Hello Utopians, long time no see!
I have some good news to share! I'm officially a published writer! I submitted a short story I wrote in my Fiction Workshop class titled: Dying to Meet You. Diamond Gazette published my story!
You can read the story here: Dying to Meet You – Diamond Gazette
Or continue reading below👇 Hope You Enjoy It!
Do you want to hear something funny, little one? It took me dying to find the love of my life, your mom. I died in a car accident on my way home from my shift at the veterinarian clinic. I usually leave the veterinarian clinic tired, but that night, I was exhausted since I worked both the day and night shifts. I was supposed to stay on until six in the morning, but my vet director saw how drained I was and let me go home early. In my exhausted state, I didn’t notice the deer until it was too late.
Not wanting to hit the deer, I crashed my car into a tree. Pain took the exhaustion away. My seat belt locked, keeping me from flying out the windshield. Glass shattered and flew at me, leaving my face with cuts and gashes. The airbags had deployed, but it was too late for me. I slumped against it, my head lying on top of it.
Like most people, I never thought I would die young, broke, and single. I saw myself living a fruitful life filled with everything the world had to offer. I left my small rural town of six hundred people to pursue a career as a vet technician. I went by the book; I went to college, studied my butt off, and even graduated at the top of my class. After college, I tried to get into the working world, only to be rejected from all the places I applied to. I left my small town just to come back to our twenty-four-hour veterinary clinic. It wasn’t bad. I was able to heal and take care of all kinds of animals, like dogs, cats, and reptiles. For the next couple of years, I became stagnant. My dreams of getting out of the small town disappeared.
A sharp pain in my stomach caused me to open my eyes. A stout being, its wings too small for its body, was stabbing me with a pitchfork. It screeched at me before moving down the line, stabbing another person who was asleep.
“Hello, you have just died,” a small child said gleefully. It flew in front of me wearing a light blue suit with white feathery wings. “Welcome to Limbo. Please wait as angels decide whether you’ll go to Heaven or Hell.”
Limbo? Just died? I touched my face, expecting my fingers to go through my head, but instead, I felt scabbed over cuts and gashes on my cheek and under my eyes. The car crash came back to me.
“If you make it to Heaven, they’ll get rid of those nasty cuts for you. I hope you get into paradise,” the small child said before flying away. I watched it fly to other people with protruding objects, detached limbs, or minor injuries.
I tried to stand, but I couldn’t. No matter how hard I planted my feet on the linoleum floor, I remained seated. “I can’t believe I’m dead,” I said to myself. I questioned how long I would be in limbo. I’d heard stories but never expected it to look like a waiting room like the one back at the clinic. At the thought of the clinic, I realized my parents had to bury their only son. I could only imagine how much that hurt them. I wish I had a chance to say goodbye. I would have told them how much they meant to me and thanked them for being wonderful parents.
“Devon… Accord,” a soft, childlike voice came from overhead. The bulky man next to me stood up and walked to the middle. A hole opened, taking him to what I assumed was Hell. A woman with a large gash across her eye took his place. The hole swallowed some people while a bright white light from the sky lifted others. It didn’t take a genius to know where people were going.
About thirty people later, the childlike voice called for me, “Hayden…Burns.” As if in a trance, my feet carried me to the middle, unable to go anywhere else. I crossed my fingers, praying I’d go to Heaven. I wasn’t the most righteous person in the world. I didn’t go to church but believed in God. I was nice, but like everyone else, I avoided eye contact with the local homeless person. I might have laughed at a couple of jokes on Instagram that foresaw me being in Hell, but who hasn’t? I figured I had done nothing in my life that would solidify a spot in Hell. Imagine my happiness when a white light shone down on me. At that moment, I was sure I was going to Heaven. I was going to be an angel.
I lifted into an office painted white and gold. A white desk with yellow trimmings stood in front of me. On the desk was a manilla folder. Behind the desk was the back of a white chair. I expected to see an angel with a bright halo and white wings. The chair spun around, and instead of an angel, a woman with skin the color of charcoal and small black horns peeking from her coiled hair smiled at me. Her crimson eyes looked me up and down, her smile widening like she was holding back a joke she couldn’t wait to tell.
