The look of shock was obvious on my face. This place didn't seem like the Hell that was depicted by everyone. The scenery was as if it were a utopia, and the people were full of glee. It was as if it were a vacation that would cost a lot, but all it took was my death.

The streets were being roamed by those who also ended up in Hell. People who did bad deeds. Albeit that, they still ended up in such a beautiful place. This couldn't have been real.

“Child, what made you think this was heaven?” A person in front of me appeared and I flinched backwards slightly. They came out of nowhere. Their tone and their choice of wording could only make me conclude that this was, in fact, a demon. There was nothing that truly defined them. They seemed very androgynous, and so was their voice. Hair cut to their chin, and plain clothes that you would see on an extra in a high school movie. A blank white shirt, light colored jeans, and a black pair of Converse scuffed up with wear and tear.

A sheepish look was obviously on my face as I looked at the being in front of me.

“This isn't exactly what I was expecting Hell to be like.” The only way I had heard of the afterlife was Heaven and Hell, and that Heaven would be a place where you could live out your afterlife with joy and nothing wrong with you, and Hell would be a place where there would be screams filling your ears, being mercilessly tortured. This wasn't like that at all.

The being's eyes trailed over my face, and then I saw what the otherworldly features were on these demons. The black eyes that really showed the void in the world were the most notable, other than the tiny horns protruding between the being's hair. At the base, it was the person's skin tone, although it faded the farther it got up into a dusty red color. I didn't doubt that there could be more signs, but it was all that caught my eyes.

The being's pale hand was extended, as if I were to take it. Reluctantly, I did. The flowing sensation that I could only describe as anguish filled my system. Adrenaline raced throughout my body as all I saw was what could be seen as static. Ringing filled my ears, along with distant screams that we're relentless. They got louder and louder, only then taking the form of the people I knew before my death.

Mumma. She was yelling at me, disappointed for how I was failing with my grades, and yet again me not finding a job. She truly believed I refused to get a job as a sign of disobedience.

Dadda. He was an alcoholic, and his words slurred into the familiar argument of me becoming a failure. He would encourage horrible things, and often yell for my removal from this household.

I forced my eyes open, beginning to see what took the form of demons crowding me angrily, ready to cause my greatest fears to become true. An afterlife full of torment.

And then the grasp left my hand, and I could finally breathe. My lungs felt as if they were on fire, and the ringing in my ears stayed consistent. My eyes slowly looked up to see the being with a finger across their mouth, a coy smile spread across their face.

“This place is only nice on the outside, child.”

It seemed as if the being was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving only the reminisce of smoke in their wake. My jaw clenched anxiously with the thought of this afterlife. There was no way for me to die again, as I was already dead.

I was stuck here.