William rubbed his shirt. He wasn't sure if he was looking for wounds or if he was
still trying to figure out if he was dead. He was breathing and could feel his
heart beating. William reasoned that the man might be lying to him.
“Everyone born is assigned a random 'Eklektos' date. Some people have them minutes
after they are born, others need to wait decades to reach theirs,” the clerk
informed him as he made another mark on the paper. “Not everyone gets to make this
choice,” he added.
“So now, it's your turn to choose, Mister Further,” the clerk made another mark on
the page.
William pondered what the man had said. He didn't know what 'Eklektos' meant.
The clerk seemed to pick up on William's hesitation. “There are two choices. You
can choose Apoka. Or you can choose Chortazo.”
William sat, not making a sound. He could feel a bead of sweat roll down his face.
The clerk put the papers down. The man glanced up but did not directly look at him.
“If you choose Apoka, you will go back to your newest Apoka point and live your
life from that moment until your demise.” He turned his attention back to the
documents. “You will only remember what had happened up until that point in your
life. Things may turn out differently. Some changes may be small. Some may be huge.
Your life isn't set in stone. In one lifetime, you may meet people or have a
different color house. In the next, you have a huge family. In one life, there may
be a book you've read thousands of times but in the next, the book is never
written. But things could just as well stay the same and you end up back here with
me making the same choice.
“The closer the Apoka point is to your death, the fewer things will change. That is
how your life becomes solidified,” the clerk added.