Soul

Joe Gardner, a middle school band teacher, had always been passionate about music, but more specifically, jazz. The way the notes flowed, the improvisation, and the raw emotion that it conveyed resonated with him deeply. He spent most of his days teaching students how to read sheet music and play their instruments, but his true longing was to be on stage, performing in front of a live audience. That night was finally here – Joe had landed a successful audition at the prestigious Half Note Club in New York City, a dream he had been working towards for years. The excitement was palpable as he envisioned the spotlight shining down on him, the crowd cheering, and the symphony of sounds blending together in perfect harmony. However, fate had other plans. As Joe was walking home, basking in the afterglow of his triumph, he suddenly hit a pothole on the sidewalk, and his world came to a standstill. He tried to move but found himself immobile, unable to even call out for help. His soul, once connected to his body, had been separated from his physical form through a freak accident, and he found himself stuck in a realm of nothingness. The sounds of the city faded away, replaced by an eerie silence. Joe's panic began to set in as he realized he was no longer in his body. He was a disembodied soul, floating in a limbo-like space with no clear direction or sense of purpose. It was then that he found himself in a world known as the Great Before, a cosmic hub where souls come to develop their passions and learn about life before they are catapulted into a newborn child. It was here that Joe encountered 22, a soul who had been stuck in the You Seminar for eons. 22 had seen it all – countless timelines, infinite possibilities, and boundless memories. He was a reincarnation expert, with an unparalleled knowledge of the past lives of every soul that had ever resided in the seminar. With a sarcasm that masked a deep-seated fear of being trapped, 22 joined forces with Joe to help him get back to his body and relive his dream of becoming a jazz musician. However, getting back to Earth wouldn't be easy. Joe would have to navigate the complexities of the Great Before and avoid the Counselor, a being who collected souls with a sense of purpose that seemed more driven by life experiences rather than pure passion. The Counselor's intentions were far from altruistic; he aimed to send souls to the perfect newborn child based on the calculations of their personality and skills, not necessarily on their dreams and aspirations. Through various misadventures in the Great Before, Joe began to realize the full extent of his entanglement with the world around him. He discovered that everything he thought he knew about life was just a fraction of the larger whole. Encounters with other souls-in-training, each with their unique talents and motivations, showcased that life was a tapestry woven from an infinite array of choices and possibilities. Meanwhile, Joe and 22 formed an unlikely bond, with the gruff-sounding 22 slowly unraveling to reveal a deep vulnerability. As they journeyed through the Great Before, 22's cynicism began to wane, and Joe's innocence and optimism started to rub off on him. Their friendship transcended their own selves and inadvertently led to Joe realizing that the primary reason he wanted to be a jazz musician was not just for the love of music, but also because it brought him a sense of belonging and purpose that eluded him in the real world. As Joe delved deeper into the You Seminar, he confronted the harsh reality that his one-night-only success at the Half Note Club came with a cost. He risked losing the thing he cherished most – his life. It was only in the face of such catastrophe that he began to see the You Seminar and its purpose for the first time. It dawned on him that being alive wasn't just about chasing your dreams, but also about grasping every minute of every life experience. However, their newly forged bond, combined with the sense of responsibility and urgency, drove Joe and 22 to keep fighting against the odds. That's when Joe understood the crucial, hard-won lesson that, if even for a few precious minutes, experiencing life's fleeting beauty was well worth it. In response, Joe devised a last-ditch plan that required him to step outside his comfort zone, one that demanded all his courage and any remaining glimmers of hope. Through their journey of friendship and tragedy, Joe came to realize that it wasn't some cosmic decision about life's value that would save his soul but something far more natural – feeling his life was worth experiencing every millisecond it existed. In the end, amidst great uncertainty and fragile possibility of reconnection with his physical body, Joe chose a vastly unremarkable death that ultimately provided him the chance to live his truth – that his musical identity was inextricably linked to the very hum of creation that ticked his heart to life.