TKL Mashup #31
Pre-Birth Checklist
A Soul has many choices to make.
The Soul glowed pink and rolled over in its nest. It had been having the most terrifying dream: A remnant from one of its past lives. Fire was everywhere. The cottage was thick with broiling smoke, the Soul’s body was dying: choking, eyes streaming, unable to breathe, see, think. Utter panic. As the roof came crashing down, there was a brilliant flare of light that seemed to take over the whole world. And then the Soul left its body and came home again. To this very nest.
“Wakey, wakey, eggs and bake-y!” The Great Caretaker chortled as they arrived beside the Soul’s nest.
The Soul’s pulsing shifted towards the blue end of the spectrum and it didn’t respond.
“OH, COME NOW!” Bellowed the Great Caretaker, “Don’t be like that! Life’s an adventure! Besides, this is your anniversary day! You’ve been here in your Universal Nest for exactly 100 years, today! It is high time for another life, my dear!”
The soul still said nothing, but the rapidly changing flurry of colourful pulses and the speed at which it bounced and vibrated around the nest let the Caretaker know that this was a temper tantrum.
“RIGHT THEN!” The Caretaker continued cheerfully as if the tantrum wasn’t happening. “I know this isn’t your first human life, but every life is different, you know. It won’t be like last time, if that’s what you’re worried about. Plenty has changed on Earth since you were last there. I hear fire extinguishers are widely available now… OH! Too soon? Even after 100 years? So sorry!”
They didn’t sound sorry.
“Well, off you trot to your Life Experience Adviser then,” nudged the Caretaker. When the Soul still hesitated, the Caretaker simply tipped the nest so that the Soul slid out. It reluctantly floated away towards the Adviser, still pulsing its kaleidoscope of frustration.
The Life Experience Adviser waved the Soul into their office with the air of having done this several billion times already. The Soul pulsed a sulky burnt orange colour while the Adviser explained the process of incarnation.
“So, just remember,” they finished, “the process of making a body for you takes quite a bit of time. Approximately 40 weeks for a human body. During that time you can come and go as you please between the developing body and your universal nest, but you MUST be inside your body when it is born or the body will fail and you will not be able to incarnate.
“Now! Let’s take a look at the Life Experience Options List, shall we?”
The Soul, still feeling a touch rebellious at being thrust into life again, first looked at the section titled ‘minor criminal endeavours.’ It saw many intriguing options such as:
Rob everyone in an apartment
Run a roadblock
Set off illegal fireworks
The Soul was tempted to check off all of them, but did not relish the thought of jail time. It settled for checking off the one about fireworks. It wanted to make sure it had some fun in this upcoming life. From another section, it checked off that it wanted to crash a party, but make it better and, at a later date, throw a surprise party for an important friend.
The Adviser urged the Soul on to the relationship section. Although some of it had already been predetermined, there were still some options to choose from. The Soul shied away from requesting the “unrequited love” experience, but the Adviser assured it that pretty much everyone chose to experience that one.
“It usually happens around the middle school years and it’s one of the best ways to build resilience. And on Earth,” the Adviser promised, “you’re really going to want to build resilience.”
The Soul chose the experience of befriending and caring for a number of sequential dogs, two guinea pigs, and one cat. It chose to fall in love with three different people. It chose a set of parents who had been trying to have a baby for a while. It chose and it chose and it chose until finally the Adviser sat back and rolled away the Life Experiences List.
“You’ve done well,” the Adviser said. “I think this will be a good life. Some of it is subject to chance, of course. And some of it can change based on choices you make while in your body, but I think this will be a good life.”
The Soul glowed a gentle, pale green. Looking through all of the myriad Life Experience options had rekindled its excitement at the prospect of actually experiencing those things.
“Your mom already knows you’re coming,” the Life Experience Adviser informed the Soul. “Her body has already started making you a body. You’re welcome to pop in and start getting acquainted if you’d like to.”
The Soul flashed the Adviser a pale blue willingness mixed with curiosity. Maybe this would be a good life.
Thank you for reading! This story was written for Jonathon Sawyer’s Mashup #31. Also a thank you to Aria Wraithe for the personal challenge to complete it. I know not all the constraints actually happen within the story, so hopefully that’s not cheating. 😆
Tally box:
-The soul's "birthday" arrives and it has been outside of a body for exactly
100 years (2 pts)
- the Caretaker makes a tacky joke about fire extinguishers (1 pt)
- the Soul throws a temper tantrum upon realizing it will be born again (1 pt)
- the Soul chooses the Life Experience of setting off illegal fireworks, (1 pt)
crashing a party but making it better, throwing a surprise party, (2 pts)
and unrequited love (5 pts)
- Running a road block is on the list of options (1 pt), along with robbing
everyone in an apartment (1 pt)
I made a box (1 pt).
If none of the other stuff counts, at least I get one point for the box!