In the darkness, the scene replayed itself in her mind. The strangely familiar man shouting his warning... "Morgan... watch out!" Turning in slow motion to see the grill of the car bearing down on her. A commotion. And spreading darkness.
Through that darkness, the familiar man with the familiar voice spoke desperately.
"Hello? I need an ambulance here on Randolph and Michigan! Someone just got hit by a car outside Mickey's Food Mart! Her name's Morgan Stern. She's my coworker. Please, hurry! Oh, God! Morgan!"
A silence fell in over her. Sightless, soundless, the realization of what was happening hit her hard.
Please, God, I don't want to die, she thought. I don't care how much it hurts, please don't let me --
Her prayer was left unfinished as the pain that emanated her body suddenly disappeared, replaced by soothing warmth that felt like sunlight on a field of clover. The feeling played on her skin and behind her eyelids.
She opened her eyes -- first one, then the other -- and squinted them against the radiance that engulfed her vision.
The first thing Morgan noticed was snow. Large, fluffy flakes fell silently over a glowing landscape filled with both nature and humans. Hills and valleys stretched into the far distance, and to one side, a small frozen-over pond acted as a stage for handfuls of children of all ages as they skated across it, laughing and cheering.
Pine trees covered the area, each one attended to by at least two people who decorated it with tinsel, ornaments, garlands, and more as delight and glee etched their features.
Morgan looked around in awe, stunned by the beauty. A glimmering snowflake landed on her cheek, but it wasn't cold, as she'd expected. The sky was covered in a cerulean blue, the kind of blue she used to associate with sunny days. Lightly jingling bells echoed across the landscape, weaving into the ghostly yet welcoming carols sung by the unseen, sailing on a gentle breeze that swept through.
The scent of the fresh snow sparked her senses, and, although barefoot, the soft accumulation of snow felt like a warm pillow beneath her feet. Her eyes widened as she looked down at herself. All of the trappings of her designer business attire-suit, heels, and purse-were gone, replaced by a simple robe of white satin. She touched the fabric. Smooth.
She remembered the truck, the commotion around her body. There was no pain really, not after the Chevy 4x4 first ran her down, and then over her body.
From behind one of the trees, a gray kitten appeared and walked up to her. Odd heavenly company, Morgan thought, as the little beast gave a small meow and rubbed its head against her leg, as if trying to offer some form of comfort.
'You lost too?" she asked the kitten.
Before Morgan had the chance to give the animal any thought, a form coalesced in the distance. Morgan gasped as it began to distinguish itself from the environment -- first just a vaguely human shape, and then features seemed to materialize from the mist of falling snow until she stood in the presence of an Apparition, beautiful but aloof, and steeped in the glory of the Almighty. It also wore a satin robe, but Morgan could not tell if the creature of light before her was male or female.
Not knowing what else to do, Morgan fell to her knees and averted her eyes. Its presence was so great that, for the first time in a long time, Morgan felt like she was a part of the ninety five percent her boss used to refer to (and probably still does). It was an unsettling feeling that shook her to the core.
"Hello, Morgan. We've been expecting you," it said, its voice lilting and musical, filled with warmth.
Morgan looked up, her eyes wide and mouth agape, she stumbled and fell backward. "Who are you?" she asked firmly, hoping her tone would mask her fright.
To exude confidence she sarcastically added, "Let me guess. The Holiday Spirit." When the ruse garnered no response from the Angel, she bit her lip and darted her eyes back and forth. "What's going on? What's happening?" She looked the Angel straight in the face and took a deep breath. "Am I dead?"
"So to speak," said the Angel, routinely. "Now, we must determine your future." The Apparition smiled and offered Morgan a hand up.
The smile calmed Morgan's heart. "What do you mean?" she asked as she took the pale white hand and got to her feet.
"The task given me is to judge those who come before the Almighty," the Apparition explained. It waved its hand and, from the snow, a golden lectern with a tome atop it appeared. The book was massive, a thousand pages at least, but the Angel opened it easily, as if it was but a paperback children's story.
Morgan focused on the book, and her thoughts ran wild. What's in it? Is it about me? Is it about...everyone? "Is that...?"
"Yes," The Apparition continued to leaf through the pages, scanning up and down as it went. "Each of you knows that your time will come -- and yet, when it does, none of you are ready. Your entire life's journey...is here."
"Listen, I still have a business meeting to attend!" Morgan's voice showed a mix of fear and desperation. The singular phrase echoed off the hills and valleys, the only discordant sound to be heard in this world of smiles and cheer. "I have to present my marketing strategy to these investors and they're expecting me right now. Is there any way we can reschedule? I'd--" Morgan stopped as the Angel turned its eyes on her. They burned with an inner fire, powerful and unearthly, filled with the power and light of the falling snow. "...really appreciate it."
The Apparition looked at her before turning its attention back to the book.
"Hey," Morgan said quickly, taking a step forward. "I know I'm not a saint, but who is?! I mean, isn't there something I can do for you down there? The world is a mess! I'll raise start-up capital for any charity you like. I swear, I'll generate them a million, just give me a month and--"
The Angel just shook its head and held out a hand. "Come."
"No. I don't want to. I don't like how this whole thing was arranged! It's not fair!" These last words were shouted and her shouts echoed and resonated like thunder. Morgan watched in astonishment as her surroundings morphed around her. The kitten was gone, and so was the empty snowscape heaven populated just by her.
Replacing it, a dirty city street -- New York, Los Angeles?-and a corresponding rush hour cityscape. People, people everywhere! Morgan was jostled and pressed hard and all at once by a great throng of people.
The crowd shuffled through the streets, from side to side, filling them so full that nobody could move to the side even an inch. The sky grew dim, now twisted layer of dark red and gray, but Morgan felt hotter than she'd ever been before. The heat seeped into her, through her skin, stinging her very bones. She tried to struggle, but the mass of people surrounding her kept her from moving from her new place in the crowd.
"What's going on?! What is this?!"
"You made a decision," came the soft voice of the Apparition.
"What?"
"And now you will live with the consequences."
"Please...I don't understand. I'll do anything. Give me another chance!" Morgan cried in agony.
"You must salvage a soul," the voice commanded.
"Salvage? Who?" She replied with desperation in her voice.
The Apparition's voice then hardened and with cutting and powerful cruelty, answered her. "You pathetic moron..."
"Please, give me one more chance..." Morgan reiterated as she teared up.
Through the crowd, something reached out for her. A pair of hands, weathered and beaten but strong, gripped her wrist. Her head snapped around to see to whom the hands belonged, but in the tumult of the crowd, she could not identify its owner.
The hands tightened their grip and pulled, drawing her through the masses. Her eyes closed. Too many people, too hot, too much...
Until she hit the ground with a crash.
