epizontes

Yaco and Eternity: A Fable in the Afterlife is an allegorical tale with suspense, unexpected twists, and a hopeful vision about life after this life.
Friendship and gratitude are the feelings that drive the story. On the level of ideas, it reflects on the uniqueness of each living being and the immortality of the soul, of consciousness, or of the Self, however one prefers to call it.
The narrative style is experimental; among other features, it combines prose with theatrical script.

The story:
Yaco is a stray dog who, for the first time in a long while, is happy because Ema, the crazy homeless woman from the market, has adopted him. At last he feels like a useful dog, accompanying his new owner. Together they face the hardships of life on the street. But all of a sudden, unknown and threatening humans prevent him from reuniting with Ema.
Thanks to Broken Wing, the wise and enigmatic seagull, Yaco understands that he is now in the Midworld, an intermediate world, a dreamlike dimension where illusions are lived as reality. Saddened by being forever separated from Ema, Yaco agrees to look for a new owner to be a faithful friend to... that is the duty of a good dog, even in the Midworld.
Yaco embarks on a perilous journey adorned with an incredible gallery of characters, among them: a monster that possesses an abyss where those who have lost meaning fall; a dung beetle that dances atop his ball and knows of a place where those in search of something find it; a monster woman with the body of a dog, who leads a band of vengeful dogs; a little man with a torch who explains God, but cannot find Him; and many others.
Yaco ventures into the depths of the Midworld, where he fights not to lose himself while confronting his fears and a past full of mistakes that resists being remembered. Broken Wing appears sporadically offering advice, which he does not always want to hear, but which later will serve him.
Finally, Yaco must choose between a dreamed and pleasant life that he could have here and now... and the duties of a good dog.

Context and inspiration:
The story is based on Cholito, the stray dog whose death in 2017 was the catalyst for the ＂Cholito Law,＂ to penalize animal abuse in Chile.
Inspiration for this fable has come from: The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Book of Going Forth by Day), The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol), and the myths of Preta Loka, Charon, Limbo, and the Guardian Angel in Zoroastrianism. Also influential are the works of Emanuel Swedenborg, Edgar Allan Poe, Lewis Carroll, Hermann Hesse, Richard Bach, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Raymond Moody, Bernardo Kastrup, Rupert Sheldrake, Pim van Lommel, Christopher Langan, and many others.