Chapter 5
DAMIEN
The moment Damien had seen the button’s glow, he’d been about to shoulder-slam the doors and break Delilah out. He would have clawed his way through metal or held on to the lift cables with his bare hands to stop her from falling into Hell.
Then he realised that it was the white light that had lit up, and a wave of relief roared through his body like a waterfall. His vision blurred for a moment. He blinked, and confirmed that, yes, the button for Heaven was lit up.
‘No way.’ Delilah grabbed the railing to support herself. ‘It was my last chance . . . my last chance . . . and . . . I DID IT!’ Delilah pulled Damien into a hug. ‘How did I do that?’
Her hair smelled nice, like strawberries. He swallowed, tentatively bringing up his arms behind her. It had been decades since he’d last hugged another person. He wanted to hold on forever.
Then her legs collapsed.
‘Whoa!’ He grabbed her and lowered her to the floor. ‘You okay?’ He handed her the half-finished water bottle.
‘Just tired.’ She drank again. ‘I’m happy, but I don’t understand. I didn’t do anything generous this time. I certainly didn’t win. As soon as I arrived, I turned round and left.’
Now that she’d passed, Damien could speak freely. ‘I think not gambling was your trial. Some people believe that gambling is a sin.’
‘My mother was right?’ Delilah looked more horrified than anyone he’d ever escorted to Hell.
It did not seem polite to laugh. ‘About only one thing.’
‘Aargh! It all seems obvious in retrospect.’ Delilah clutched her hair.
‘How could I not have included such an easy solution in my calculations? I’ve always taken pride in my brains, but I must not have much common sense.
’ Her shoulders slumped. ‘My mother used to say that sometimes I get so fixated on winning that I fail to consider anything else. That’s two things she was right about. ’
‘Don’t beat yourself up.’ Damien straightened his cap.
‘You won, and that’s what matters. You can finally leave.
’ A lump formed in his throat. He blinked rapidly, determined not to shed a tear.
He would not ruin her big moment. Summoning all his selflessness, he forced himself to be happy for her.
‘I have never been more pleased to push a button than for you.’ He pressed the button to Heaven.
As the lift rose, Delilah spoke over the groaning cables: ‘I’m going to miss you a lot.’
‘Me too,’ he said thickly. His glasses had fogged up. He pocketed them. They were only an affectation from his former living life; he no longer needed them to see.
She gripped the railing, barely able to stand. Still, she smiled at him. ‘Do you think you’d ever try your test again? You still have six shots, it would be safe to use five of them. You never know what might happen. I won my last time on dumb luck.’
Damien kept his head lowered to hide his expression. ‘I’ve never been lucky.’
‘Then let me lend you my luck.’ She blew a kiss at him. ‘I have a feeling the next card you flip over will be an ace.’
It would have been a cinematic parting line for a beautiful but brief encounter between two lonely souls.
The lift stopped on the top floor, the doors opening a crack.
Brilliant white light poured in from beyond.
A sense of bliss filled the air. It smelled like the fresh breeze on top of a mountain, it smelled like chocolate and somehow it smelled like home.
If it was possible for a place to love, then this place gazed upon all the darkness in your heart and loved you anyway.
Unfortunately, at that very moment, the lift lights went out.
‘What’s happening?’ Delilah asked, fear creeping into her voice.
The cables wailed. Metal snapped. The lift plummeted.
Delilah fell over sideways.
Damien’s body moved too fast for him to need to make a decision. He grabbed Delilah and cushioned her head with his chest. They both slammed into the wall.
Red lights flashed overhead. A computerised voice spoke: ‘The lift is out of order. Please evacuate.’
The doors slid open on Floor Limbo, one below Heaven.
Delilah’s ‘NOOOOOOOOOO,’ echoed all the way down to Floor Greed, where an exhausted set of hands rearranged a cave full of treasures. It was difficult to read the emotions on gloved hands, but this one might have fallen to the ground in terror at the prospect of Delilah coming back.