“My name is Deirdre Morningstar, and, yes, I’m the daughter of Lucifer,” she added, taking in my shocked face. “My father’s pet snake is sick. My father had been distraught, so I knew I had to find someone who could heal her.” Deirdre gestured to the manilla folder in front of her. “In your file, it says you’re a veterinarian, so you’ll cure my father’s pet snake.”
Shuffling from behind me grabbed my attention. An angel was tied up, barbed wires digging into her porcelain skin. Her mouth was taped over as she muffled and thrashed around, her halo crooked.
“I don’t want to go to Hell,” I answered, looking back at Deirdre. I don’t think I should be going anyway, since I was brought up. There was a legit angel behind me who was going to send me to Heaven. Her black horns doubled in size as Deirdre’s smile turned into a frown.
“She was going to send you there, anyway,” Deirdre said, gesturing to the tied-up angel. Deirdre stood up and opened the manilla folder that was on the desk. “It says here that you didn’t help some girl in the sixth grade while she was getting bullied. That does compromise your spot in Heaven,” Deirdre said.
One little thing I did as a kid dictated where I would go? What kind of sense did that make? What about all the animals I’d saved? What about the times I emptied my bank account to help my parents with their bills, despite my bills being due in a few short weeks when I was in college? Didn’t that warrant me to be in Heaven?
I must have looked angry because the smirk Deirdre wore turned into a look of concern. She came from behind the desk and held my hands. I wanted to snatch them back, but they were comfortably warm. “You’re probably thinking about all the good things you have done and why that should justify you being in Heaven. Why must something so insignificant affect where you go? But you’ve still got this one chance. If you cure my father’s pet, you will go straight to Heaven.”
“How would I get into Heaven after being in Hell?” I asked.
“Since he’s technically an angel, my father can send you. He’s not as evil as everyone makes him out to be,” Deirdre said.
Deirdre let go of my hands and leaned back on the desk, waiting for my answer. “Do we have a deal?” She held up a hand for me to take. I was about to make a deal with the devil’s daughter but had no idea if she would actually keep it. But I didn’t have much of a choice.
Either way, I was going to Hell. At least if I took the deal, I’d have a chance to go to Heaven. “You have a deal.” I took Deirdre’s hand, giving it a firm shake.
Deirdre smiled. “Then let’s go tell my father the good news.” I jumped as flames devoured us. As quickly as the flames appeared, they disappeared. We were no longer in the gold and white office with the angel tied up. We stood in front of a door in an empty hallway. “Father hates it when I appear in his room while he’s reading,” Deirdre said. She knocked on the door.
“Come in,” a deep voice answered from the other side. Deirdre opened the door, pulling me inside after her.
I expected to see a red being with a pitchfork and horns, a spiky tail that would thrash around, and teeth waiting to bite me. Instead, when we entered the room, a regular man sharing the same charcoal-colored skin as Deirdre sat in an armchair in a velvet satin robe with fuzzy black slippers, surrounded by shelves of books. Wire-rimmed glasses perched on his nose while a thick book I couldn’t see the title of rested in his lap. He didn’t move to acknowledge our presence. We waited in silence. Even though he looked like a regular person in a robe and slippers, the aura I felt was deafening. I was by the door, and he was a couple of feet away, but it felt like I was suffocating just by being in his presence. Lucifer closed the book. The moment he shut it, it disappeared. He leaned back in his armchair, his glasses coming down his nose.
“Why is there a damned soul in my house?” he demanded. Unlike Deirdre’s, Lucifer’s voice was deep with power. I felt it through my chest. His crimson eyes pierced through me, making me want to avoid his gaze and kneel in front of him.
“Since Eden got sick, you’ve been sad, Father. Hayden, here, was a veterinarian when he was alive. He can cure her.” Deirdre smiled warmly at Lucifer.
