Eonian -

  (adj.) constant and indefinite; continuing forever

      Baekhyun finally realized what the House had been trying to tell him all along. It wasn’t Hell, or Heaven, or even Purgatory. It wasn’t a place for him to atone for his sins. It wasn’t even a resting place on the edge of the vast In Between. It was its own entity, cradling all the Lost Souls who arrived within it. The House was alive as much as something born in the Afterlife could possibly be. It wanted things, things for those who lived in it.

     Slow as the burning of a star, Baekhyun realized what it wanted.    

     It took him a long time after Chanyeol arrived. Baekhyun spent a lot of his time avoiding him. He hung out with Sehun a lot, but theblond ghost  was beginning to cling to him. Even now, as they sat on the porch his long arms were slung around him. Baekhyun leaned into him, listening to the wood creek beneath them. It was raining today. The drops fell in their tiny world, striking th roof over their heads. Some of the water slipped through the cracks. It splashed down beside them. It was as peaceful as Baekhyun had ever been.

     Strange, as the poltergeist had just flung Lay through three walls.

     “It’s getting worse,” Baekhyun whispered, his hand curling over his arm. The shrapnel from the blow had caught him. The wood ripped into his skin, piecing his flesh. It had bleed, but Lay had bleed more. They would both heal. The House saw to it. You can’t truly harm the dead. The worst of it they did to themselves. “He’s getting worse.”

       Sehun’s hold tightened. He shifted, pulling him closer to his chest. “How do you know it’s a he?” he asked. He was changing the subject, but Baekhyun let it go. he didn’t want to break the quietness with a fight. He felt peaceful and Chanyeol would find him if he screamed. Baekhyun scowled at the thought. Chanyeol and Baekhyun had brokered a truce of sorts. He followed him and he acknowledged him. It was a start. It was better, wasn’t it? It had to be better. Baekhyun felt sick of remembering. Remembering was bad, bad, bad.

       If the House wanted to help, it’d let him forget.

       “I have a feeling,” Baekhyun said. he closed his eyes, feeling a raindrop land on his cheek. It rolled down like a tear. Another followed. Another one after that. Baekhyun didn’t move. “It’s a he and he’s mad.”

        Sehun grunted. “I could’ve told you it was mad. All Poltergeists are angry. It’s why they do what they do.”

       “How do you know?” he asked. “There’s been others here?”

       “Yes,” a new voice echoed out. “But that was before you arrived.” Baekhyun’s eyes slide open. Luhan stood over him, leaning up against a post. His arms were crossed and his head hung low. Luhan peered down at him with red eyes, dark circles sagging under them. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days. A bizarre concept, seeing as ghosts didn’t need sleep. No, Baekhyun decided. He looks as if he had his heart torn out. Which was true. Xiumin had left and taken the best part of Luhan with him. The only thing left was a worn out shell.

       “Hey Luhan,” Baekhyun said. He nodded, but Luhan did not look at him. 

       “There were other ghosts here,” Luhan continued, shuffling his feet a bit. “Way before anyone else showed up. Back then it was just me and Suho, but then others showed. They all left before Kris came.”

        Baekhyun hadn’t known that. In fact, he suspected there was a lot Luhan knew and he didn’t. The ghost was so darn secretive. He had been since Baekhyun had arrived. Luhan had been too wrapped up in Xiumin to even consider passing along what he knew to him. Baekhyun resented it. He resented it enough to want to be cruel to a little broken ghost.

        “Was that before Xiumin came?” he asked. The venomous words flew out before he could stop thHm. he regretted it as soon as he said it. Luhan’s face crumbled. He in a deep breath, leaning against the post as if he’d punched him. Maybe it would have been better if Baekhyun had. Luhan straightened, a crooked grin appearing. His eyes gleamed. He looked positively insane. “Sorry,” he muttered.

         “It’s fine,” he said, but his voice wheezed. “He’s gone to the In Between. It’s safer for him there. The poltergeist can’t reach him there.”

          Baekhyun straightened. Sehun’s hands reached out to pull him back. Baekhyun swatted them away, scrambling to his feet. Letting out a breathe, he stared at Luhan. Does he know the way out? he wondered. Once upon a time, Sehun had told him that Luhan had made it into the In Between. That he had crossed over, and for whatever reason crossed back. The idea of being let out and then let in boggled him mind. Could the answer to his pain be found in Luhan?

          You need to forget.

