Elliot saw the "man" before him take out a strange black object from below the table. The man then softly placed the "black object" in front of Elliot.
Elliot, seeing this, silently stared at the object without any expression, as if he were between the barrier of being lucid. Of course, Elliot was aware of all of this in his mind. He's in a vegetative-like state, he can see, hear, and feel his surroundings and he's capable of thinking but he's unable to move even an inch
The "man" sat down and spoke to Elliot in a calm voice.
"We will now begin the diagnosis of a being named as Elliot Quehell, born in a universe located in the middle galaxy of the universe observable to the subject." After speaking, the man put down the black object and snapped his finger.
—Snap
As if a switch was turned on, the entire surroundings turned all white as if the concept of color was sucked out by a vacuum. Then Elliot, who was in a vegetative state, realized that he could now move freely.
Instead of panicking, Elliot gently surveyed his surroundings and nodded his head. With a self-deprecating tone, he told the man in front of him, his voice filled with longing, relief, and worry
"I'm dead..."
Seeing the lad in front of "Him" remain calm and composed, the man contemplated for a second and nodded his head.
"Indeed. Aren't you curious where this place is, or why you are here?"
Elliot thought for a moment and answered.
"I died, so this is either hell or heaven, and as for why I'm here, I guess it has something to do with you talking about diagnosis or something, isn't that right?"
The man, as if a teacher proud of his student nodded his head gently. With a snap of his finger, he conjured a paper out of thin air. Looking at Elliot, he pointed at the paper and spoke in a gentle tone.
"This paper contains questions I will ask you, and once you answer all of them, I will grant you a reward that you'll be pleased with."
Hearing the words of the man in front of him, Elliot fell into a deep thought, and he realized that he didn't really have a single thing to lose. He was neither excited nor happy. With a calm heart, he agreed.
The man nodded and began his questioning.
"First question: How did Elliot Quehell or the human who calls himself "El" die?"
Upon hearing the first question Elliot became a bit puzzled. Isn't this question a bit basic and easy? He was a bit worried that the man would be asking questions related to math or school.
The man, having a gist of Elliot's thought, chuckled and told him.
"Don't worry we're just starting. All you have to do is answer, answer, and answer. No need to explain anything. Also yes, no math."
Elliot closed his eyes for a moment and answered.
"I died after I was beaten up by Unc Ron."
"Why?"
"Probably because I stole his sandwich. Also, it might be because he lost a bet with his friends."
The man as if unbothered, continued asking questions about Elliot's life.
"What do you feel about your death?"
"What do you feel about your father and mother?"
"Do you hate them for doing that?
...
Elliot forgot most of the questions the man asked. Every time the man would throw a question, Elliot wouldn't think about it too much and just answer. And then after an hour or perhaps a day of questioning, the man stood up and stood beside Elliot.
Elliot tried observing the face of the man, but all he saw was a black face as if he was wearing a mask that wrapped his entire body from top to bottom.
"You're a good person El."
"Where's my reward?"
Elliot not minding the gaze of the man, tilted his head. The only reason he accepted the man's proposal was that he was curious about this so-called gift. He was already dead, so what gift could it probably be?
"Oh. I forgot about that." The man took out a book from nowhere and gave it to Elliot.
Elliot, upon receiving the book, curiously checks its content, but all he can see are pages left blank. With a raised eyebrow, he asked the man:
"You're not thinking of giving me this for me to write, no? Might as well give me a bread and a honey butter..." Elliot grumbled and scratched his head.
"Of course not. You see, anything you write in this book, will be real. For example, if you wish for a penny and write it down in there, a penny will appear in front of you.
Of course, there's a limitation, you can only write one thing in here daily, and once the book is full, you can no longer use it. Be wise El."
Hearing the explanation of the man, Elliot's eyes lit up. Various thoughts flashed before him but the best he could think of was...a thousand pounds. Of course, if he were to do it daily, that would be a big waste of money.
No perhaps I could also wish for cake...tons of them, and then I'll sell them so that I'll also have something to eat. Elliot's eyes, which were devoid of any luster, suddenly gained excitement and anticipation.
Before he could even thank the man, Elliot realized that he was no longer at the white space but instead in the streets where he died.