[ WP ] A man dies and goes to the afterlife , when he arrives he is shown an alternate time line where he never existed , he can choose to erase his existence at the end of it .

“ Patrick M. Jackosn, aged 63, left behind a spouse and no children, correct? ” a hooded figure asked. Pat was in some sort of waiting room. It was impeccably clean, lit with a seemingly angelic light, but otherwise could pass for any waiting room in a hospital or clinic around the country. It was empty except for himself and the man standing in front of him. 
 
 “ Nope. Not me, I haven ’ t passed, and my name is Ryan Barrowman. ” Pat gave his friends name. The figure had implied he was dead and there was no way he was confirming he was who he was. 
 
 “ Nice try. What do you think of the room? ” The figure lowered his hood as he said this, revealing a face that looked remarkably familiar. Looking closely Pat could see hints of the beard I grew in his mid twenties, but also the receding hairline Pat had become familiar with in the past two years. He had hints of the smirk constantly plastered on his teenage face as well. 
 
 “ What…what are you? ” Pat stuttered. A thoughtful look passed over the figure ’ s face, before he replied “ I ’ m a representation of your life and possible future afterlife. If it helps you can call me Judge. I asked a question though, and having answered yours I deserve and answer myself. ” 
 
 *It ’ s a waiting room. * “ I don ’ t know, if this is what I think it is I guess I was expecting something less normal, you know? ” 
 
 Judge nodded. “ I ’ m still new at this. People are beginning to change their expectations about death and a lot of the old guard are having trouble, so I ’ ve been asked to try new ideas. This is the fortieth waiting room I ’ ve tried and I have yet to find someone satisfied with it. Oh, no one outright complains, but that isn ’ t good enough. This is the great beyond, we want to inspire while at the same time giving comfort. ” 
 
 “ Uh huh. ” Pat glanced around the room. “ So do I go to hell or heaven? ” 
 
 “ Neither, you follow me to the hall of decision. ” Pat blinked, seemingly without control, and found himself in a courtroom. “ How ’ s this meet your expectations? ” Arranged in the seating area was everyone Pat knew, everyone Pat cared about. Instead of looking at him however, they stared ahead unseeing. “ What have you done to them? ” 
 
 “ Nothing, they are merely avatars for the trial, most of these people are still alive. We will see how you affected their lives, by examining them, and then how their life would have been if you did not exist. Before you object, both your direct actions towards them and indirect actions towards others will affect how their lives go. This is the fair way we have done it since the beginning. Now, as for your role, you will call forth from these witnesses those who are most important to you. Pay attention, you have an important role to play in this trial. ” 
 
 “ How can I play it without knowing what it is? ” 
 
 “ You should be asking how you could possibly play it knowing what it is. You will call the majority of the witnesses, but I will call the first, because the law dictates if a defendant has a significant other, they must be placed on the stand first. 
 
 “ I don ’ t need to see her life, I ’ ve seen most of it. We met in our early twenties, I ’ ve been there for more than half of it. ” 
 
 “ You must feel the predominant emotion of her life with you regardless, but very well, we will skip the images. ” Melissa appeared on the witness stand. A feeling of joy swept over Pat. Then, a second wave, as Pat realized it was the joy of a lifetime spent with him. He had always harbored private doubts that she stayed with him out of pity, that he wasn; t a good enough husband. This was all the confirmation he needed he had been good enough to her. “ And her life without me? ” 
 
 A wave of unspeakable joy swept over him He saw her with another man. But it wasn ’ t the man making her more happy, no he wasn ’ t better. It was the children. Pat had inherited low and slow and basically stupid sperm from his father, but while his father ’ s were bad, Pat also lost one testicle in an accident as a kid. As a result, his father had three kids while Pat had tried so hard and had none. Melissa had always said she was okay with it, even though she had wanted children being with him was enough. *What have I done? * He saw Melissa reappear with the others. 
 
 “ Call the second witness. ” Pat scanned the crowd. “ I don ’ t want to. ” 
 
 “ A minimum number of witnesses must be called. I will inform you when you have met it, call a witness. No, I will not damn you now. Call. ” Judge demanded. He had taken that moment to vanish and reappear on the Judge ’ s bench, leaving Pat standing in the middle of the courtroom alone. 
 