         Baekhyun felt his hands shaking as he peered at Luhan. He tried to stop them. It failed, making them shake even more. He couldn’t help it. Baekhyun felt….afraid? Yes. Yes he felt fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of the unknown becoming known, fear of the known and of the pain. It all circled back to that didn’t it? The pain. Baekhyun arrived with no memories, but felt the pain of the loss. Hiz memories slowly returned, bringing even more pain. Baekhyun had dealt with it. He had managed it, until Chanyeol came crashing into death. He brought horrible pain. The kind that burns and freezes, the kind that made him gasp for air that never reached his lungs. It crackled across his skull, hissing and snarling in the shadows of his mind. Baekhyun could not get rid of it. Not by screaming nor by letting Chanyeol come close. It hurt. His entire afterlife going round and round in an unbreakable cycle. Could he truly smash the cycle to bits?

       “Tell me,” he demanded. “Tell me how to get into the In Between.” Baekhyun crossed his arms, trying to look intimidating. It failed. Sehun laughed at him, flopping down on the wet porch. Baekhyun might have a temper, but it was nothing compared to Luhan’s rages. He suspected, deep down, that he might have been the poltergeist he had referred to. A wild, angry ghost terrifying everyone inside the House. Then a wide eyed, pale boy stepped out of the taxi. One with chubby cheeks and a way of making people think about more than themselves. Xiumin roared into Luhan’s death and changed him.

       But that’s only words, who knows how it truly happened?

      “You have to let go,” Luhan said. He waved his hands in the air. “You have to let go of everything. Forget Chanyeol, forget your death, forget Sehun and forget this place.”

        “That doesn’t make sense,” Baekhyun muttered. His fingers dug into his arms. It kept him grounded. “How am I supposed to forget what I just got back? I didn’t remember before and I still couldn’t leave.”

           Luhan snorted. “It’s not about memories, idiot,” he sighed, crossing his arms. It looked more impressive when he did it. Baekhyun uncrossed his. Holding them behind his back, he stuck his tongue out at him. Luhan ignored it. “It’s about letting go.” Luhan reached and thumped him on the chest. “Give up caring so much and you’ll leave faster than you can blink. Sometimes that means forgetting everything, other times it just means being willing to leave them behind. Make your peace , if you will.”

           “That’s all?” Sehun asked. He sounded surprised. Baekhyun glanced down to see him siting up straight. He frowned, that crease appearing between his eyes. Luhan nodded.

           “That’s all there is to it,” Luhan said. “The House is an Afterlife for Lost Souls. Lost Souls are ghosts who can’t find their way out. Ghosts who can’t let go. It’s designed to push people out as fast as it can, but we just won’t go.”

              “That seems too simple,” Baekhyun insisted. “Too kind for this place.”

             Luhan smiled. A tired, but happy light reached his eyes. He uncrossed his arms, a hand lightly touching the post. He looked around as if seeing the House for the first time. Baekhyun could not tell how he knew, but he knew something was about to happen. It curled inside of his bones. “Too kind indeed,” he whispered. “But there it is.”

             Luhan stepped back away from them. “I’m leaving now,” he said. “This House is truly haunted and I’m clearing out.” His voice echoed over them, leaving Baekhyun feeling hollow and sad. “I’m going to find Xiumin in the In Between. Tell Suho I really did like him, just not enough to stay. Good-bye.”

              And then he too, was gone.

          The first thing Baekhyun did was cry.

           After, he made Sehun swear not to tell anyone of Luhan’s disappearance until tomorrow morning. “Tomorrow morning” was a vague date at best. Time did not move in the right manner. It could be years until tomorrow morning came. Baekhyun knew that, but still he had Sehun swear. He needed time to think. Baekhyun couldn’t think when everyone else was crying too. Sehun didn’t want to promise. he saw it in the way his eyes grew hand and his fists curled up as if it to hit him. In the end he gave his word. Baekhyun kissed him for it. A quick brush of lips on lips, and then he left.

           I need to forget.

          No, I need to let go.

         How do you let go?

         Let go.    

                    Down,

                            Down,

                                       Down,

                                                  Down…..

       Down,

                            Down,

                                       Down,

                                                   Down…..

             Down,

                            Down,

                                       Down,

                                                  Down…..

        I understand now.

       Baekhyun sat in front of the old cracked mirror. Almost lovingly, he trailed his fingers across the aging wood. If there was one thing in the House he loved and hated with equal measure, it was the cracked mirror. It showed his present, mocked his past, and stood btween him and his future. in a deep breath, he laid his hands flat against the crack. A warmth greeted him. It warmed his palms, spreading up his arm like an electric current. Last time this was when it stopped.

         You need to let it go.

