Press Start to Evolve — Player 2 Has Entered the Afterlife
Welcome back, fellow floaters. I’m Maile Navarro—professional overthinker, accidental psychic, and your grief-glitched tour guide through what I can only assume is a soul simulation coded by an overworked intern named Dick.
This week’s episode is personal, existential, slightly unhinged—and 100% solo. Royce is off doing things like earning a stable income and having a lunch break (must be nice), while I’m over here trying to figure out if Earth is:
a) hell,
b) a karmic escape room with no clues,
or c) a cosmic bootcamp where you start as a floppy little Magicarp and have to spiritually evolve before the universe lets you go home.
And here’s the plot twist:
Player 2 has already entered the afterlife.
Yeah. That’s my son.
Kingston. My nine-year-old who passed away but apparently still has Wi-Fi in the afterlife, because he’s been sending me signs like a pro-level gamer who refuses to let me fail the tutorial.
So today we’re talking about what it actually means to live in this glitchy-ass version of The Sims while your child is operating from a higher dimension with cheat codes, bird poop, and Pokemon references. If you’ve ever looked up at the sky and screamed “WHAT IS THE POINT OF ALL THIS?,” congratulations—you’re in the right episode.
Topics include:
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What reincarnation really feels like when you’re stuck on the same emotional boss level
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Why my spiritual awakening started with grief, Wi-Fi issues, and one haunted YouTube autoplay
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A breakdown of why Magicarp is the official mascot of unfinished souls
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Flickering lights, repeating numbers, Chrome Hearts, and the sacred chaos of signs from the other side
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Why your soulmate might be haunting your Spotify algorithm
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The spiritual significance of Pokémon stickers, dog poop, and Uber drivers in clown cars
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And of course, why Earth might actually be hell—just with better snacks and worse customer service
This episode isn’t for the faint of heart or the emotionally regulated. This one is for the people flailing through grief, doubting their intuition, screaming into the cosmic void, and still managing to light a candle or write something down just in case the universe is trying to respond.
Because here’s what I’ve learned:
When you ignore the signs, the universe turns up the volume.
When you still don’t listen?
It sends your kid back in spirit form—Player 2 style—with better aim and louder signals.
And that’s not hypothetical. That’s real. That’s lived. That’s the aftermath of parenting through hospice, losing your child, and still hearing them through candle flickers and clairvoyant strangers.
So, no, I don’t think Earth is hell in the fire-and-brimstone sense. But I do think it might be the karmic summer school for souls who talked too much in Atlantis. And I’m not planning to come back here unless I get at least one superpower and better snacks next time.
This episode is your permission slip to believe in the signs. To write them down. To stop brushing off what you already know deep down:
You’re not crazy. You’re just connected.
And if you need help decoding your own messages from the other side, I’ve got you.
Download You’re Not Crazy, You’re Connected: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Grieving People at theafterwords.co—or get the printed version on Amazon. It’s weird, validating, and full of the proof I needed to not check myself into a psych ward. (Spoiler: The journal might save your sanity too.)
So, if you’re ready to stop Magicarp-ing your way through life and start playing the actual game…
Press start. Evolve.
Player 2 is already waiting.
And we are not coming back here again without extra credit.