The Lance
December 2010
Page 11
ARTAUVE
Heaven
(Continued from Page 9)
the pockets of his jeans. "Yeah, heaven
used to just be heaven, back in the day.
I wasn't around, then, of course. You
can go over to Ug Drive and check it
out if you want to, but I wouldn't rec
ommend it. They're pretty nasty
brutes-always hitting people with clubs
and stuff. But it wasn't too long after
that that real religions started popping
up all over the world, and it became
pretty clear pretty fast that they could
n't all stay in one place. So as each new
deity gets created, another piece of
heaven gets sectioned off and devel
oped." He grinned cheekily at her. "It's
lucky for us that heaven's infinite, or
we'd have run out of room millennia
ago! Pretty crazy, huh?"
"Y-yeah... crazy..." She laughed
weakly.
"And you wouldn't believe all of
the crazy religions that pop up-like
Satan Lane, for example. There are a
few sections that only have one or two
houses, even!"
"What does everyone do?" She
asked.
"Whatever they want." He
shrugged. "Heaven's what you make of
it, they say. Some people go on like
they never died in the first place. Some
folks party all the time-the Babylonians
have a crazy orgy every Friday. And
lots of folks go back to Earth-I'm due
to leave next year, in fact."
"What're you going back as?" She
asked.
"Not sure yet." He said. "I was a
The Lance is
rabbit thirty years ago, and a prince a
few centuries back. It's just the luck of
the draw, really. Not a lot of Christians
try it, but you should!"
She couldn't help but laugh at his
enthusiasm. "Maybe I will."
"Definitely!"
"Can we see what happens on
Earth?" She asked.
"Sure. There's a big-screen TV in
most places that picks up a crazy num
ber of channels." He smiled brighdy.
"And we don't have to deal with bills
or weird break-up signals, either!"
"It is heaven." She pointed out.
"Now you're catching on!" He
slung an arm around her shoulder.
"Say, we should hang out. Yahweh
won't mind if you come hand out at
Om Street every once in a while."
"Yahweh?" She repeated.
"Well you can't really call him
'God,' can you?" He laughed. "You'll
catch on, Judy. Besides, everyone's
pretty laid back, here. Nobody will
hold it against you if you mess up
every now and then."
"Right." She said.
"Here we are!" He said, coming to
a stop in front of a huge, pearly-gated
community. "Pearly Gate Way. Would
you like me to call someone for you?
Or I could go in with you, if you like.
I stayed here for a few years after my
third life."
Judy shru^ed.
He laughed again and pressed a
button, calling for someone to come
take her in. Standing there in silence,
they waited. Taka began rocking back
and forth on his heels and Judy tried
to process all of the bombshells she'd
been hit with in the past... half hour?
"Say, Taka?"
"Yeah?"
"If you've gone back to
Earth...does that mean your name's
really Taka?"
"'S my favorite name of the ones
I've had." He said. "One of the easiest,
_ It
too.
"Is my name really Judy?"
He shru^ed. "Who knows? You'll
start remembering your past lives,
soon, if you have any. And if
not...well, you can always fix that!"
"You really think I should?" She
asked with a smile.
"You've got eternity, y'know." He
said, smiling back.
She bit her lip shyly. "Think I'll
meet you in my next life?"
He threw his head back and
laughed. "That's always a possibility!"
Then the gates started to open. "I
guess that's my cue to go! I'll come
pick you up on Saturday; should give
you time to get setded in and all. We'll
have lunch, and I'll fill you in on all of
the joys of reincarnation!"
"We'll only have a year." She said.
"Time's arbitrary around here."" He
said. ""Besides, I can always put it on
hold "til you decide to come with me."
She nodded, blushing, and allowed
a pretty teenaged girl to lead her
inside.
Taka waved.
Judy died on a Tuesday.
She started living on a Saturday.
now accepting submissions
for the February 2011 edition.
Share your thoughts at thelance@sapc.edu.