Bruise-Filled Ascension

A moment before Neil Caiben died, he thought there were only two possibilities for him: Afterlife or reincarnation. He thought that if he were to be reincarnated, then it would be anything other than a human for living such a shitty life, a cockroach maybe. But he didn’t experience any of that.

After he heard the formal declaration of his death, he heard a rhythmic ringing of bells followed by the powerful blow to the conch shell. Then there was the sound of water. Cries and moans from the distance and eerie children's laughter.

Around ten seconds or so, his eyes throbbed and he slowly regained his vision. He realized he was riding a boat. The place was dark and the water was murky and reflected no light, pearl-white smoke hovering on the surface.

"What the heck?" he muttered under his breath.

He became aware of the three people behind him. One was ringing the bronze bells, the other blowing the conch shell, while the other rowed the boat.

They wore tattered gray robes with hemp ropes as their belt. He couldn't see their faces since their heads were covered with a sack with holes for their eyes to see. Various thoughts went through his head in that short moment.

***
Then he was brought into a dark, squarish room. There seemed to be no gravity in that place as the furniture and other things like stuffed toys and teacups were floating in the air. Everything was floating except him.

Then he heard an ambiguous voice coming from behind him. "Make the most of this chance I'm giving you, pitiful human."

Then he was reborn.