-Thomas-
Heaven (I guess you could call it that, I’ve never been able to figure out the correct term for it) is much like any major city on Earth. My favorite comparison that I’ve heard over the years is that it’s entirely like Washington D.C. in America. The Big Man’s throne room is the White House, our Court House is just like the Pentagon apparently (it’s not the conventional court house) and our living quarters are like the elaborately huge houses that politicians live in. I’ve never been to D.C. personally but from what Alex told me when he was 11 it sounds like a nice enough city. I suppose the comparison hit home for me because it reminded me of the excitement my little brother had for the city when he was younger. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t regret my decision to drink as much and as poisonously as I used too. I never wanted to leave him…that had never been my intention.

The Court House is more of a chapel like building with six stories of pale cream plaster walls and bright white tiled floors. On each floor is one large court room, two judges’ chambers, two conference rooms, and one room simply for the storage of records. The court room on the third floor, the court room Normandy’s trial was being held in, was set up with mahogany tables, rows of seating, a jurors’ box and a judges stand. Normandy and I were sitting at one table and Jester (one of the other Arch’s) was seated at the table across the aisle from ours. He’d be the one prosecuting Normandy and her time on Earth, whereas I’d be arguing the case that her death was untimely and she deserved a second chance. That’s what most Trials were about, whether a person deserved Heaven or Hell, angelity or a trip to Elysium (where the souls who’re here to stay go) or if, in a case like Normandy’s where even God didn’t see her coming, they could return to Earth. That’s where the idea of reincarnation came from. Jester wasn’t big on letting people have a second chance on Earth but one glance at Normandy and I think he saw the thriving life inside of her that I’d witnessed.

“Normandy Crosswell,” Tourmaline was at the judge’s stand today, her dark eyes on my ward in a plot twist I didn’t see coming. I honestly wasn’t sure if this was a saving grace or a punch in the face for me and for Normandy.

“Ma’am?” Normandy stood up and smoothed her shirt as best she could. Her clothes were ripped and tattered thanks to the nature of her crash. I’d urged her to find new clothing but she made a point of saying she loved her jeans and her top too much. They were all she had left.

“How old are you Ms. Crosswell?” Tour sat up straight and looked at my charge; going through the normal questions that she knew more of the answers to then not.

“I’m twenty four?” Normandy frowned up at Tour, especially when Tour shook her head.

“When you passed away you were twenty four.” Tour’s lips turned up into a smile. “Did Thomas not explain any of this to you?”

“I didn’t get that far.” I grunted.It was true. After seeing Alex’s concert then briefing Normandy for court I hadn’t had the time to tell her about her life span.

Tour nodded and frowned at Normandy sympathetically. She clasped her fingers together to cradle her chin and, in front of our peers and other guardian angels and trainer angels, she explained to Normandy what should have been done in private. “When you died you were twenty four years of age. You awoke in our pasture, a year after you died. It takes about twelve months for the soul to make the perfect transition from Earth to Heaven. And now…because of why we’re here…you might actually be younger than your calculated age.”

Normandy squeaked and I squeezed her hand. It might not seem like a lot to take in but if you’re the person it’s being said to it really is the difference between life and death and the choice to be young or old, the choice to even be alive again. This is why suicides aren’t given this decision. Because it’d be a waste to give someone who purposely ended their life the chance to go back and life a new life, and we’re all sure it’d end the exact same way it did the first time. “What do you mean?” Normandy asked with a frown.

“I mean, because of the terms of your death, you’ve been considered for a reincarnation of sorts.” Tour smiled, as if her words would bring my girl hope.

“Which means?” There was no smile on Normandy’s face.

“This means, if within a time period of six months, a woman in the age bracket you pick out, is in a tragic accident like yours and it’s in the Big Man’s agenda, you will be able to take over her body.” Tour said it crisply, intelligently.

“So someone would have to die for me to have a chance at a new life?” Normandy frowned slowly, running her fingers through her hair.

“People die every day down there Ms. Crosswell. This is an amazing opportunity, not many get the chance to relive a life.” Tour’s voice was a bit crisper than I think she meant it to be but it’s always been a bother to her when one of the new ones try to argue against the ruling. She was offered the chance over two hundred years ago and she turned it down to continue the work that she loves. She’s regretted it ever since.

Normandy looked at me with tension in her stance before turning to look back at Tourmaline. Her voice wavered when she spoke next, I’m not sure why. “Can I have a few days to decide…please…”

“I can give you until tomorrow morning.”