Lucifer’s hard look softened. He took his glasses off and put them in the front pocket of his robe. He stood up and walked toward us, towering over us. “Deirdre, please leave us. I’ll talk to the damned soul myself,” Lucifer said.
Deirdre looked from him to me before nodding and leaving me alone with her dad. With his daughter gone, the hard look returned.
“Damned soul, what did my daughter tell you?” he asked me.
I took a deep breath to settle my nerves. “She said you can send me to Heaven after I cure your snake.”
Lucifer gazed down at me. A burning sensation went through my body as he stared at me. “My daughter had no right to make that deal with you,” he said with a sigh. “Still, I will honor it. However, if you fail, I will see to it personally that you are tortured for all eternity. Follow me.”
I followed Lucifer out of the room. We walked through a series of hallways and a set of stairs. I was surprised at how big and well-kept the mansion was. I would never have expected Lucifer to live in a place like this.
We went through a set of double doors to enter a room that had a giant snake coiled in on itself. Sensing our presence, the snake lifted her head and let out a soft hiss before resting her head back on her body.
“My poor Eden. Tell Papa what’s wrong.” Lucifer went to her side to hug her green-scaled body. Another soft hiss came from the snake. I noticed the snake had her mouth open. Her coat was dull, and she was constantly fidgeting. Immediately, I knew what the problem was. I did a quick scan of the room. It was big enough to house Eden, but only when she was in a coil. I approached her slowly. Eden exposed her fangs at me and hissed before resting her head on the ground.
“My poor baby. He won’t hurt you,” Lucifer cooed at her. He went to her head to stroke her. He continued in a baby voice, “If he does, Papa will make sure he suffers for eternity. Yes, he will.” He stood up and, in his normal voice said, “She should be okay for you to do whatever you need to do. I’ll send Deirdre to get any supplies you need. I’ll send you to Heaven when Eden is better.” With that, he left.
I ran my hands along her body to check for any lumps to confirm that Eden had respiratory issues. That itself was a workout since she was so big. After that, I was lost in thought, coming up with the supplies I needed to give a proper examination and any medication I should ask for.
Flames shot up in the spot next to me. When they disappeared, Deirdre stood in its place. “How is Eden?” she asked. She walked to Eden, patting her head.
“I need more space so I can give her a proper examination and some supplies, but I suspect she has a respiratory infection since she’s breathing through her mouth. It’s most likely because of the room. It doesn’t look to be well-ventilated,” I said. Deirdre nodded as I talked, but I wasn’t sure if she really understood what I was talking about.
“What do you need?”
“Eden needs to be moved to a better area. I’ll need something big enough to administer an irrigation in her mouth.” I listed the things I needed, including potential antibiotics and medication.
“I’ll get it for you. I can also help you with Eden,” Deirdre said.
“I appreciate it,” I said. Since the snake was huge, I’ll need all the help I can get. Deirdre left to get what I needed.
Deirdre returned with the promise of a new place for Eden, along with everything I would need to treat her. We moved Eden to the third floor, which had been turned into a swampy paradise. Happy with her new home, Eden slithered in quickly. Deirdre stayed behind to help administer the antibiotics in Eden’s mouth.
I stifled a yawn and wiped my eyes. I felt tired, but why? I shouldn’t be feeling sleepy since I’m dead.
“Are you tired?” Deirdre asked, watching me with curiosity.
“Yeah, but I don’t know why.”
“In Hell, souls are still held back by humans’ ailments. I can take you to a place where you can get some good sleep.” Deirdre led me to the roof of the mansion. Already, there was a blanket and a pillow.
“Sometimes, I like to come here to watch the angels fly. They look like birds.” I give Deirdre a questioning look. Deirdre sat next to the blanket and pillow and gestured to me to sit with her. I did that and followed the direction she was pointing in. In the dark red sky, a ball of light with small little flurries coming from it from time to time twinkled at me. “That’s Heaven.”
“I didn’t know you could see Heaven from here,” I said.
“Yep, it’s part of the punishment when a soul comes down to Hell. Yet, those in Heaven don’t see us.” Deirdre scooted closer to me as we both watched the occasional small burst of light break away from the bigger light flying around the vast sky. Despite it being Hell, the temperature was cool and slightly windy. I yawned again and rubbed my eyes. I ended up falling asleep on Deirdre’s shoulder.
