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I think I might take up painting, now that I have all this time in the afterlife. I can start with trees or mountains or a bowl of fruit. Then I can draw oceans and jungles and skylines. Then, maybe, I can paint him and hang him up in my room. I mean, like I said, I have all the time I need because all I need to do now is wait for him.

I guess I'm waiting for him to die, but that sounds horrendous. And even when he dies in my timeline, that doesn't mean he is going to meet me in the Afterlife. The soul occupying his body is on its own timeline apart from my own. So, who knows how long I'm going to have to wait to see his face again, right in front of me. But I don't care. I can wait. And I can fill my time with painting.

After I got back from my EarthVisit as a tree- I still don't think I fully processed being a tree yet because honestly who could- I felt the best I've felt since I first remembered my old life. That doesn't mean it wasn't bittersweet. I mean, of course it was. I'm going to watch all the people in my life move on and live their lives, while I'm stuck in the past. But at least I get to watch. And at least, in the future, I'll be reunited with them. I'll be reunited with Santi.

I told Alex and Haley how great it was, and I think they could sense that I was feeling better and was not in the same mood as when I ran out from the library-coffee shop, because the tension that used to fill the EarthVisit lobby had faded away. I told them about how I was a tree and I visited on the day that we first met, and how it felt like I was meeting Santiago for the first time all over again. In all honesty, they probably were watching the whole thing, but they smile nicely when I retold them about my Visit. I then thanked them for everything and told them I would make up for running away. And then, I asked Alex if it's possible for him to tell me where certain limbs are located currently in the afterlife. He told me "no," saying it was against protocol and whatnot. Haley rolled her eyes but didn't argue against Alex's response. All that meant was I had to find Rebecca by myself. I wished Alex and Haley farewell, then headed out of the EarthVisit lobby towards the staircase.

Which is why I'm thinking about painting while drinking another cup of tea and looking at the tea plant in the planter box table I'm seated at. Really, I should be thinking about how to find Rebecca. I need to thank her and apologize. And, I guess I also want to have somebody to talk to. When we were alive, she got me. And, from our brief conversation in the afterlife, she also seems to get me. I suppose I could leave a note with the hologram barista. I'll do that, but I don't know when she plans on getting tea next. I couldn't possibly go into every building in The Hub, so I guess the stupid note is my best option. When I ask, the hologram-barista kindly hands me a small index-card-sized piece of paper and a pen. I scribble a note about how I was sorry I ran away (why do I run away so much?) and how I wanted to talk to her again. I include how I'll be back here, at the tea place, a week from when we first got tea. I write that I need to repay her for buying my drink, then hand the card back to the hologram-barista. He says "My pleasure" when I tell him to give the note to Rebecca, the limb, who I came here with earlier today. And then I head out from the greenhouse slash tea shop and walk in the magic stairs and back to my room.

The way the magical stairs work to get to my room is actually pretty fascinating by itself. I just step onto the stairs, thinking about going to my room, and once I turn the corner, a white door is right in front of me, surrounding by more whiteness. But, when I reach the door, the stairs disappear behind me. Just like how the door disappears behind me when I step out of it to go to The Hub. At first, it scared me, but now I just find it cool.

Once I open my door, I jump face down onto my bed. And I think for my first time in the afterlife, things are looking up. I mean, so far, my afterlife has just consisted of me watching all the people that I care about mourn my death while I lock myself in my room. To be fair, I think I was mourning my own death. Mourning the fact that I've lived all the life I had to live. And sure, yeah that kinda sucks, but it's not like I'm suffering right now. I'm living in the afterlife, which means I can get anything I could ever want with the snap of my fingers. Literally. I've even made two friends, I think, which is the same number I made in the eighteen years I lived on Earth. Which, yes, I understand that that is a very depressing statistic, but still. But, yeah, things are starting to look up, all because I got to see Santi.