         “I’m ready,” he declared. The noise echoed throughout the empty attic, breaking the silence. Baekhyun pressed his hands closer to the glass. He couldn’t push through, but the warmth stayed. Wasn’t that a good sign? I need to hurry before Chanyeol finds out where I am. If he knew he was abandoning him again, he’d ask him to stay. He’d beg him to stay, he’d probably cry. Baekhyun’s heart stuttered in its rhythm. He might not go if he cried. If Sehun cried he would stay.

          That was why he had told Sehun to go away. I need time to think, he had lied. Alone. He’d let Baekhyun have it. He shouldn’t have. What Baekhyun was about to do was probably the equivalent of ghost suicide. What happens in the In Between? Did he lose all of his memories? Did he just come to peace with them? Did he wind up at another House? In Heaven? Hell?  Baekhyun had no idea, yet he had to go.

         “Let me in,” he whispered. “I want to go. I don’t like pain, it needs to stop. I’m tired of feeling lost and lonely.”

           “I’m sorry.”

            Baekhyun froze, his dead heart dropping like a stone. His fingers curled up. His nails dug into the glass, scratching at it until it cut. Drops of blood appeared, trickling down the mirror like tears. Baekhyun let out a hiss of breath. He didn’t turn around. He didn’t dare too. The blackness of the air told him who was behind him. The stillness of the room, the feeling of horror in his soul. The ice in him bones and the fire in his face.

            It was the poltergeist.

           But he knew who this Lost Soul was. 

            Kong Tae Won. Back to haunt him even in death. Slowly, Baekhyun turned his head to face his murderer.

                      Down,

                            Down,

                                       Down,

                                                  Down…..

       Now in physical form, he looked the same as he ever had. He towered above him at six feet, with big eyes hidden behind thick glasses. His bulky sweater and tie hide the muscle Baekhyun knew was there. He looked so normal, so unassuming and kind. The teacher everyone liked because he didn’t grade too harshly or talked too loudly. The one who helped tutor the failing kids and kept candy to on in his desk. Baekhyun had seen plenty of girls have crushes on the great Kong Tae Won. Why wouldn’t they? If he hadn’t been so painfully in love with Chanyeol, he’d have loved him too.

         It made his betrayal that much more hurtful.

        A tear fell from Baekhyun’s eyes, rolling down his cheek to hit the floor. “Why?” he asked, because he had nothing better to say. Another tear fell. he almost wiped it away, but his arms wouldn’t move. His entire body sat frozen underneath the gaze of his killer. “Why?” Baekhyun demanded, voice raising. “Why?”

           Tae Won shook his head, slowly as if it pained him. “I don’t know,” he whispered. He sounded like a child. Lost and scared, alone without his mother. Baekhyun knew how that felt. It should give him pleasure to know he felt that pain too. It didn’t. It just made his tears appear faster.

          Baekhyun’s dug fingers even deeper into the mirror. He ignored the stab of pain. He ignored the blood dripping onto the floor. What was the point? Baekhyun had bleed out before. “Don’t lie to me,” he said. His tone was without venom. “Please don’t lie. It won’t do anything here.”

           Tae Won’s shoulders dropped. His gaze fell to the floor, just between his shoes. “Because I - I -loved you,” he admitted.

           “You don’t hurt the people you love,” Baekhyun said. Hollow, hypocritical words. He loved Chanyeol more ferociously than he had ever loved anything. He hurt him with his words, his rages, his fists and strength of his arms. Baekhyun had loved him enough to want to rip him to pieces. But wasn’t that too love in its own way? He’d given Chanyeol the power to hurt him. He did, then Chaneyol gave Baekhyun the power to hurt him. So Baekhyun did.

           “I know,” Tae Won said. “I know that, I really do. Baekhyun,” he said. “I shouldn’t have killed you. I’m sorry.”

          “Why’d you come here?” he asked, diverting away from his apology. Even so, it hung in the air like smoke. It filled his lungs, dragging him down. Baekhyun panted, one hand gripping hsm chest. It hurt to breath in his presence.

           “And not go straight to Hell?” he said ruefully. He kicked at the ground. “I don’t know. Maybe because I was killed.”

            Baekhyun hadn’t known that. He peered up at him in curiously. “Who killed you?” he asked, feeling as if he had a right to know. Did he kill himself? Did he try to kill someone else? Someone bigger, faster, smarter than Baekhyun? Someone who fought back and won? I should’ve been that person, he thought bitterly. I should’ve been the one to kill him.

             “Really?” Tae Won said. He laughed, but it was void of joy. “I would have thought Chanyeol had told you.”

