Chapter 1
Sometimes You've Got to Sin
I'm walking through the Garden. I think this has to be one of the thousandths times that I've walked here. Walking is one of the most fun things to do here in this stupid place. When I moved in here, I had expected it to be a bit more fun. I would rather go to Hell than spend another day here. I take place on one of the wooden benches that has a view of this whole stupid place.
Back when I was human, I have always been told that everybody sees the Garden differently. How they want to see it. And stupidly, I believed them. I mean.. who could know it wasn't that way? Nobody on Earth knows that dead people sometimes just go back to Earth for a quick visit and give humans indirect tips about how our life is up here.
I close my eyes and absorb the silence. It's still pretty early in the morning, but I couldn't sleep after I had woken up from my bad nightmare. My friends always say it's not scary and that I exaggerate. They think I put up a show, but I'm not, and it annoys me.
Back on Earth, I loved someone so much, I even wanted to sell my soul for him. Not literally, of course. I've always wanted to go to Heaven, but I have to say it is getting boring after a few years, with only a few things to do as walking and other weird and boring psychological stuff.
But anyway.. I don't really know what happened, but one day to another, he just disappeared. The last one that saw him was a friend of mine who went with him to the cinema. Choi Seung-Hyun, also known as T.O.P.
I had been searching for him every day after, but never found him. The only thing that has remained from him are the horrible nightmares. Every night it's the same one.
I'm standing in front of the Gate to Heaven, and he stands on the other side of the gate. He reaches out for me, and when I try to do the same, I find out I'm paralysed. He smiles at me, but then, all of a sudden, his eyes turn black and his smile turns into an awfully scary grin. He takes a step forward, right through the fence, and when his fingertips almost touch mine, I wake up, wallowing in my own cold sweat.
Shivers run over my body when I think back about it and I instantly open my eyes. Bright light shines into them, causing the problem that I can't see everything clearly. I blink a few times, and my sight is getting better. I remember that it wasn't light when I came here, so I must've been sitting here for quite a long time now. I look around me, and I smile when I see my best friend Zelo walking through the Gate of the Garden. I wave at him and he walks up to me, his little dog bumping against his leg. "Wow, calm down, Jekyll." I hear him mutter to the dog when he comes nearer to me. He clicks Jekyll's collar loose, and the dog walks away from us in a slow pace.
"Where is Hyde?" I ask Zelo when he has settled himself next to me on the bench and hung the collar up on the back of the bench, making sure it won't fall off.
"I left him at home, he was a bit too hyper for me. He kept on barking at random people and stuff on the road. I was sick of it when he was finally done barking at the neighbour's mailbox." I grin. I know what for a difficult dog it is to keep under control.
"So.. What are you up to?" Zelo asks me out of politeness. I know he already knows the answer. It's the same answer I have been giving for a long time now and will probably keep on saying this for eternity.
"Nothing. Just getting through the day and then falling asleep to that awful nightmare." My stomach cringes by the thought of the nightmare alone.
I see Zelo nodding next to me out of the corning of my eye. I hear him sigh in silence, and then hear him saying with a sarcastic voice: "Sounds like fun!" He gives me a big fake smile and a playful punch on my shoulder and I can't help but give him a small grin back.
"And what are you going to do today?" I ask, launching the question back at him. At least his answers are fun to listen to; his are different every day.
"I was thinking about repainting my wicket, the paint is coming off a bit. You can help if you want to?" He asks me, his head a little oblique.
I smile at him, thankful for the opportunity. Everything better than spending time alone. Or even worse: with my dad.
I nod and we both stand up at the same time, causing our wings to bump into each other's. "Sorry," I apologise, and he waves with his hand, making clear it's okay. It happens more often, so after a time you get used to it.
"Jekyll!" We shout over across the Garden, and a few moments later, Jekyll comes walking up to us and let Zelo click his collar around his neck again. When we reach the Gate, I look back one more time at the beautiful Garden with its flowers in the bloom. I look down at my feet and notice a four-leafed clover. I bow down to grab it and I show it to Zelo. "You may do a wish," he says with a sultry tone. I close my eyes and try to come up with a wish. I can't think of something that instant moment, so I end up wasting my wish on a stupid "I wish tomorrow will be different."
"What did you wish for?" Zelo asks me the moment I open my eyes. "You know it brings evil when you tell somebody what you wished for," I tell Zelo. He nods and we continue walking to his house.
Zelo starts a story about how he is planning to train his dogs, so that when demons randomly infiltrate our living place, his dogs can help him. He asks if I want to help to train them, and I say yes without even thinking about it twice. I'll take every opportunity that gives me time to avoid my dad with open hands.
And, while thinking about how differently tomorrow may be, I get a rush of excitement.
I never knew Heaven could be this fun.
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