Too Broke For Afterlife

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Finding the basement hadn't been too hard, we just had to walk down the stairs until we reached the last level.

The bigger challenge was to find the wine cellar.

Assuming the Mayor lives in this building, she still wouldn't leave her private drinking habits for all her employees to analyze. 

"What if it's in another building?"

"Isabella would have let us know. It has to be here somewhere."

The room we are standing in is completely empty but there are two other doors leading into unknown territory.

"So...which one are we taking?"

"We?" Clemens seems surprised. "Did you not read her note properly?"

"I did. I think?"

Clemens sighs and takes the second paper out of his pocket.

"It says 'I wish you were alone'. I strongly assume that means you'll have to go alone."

"What? No! It means she wishes I was single!"

I look into the dim dark and instinctively take a step back.

"Judy, we have been through this. That is the obvious meaning Isabella used to disguise the actual message. I accompanied you down here, the rest of the way is yours alone."

He presses a kid's flashlight into my hand. The yellow sponge has returned.

"I'll wait here. Should I be gone when you're back for whatever reason, I'll make sure to leave a note. Good luck."

I look at Clemens pleadingly, hoping he changes his mind but he seems to be deeply convinced by his interpretation of that ripped up poem.

"What if this is a trap?"

"Highly unlikely. Now go, time is running."

I want to respond that in Heaven, time is incidental but such a discussion would lead to nowhere so instead I turn on the flashlight and look back at the doors.

Left or right?

My instinct tells me to go right. So I go left.

Before the door falls shut behind me I turn around to Clemens once more. He just waves.

And then I'm alone.

<<<

If there is one thing I'm scared of- No, let me restart because I'm actually scared of a lot of things. Like my loved ones dying for example. Or blimps. God, I hate blimps. Just looking at one gives me nightmares. 

I'm also pretty scared of the possibility that a Chinese virus might break out and we are forced to wear face masks for at least two years straight.

But back to the point I was trying to make: I'm really scared of basements.

My parents' house has a big basement that we first used to store furniture and food but renovated into a bedroom for my brother when he turned 15.

And with 'we' I mean everyone excluding me. I can count the times I've been there on my two hands.

Before the basement became a teenager's dream den it was dark down there and cold and my only source of comfort was the naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

Most of the time I was able to dodge a trip down the stairs but when I did have to go my heart would start beating faster and sweat streamed down my face. I was always expecting a murderer hiding behind the next corner, just waiting to pull out his axe and turn me into snack-friendly pieces.

I know that this abnormal fear is kind of ridiculous and for that reason I've never shared it with anyone except for my family and a few good friends.

Not a good idea!

In college my roommate asked me to watch that Korean movie Parasite with her and I couldn't sleep for two nights straight because my mind somehow convinced itself that somebody was living in between the walls around me. 

I wish I was kidding.

Now I'm walking around in the basement of my nemesis' headquarters with only a plastic flashlight to defend myself with.

If only I had told Clemens about my fear, maybe he would have come with me. But no, I had to be way too proud to do that!

Every step I take is a challenge for me and I'm not sure if the missing human reactions to fear like a racing heart, sweat or pulse are helping me or making all of this even more terrifying.

My robotic body is fine but my mind is not.

The rooms I'm walking through seem to be part of an archive. The walls are covered in shelves, boxes and files. There are a few empty desks standing around, as if people used to work here but the dust shows that this place has been abandoned a long time ago.

Dust. What a silly thing to have in Heaven. 

There are a few empty bottles standing in a corner and I check if any of them is a Cortese but sadly, I'm unsuccessful. Probably would have been too easy.

In my head I go through the poem again.

'I hate your boyfriend.'

That part doesn't surprise me. It's obvious that Isabella is not happy about me dating again.

'You two f*cked in the break room.'

Blunt. But fair.

I wish she hadn't seen us, though. This easily is one of my most embarrassing moments ever.

'You made the wrong choice.'

That is where I stumble. Clemens said it's related to the wine but it's just too close to her jealousy. It wouldn't be hard for me to believe that ISa thinks of Michigan as less.

'I'm sitting here, drunk,

and everything is too bittersweet.'

This is where I see the wine. The one I recommended was sweet, Cortese is not. 

'I wish you were alone.'

The last line doesn't fit the rest. If it was related to my relationship, why didn't she write 'I wish you were single'? Did she really mean to imply that I'd have to come on my own?

And even if, why would she say that? I doubt Isabella would want to put me in such a dangerous situation without any help from the others. What could possibly be down here that demands for me to be alone?

Maybe a one on one fight with a monster? 

I try to ignore the terrifying thought, there is something else that needs my attention.

If the poem was really meant to send me looking for wine...why did she make Michigan a part of this?

She could have just left out the first two lines and it would have still made sense, even to strangers. Why did she include my boyfriend? Out of spite? To tell me how she feels in case we never see each other again?

No, she wouldn't do that. 

So what if that line is a code for something else? 

My feet stop and I look around.

The furnishings have changed, instead of metal I'm now surrounded by wooden bookshelves. 

Is this a library? The one at my highschool looked quite similar, just a small room with a bunch of books inside.

Little signs above the shelves note which area contains which kind of literature and suddenly I have an idea.

I start walking over to the Geography & Travel section. Could it be…?

My fingers glide over the spines as I read the titles.

Greece

100 Places To See Before You Die

Enchanted Landscapes

All of these books seem to be from Earth. Why would the Mayor keep those down here? To model worlds after real places, like Berlin 2.0?

I reach the letter L and my fingers slow down.

Lots of lakes. Many of them. And then the one I was looking for

Lake Michigan

I pull the booklet out of the shelf and look at it. 

The front cover shows an old picture of the lake, this guide must be from the 80s or something.

I open it and flip through the pages, hoping a note might fall out but I'm left disappointed again.

I go back to the start and look at the index.

Most Beautiful Spots, p. 3-20

The Best Hiking Trails, p. 21-29

Things To Do On Your Own, p. 30-33

Wait, is that what she meant with 'I wish you were alone'?

I quickly go to page 30 and breathe in sharply through my nose when I see the lines that have been written with a pen next to the printed words.

'I wish you were still mine.

This isn't RIGHT. 

30 days are just too much.

I'm drowning in pages.'

This time I don't need much time to figure out the riddle. I drop the booklet to the ground and jog over to the shelf reading 'Cooking and Dieting'.

At letter W I find the book I'm looking for.

Wine - Everything a Beginner Needs To Know

I pull it out and am ready to rush through the pages to find Cortese when something flashes in the corner of my eye.

I turn back to the shelf and look to where the book just stood.

What is that?

I lean closer to inspect the silver safe lock. It's a round knob with numbers around it, from 1 to 50. 

'This isn't RIGHT.

30 days are just too much.'

I got it.

My fingers wrap around the knob and turn it to the right until the small black line stops at 30.

As soon as I let go, I hear something rumbling and step away. 

With wide eyes I watch how the shelf moves back and then slides to the right.

What's left is a small door.