***
I woke up under the blanket, my head resting on the pillow, to see her staring at me. “I never seen someone sleep before,” she said. I went to Eden with Deirdre following me to check on her progress. Again, Deirdre stayed with me to help. “You know we have other pets. Do you want to see them?” Deirdre asked. I agreed and followed her around the mansion.
First, we visited a room that had black-colored dogs, their tails wagging at the sight of us. There were a couple of dogs that were the size of elephants. Deirdre laughed when one of the giant dogs tried to lick me.
“Father likes playing with the animals’ sizes. That’s why Eden is so big,” Deirdre said. We visited rooms with seals, whales, parrots, and many others. It looked like they had all the animals that existed on the planet. Deirdre explained to me how each type of animal had their own home with their preferred habitat.
***
From then on, while Eden rested, Deirdre and I would talk on the roof of the mansion or visit an animal’s room. Deirdre loved animals, and I would tell her little things about each animal we would see. This led me to tell her about my life before I died, including my dreams of leaving my small town. Whenever I talked about my life, Deirdre’s horns would shrink. I always assumed she felt bad that I died at a young age. Yet, when I was with her, I didn’t feel bad about dying. I missed my parents, but Deirdre made it easy to forget them, even forgetting I was once alive. It felt like we were slowly growing closer together. I liked her curious nature and how her eyebrows would scrunch up whenever she was lost in thought, how her horns would increase or decrease in size depending on her emotions, and how she would look at me with so much interest in her eyes whenever I talked to her. I wanted those moments to last forever.
***
What felt like a week later, Deirdre and I were in the panda room watching a mother panda break a bamboo stick for her young. A baby panda lay in Deirdre’s lap, sleeping. “How come you and your dad have so many animals?” I asked. I reached over to stroke the baby panda’s fur.
“Animals are the only thing that doesn’t care if you’re good or evil. If you treat them right they’ll respect and love you unconditionally. But sometimes it does get lonely here,” Deirdre answered. I wondered how it would affect her once I went to Heaven. Would that make her loneliness worse? I knew what it felt like to be lonely. All those nights staying up to study, declining hangouts to work at a job to make some money, all those times hoping that someone would see and reach out despite me saying no so many times. I didn’t know Deirdre had those same feelings.
I noticed her horns were barely visible through her hair. I figured they shrunk because of the loneliness she was feeling. The panda in her lap woke up and crawled out of her lap to be with its mother. “It doesn’t look like you guys have anyone to take care of all these animals. What if I stay here?” I offered. I didn’t know why I proposed something like that, but I couldn’t deny that I was feeling something for Deirdre. Whether it was to be friends or lovers, either way, I knew I wanted to stay to figure it out.
“Are you sure? You belong in Heaven. Do you really want to spend eternity here in Hell?” Deirdre asked.
“From what you said, I was never meant to be in Heaven. I don’t think I would have felt okay with being in a place I didn’t deserve to be in.” Deirdre smiled at me, but her horns stayed the same size. Why was she still sad?
“I’ll let Father know. You stay here. I’ll be back,” Deirdre said. She hurried out of the room, leaving me confused. I knew Deirdre’s horns grew and shrank based on her emotions. The fact they stayed small meant she was still upset about something.
I stayed in the panda room for a while longer before deciding that I should check on Eden. I headed to Eden’s room and stopped at the door when I heard muffled voices. I opened the door and saw Lucifer and Deirdre talking.
“Father, I don’t think I want this anymore,” Deirdre said.
“Why?” Lucifer asked. “You were on board with this idea? What’s the problem now?”
“We shouldn’t have ended his life so soon. He deserves to be in Heaven. I don’t want him here because I’m lonely.” It was at this point that I made my presence known. Anger boiled in the pit of my stomach.
“What did you mean by that?” I asked Deirdre.
“Hayden—”
“Was I not supposed to die? Did you kill me?” I shouted at her. She flinched.
