Trigger warning: talks of death

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“We eat and drink like all the rest

And shout ‘Vivamus, moriendum est!’”

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The harmonious voices fill the room. Skirts flowing around the long table, hands in the

air as everyone moves to the music playing. The chair cradles me in its warmth, the lights

hanging from the ceiling blind me momentarily. “Hello there! So nice of you to join us today.”

The lady speaks with such an alluring voice as she places an arm around me. “Oh, don’t look so

confused. All questions get answered at the end of the celebration.” She smiles wide, like a

Cheshire cat, while I look at everyone singing and dancing and eating and drinking. “What

celebration? Where am I?” Her hands motion to everyone dancing. Their silhouettes are all I can

see. “The feast of decision of course! Although, most stay undecided.”

I look at her as if she’s insane. “Decision? What decision?” She walks around my chair

grabbing a pomegranate. The fruit looks sweet as she plays with it and explains. “What happens

next. Will you move onto the afterlife or will you ask for a second chance to live? Such thought

provoking questions, aren’t they?” She grins and tosses it to me and when I catch it I can’t help

but stare. “Eat up! Celebrate! You won’t taste anything like this anywhere else.” My eyes snap

up at her voice. It’s as if she speaks in a song. “Who are you?” Her eyes light up, reminding me

that of a child, as she jumps back and bows “I am Ligeia. Provider for the undecided spirits.” As

she speaks, I become aware of how cold it is. Spirits? I stand up from the chair “Where am I?” I

ask again, but her grin only widens as she takes back the pomegranate from my hands, passing it to another ‘spirit’. “I believe that the better question is who are you? Tell me dear, do you

remember your name?”

My name... the answer should be simple... but I can’t find it. My hands begin to shake a

little, my breathing becomes shallow. “Don’t worry, I'm sure it’ll come back to you.” Ligeia

passes me a plate of fruits and speaks up again, her voice is hypnotizing. “Eat up and join the

party. The afterlife tends to be very boring so enjoy your time while you’re here” Afterlife.

Undecided spirits. I’m dead. The people dancing and singing catch my attention as their

appearance becomes more apparent to me. Some with blood on their arms or legs or face. All

with skin so pale you can almost see through it. Dead! I can’t be dead! I had a life!... Right?

Ligeia turns to one of the spirits who’ve stopped dancing, a brief look of panic in her

eyes. I quickly grab her wrist. “Wait! You can’t expect me to celebrate when I've just found out

I'm dead! Where do I go?” Her smile doesn’t waver as she grabs the pomegranate from my plate, breaking it in half. “Like I said, you can’t leave without enjoying the party. Vivamus, moriendum est!’” My eyes narrow. “What does that even mean?!” “It means, ‘Let us live, as we must die!'”.

‘Let us live?’  The irony stings. “That’s not funny. I had a life! I need to go—” The words taste

bitter on my tongue. What is there to go back to? She grabs my hand and places one half of the

pomegranate in it. “Eat up. Maybe you’ll want to stay a little longer.” She grins as she points at

the tempting fruit. “These are my favorites. Pomegranate seeds have such an addictive taste. I

picked these out myself the other day. Only the best for such a jubilant celebration.”

I’m left there as she offers the other half of the broken fruit to the woman who stopped

dancing. My own eyes focus on my half of the pomegranate and my stomach rumbles. Can the

dead feel hunger? Everything around me fades as I look at the seeds. I can’t hear anything. I

can’t see anything, but the fruit in my hands. My grip on the fruit tightens slightly as I move my

hand, gently plucking two seeds from the fruit and placing them in my mouth. The flavor bursts

on my tongue, silencing my hunger. My vision blurs a bit before everything comes back into

focus. The table is beautiful. There’s more food than I can name and a large supply of drinks

scattered around on it. I grab a lovely green tea cup and serve myself tea. Gently taking a few

more seeds and devouring them. She was right, they’re delicious.

I look around at everyone dancing and I can hear the music more clearly. A mix of voices

I've never heard before clapping and singing along. My feet move to join the dance, my eyes

closing as I smile with delight. Every thought in my head melts away as I listen to everyone else

sing and, eventually, join in myself. A laugh escapes my lips, I no longer feel in control of my

body but I don’t care. I feel weightless. Among the crowd of blithe spirits, I can hear Ligeia’s

melodic voice sing with us.

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“We eat and drink like all the rest

And shout ‘Vivamus, moriendum est!’”