CHOICES #Wattys2016 #Hidden Gems

Chapter 4

Vincent had no sense of actually going anywhere but his surroundings changed. Instead of the all white, which deprived him of a sense of place, the new stage resembled a giant, luxurious hotel lobby with crystal chandeliers, marble columns and floors, well-appointed furnishings including magnificent paintings, carpets and other complimentary décor. Vincent stared up at the frescos on the arched ceiling and at the gold leaf trim on the moldings with open-mouthed awe. Meditatio directed him to a seating area near the center of the room, although he couldn't really see any defining walls, and they settled in front of a table laden with fruit and wine.

"What is this place?"

"Have some fruit and wine and I'll tell you."

Vincent chose a piece of fruit and bit into it. Never had he tasted anything so sweet and delicious and the wine sat on his tongue like velvet honey.

"Wow, that's great!"

Meditatio nodded his approval. "Nice choice, Vincent."

"There you go with that choice business again."

"That is because this is the Hall of Decision; this is where all your choices are made."

"Yeah? Well I choose to be back with my family." He said belligerently and took a gulp of the wine.

"Perhaps you should take a moment and consider that, Vincent. You see, choice is the only thing we have that is exclusively ours... the only thing. We are required to use it at all times and nobody can take it away from us. How we use it is our—"

"Choice, I know, I know." Vincent pushed the air with a bored hand. "Listen, there's been plenty of times when I didn't have a choice, pal."

"Never."

"You're nuts."

"Vincent, even when you felt you didn't have a choice, you made one."

"Yeah, like kill or be killed?"

"It's still a choice. I never said making one was easy."

"Fine, so what am I supposed to do in this, Hall of Decision?"

Meditatio suppressed a smile and clasped his fingers together. "Well, Vincent, you have a choice." The smile broke loose as Vincent groaned, rolling his eyes. "In this hall you can decide which of the moments you examined in the Reflection Lounge you would most like to change. They can't change of course but it will make a difference to you as we go forward."

"But I only looked at one period, that's not fair."

"That was your... option, Vincent. I asked you, remember?"

"But I didn't know about this place."

"You weren't supposed to. Like life, you experience each moment for the first time." Meditatio paused and waited for Vincent to calm. "Of course you can simply not make a decision and that will be... well, you get the idea."

"What happens if I don't?"

"We move on, but you really should think about that before you decide."

Vincent ran back over what he'd seen, the business with his parents and grandparents, his pursuit of Ginny and then meeting and marrying Maria and finally the disastrous affair with Ginny's daughter. That was his choice. If he could change anything it would be the affair.

"Okay I think I know what I'd change."

Meditatio produced a large ledger and opened it on the table in front of them. From his robe he produced a pen and handed it to Vincent.