              Baekhyun’s head jerked a bit. “What does Chanyeol have to do with it?” he demanded, his voice growing louder. He’d killed him once, what did he have to lose? We’re all dead in the House. Nowhere left to go but through the cracks.

               “He figured it out,” Tae Won said. His eyes glowed with something akin to admiration. “Chanyeol figured out I killed you when not even the police could. I don’t know how he did it, but he did. He came to school with a gun and-” he waved a hand in a violent, jerking motion. Baekhyun’s stomach churned. “He shot me in the head. I fell down. I heard other shots but I don’t know who else he hit. Maybe nobody, maybe himself.” Tae Won shook his head. “But I thought you would’ve known that. He did it for you. He wanted revenge.”

            “That doesn’t sound like Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said wearily. He felt tired from this. From all of this. He wanted to sleep, to close his eyes and forget. “Chanyeol was- is- kind.” he shook his head and tried to breathe. “He is a very kind boy isn’t he?”

             I need to let go.

            “He was a kind student,” Tae Won agreed. He took a step closer. Baekhyun flinched, yet didn’t move. The warmth beneath his hands grew hotter, bigger, better. It spread down his arms, tingling as it went. “I never knew why he dated Shion when it was so obvious he was in love with you.”

         The remark, said underneath his breathe, made Baekhyun’s head snap up. A dark ach curled inside of his chest. It chased the warmth away until it was as if he was made of ice. All ice and smoke. No bones or flesh to keep me here. “What?” he echoed, his tone sharp. “You think he actually loved me?”

         “You didn’t know,” he said, eyes wide. “It was obvious to everyone, even Shion knew. It was why he was nasty to you. You ha something he wanted and even when he had him he liked you better. ” He snorted. “How childish of him.”

         “You’re one to talk,” Baekhyun said, leaning his head against the mirror. “Weren’t you the one to kill me because you couldn’t have me?” The warmth was coming back, slowly this time. It crept from the glass and into his veins. he shivered in excitement. he had a feeling that this was it this time. If Baekhyun got this right, he’d slip into the In Between. It’s time to move on. The House groaned, settling in its old age. The ghost of a smile drifted across his face. It seemed to be agreeing with him.

          “Yes,” Tae Won said, shifting about again. His hands slid up to his chest. His fingers pulled at the thick fabric, tugging at it. “I did didn’t I?” Tae Won asked, biting his lip. Red stained his lower lip, a sight Baekhyun was getting more and more used to. Baekhyun sighed and nodded. Once this conversation would have been the end of him. Maybe it would still be. Baekhyun didn’t know anymore. he felt tired, warm, and ready to move.

        “I know why you’re here,” Baekhyun said loudly. His voice carried through the attic, breaking apart the hushed stillness. Tae Won’s hands fell limp at his side. He looked hopefully at him, as if he held the key to his existence. Ironic, as Baekhyun might. Trembling, he continued. “The House is for Lost Souls. You’re lost because you killed me and regret it. You do regret it don’t you?”

        He hesitated, his mouth falling open. That small hesitation was too much. Tears fell down Baekhyun’s cheeks, unbidden. He ignored them, choosing instead to push ahead before he changed his mind. “I loved you,” Tae Won whispered. “I loved you too much.”

         “You feel some regret at least,” Baekhyun whispered. His loud confidence had gone. It had vanished like smoke with the conflict in his eyes. Tae Won wasn’t a kind person. Not entirely. He was a good teacher, a smart man. A man who cared enough to see who loved who inside a class and make sure at most of them passed their tests. He was also a man who become obsessed with him. The man who had killed him. The one who left him to bleed out in the water. He’s not entirely kind, but not entirely evil. I’m not altogether kind either. Neither is Chanyeol and Sehun most defiantly not completely kind. Who is though? Xiumin maybe, but even he had his demons.

         “And I can’t keep letting you ruin me,” he admitted. The words flew from his tongue. Tae Won’s head jerked up. He stared at him, confusion in his eyes. Baekhyun rushed on. The heat beneath his fingertips gave him strength. “Tae Won,” he said, using his given name. “I’m ready to leave you and my life behind me. I’ve held on to it for too long as it is.”

         “Baekhyun,” he whispered, hand raising as if to touch him.

          “I forgive you,” he said firmly. His fingernails dug into the glass. Baekhyun’s anger, his fears, his hatred, insecurities and more rose with hi pain. Baekhyun shoved it all away, fighting to speak calmly. “I forgive you and I never want to see you again. Go to whatever Afterlife you deserve. Let the angels and God judge you. I’m too tired to do it. I forgive you. I want you gone.”

