Life after Death: The Afterlife of Hezekiah Chamblee

Chapter One: Registration at the Afterlife Station

"Hello, Mr. Chamblee. We've been expecting you."

My eyes opened slowly as I was soon being greeted by a fresh-faced young man who was wearing an all-white semi-formal outfit, his angel wings on full display. I blinked twice, letting my eyes adjust to the slightly-bright all-white room that resembled the waiting area from South Station in downtown Boston. I looked around, sensing that this was definitely not the afterlife that I once expected. "Where am I?" I asked, looking down and seeing that I too was dressed in all-white. "What kind of afterlife is this?"

"Oh, this isn't the real version of the afterlife," the male angel replied as he helped me stand to my feet. "This is known as the Afterlife Station, the gap between the land of the living and the afterlife. Some people like to refer this place as the Void, but that's mainly a dark description where everything is all black and gloomy. No, Mr. Chamblee. This is a simple layover area where you learn where you're heading."

"And I assume that either above..." I began, pointing to the sky before pointing down at my feet "and below, am I right?"

"That's about it, but things have been on the modern and high-tech side of how things run," the angel commented. "We have various cherubims and seraphims alongside other saints who check to see if you're heading for heaven or hell."

I turned my attention towards a separate waiting booth where a young woman dressed in all-white was all smiles as a female seraphim handed her a ticket to heaven before a male angel led her to a golden door. The next booth featured a Black man also dressed in white, he looking as if he belonged in a gang back when he was alive as he talked with the male seraphim. "Sir, you've been changing your life around for the better, but now's not your time to go home just yet," the seraphim explained. "God has a plan for you, and it's clear that your loved ones miss you. Don't waste this second chance."

"I don't plan to, man," the man said in a Southern accent before he slowly faded away. "To be real, I wished I followed my grandma's path instead of joining the gang. I'm not going to go back to the drugs and stuff. I gotta change."

"Safe travels, Mr. Cambridge."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I'M HEADING FOR HELL?!"

That voice came from a well-dressed man who was furious at a meek female cherub as black-suited men with blood-red wings came to him. "We're sorry, sir, but you've failed to meet the requirements for living by God's design," the cherub explained, her voice quivering with fear. "And with your colorful past, you do not meet the standards for a second chance."

"You can't do this to me," the man screamed, thrashing around in the arms of the winged men as flames circled around him before he disappeared. His screams soon faded away as the next person (a Hindi elderly man dressed in an all-white sari) came forward.

At another booth, two more red-winged men were comforting a young mother and her child (The latter dressed in all white while she was dressed in a blue pantsuit. "We're sorry, ma'am, but your second chance on Earth will not guarantee that your child will be with you," one of them said gently. "This is your chance to start fresh and stay clean from drugs, maybe get your life right and be reunited with your son."

The woman only nodded as an angel came to take the child away. "I'll do whatever it takes," she replied sadly as she faded away, my heart softening a bit as no fire circled around her to take her to hell as she's been given a second chance to live.

The male angel who acted as my guide turned to me. "You can tell how things work around here already, right?" he asked. "Once you approach one of the gatekeepers, you'll be asked to place your hand on the sensor as you look at the screen. If the screen shows heaven's gates, you're automatically heading for heaven. If it shows flames of hell, then it's off to the lake of fire and brimstone. But if it shows a green screen with the words "second chance," then you might have a chance to live another life on Earth no matter if you're wearing white or not."