Despite Nathaniel wanting to pass on peacefully into the next stage of his afterlife, he had no idea what all it would entail. Would he see the pearly gates? A figure in black? Would his family be there? Could he finally see them again?
Or would Nathaniel go from a peaceful, if lonely, life in his manor to one spent in the darkness and silence, where his consciousness wasn't even strong enough to think?
...
It was a terrifying uncertainty - although he kept his fears from Astrid - and one that Nathaniel had been thinking about ever since he found out that there was a chance for his spirit to be set free.
When Nathaniel finally slipped away, his last sensation being Astrid's hand, it was a lot simpler than what Nathaniel had imagined it would be.
Death was... peaceful. Quiet.
Although, Nathaniel supposed, this was not Death at all. This was his afterlife - and it was his peace. It was nice - he had no needs or wants, and there wasn't even a sensation of having a body or figure, like he had as a ghostly apparition.
It was supposed to be perfect... but the afterlife was... lonely.
Perhaps, had Nathaniel been a normal case - someone who had not been trapped between the living and the dead for ages - the endless peace, and eventually absorbing of his consciousness into the nothingness around him, would have been appealing. But - it wasn't.
Nathaniel had lived - or at least been conscious - for centuries. He wasn't at peace, although he had been able to move on. He hadn't ever truly lived - that chance was taken from him by another - and despite this being Nathaniel's goal since he passed, he did not want to be here.
...
"Ah..."
Nathaniel couldn't startle - he didn't have a body or enough of a conscious to be shocked - but he was surprised.
"Hello?"
Words were not possible, but Nathaniel got the feeling that they were unnecessary.
"Smart. I know your type, Nathaniel. This limbo is not for everyone - especially those whose lives were shorter than what they were meant to be."
Nathaniel did not have anything to say to that, and the mysterious voice seemed to understand.
"I have a proposition for you. We offer it to all souls, though those who die younger are the ones who agree most often. Your case is a bit different, so my proposition will be different as well...."
And so Nathaniel listened, and although he had no body to smile, his essence glowed.
---
Nathan MacAgee hesitated at the door, his fist inches from the wood. This was all so strange. He had an apartment, and a job interview in three days, neither of which he set up himself. At the apartment, his neighbors greeted him like they knew him, and there was clothing in his closet that Nathan did not pick out.
Sure, it had all been explained to him, but it was still strange.
However... this - this anxiety and hope, this tension - was different. It was a different sort of strange, that was also perfect and wonderful all at once.
Nathan took the plunge, and rapped on the door with a solid, flesh hand.
(Another strange thing.)
When the door opened, Nathan smiled in a way that he hoped seemed welcoming, and not like he had no idea what was going on.
"Hello. I wanted to thank you for all of your efforts... for all of the kindness... that you showed a lonely ghost. So, thank you dearly, from the bottom of my heart."
It was different seeing her with the knowledge that if he were to reach out, that there would be a connection - a human connection - and not just a cold chill at his touch.
"So... Astrid... May I have the honor of knowing you? Without my eventual vanishing hanging over us? ... I promise that I will not disappear on you again."