        Let go.

        Tae Won relaxed. His entire body slumped as if he had been held up with strings a moment before. He smiled, a sad, scared smile. It drifted across his face like a shadow, but it was shadow that remained. Taking a step back, his hand fell to his side. Facing him, he bowed deeply. Straightening his back, he looked directly at Baekhyun. The smile grew sadder, his eyes shutting tightly. One instant he was there, the next he was gone.

       The House held no more for the poltergeist Kong Tae Won.

       Baekhyun could not find it in himself to wish that he find peace. He did wish him farewell. As the whispered good bye past his lips, the House groaned about him once more. Baekhyun smiled, glancing up at the creaking roof. The House had no more for him either. It’s time to let go.

         Standing up, Baekhyun set the mirror upright. Light shone fiercely through the cracks. He wondered what the In Between would look like for him. Would it be sunny? A field? A forest? Another house or clouds? Baekhyun had no idea, but still he most go. The House was only a resting point on the long journey of his Afterlife. Perhaps one day it would end. Where he had no idea. Yet still I have to begin.

         A cold, almost invisible hand slid around his wrist. The long, slender fingers curling into his skin. Baekhyun did not have to look to know who it was. He knew him better than he knew himself. Baekhyun should have known he would come. He wasn’t one to be left behind. Another tear fell, dripping onto the floor. Glancing over, he smiled.

          “Are you ready to go, Sehun?” he asked.

           Sehun bit at his lips, his brow furrowed. His fingers dug into him skin, mirroring the pain in him fingernails. Was that not Sehun though? He brought him pain, but at the same time he soothed his demons. Baekhyun could not ask for more. He hoped and prayed that in the In Between Sehun would find what he needed to sooth his own. Sehun was older and more broken than he. He needed to move.

         “As long as I’m with you I’m ready for anything” he said, carefully as if the words would make him vanish without him. “Shall we go?”

          Turning to the mirror, Baekhyun nodded. Bending over, he raised his hand to the mirror. The warmth was searing, biting into his flesh. Baekhyun in a deep breathe, biting at the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. Let go. he pushed his hand forward. The glass gave way, letting his move his hand further inside of it. It felt strange and hot, like pushing through hot water. I’m going through!

         Excited, Baekhyun pulled his hand back. Without letting Sehun second guess him, he tugged him forward. “You go first,” he said breathlessly. Baekhyun smiled happily. It’s working! “Go in and I’ll follow after. We’ll hold hands so we don’t separate.”

          Sehun placed his free hand through the mirror. A look of wonder appeared on his face. Curiosity and an open hunger he rarely saw in him. Yes, Baekhyun decided. Yes he will find peace beyond the crack. Then moving faster than Baekhyun would have thought, Sehun crawled through the mirror. His hand tugged at his, pulling him after him. Baekhyun crouched down. Heart hammering in his chest, he closed his eyes. The warmth covered his face, spreading down his neck as Baekhyun crawled further and further in. Baekhyun didn’t dare open his eyes. The Taxi Cab had driven through light so bright it burned. Would he see it here? Baekhyun had no guess, but kept them closed anyway. Feeling Sehun’s cold hand on his wrist kept him moving forward. Deeper and deeper he pushed, tearing the veil between the worlds.

           Something took his free hand.

           A large, heavy hand. The fingers interlaced with his, pulling back gently even as he kept moving forward. Sehun guided him and Baekhyun guided him. Baekhyun could only laugh. He felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He could run and scream and fly. Up and up Baekhyun could soar! Higher than clouds and straight into the In Between. If Sehun had come to lead the way, it only made sense that Chanyeol would come to guard his back.

        You would follow me anywhere wouldn’t you? Baekhyun thought. You followed me into death. You’re following me into the In Between. You’d chase me through Hell and into Heaven. Alright Chanyeol, alright. I’ll give you this. Maybe if I lose my memories I will love you the way I loved you before.

        Not that it mattered as much has much as it had. Baekhyun had given his life to Chanyeol. This wasn’t his life, this was beyond it. This was his eternal Afterlife. It was his. Not Tae Won’s, not Chanyeol’s, and not Sehun’s. It was Baekhyun’s and he would make of it what he wanted. The House was behind him, the In Between ahead.

         Baekhyun laughed. His Afterlife would be a good one indeed.

                   Hello everyone! Thank you all so much for reading, up-voting, and commenting. You have all been so kind. ^_^ This story has come to an end, but it ended as well as an Afterlife could end, did it not? Be sure to check out my other stories, and have a great 2016!