There is a Life - After Death

Word Count = 990

There is a Life – After Death

     "Isn't it pretty to think so?" Connica held one of Nelli’s hands in both her hands. “Where did you hear how good live is after death?”

     Nelli had a tube connected to her nose and two machines behind her. Sticking out the sides of her body were a lot more tubes also connected to machines slightly circling around the head of her bed. She was wearing what appeared to be a bikini of some kind that barely fit over her petite skin and bones body. “I have been there several times over the past eight months.”

     Wareen sat in a chair on the other side of his daughter’s bed. He also held her hand. “Stop talking like that. You haven’t been going anywhere.” He wiped some tears off his face with his other hand.

     “I hate it when I have to agree with your father. But he’s right. You have been stuck in that bed for the last ten months.” Connica had a lot of trouble speaking. She kept slurring her words between sniffles. “You couldn’t have gone anywhere – unless you suddenly acquired the power of teleportation.”

     Nelli had a tube sticking out of her mouth too. Yet she could still speak with her parents. She just had to do it without moving her lips. “I have been going there in my dreams. Almost every time I have gone to sleep I go there. And I have been sleeping thirty hours a day. The only time I’m not is when I’m eating, getting tested, being examined or having my personal care bags changed.”

     Connica started crying again. “I do have to admit the place you have been visiting sounds great. But it was only a dream.”

     “Almost exactly the same dream. Which I have had just about every time I go to sleep. It’s not just a dream. The after-life is real. My new life is going to be great.”

     “Why are you in so much of a big hurry to die?” Wareen asked.

     “I’m not. But we all know I am going to die. It’s only a matter of when I’m going to do it. It could be in the next few days or several months from now. All we do know is that I’m not going to be seeing my twelfth day of birth.”

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     “If we weren’t at work or taking care of personal care business we have been here. We have even eaten the rotten food they serve at this medical clinic. I guess it’s like that in every medical facility. It’s not just Vannon either. It’s probably like that on all the inhabited planets in the universe.”

     “You’re babbling again Wareen. You do that whenever you are worried or scared about something.”

     “Of course, I’m scared. Our only child is going into body repair for a repair job that may prolong her life long enough for a cure to be found.”

     Wareen and Connica were in a waiting room of some kind. Connica was seated in a large chair while Wareen paced around that room. There were a lot of other people in there too. “What is taking so long? She has been in there for almost six hours.”

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     Medic Ovvic entered that room about nine hours ago. “How are we doing today Nelli?”

     “I’m doing the same as usual. It’s my parents who are in need of medical help at the moment. They are freaking out again.”

     After checking Nelli out Ovvic took Wareen and Connica out into the hall. He looked sad. “As you know there is no cure for Tonnol. But we are close to finding one. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be found before Nelli dies. The best we could we could do is to prolong it long enough for a cure to be found. But there were some risks in doing it though.”

     “Nelli could die a lot sooner from it. She could die during the procedure. There’s also a very big chance she could live long enough for that cure, but she would be living the rest of her life in Medical. Nelli could also survive the procedure but be a Mindless Human.”

     After only thinking about it for a minute or two Wareen and Connica made their decision. At almost the same time. “If it means she could get that cure we have to do it.” That’s what Wareen said.

     “We can’t just let her die if there’s a chance she could live. I say we should risk it if it means she can have a normal childhood again.”

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     “This is all your fault. Tonnol is a female only disease that is a relative based illness. It usually skips a generation. But this time it didn’t. Why didn’t it?”

     “I don’t know. But something like this has happened a few other time over the last five thousand years. We still don’t even know how we got it in the first place. But you are right, this is my fault.” Connica had started crying again long before Wareen said that.

     “No, it’s not. I’m sorry I said that. I am so worried about Nelli.” Wareen hugged Connica.

     Just then Ovvic entered that room. “I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Nelli survived the procedure. She is still herself. It also prolonged her life too.”

     After a few seconds, and no response, Ovvic continued. “The bad news is the prolonged life isn’t going to be long enough. She is still going to die. Nelli might live long enough to see her twelfth day of birth. But just barely.”

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     It was actually a couple of months before she turned twelve when Nelli died. She passed away in the same bed she had been living in for almost ten months. Her parents were there. Each one of them had a hold of her hand when she finally went on to her new life.”