There's some weird doctrine that the soul lingers for a certain number of days. St. Paul, who was quite the educated Orthodox of his day before becoming a Christian, had no use for that superstition -- rather, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (Or for the damned, to go to hades)
6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. 7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Ecc 12:6-7KJV