If You Lost a Loved One

## If You Lost a Loved One by Omegaokami

There is a way that you can bring back a loved one after death. I wouldn’t recommend it, though. Death is final, and cheating it always leads to bad results. But you’ll want to know anyway. Well, here you go:

Go to the cemetery that your loved one is buried in. This only works for those who’ve been buried, though. (There’s probably another method for cremation or something but I don’t know it). Make sure you take with you the one object that is most important to you. The emotion from this object, this sacrifice, will provide your power. Take it to the plot of your loved one and bury it over their grave. You don’t have to go very far, so don’t worry about running into the slab or anything. Before you cover up the hole with your object, don’t forget to add a few drops of your blood to it. This imbues the ritual with your own life essence and… draws them in.

Then comes the final steps. Take a small handful of dirt from where you buried your object, and swallow it. Disgusting, but necessary. That creates the link between you and where you need to go. After that, get yourself as comfy as you can and fall asleep upon that grave.

If everything was done correctly, (and you were lucky) you’ll awake to find yourself standing at the gate of the graveyard. It will be dim, foggy, and you’ll notice a lack of color in this drab place. You’ll also see that there seems to be people wandering around the gravestones. Exactly how many, and what they’ll look like will depend on the cemetery you went to, but I’ve never heard of a location not having at least a few dozen wandering around.

Whatever you do, stay away from them. These are the shades of those left behind from failed rituals or weak spirits drawn from the surrounding areas to the power of your blood and object. Even if you recognize some of them, do not go near them. They’re little more than instinct now and desire one thing above all else: life. They want another chance to live, and crave nothing more. Even if the shade’s mind is so far gone it doesn’t even recall why. And if one catches you, it WILL try to steal that life away from you.

They may notice you, they may not. If they do, evade them. It shouldn’t be too hard, as their reflexes and control are not nearly as sharp as they used to be. Avoid them and look for your loved one. The person may be at their grave or wandering the walkway. You may even find them hiding, terrified of the scene before them.

When you finally see your loved one, stop. Don’t go near them yet. Call out the person’s name and wait. If the response seems genuine, everything is going as planned. If the response is delayed, quiet, distant, or not even present, then hold on. Ask, from a distance, what was the one thing the person hated in life. As these shades progress and their minds dwindle to nothing, one of the first things to go are the memories of the things they hated in life. Any bad memory that makes life seem terrible would slip away to be replaced by that deep desire to return to the living. If your loved one’s answer seems legitimate, take their hand and pray you weren’t wrong. If you are, you may find yourself as a replacement shade, wandering this foggy graveyard.

Be aware that their hand will be cold. Freezing. It will be like grasping solid ice, but never let go. Even if your hand starts going numb and your fingers turn black, do not let go. After feeling that rush of life, touching their hand and immediately losing it moments later, your loved one may not be able to resist the urge to take it all from you.

Take your loved one back to the gate, avoiding other shades if you can. More of them may notice you now, as your living body is connected to their realm via your lost loved one. Be quick, be decisive, and DO NOT let go of your loved one’s hand.

Should you make it and step through the gate of the cemetery, you’ll find yourself back in the living world; however, this time your loved one will have rejoined you at your side, still clutching your hand.

To the rest of the world, it will just seem like your loved one went on a long trip somewhere and recently came back. Nobody will be able to recall where it was they went or what they did there (nobody except you and your loved one) but they will be happy to see the person’s return.

After this, I suggest that you never stay in one place too long. Keep moving, keep roaming. The more random, the better. The moment you start to see the sickly, pale look come across your loved one’s face or the bit of decay that might start forming on your skin, move. Death hates to be cheated, and if he catches up with you and your loved one, he’ll make sure that you both feel every bit of the rotting sickness that will build up in your bodies until your loved one once again falls to the grasp of death and returns to the cemetery. This time, however, they won’t be alone. You will be joining.

Maybe you’ll get lucky, though. Maybe someone might make this journey for you. They’ll take your hand and drag you back to the world of the living. Only for it all to start once again.