A Crossroad Above.



Chop. A trickle of blood flows out of my neck. Chop. A burst of pain erupts. Chop, chop. But I am not dead. Chop, and another burst of pain. Chop, chop. And still, I am not dead. Chop, chop. The pain comes again, chop, chop. And this time with a large flow of blood. Chop, chop, chop. I feel the air rush through the void that is left by the ax, which brings even more pain. Chop, chop, chop, chop. I figure the ax must be blunt. Chop, chop, chop. Why else would it take so long for me to die? Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop. I curse the executioner for not even giving me the small favor of a quick death. Chop. I curse myself for getting myself into this mess. Chop, chop. This time even the executioner is frustrated. Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop. This time the blows are even harsher. Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop. I hear him curse under his breath. Chop. He swings, Chop, chop. I hear a rush of air as he raises the ax once more. Chop. And this time, there is no pain. I feel no connection to my body. I know I must be dead.



As I feel my spirit rise out of my body, I start to feel afraid. What awaits me, in the great beyond? What if I do not find rest there? At the very least, I know my way around this world.



I look at my body one more time, and I am off. Now that I am dead, there is no returning. Or is there? When I had learned in Hogwarts, there had been a ghost there. The Bloody Baron was his name. He was the Slytherin Ghost. There were others, but I hardly ever saw them, as I did not wander a lot. Now I wish that I had asked them more about being a ghost. Maybe then I wouldn't be so frightened now.



At long last I reach a path. I can no longer see the earth. I follow the path with slow hesitant steps, knowing that every step takes me farther and farther away from Earth. My steps are not the strides I usually take when I walk, because I am floating now. But still I insist on walking, or at least moving my invisible legs in step-like motions, to make myself feel as though I am still on earth. I walk down the path, and I am frightened, but there is nothing to calm my fear. Not a familiar view, not a tree, not a house, no solid ground beneath my feet, and not even what the other world is supposed to look like. There is only darkness.



Suddenly there is light. There is a fork in the road. One path leads far away, into the distance. The other, turns, and goes back in the direction from which I came.



I stand there and look at the two roads. One will lead me to the next world, an unknown, unpredictable place. The other leads back to the cruel world from which I came. But that place was familiar, even if it was cruel. I looked one more time at the long road, but I turn, and walk down the road of my choice, to the world that I know, the road of the cowards. How I was ever sorted into Gryffindor in my youth, I shall never know.



I continue to walk down the path, yet I still float. After a short while I begin to be thirsty, but I have no water, so I continue to walk. I began to feel cold, as if I was standing in a cool breeze. I try to warm myself, but to no avail. It is my very essence that is cold, but will I settle that when I get back to earth, I will sit by a large fire. And the road continues. After a while I stop moving my legs. I just float down the path. I see that there is no point to moving my legs, as it does not make me go any faster. And now I am hungry, yet I have no food. I try to float faster, so that I will reach the Earth sooner, to quench my thirst and my hunger. But my spirit refuses to go any faster. I curse myself for my slowness and continue floating down the path. After a while I look down, and am grateful to see that my legs are visible. They are pearly white and they glow. I can now see my chest; I smile, as I am now mostly visible. And then come my arms and my hands. I have done so much with them in my life that to see them is a blessing. And now I can feel my head. I touch my cheek, to feel my skin, and my head falls sideways. But it does not fall off all the way. I am not headless, but nearly headless. I am Nearly Headless Nick, for only an inch of skin holds my head atop my body. I can now see the Earth. As I look at it, a great sense of distaste appears in my chest. I do not want to be there, I realize. Even the unknown spirit world is better than this one. I try to turn around, but the gate to the other world is gone. I am stranded on the cursed Earth, forever more.