ALL NOVEL You should have been a woman
"I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience Mrs Hamid. It would seem we have forced you to live out a life as a man. I'm sure that must have been difficult for you."
As I sat there feeling like my mind had been fucked, I tried to use what little processing power my mind had left to get to the bottom of things,
"Uh... Who are you?"
Yup, I should probably start from there.
"Pardon me for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Cassandra Mrs Hamid-"
"Before you continue, please call me mister. I'm sure being called Mrs is entirely reserved for whoever my wife might be." No one enjoys admitting they are single dammit.
"...Very well then Mr Hamid, my name is Cassandra and I am a minor deity that helps with reincarnation. You passed away last night at the age of 19 years, 8 months and 11 days. Due to an issue with your soul, I have been sent to compensate you."
The woman looked truly apologetic at this point and the guilt on her face had me thinking this was a problem she caused personally, whatever it might be.
I finally had a chance to look at her properly and realised I couldn't make out any clear facial features. The only thing that stuck out when I looked at her was her hair, it was such a perfect black I would find it hard to realise what I'm looking at. It was as if I was not looking at black hair but at a missing piece of the world, like a gap in my perception. It made me think of the Black 3.0 I once saw.
Let's get back on track for now.
"So based on what you were saying before, I was supposed to be a woman??" Now that was a horrifying thought, I like women but not enough to be one. Carrying babies and bleeding monthly just isn't worth the trouble.
"You may not know this Mr Hamid but all souls are destined to certain things. They are created in such a way that they follow some 'ground rules' so to speak, such as gender, disposition and talent. Of course, these things are influenced by each birth and can be made different by effort or life choices, to sum it up; karma."
"And I was created to be a woman? Do I have a choice, because that really doesn't appeal to me."
She looked at me with a weird expression, was my request difficult or just that hard to imagine? I guess I must be like those guys who insisted that they were actually girls and went around in tutus. She had a sort of 'as expected' look on her face as she smiled apologetically.
"That would be difficult. You see, you were never meant to be a man in your current life in the first place. That was a mistake caused by the previous deity in charge of your soul. She was friends with you and wanted to give chance to be a man." She was standing before me but at some point, I found both of us were already seated next to each other.
"You have lived many lives and accumulated positive karma in most of them. You would talk with your deity often after arriving here and complain about being a woman. No matter how many lives you lived you never showed sexual interest in men and always had a lesbian lover. You would wish you could be a man."
It was hard to imagine myself coming here lifetime after lifetime to meet an old friend, always hoping to not be trapped in the wrong gender if I have a choice. What should I do now? Do I have to go back to living as a woman? I don't look down on women or anything but it's just not for me.
"After many generations, the deity fell for you and wanted to grant your wish, although she might have had some selfish intentions too. She let you live this life as a man, and you flourished. She broke the rules to help you and was forced to be born as a mortal to pay the price."
"She was punished for me? Is she alright? Can I be born where she is?" I really wanted to meet this woman who cared so much for me in the so many lifetimes I lived.
"She is alive, but she isn't doing too well. That's why I asked to be granted this job. Please help her, she needs your help, but you will need to be a woman again. I will send you to the world she is in to fight by her side."