Between you and I, there is a void, a semi-transparent black veil. It is a lace-like curtain that drapes the separation between your world and mine. The maddening part of this curtain is that, from your side of the curtain, you only discover its existence once you cross over to where I stand now. Here it is dark; any light that shimmers through the void from your world reflects a grey-blue sheen. It is a sullen but safe place. The only sounds we hear are muffled echoes from the living world, and a constant deep drone emanating from deep within the bowels of the black chasm that lies below. My place of residence is just one of countless dark alcoves, carved into the vast stone wall that stretches on indefinitely in every direction, into the darkness above and deep down into the chasm below. The great wall surrounds your world, wrapping itself around it in a gradual, timeless arc. Each alcove contains one soul, just like mine. I am dead; I passed away over one hundred and fifty years ago.
My alcove is where I have remained silently watching all this time. This place, this hollow shell of a world that I inhabit, is where we all pass through when we die. This is Limbo. However, some like me remain here vigilantly waiting and watching, within a kind of amphitheatre of immeasurable size, observing the living. The great veil before us sits just a short distance away. My eyes can see it clearly until it disappears into the dark distance above and below. It looks close enough to touch, and indeed sometimes, as the icy breeze blows, it shimmers with blue light, and it billows out, as if it were a great lung filling with air. When this happens, we can reach through it and interact briefly with those in the living world. This interaction is limited and usually in the form of whispers, cool breezes and shadows. The billowing waves don’t occur very often, but their presence causes great excitement, because it is the only access to any form of sensation from the living world that we can feel; it is quite sublime. Most of us use it as an opportunity to connect with our descendants, but for many, those loved ones are long gone, and the places they once inhabited, to which their souls are tethered, are now inhabited by strangers. Those souls become resentful, their pleasure reverting to anguish often, and they make impassioned leaps from their alcoves through the veil and into the living world. Once they pass back, they become trapped and can no longer return. Those trapped souls are left in torment and constant pain and will never ascend to the next place. This form of crossover and entrapment is commonly known in your realm as haunting. I’ve always felt the movement of the veil to be a somewhat tempting force, testing our resolve, attempting to lure us from our places of watch and into its trap. We must remain diligent in our task.
So why am I here now, and why am I sharing this secret knowledge with you? Let me reassure you, this is not a dream, my internment here among the great wall of alcoves, the watching souls, the great veil, all of these secrets exist for a reason. You see, during this time, we are tasked with observing our family line, becoming a custodian of sorts. I am communicating with you this evening because I am, in fact, your most distant ancestor residing in limbo. Following one hundred and fifty years of standing sentry, our souls are moved to another realm. I am unaware of what this location is; however, I feel happy to depart. The reason for my visit this evening is to install a new sentry into our family alcove, someone who will serve as observer for the next one hundred and fifty years. I am the bearer of secret wisdom, and I am also a bringer of souls, to be perfectly honest, your soul. Earlier this evening, your life in the living world ceased. Following an attack upon your breathing as you slept, I am sad to say you have died. I can understand your shock and disbelief. I, too, gave impassioned pleas. I screamed in disbelief when told that I had died by way of a carriage accident. However, the facts of the matter are both correct and non-negotiable. You are now dead.
I am here to assist you in your transition into your new role. Think of me as your guide to help you ‘pass away,’ as they say. To assist you in taking up residence in my current location. Guiding you across the black veil and into limbo. In exchange for my services, I shall then pass into the great unknown. So, take my hand, dear ancestor, for it is now my time to rest.
Dan Verkys 