“Don’t you raise your voice at her, boy!” Lucifer’s voice boomed, causing the room to shake. He stepped in between me and Deirdre, his crimson eyes darkened until they were black. “Why does it matter if you died that day or not? You were going to die anyway. I just made it happen sooner. Deirdre needed a husband.”
I clenched my fist. I didn’t expect Lucifer to understand, but after all those talks with Deirdre, I thought she would know better. Why didn’t she tell me during all those times on the roof?
I met Lucifer’s gaze as we stared each other down. “I’m sorry, Hayden,” Deirdre said, coming from behind Lucifer. “Dad, please send Hayden to Heaven as soon as possible.” Deirdre walked out of the room, her eyes staring at the floor as she walked past me. I watched her leave, the anger slowly going away.
“Was Eden actually sick?” I asked Lucifer.
“I’ll alert the angels,” Lucifer said, ignoring my question. He left, leaving me by myself. I didn’t deserve to die or be here in Hell, yet why does it feel like I’m the one in the wrong here?
I sat on the roof, surprised not to see Deirdre there. She told me, whenever she was upset, she would come to the roof to clear her head. I was hoping to apologize for my outburst. I looked up to see the golden sphere that was supposed to be Heaven, expecting happiness, but felt nothing.
“Boy! They’re sending the stairs! Get down here!” Lucifer’s voice boomed. As promised, a golden escalator came down from the sky. Seeing how close I was to Heaven, I became scared, but I left to get on the escalator. Sending me off was only Lucifer. “Go, boy!” Lucifer rushed me. He obviously hadn’t forgiven me for yelling at his daughter.
“Please tell Deirdre I’m sorry for yelling at her,” I said.
“I’ll think about it. Now, go!” I stepped on the escalator. The escalator carried me out of Hell. I looked down to see the mansion getting smaller and smaller until I couldn’t see it anymore. I tried to be hopeful. I couldn’t return to my life, so Heaven was the next best thing.
I was greeted by the golden gates on fluffy clouds. The moment I stepped off the escalator, it disappeared. Despite their soft look, the clouds were firm like a sidewalk.
Unlike Hell, the sky was a shimmering blue. Through the gates, I could see some angels flying around, talking and laughing. “Hello, Hayden, welcome to Heaven.” An angel that I recognized as the tied-up angel from the office greeted me. She wore a long white gown with no scars to show where the barbed wire had dug into her skin. “Lucifer alerted us to what happened. Since he interfered in your death, we agreed you should stay in Heaven. If you follow me, we can get you your halo and wings.” The angel turned, expecting me to follow, but I didn’t move. I looked back at the people flying around, filled with glee. It was almost exactly what people thought Heaven was like. I tried to see myself being an angel, flying around with everyone else, telling my story of how I was in Hell to cure Lucifer’s giant snake. I can already foresee the looks the other angels would give me. I wouldn’t fit in. I don’t belong here.
“Coming?” the angel said.
I looked over the clouds only to see darkness. I adjusted my position, remembering where the escalator dropped me off. Then I jumped off. I heard the angel gasp before I only heard wind whipping around my ears. I wasn’t sure if there was another option to get back down there in Hell, but I doubted the angels would have told me even if there was one. I braced for impact, knowing that when I landed, I would be in immense pain.
When I woke up, I was in a bedroom with my body completely bandaged. The door opened. Deirdre came in with a tray of fresh bandages. When our eyes met, she dropped the tray and ran to my side. “I can’t believe you’re awake. Father said you were fine since you’re already dead, but I was still worried about you. Did Heaven cast you out?” she asked.
“No, I wanted to come back,” I said. “I wanted to see you again.” Deirdre took my bandaged hand in hers. I smiled as her horns grew slightly bigger.
Ever since then, I lived in Hell as Lucifer’s personal vet. I admit it took me a while to forgive your mother, but I could never stop loving her. Deirdre then became my wife. Who knew I would get a wife in Hell?
Oh, and after about two years, we had a beautiful son: you!
And that was how I met your mom.