 Pat scanned the crowd again. “ I call Michael. My brother. ” 
 
 “ He no longer exists, you can only witness his life with you. ” Michael appeared on the witness stand. His brief life flashed before his eyes, before he died in a drunk driving accident at seventeen. Four kida were in the car, including Pat ’ s friend Dennis, who felt guilty forever more after the accident. He never moved on with his life. He felt an emotion, it was kind of like a thrill of being alive. It flashed briefly and was gone. 
 
 “ I call Sarah. My sister Sarah. ” 
 
 “ Also no longer exists. ” Images of her long life, including after Pat died, flashed through her head. She had kids, grand kids, great grand kids, and even a great great grand kid before dying at one hundred and ten. An emotion of content happiness washed over him. 
 
 “ Why are all my siblings gone? ” Judge leaned forward. “ I motion to call forth Ryan Jackson. ” 
 
 Pat felt his life with him. Pat watched it fill with turmoil and tragedy, yet Pat felt the emotion of hope. He had three children, even though one died two grew to be happy adults, and though he passed when Pat was only forty, he knew his children would continue to have happy lives with their spouses. 
 
 Then he felt life without Pat. His father had been having feelings for a coworker. Without his wife ’ s first pregnancy he eventually cheated and they split. He bounced through two more marriages and one kid, but his ex kept the child away from him. He died bitter and alone, accidently od ’ ing on pain meds. A feeling of heart wrenching pain washed over Pat. 
 
 Then it was gone, and he was looking at the judge. “ You may call your next witness. ” Pat ’ s eyes flew to where he had seen his mother. “ Are you sure? ” Pat shook his head. 
 
 “ I call Dennis. ” The familiar life, the despair, washed over him. He saw the accident through Dennis eyes while feeling the guilt the controlled his entire life. Then he saw another path. In this path he had gone into the military and lost a leg. He gained publicity and donations funded his therapy. Eventually, he found peace with the loss, married, had kids, and had a full life. A feeling of struggling washed over him, but also mixed in was a feeling of satisfaction at having beaten each obstacle. 
 
 “ I don ’ t want to do this anymore. ” 
 
 “ We aren ’ t done yet. ” 
 
 Pat called his mother, who eventually found another husband and had a child, but never got over the betrayal of her husband. He called his best friend from his thirties, watched him lead two satisfying lives. Different, and arguably the one with Pat was better, but close. He called cousins and friends, people he only knew for a little while. 
 
 Finally, Judge let him know he only needed one more witness. His eyes flitted over the courtroom. It had taken a while, but noticed every witness he called had a small glowing ring, seemingly made of light, around their left ring finger. 
 
 “ I call you. ” 
 
 “ No. ” Judge said, taken aback. “ Though I will allow that to stand for a call. You may rest your case if you so desire. ” 
 
 “ I desire. ” 
 
 “ Your verdict then? ” 
 
 “ What? ” Pat stared at Judge, mouth agape. 
 
 “ You are the only jury capable of judging yourself. We could show you every single person, or the whole world, but realistically the ones closest to you matter most. You may choose to continue to the afterlife and leave things as they are, or release your existence. You will have never been. You will have no after life because you had no life, and the lives you saw here will be changed as you saw. ” 
 
 Pat thought back. His parents splitting and never fully being happy, his siblings never existing. Melissa having kids, and being so happy with them. 
 
 “ I can ’ t choose, some get better and some get worse. Isn ’ t this supposed to be like It ’ s a Wonderful Life and everyone ’ s life is worse? ” 
 
 “ The real world does not work like that. You have to choose who is more important. One person against several? One against another? A slight improvement here against a massive loss there, and vice versa. This is the choice every human has made since time began. Before you ask, no, that does not mean most chose to exist. In many cases them not existing could cause twenty or more people to exist. No I am not giving you an up down total on existences that will be formed or destroyed by your decision. ” 
 
 *Well fuck. * Pat pictured Melissa. He instance that not having children was fine. He pictured his parents, his siblings, Dennis, Harry, Patricia, Erica, Matt, all the people he had looked at. 
 
 “ I choose. ” Judge leaned forward to listen. “ To live. ” 
 
 “ Even if it means your wife not being happy? ” 
 
 “ She is happy, I ’ m not killing my siblings to make her happier. I ’ m sorry. ” Pat lowered his head, somehow feeling both proud and ashamed of his decision. 
 
 “ Don ’ t be. ” Judge said. The courtroom vanished.
