FICTION PARK: A revolting ghost

The afterlife, as depicted in this narrative, is a grim and suffocating trap, a stark contrast to the life left behind. The ghost of a student, killed during a protest in Nepal, reflects on the futility of his ambitions and the predictable struggles he would have faced even if he had survived.

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The afterlife is a trap, evoking all sorts of conflicting emotions. You feel liberated one moment, only to feel suffocated the next. Being a ghost is so miserable that I begin to wonder whether life in Nepal was less painful and more predictable.

His death came during a crackdown on student demonstrators protesting government corruption. He laments his decision to join the protest, wishing he had not died and become a ghost. He notes that the nation has not improved, with new political factions mirroring the old corrupt behaviors. The only solace he finds is in the memory of his family's love.

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I wish I hadn’t joined the protest; I wouldn’t be here among the elderly ghosts who died more natural deaths.

Since becoming a ghost, he has developed a peculiar skill: stealing from other spirits. He targets ghosts based on their appearance to acquire items like pens, paper, and cigarettes, though he remains unsure of their supply source. He recounts stealing a pen and paper from a former politician, who was addressing a crowd of ghosts about the state's brutality against the poor. Among the listeners was a young ghost who had set himself on fire due to state-imposed fines and the hardships of life in Kathmandu.

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From what I have heard from the freshly dead, the nation hasn’t changed for the better. New outfits have adopted the same behaviors as their predecessors.