Normandy nodded and turned to me. I got up and put my arm around her shoulders, shooting Tour a smile over my shoulder. “C’mon kid. I gotta show you something.” I said and led her out of the court room.
----
All around us fireflies dance to the melancholy music of the night, their lights blinking and twinkling to our own merriment. Normandy’s face had lit up when we walked into the clearing and she hadn’t stopped smiling since. We were not sitting on a log in the middle of the clearing, talking about her life before she died and doing everything in our power to avoid the decision she would eventually have to make. It was nice, the two of us just talking. I’d never really taken the time to bond with any of my other charges and as I sat there with her I started to realize it was a mistake. Tourmaline hadn’t been very keen on getting to know me very well; she’d just kind of thrown me into the swing of things and had ‘kindly’ scolded me into submission and compliance. I’d treated most of my charges the same way, even the last one I had and that hubris seemed to be my demise. Maybe if I had gotten closer to him then he wouldn’t have crossed me in the end. Hubris has never done anyone good and it seemed to have destroyed me. I was thankful for Normandy for rejuvenating everyone’s faith in me…

“Thomas?” Normandy looked over at me, snapping me out of my train of thought.

“Yes Normandy?” I looked at her and crossed my eyes, making her giggle softly. Her laugh was like music, it was light and airy. All in all it was nice.

“What did you leave behind when you died?” She asked while making herself cross eyed like I was.

“When I died?” I ran my fingers through my hair and looked around, a slight chill rippling down my back. “Um…my mom, my dad and his new wife, two older sisters,” I rubbed my face and then bit my lip hard. “And my little brother.” I sighed softly.

“Brother?” Normandy sat up straight and looked at me. This was the first she was hearing about Alex and I think it truly surprised her. I just don’t like to talk about him much.

“Little brother, he’s young.” I said unevenly, looking around the clearing. “I check in on him occasionally, but I’m not allowed to intervene in his life in any way, shape or form. So it’s like watching a reality television show instead of watching over my little brother.”

“That’s got to be tough on you.” Normandy nodded sympathetically.

“Sometimes it is. He’s in a band and they’ve done pretty well for themselves so it’s all right. I get to watch all their concerts without having to pay and I always have the best seat in the house, so there are some perks.” I made a face. “There’s a ton of downsides too. His girlfriends a total bitch, I don’t like her very much. And she walks all over him but he’s just so into her. It’s kind of disgusting. And there’s nothing I can really do to stop him from being with her. So I grin and suffer through it.” I grunted, thinking of the disgusting woman my brother was letting run his life. There was no winning with him.

“What band is he in?” Normandy snapped in front of my face. “Maybe I’ve heard of it.”

“All Time Low,” I said with a feeling of pride swell into my chest.

“Oh!” She squealed a little and a broad grin slipped on my face. “I know them! My best friend Cindy took me to see one of their shows in 2008.” Normandy surveyed my face for a few minutes and frowned. “Oh. OH. Thomas. Omygod. You’re Alex’s brother!” She jumped up, having what I belief teenage girls nowadays call a fangirl moment. “Holy fucking cow!”
I laughed and shook my head. “It’s too bad if you chose to go back to Earth you won’t remember meeting me.” I laughed again, watching her features semper a little.

Normandy sat back down and stooped in thought for a few minutes, her eyes darkening. Her shoulders were hunched and she was tapping her foot expectantly. And then, she sat up with her eyes brightening. A smile touched her face and she wiggled her nose at me. “I think that’s a fair trade for getting to live again.”

I huffed at her and nudged her arm. “Gee. Thanks.” I grumbled and stood up, causing the fireflies to disperse rather quickly. “So…” I asked over her charismatic giggle, “have you made a decision yet?”

“Maybe. I think so but I wanna know what you’d do.” She looked up at me and hugged her knees.

“What I’d do?” I frowned and looked down at her. “What do you mean?”

“If you were in my position, what would you do?”

I hesitated and looked at her, a million thoughts racing through my mind at once. I’d thought about this a million times, I’d even dreamed of it in several different ways. But I always came back to the same answer because it was he only one I could possibly settle on that didn’t make me feel like a selfish git for wasting the opportunity that I’d been given. I looked at Normandy and smiled my crooked smile, the answer a lot more obvious to me than to her. “If I were in your position…I’d go back to Earth and see my little brother. I’d hug him and tell him how proud I am of everything he’s done. And everything he’s accomplished. And then I’d come back up here.”

“Why?” Normandy’s eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened.

“Because they need me up here. And my life on Earth wasn’t all that spectacular. But my little brother….he’s the pride and joy of my eternity.” I closed my eyes tight. “Ya know, sometimes I think he knows I watch him and then other times I feel like he doesn’t even remember I existed.”

“He remembers.” Normandy stood up and squeezed my arm, her eyes bright again. “He remembers you.”

I smiled down at her, put my hand over hers and squeezed. “Have you made your decision?”
“I won’t be able to contact my parents will I? Or my friends?” She asked softly, answering my question with a question of her own.

“You’ll be put preferably into a Jane Doe’s body, a chance to start over completely. But no, you can’t contact anybody from your former life.”

“I wanna go back.”

“Then let’s get you ready.”

Notes

Well. Writer's block is kind of gone. The boys are in the next chapter so bear with me!
-xoxoDR