The human heart is a sack of resentment and bad decisions, always on the verge of overflowing. People will tell you that friendship is a treasure, but the truth is that in the game of life, any closeness is a hole in the wall. And believe me, sooner or later someone will stick a spear through that hole.
In my world, betrayal is not an accident: it's a national sport. Lawyers learn this quickly. We learn to smile while we dig each other's graves, to be the friend who lends you a shoulder... and then uses it to push you off a cliff. I was no exception: I learned from the best, and when the time came, I betrayed them to take their place. Yes, I reached the top. I had money, success, power. Women? No, thanks. I'm allergic to weaknesses.
Or so I thought.
That night I left the office late. People think lawyers print money in the basement, but no: you have to work. I took the elevator down to the fourth basement floor. The parking lot was empty, my steps echoed as if I were the last man on Earth. Spoiler: I wasn't.
I approached my car. A blow to the back. The warmth of my blood running down my shirt. Leaning against the door, I saw the culprit in the reflection: her.
"You... why?" I managed to say, before she stabbed me again.
I fell to the ground. Yes, I had lied: I had a girlfriend. Her. The same one who was stabbing me at that moment. The same one for whom I gave up my strategy video games. What? Can't a lawyer play video games? Of course they can. We have a heart... very well hidden, but we have one. I coughed up blood, which was not glamorous at all.
"Why..." I whispered, my vision already blurry, "...trai...tor."
I tried to grab her. I couldn't. My body wouldn't respond. Blood in the lungs is uncomfortable, but at least the pain stops after a while.
Why did she do it? No idea. I was a bastard, yes, but I had my codes: never steal from old people or single women. And yet, here I am. Or here I was.
I closed my eyes, convinced that it was all over. Mistake. It wasn't the end.
It was the prologue to my worst job.
Death, according to movies, comes with a white, angelic light, a tunnel, and celestial music. A lie.
In my case, it was like waiting in line at a bank, but without chairs, without air, and with the uncomfortable feeling that they had forgotten you there. All black, all silent... and I, wondering if I was dead or in line for some government paperwork.
I looked at myself - or tried to - and realized I had no body. Nothing. I was just... floating. And that gave me time to think, which is dangerous for someone like me.
I reviewed my resume: Children: zero. Friends: zero. Family: zero. Lawsuits won: many. Ethically questionable lawsuits: all of them.
In short: a successful man. And yet, here I was, wondering how I ended up on my ex-girlfriend's "people to stab" list. Can I call her my ex-girlfriend? I guess several stabs is a way to end a relationship, maybe a slightly rude way.
Yes, I had been a bastard. Yes, I lied to her. Yes, I hid things from her. But come on, that's the basis of any modern relationship, isn't it? Who hasn't lied to their partner? Still, something must have happened for her to... well, for her to do what she did. A message on my phone? A rumor? Or did she just get tired of waiting for me to propose? I don't know, I hope it's not the latter, because a lawyer should never get married. If there's a bad business deal, it's marriage. Jot down that advice from your friendly lawyer.
As I sank into that sea of useless conjectures, I realized something more unsettling: I was still here. I didn't dissolve into nothingness, there was no final judgment, no post-life contract. Just this sticky limbo and the uncomfortable feeling that someone, somewhere, still had plans for me.
I don't like owing favors, and much less to death. But if I learned anything in life, it's that when someone gives you a second chance, it's because they expect you to use it... or to sink even further.
And I... well, I've always been good at sinking.
That's when I felt a tug, as if I were being dragged by an invisible rope. The darkness contracted, the silence broke, and I knew I was about to... I don't know, be reborn, reappear, or get into new trouble.
"This can't be good..." I murmured, just before everything turned to light.