text: Levi had been preparing for this date for the past two hours. He fixed his tie one last time, checked himself in the mirror, combed his hair, and took a deep breath. It was time. He had been dreaming about this moment since he saw Sonattha for the first time. “What a unique and beautiful name” he thought. “Like music”. She was a dorky and quirky one too, just like himself. She asked to meet at that make-your-own-pie shop down the road exactly at 8:11PM. “I better not blow it!” Levi whispered while looking at his watch. That shop was 9 minutes away, and he wanted to leave at the exact right time. After Levi left his apartment he started walking on the sidewalk. He kept checking his watch. His heart was racing. He was excited for the night. He was thinking about what else to do that night after they ate each other’s probably awful pies. Oh, Sonattha. “I am such a lucky man” was the last thought Levi had before carelessly stepping in a road, missing the red light. With the loud screeching noise he turned his head but did not even have time to see what hit him. After a loud crash and bang, Levi’s body was flipping 10 feet in the air before hitting the ground. The car ended up crashing into a light pole, and its horn got stuck. Everything went dark. Levi got off the ground. He could hardly see. Everything was faded. He turned towards the car that hit him. Car’s driver rushed to ask him “Oh my god! Are you OK?” Levi paused. How could the driver get out of that wreckage so fast without a scratch? He then saw the same surprised face on the driver who was checking Levi up and down in disbelief. “Umm, I cannot see well, but other than that...” said Levi. “Huh. Everything else is faded, but I can see you fine” replied the driver. They looked around. There was no one else. “My date!” exclaimed Levi, checking his watch. It was showing 8:08. This was the time he saw just before got hit. The driver looked around. He was vexed by the fact that there was nobody around the accident. “Someone would have called 911 by now” the driver murmured. He went back to get his phone from his car slowly as it was hard to see in that darkness. He noticed no airbags went off. Then he noticed his faded body strapped on the seat. He immediately stepped back “What the-!” He ran back to Levi. He looked down. “Is this you?” asked the driver while pointing down to a faded body laying on the ground. “I think we are both dead, my friend”, the driver said. “My name is Gabe” said the driver, introducing himself. “I wasn’t sure about the afterlife, but it looks like we're in it. Looks like I killed you and myself at the same time. I should have taken the car to the dealership about that air bag recall” said Gabe casually. Levi was still in shock. This must have been a nightmare. He checked his watch again. It was still showing 8:08. “Hello!” he screamed. “Anybody? I need help! I got hit by a car”. “Do you have to emphasize the car part? I mean we are on the same boat” said Gabe. “It shouldn’t matter whose fault this is. Beside, I am pretty sure you walked in the red light” “I cannot believe you think of your insurance premium in the afterlife” said Levi with both hands swinging in anger. “So you do accept that this is the afterlife” said Gabe. While they were arguing a white bearded man appeared: “Hello there!” “Ah! This must be the angel welcoming us to Heaven” said Gabe in relief. “Why is everything faded, and why am I seeing just you two?” asked the bearded man. “What was the last thing you remember?” asked Gabe. “Well, I was done with a photo shoot in my studio here on the second floor. While packing up my big battery I heard a loud bang that startled me, and I shocked myself. It must have damaged my eyes or something because I cannot see much. Everything is dark. Faded.” said the bearded man. “Well, I have good news and bad news.” said Gabe. “Good news is that I don’t think your eyes are damaged. Bad news is that we are all dead.” “Is this the afterlife only for people killed by you, Gabe?” asked Levi sarcastically. “Name is Gabe” he extended his hand to the bearded man, ignoring Levi’s snarky comment. “Paul”, replied the bearded man. “Levi”, said Levi quietly putting his head between his hands. “So are we like ghosts? You know, the world is faded for us but we can see each other.” asked Gabe. “I don’t believe in ghosts,” said Paul. “All those ghost photos are fake. I can easily produce one” he added. “I assume you are here because of an.. Accident?” he asked. “I was on my way to my date. Sonattha! Argh! We were going to have so much fun!” said Levi. He was about to cry. “Well, love can make you do crazy things. Like marriage or ignoring traffic lights” said Gabe. Paul knew Gabe’s comment could start another argument so he immediately started his own theories. “I laid in my studio for a few minutes until I decided to come here, and the time on the wall was still showing 8:08. I think we are stuck at this moment. The moment we all died. This is like a photo with a very fast shutter speed like 1/2000 second. Dark and faded.” Gabe was excited “Oh, maybe we are living our very last moments. In real life this could be a few seconds, but here it will be days or even years! Maybe we have unfinished business.” “Like taking your car to the dealership?” said Levi. “I think I am already in Hell” he added. Another figure appeared from a distance. “Hi Levi!” shouted a female voice. “So.. Sonattha?” came out of Levi’s mouth. “You died too?” “Oh, no. I was just doing a routine. It was time to pick three of you up. Sorry for the triple booking. I thought it would be more efficient. Thank you for leaving home right on time by the way.” said Sonattha in a big smile, then turned to others. “Hi, I am Sonattha, they also call me Thanatos.