I suppose that, for me, my story began not at the start or at the end, so to speak. It started between the two. Sort of… liminal.

The crimson pool around me spread into nothingness as the sickly coloured carpet of my childhood home appeared. But I knew it hadn’t really. This was just a part of the process. Still, memories washed around me, healing the wounds on my body. I had to smile, it was like when I was a kid and my Ma cleaned up the cuts on my leg from playing at school. The good times, when we knew no better then to play what we liked.

My reminiscing was cut short by the shriek of a child. Ear splitting, the scream pierced my very soul. If I still had one. Instincts kicked in and I raced towards the child, following the scream. Screams. I could hear millions of then now, children and adults. What sort of place was this? Had I gone to hell?

Quite the opposite. I ran out the house to the garden, trying to find where the screams were coming from. But, to my amazement, where the little vegetable patch had once been was not a huge theme park! Slides spiralled overhead, a Ferris wheel spinning in the distance. What was going on? The smell of popcorn, ice cream and sweets wafted towards me, tempting me to go to a stall. I handn’t realised how hungry I was.

“How much for a Pick-a-mix please?”

“How much?” The man chuckled, as if I’d said something extremely funny. “Why, my dear, it’s free of course! You must be new around here! Just die? Poor soul, it’s tough going so young. Still, you’re a teen, so this place will suit you perfect. Here, I’ll give you an extra large Pick-a-mix and, if you don’t let on, you can have my last Cake Pop too.”

“Thank you? What is this place?” I was so confused.

He laughed again. “This is the waiting room! You’ve made it into heaven! Congrats! I’m surprised nobody told you sooner. Here is where we wait for God to take us to heaven. A waiting place for the dead until the end days. Theme park here, libraries and golf course seven miles south, take a cab, town two miles north, shops east and, well, if you need to find anywhere else just ask! This place has it all!”

Wow! This place sounded great (especially the library) but it seemed the more was explained to me the more questions I had. “Sir? Can I get a pet here?”

“Yup! Did you have one that died or do you want a new one? If you want to find an old pet just go to the town hall and they will trace it for you. For a new one go to the shopping mall and Furry Friends and Co, terrible name, I know, will get you a new pet! The animals might be a bit scared to start because most are abused animals whose owners didn’t make it here for obvious reasons, but they all make very loyal pets.”

It was official: this place was perfect. How had I never heard of it before? I thanked the man and walked in the direction of the town hall, excited to finally be reunited with my snake. It was amazing here, but I still had one request. So, when I reached another stall with a kindly looking woman selling earrings, I went up to here.

“How do I find my parents?”