Choices by Katherine Foster

“Choose one!” The entity’s voice was commanding. It reminded Oscar of his mother’s voice when she’d yelled at him to eat his beets.

“He has to choose one.” The companion’s voice was whiny, reminding Oscar of his sister’s voice when she’d tell on him.

“I don’t know why I have to choose one.” Oscar’s voice was defiant. He hoped he wasn’t going to make anyone mad, but also, he didn’t care.

“Okay, let’s start again. You died and must now haunt an object from your home. You must choose one.”

“What if I don’t? Where do I go?”

“You can’t go until you choose.” The anger in the entity’s voice seemed to be rising.

“Why can’t he just choose one?” The companion’s voice was whinier still.

“Then I’m not choosing. That way I won’t have to go anywhere.”

The entity stared, seemingly at a loss for words. The words, when found, were screamed. “YOU CAN’T STAY IN THE VOID. IT’S ONLY HERE FOR YOU TO CHOOSE.”

“Where’s heaven?” Oscar sincerely wanted to know the answer to that question.

“He’s not going there, right?”

“No, you’re not going there. You are haunting an object for eternity. Look. Lots of souls would die for this opportunity.”

“Don’t you have to die for this opportunity?” Oscar wasn’t trying to be funny, but it was funny.

“Well, yes. You’re right.” The entity paused and then asked politely, “Can you just choose?”

“Please make him choose.”

Oscar wasn’t quite sure what to do. And then he blurted out, “I’d rather go to heaven because this sounds like hell.”

“It is,” said the whiny voice quietly.

The entity slumped.

“What? What did you say?” Oscar wasn’t sure he heard that correctly.

It was deathly quiet before the entity said anything. “This is hell. It’s hell, okay? H-E-double hockey sticks. Hell.”

“I thought we couldn’t tell him.”

“You already did that, so technically I’m not telling him.” The entity turned to Oscar. “NOW CHOOSE!”

“Wait. Just wait. I’m confused. Why am I going to hell? Why am I not going to heaven?”

“In the strictest terms, you aren’t going to hell. You’re going home. At least at first.”

“What do you mean, at least at first?” Oscar still wondered why heaven wasn’t an option.

“We can’t tell him that, can we?” The whiny voice had turned worried.

“I don’t know, but at this point, what’s the harm. He’s got to choose. There’s no going back.” The entity looked at Oscar. “There’s relatively little permanence. Your soul lasts only as long as the object that you haunt. Say you choose to haunt your house. That works until your house is torn down. Then poof! You’re gone.”

“Gone? What do you mean by that? Like gone forever?”

“We really don’t have to talk about this. Choose one.”

“Should we help him?” The companion’s voice was small and questioning.

“There’d be hell to pay. You know that.”

“I know, but… his soul seems nice.”

“Hey, wait. If my soul seems nice, then why aren’t I going to heaven?”

The entity and companion answered together. “There is no heaven.”

“No heaven? Are you kidding? After all that time in church? There’s just hell?”

“So basically,” the entity began, “you’ve already been in heaven. That’s what life is, Oscar. Heaven.”

“That’s heaven? Are you kidding me? Taxes? War? Famine? That’s heaven?”

“I’ve already said too much.” The entity stared at him for a moment. “Now, as you’re choosing, I’d suggest deciding on an object that will be around as long as you want to be around, but stay away from dolls.”

“Dolls? Why should I stay away from them?”

“Demons,” the entity said, a bit dismissively.

“If I choose a doll, do I get to be a demon?”

“No.” Another dual response from the entity and his companion.

“Okay. Wait. Just wait. Let me think.” After a few minutes Oscar said, “I’m ready.”

The entity stood tall and important. “What is your choice?”

“My son.”

“What?” The entity slumped.

“I want to haunt my son.” Oscar smiled.

“You want to haunt your son?” The companion was thoughtful with the question.

“Do you understand what that means?”

“Yes, I get to haunt him until he dies.”

The entity cleared his throat. “Not exactly. It means your son will come here and you will live in his body.”

Oscar thought a moment. He’d get to live again, and since life is heaven… With his new-found knowledge he’d do things so much differently. Yes, haunting his son was the solution he wanted to employ. “You said I had to choose and that’s my choice.”

The entity’s voice sounded resigned, but he stood up tall. “If that’s your choice, then it shall be done.” Suddenly there was a flash of light, followed by a lot of white smoke. As it slowly dissipated, the entity began again to slump. “Let’s go.”

“Wait. Won’t the son be here in a moment?”

“Nope.”

“Why?”

“Oscar’s in a doll.”

“What? That wasn’t his choice.”

“A man who’d take from a child, especially his own, is a demon. Now, do you want to stop at Arby’s on the way home? I’ve been craving a Classic Roast Beef.”

Katherine Foster has a B.A. in History from the University of Missouri - Kansas City and a J.D. from Creighton University School of Law. She is currently working on her debut novel, What We Create and Destroy.