Heaven

My stay in Limbo had only lasted five days, or so said the angelic counsel that was holding my trial for the crime I committed. You must understand, they explained. Limbo works in a dream-like way. Five minutes asleep will give you an hour in a dream. However, Limbo is multiplied. And so, your five days felt like five thousand decades.

It had. I was relieved to be in the court which I was faced with now. The beautifully carved pillars and painted floor was much more interesting than the plain concrete of Limbo. The white, velvety seats were so much better than the wooden bench, even though they were filled with angels, humans and creatures from planets all over the universe, who all wanted me dead. My crime was universal, therefore I got a universal case and a universal jury.

 ‘Silence.’

The angel sitting in the chair at the front of the room stood up and called the court to order. He was tall and domineering. He was also my judge.

‘This counsel is called here to deal with the case of Amalaya Deloreux, who has committed numerous crimes against the universal laws, while aware of these rules and the fact that she was breaking them. You all have read up on this case in the past few days, so you know the specificities of this crime and I will not have to repeat them as that will take days,’ he said, looking sternly at me.

 ‘Today we will decide the punishment of Amalaya Deloreux, human, from 32 Chapel Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Earth, the 46^th solar system, the universe. The suggested punishment would be eternal hell.’

I gasped. My crime was that bad? A hundred years of hell was a lot and I thought, suitable, a thousand years was ages and would be considered a hard punishment, but eternity? Infinite years of pain. No. That was too much. Way too much.

‘But-‘ I started, only to be cut off by the judges next words.

‘Do not speak.’

‘But don’t I get any say at all!’ I yelled. Instantly regretting my words, I shut up, but the damage was done.

‘You must not speak!’

Tears began to fill my eyes. I tried to keep my pride, to hold them in, but it was impossible. In a matter of seconds they were pouring down my face as fast as wildfire. Eternal hell. I would much prefer to die, to never do or see anything again than this. I couldn’t face this. Fear and dread filled my head and the last thing I remembered as I fell to the ground was an image of his face flashing across my brain.