Beyond the Afterlife

CHAPTER 2

A few blocks away, Lyra's car engine began to growl. She hit the steering wheel in frustration as the surroundings grew completely dark— even the headlights had died. The car had failed her many times before, and she desperately wanted to get rid of it. But she couldn’t...

It wasn't because she couldn’t afford a new one. Her father had left her a sizable trust fund when he passed away, and she was also the beneficiary of a substantial insurance policy that had been paid into for thirty years by the kind man. She could easily buy her own house and live independently if she wanted to. But she couldn’t bring herself to do that either.

Her father had made only one request in his final moments:

"Take care of your mother. Have a little more patience. You’ll be okay too. And no matter what happens, don’t leave her. Don’t disregard her. And most of all, don’t let her go."

It felt like she had heard those words just seconds ago. They were always there, echoing in her mind. She had always honored her father’s last wish. It wasn’t that she hated him— she hated that he had loved her mother so much. She felt her mother didn’t deserve her father’s unparalleled love and inexhaustible patience.

Why did she feel this way?

She knew how many times her father had caught her mother with her ex-boyfriend. Lyra couldn’t understand why her father remained enamored with her mother despite her mother’s blatant infidelity. Her father had showered her mother with luxuries, hoping she would realize how fortunate she was to have him. But nothing changed. Her mother only became more reckless, and things worsened when her mother was involved in an accident with the ex-boyfriend, resulting in his death.

And her father? He had swallowed his pride and accepted all the humiliation caused by his wife’s scandal. He was a brilliant heart surgeon, but he couldn’t mend his own broken heart. Even Lyra hadn’t known her father was sick— he had already suffered two major heart attacks, the second of which had claimed his life.

Lyra was furious that her mother had shown no emotion when her father died. Even in his final moments, her father had worried about her mother. He had given Lyra the same instructions multiple times.

Perhaps she was a bad daughter for wishing it had been her mother who had died instead. After all, her mother no longer mattered to her.

When Lyra read her father’s will, she discovered that he had left nothing to her mother. Everything was left to Lyra, but there was a condition— she and her mother had to live together until she got married. And marriage was a long way off for Lyra. She was focused on her career; she wanted to become a successful dermatologist, as she had promised her father. Though she wouldn’t specialize in internal organs like her father, she would still follow in his footsteps by becoming a doctor.

Her father had been meticulous. He had ensured that his wife would be taken care of even after he was gone.

Lyra cried as she caressed the steering wheel. The car had been her father’s gift to her when she passed the entrance exam for medical school.

Now, she had just finished her oath-taking after passing the medical board exam. She thought of her father again. Her mother? She was probably out with friends, likely at a casino. Lyra hadn’t even informed her mother that she had passed the exam. Why bother? Her achievements meant nothing to her mother.

"Dad... Dad! You’re so deceitful..." She couldn’t stop her voice from breaking, her throat aching from the effort to hold back her sobs.

"It was just one more year. Just one more year, and I would have graduated from medical school, but you couldn’t wait. I was the only one celebrating then, and now, I’ll be celebrating alone again. Mommy is always away. She always comes home drunk. She never comes home without being drunk and in a foul mood..."

Lyra sobbed, feeling like a child complaining to her father, even though she knew there was nothing he could do, even if he could hear her.

"You told me to hold on a little longer. That everything would be okay. But how much longer, Dad? How much more do I have to endure for Mommy to change? How long do I have to wait for her to realize what she’s throwing away? Dad! I wish you were here. I wish you could hear me. I wish—"

Lyra froze as she heard a thud on the roof of her car. Her heart raced. What could have fallen there? There were no trees or anything else around. She was parked opposite an abandoned lot that had once been a park in their subdivision. The park had since been relocated near the clubhouse, leaving only rusty play equipment behind. She didn’t know why the developer hadn’t cleared it yet. Then, there was another crash above her car.

Lyra got out to check what had happened. Despite the car’s frequent breakdowns, she still loved it dearly— it was a gift from her dad.

But as soon as she stepped out, the car door slammed shut, and she heard someone sniffing near her.

"Stay there and cut the drama. This isn’t a drama movie. It’s action," a man growled at her before vanishing in front of her eyes. She then heard him wrestling with someone in the dark, abandoned park.

A chill ran down her spine. She wasn’t usually afraid of the dark— she was more scared of her future with her mother. But now, fear crept into her system. The man’s voice seemed to echo in her ears.

It was so dark that she could barely make out what was happening. She had no idea what time it was. Yes, she had had a little to drink, but not enough to believe her eyes were deceiving her. The two figures wrestling in the darkness moved at an incredible speed, slamming into objects as they fought. But why were they fighting? She had no idea.

Wait...

What did the man say? Cut the drama?

Lyra’s eyes widened. He must have heard her mourning inside her car. It turned out her car window was open, and she hadn’t cared if her earlier sobs and moans were loud. The wrestlers disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. She didn’t know whether to get back in the car or not. She couldn’t sleep there. She could walk home— after all, she was already inside the subdivision. But as she started to step out again, someone grabbed her and... and...

...flew with her?

What the heck? They didn’t actually fly. They jumped, but they were incredibly fast, leaping from rooftops to trees. And what shocked her even more was that the stranger dropped her off right in front of her house. Lyra’s eyes widened as she stared at the man, her mind racing with questions— how, what, and why?

How did they get there so quickly?

How did he do all that?

Why did the man bring her home? What kind of creature was he to possess such abilities? And most of all...

How did he know she lived there?

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