There was no line at the Department of Reincarnate. In fact, there was no line anywhere. After saying his farewells, Iben Stills arrived at his own accord.
'I know what I want to go back as.'
'Congratulations.' heard Iben. To Iben, the entity began to take shape. Initially, it was a fractal pattern which engaged all the senses but after a while, it took a form. It was easier to converse this way, without the distractions of taste, touch and smell. Sight and sound was all that was really necessary. Iben willed a reclined chair into form and sat, placing his feet in the air. 'I'm really set on this.' Iben said assuredly. 'I never thought I'd want, nor have to go back, but now I'm quite looking forward to it.' The entity finally finished its form. He was a man, one who, to Iben, wore a white office shirt like a robe. It was oversized and stretched past his knees. The man quickly rolled up his shirt sleeves and loosened his normal sized tie, which looked small in comparison. Each form was dictated by the being, meaning Iben prescribed a unique form to the entity. If someone other than Iben visited the Department of Reincarnate, the same entity would take a different form, one prescribed by that visitor.
'You said you have to go back?' The man asked him. 'And while that is true to an extent, you said it like you want to return for an intent reason.' Iben raised an eye to the man. 'Would that be a problem? To return for an expressed reason?' The man moved to his right and willed a lectern into form, a page seemingly willed with it. 'It may.' he said. The man flourished his hand, willing a pen into form. 'Tell me what you want to return as, and why.' Using the lectern for support, the man began filling out details. Iben rested his head as though he were a patient and recounted the events which led to his decision. 'I suppose it began a month ago. I learnt a friend from my past life had arrived and I of course went to welcome him and help re-orient. We got to talking, and he mentioned my family had dedicated my name to a park bench. Dedicated to the memory of Iben Stills, a beloved father and lover of nature, or, something of the sort. Are you aware of this memorial practice?' Iben looked towards the man for a confirmation of understanding. 'Sure. I'm familiar with it.' The man continued writing without looking to Iben. 'Upon hearing this from my friend, I became... disappointed.' The man stopped writing and turned to Iben, giving him his full attention. 'How so?' he asked. 'I was let down. It seems my family did not know me at all. I never liked the park and I hated sitting down to rest. My family must of thought it was a happy end to my life, hobbling around the park with them.' 'I sense a lot of disharmony within you Iben.' The man walked away from the lectern and willed a filing cabinet into form. He prized open a drawer, retrieved a page and slid the drawer shut. The man read the page in silence before speaking to Iben once more. 'Please continue.' 'Well, I couldn't solve the disappointment within me until I realized what I could return as.' The man stopped reading his page to look at Iben. 'A termite.' Iben told him. 'If I return as a termite, I think I'd be alright.'
'Ironic.' said the man. They shared a blank stare. 'Given your name.' It continued. 'Sure.' Iben agreed, mistaking which name the man was referring to. 'I gather you want to be a termite local to the park bench?' The man asked. 'Yes, ideally.' 'I also gather you want to eat this park bench?' 'Yes. Ideally.'
The man smiled. 'You know what the most popular request the Department of Reincarnate receives?' Iben shook his head. 'Dog. Everyone wants to return as one. Spread joy, relish the sense of smell, be the answer to loneliness. These requests are almost always granted, especially to those who did harm in their past life.' In-between the lectern and filing cabinet, the man willed into form a great set of scales that balanced on a fulcrum. 'The process of reincarnation wholly depends on karma.' The man flourished his hand once more, this time conjuring energy in the form of light. 'To put it simply, this is your past life.' He rested an amorphic ball of light onto one side of the scale. It plummeted immediately. The man extended his arm and pinched the air, willing a termite to form between his fingers. He placed the termite onto the other side of the scale to no effect. The scales remained lopsided. 'What does this mean?' Iben asked, leaning forward in his chair.
'A termite won't cut it. You need to return as something benevolent.' The man gave Iben a consoling smile. 'I'm sorry but this request is going to have to go for review.' Before the problem of disappointment returned to Iben, a jolt of hope came to him. 'Review? You mean there's still a chance?' 'Yes.' 'How so?' 'Well, your park bench is a permanent fixture that will dictate the karmic influence of beings. People will meet for the first time on your bench, conversations will take place, and this will all dictate future events. Your park bench could host the most unsavory revelations of the mind.' They shared another blank stare before Iben blurted out, 'So!?' The man smiled and repositioned himself in front of Iben. 'What I'm saying is, there is a chance that the destruction of your bench is beneficial to all. Such a decision can't be decided here of course. You'll need to visit the Department of Determine.' The man revisited the filing cabinet and retrieved another page. He stood at the lectern and started to write. 'How long will this take?' Iben asked. 'Well first they'll have to determine the total time of the bench and then weigh its influence for good against its influence for bad, if you know what I mean.' 'I think so.' Iben said as he stood up from his chair. The man passed him the paper and wished him luck. Iben was about to leave when another solution occurred to him. 'Wait. Before I go to the next department, I want to ask you something.' 'What is it?' asked the man. 'If I return as a dog this time, and be an inevitably good boy, can I return as a termite the time after that? Will the scales be even at that point?' The man smiled. 'You really hate that park bench huh?'
