Welcome to Heaven

Chapter 2

Jonathan lay silent for a few moments, attempting to process what the angelic voice had said.

"Wait... So, I'm dead?" He inquired faintly.

Her laugh was pure and clear, and sounded like the noise one would imagine glitter made.

"Yes, you have clinically died. Your heart has stopped beating, and your lungs have stopped breathing. Thoroughly, your body has stopped working."

The teen slowly sat up, taking in his surroundings. He previously thought he was outdoors, but upon closer inspection, he saw the suggestion of wall and a ceiling. The wallpaper seemed to shift like stars in a night sky, planets and galaxies and nebulas floating and colliding. Feeling around the floor, he was reminded that he was still way more comfortable than should be humanly possible. Beneath his fingers was--what go you know? He was literally lying on a cloud.

"So if this is Heaven, are you God?"

"I supposed I am the closest thing to your human concept of a higher being."

He turned to examine the woman--Providence. She had skin like rich chocolate, smooth and dark. Her purple pixie-cut hair waved in a nonexistent breeze, and glittered as though covered in thousands of crushed diamonds. The ethereal divinity wore a plain, white sundress and large gold hoop earrings.

After the few minutes of study Providence seemed to decide were sufficient, she extended an arm to the teen. "Need a hand?"

Jonathan gratefully took it with a polite "Thank you."

"This is my office." She gestured to the room surrounding them. With the wave of her hand, a desk, complete with two overstuffed chairs, and file cabinet appeared in the far left corner. As the blonde lowered himself into a seat, Providence poised, "Do you know why you are here, Mr. Combs?" She made her way to the opposite side of the table.

Jonathan thought back to the wreck. "Because I died in an accident?"

Providence leaned over the desk slightly and chuckled. "You don't get into Heaven just for not killing yourself. No, you are here because you had hope. You lived life as though you knew you had something to look forward to. You did things that helped your future, and nothing to hinder anyone else's. You may have kept to yourself, but you didn't harm others in the process."

He pondered this for a moment. "So... I'm here because I was good?"

"That is part of it, but you also believed that there was something more important you were building up to."

Jonathan found this a bit surprising. He had, of course, always imagined that his life would get better and more meaningful, but he had never really grasped the concept of an afterlife.

"...And here I am to deliver. Now, this guardian angel position I'm about to offer you is kiiiiinda a big deal."

This piqued Jonathan's interest.

"So I get wings and a halo and all that?"

"Sort of. You will also be assigned to a human counterpart. It will be your job to guide, comfort, save, and be a general help to this person until they learn to correct their ways."

"You mean I have to tell people what to do?!" Jonathan never liked interacting in a group, much less be in charge of one. It wasn't that he was shy, he just wasn't motivated by working together. The blonde always felt more productive alone, and therefore had no idea how to boss someone around.

"Not exactly. You get to help people take charge of themselves." She paused while he mulled it over, then continued. "You'd work 9-5, and have Sundays off."

Jonathan considered this briefly. "And if I decline your offer?"

Providence sighed. "I certainly hope you don't."

"Ha, well, can't argue with that."