It's a Wonderful Death - Sarah J. Schmitt Page 0,98
his face smiling as his blushing bride walks down the aisle. He’s the same old Daniel, except for one thing. The twinkle in his eyes has lost some of its brightness, and, for a minute, there’s even a flicker of sadness there and I wonder if he’s thinking about Madeline. But as quickly as it flashes, the look is gone when a vision in white appears at the end of the aisle.
Turns out his bride, Jackie, is also his lab partner in medical school. Together, they break the sequencing code that opens up cures for several different types of cancer. They have three children. Two daughters they name Madeline and Rowena, for which I could kill him, and a son, Casey, who bears the name of Jackie’s brother, another victim of cancer and the reason she went into medicine.
And the little boy whose stupid costume cost me my life, well, he’s a priest. I really hope I get some extra points for saving a man of the cloth. He helps run a support group for grieving parents that my mom and dad started after I died.
Several other faces flash on the screen, but I don’t know any of them. And then, the images stop. The whirl of the disc player slows and everything goes quiet. I didn’t realize it before, but tears are streaming down my face. Not because I’m sad. I mean, I am, but that’s not why I’m crying. It’s because my life means something. Even in the future, my choices make a difference.
“Are you going to sit there all day?” a voice booms from the doorway.
Standing, larger than life, is Death Himself in his typical Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts.
“You could have told me,” I say, standing up to face him. “You knew it would turn out like this, didn’t you?”
“No, not at first, but I saw the changes taking place in the Records.”
“So that’s why they were sealed?”
He nods. “I was afraid if you knew what would come to pass you would change your mind. Just didn’t seem fair.”
“To me or to you?” I scoff.
“To you, mostly. And the world. You were intended to be a supernova. To burn brightly and powerfully and then to suddenly burst, leaving a legacy behind.”
Great. Death Himself compares me to a dying star and I have nothing to come back at him with. “What happens next?” I finally ask.
“Well, you still have to go to Judgment, but since I know how that ends, you should be in and out in a blink of an eye.”
“And then?”
Death Himself swings an arm over my shoulder. “Have you given any thought as to what you want to do with your Afterlife?”
I ponder his question for a moment. “Not sure. What kind of opportunities does this place have for a reformed mean girl?”
His smile widens and takes on an almost gleeful twist. “Oh, I have a couple of ideas. How do you feel about counseling?”
I shake my head. “Who could I possibly help? It’s not like I killed myself. What could I possibly do to help a suicide? ”
His eyes twinkle. “What? You think you’re the only soul who arrives believing they should get a second chance?”
“Yeah, actually, I thought I was.”
Death Himself throws back his head and laughs, the booming sound echoing throughout the hall. “Sorry, sweetheart. You were only the first who actually had a case. No, we get all kinds and their assimilation needs to be handled delicately. On a case by case basis.”
“Who are you talking about?”
He begins to tick his answer off on his hand. “Celebrities, politicians, self-entitled offspring of the rich and powerful who crash their mom’s car going one hundred and thirty miles an hour. And lawyers. We get a lot of lawyers trying to talk their way out of death like it’s a speeding ticket.” His laughs again and the air around us becomes charged with energy. “We need souls who are willing to help them assimilate.”
“Wait, how come I didn’t see anyone like that in the Lobby?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
“The Reapers funnel them onto a separate car that unloads away from everyone else.”
“Why didn’t Gideon take me with that group the first time?”
“What can I say, kid? You’re one in one hundred and nine billion. So, you in?”
“What if I say no?”
He shrugs. “It’s your choice, but this gig comes with an automatic bid through the Holy Gates and the power to pass back through them whenever you like.”