not. I wondered if I was being tested.

“Are you not God? I don’t understand. Where am I?”

There was a silent pause. One second, then two, and three. No reply. I stop sobbing for a moment. I was still afraid.

“You. You believe me to be God. God, I am not. In my space you arrived. With a form. Souls shall not have form upon loss of the body. You are interesting. I am, in your words, a Cherub. My form resides in your Eighth and Ninth dimensions. Do you comprehend? Are my words spoken correctly?”

Cherub. In his space. A cherub. I know this...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 4.8.2023
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3509-0848-0 / 9798350908480