Tina Marcos put down the telephone and gathered up the files on her desk, leaving her cubicle and walking down the hall to the manager's office.

"Come in, Tina." George Moffat cleared his throat and adjusted his chair behind his desk. She walked to the desk and set the file down in front of him. "How are you? How's your mother?"

"As well as can be expected... my mother that is."

"And you?"

"I'm finding it very difficult, Mr. Moffat. My brother has become a bit difficult and things at home are not adjusting too well."

"Do you need more time off, because if—"

"No. No, sir. I need to be here, working. I need the- the distraction. I didn't mean that this was a—"

George waved a hand, nodding. "I know what you meant. Listen, I think it might be a good idea if you joined with someone else on one of our projects. Working alone isn't going to give you the... distraction... you need."

"I'll do whatever you suggest, sir."

"Good. Your dad was well liked when he was here you know, and he did a good job, Tina. What happened was, well... unfortunate. I believe you will provide the same competence and diligence he did when he was here. I'm going to pair you with the young lady that's designing the convention display material for next month's event."

Tina brightened and smiled for a brief moment. "That's great, Sir, it's something I always felt I could do well; I love the design field."

"Swell then. Go and see Mrs. Hughes and tell her the arrangement, she'll see that you get set up properly and introduced."

"Thanks, Mr. Moffat. I won't disappoint you."

"I'm sure you won't, Tina."

******

Vincent went to Michelle's side when she called and they stared together at the events unfolding in the pond.

"That's my daughter, Tina!" Vincent wiped his wet eyes and leaned closer. "She's working at the same place I was at!"

"She just got a kind of promotion. Her boss is trying to help her get over your death." The comment was delivered with a touch of bitter sarcasm.

"Moffat was a good guy, what's wrong with that?"

"Watch."

Vincent saw his daughter being taken to the design department and over to the desk of the person she would be paired with. Vincent blinked and then a hiss of air escaped from his lungs.

"Lori!"

"So much for nice Mr. Moffat."

"How come she's still there? I was dismissed for our- our affair in the office!"

"Looks like your good guy found a good reason to keep her and now he's having fun with his new situation."

"The rotten—" Vincent pounded a fist on the soft grass, angry over his inability to curse.

"Too bad, she looks like a nice young lady." Michelle wandered away from the pond, leaving Vincent to watch as Lori greeted his daughter with the look of a hungry shark. He thought back to the entry he made in the ledger and how he had immediately ignored it, reveling in the opportunity to romp with Ginny's daughter once again. Was this a result of that violation? Was his daughter being sacrificed for his misdeeds, even now, after he's dead? Vincent turned and shouted for Meditatio.

"You have not expressed repentance, Vincent." The voice came from all around him but there was no visible source. "This is not an optional situation. You violated a contract in the Hall of Decision, a choice you deliberately made, I might point out, and now, if you expect to move on from here you must observe the rules of the Repentance Garden."

"What rules? I don't know what the— darn rules are!" Vincent looked about for the speaker.

"Do you not understand the meaning of repentance, Vincent?"

"Sure I do. I mean, I guess I do..."

"Tell me, Vincent."

"Oh for— for Pete's sake." He gave up looking for the source and closed his eyes. Repentance is- is when you're sorry for something and you want to make up for whatever it was."

"So regret and atonement then; is that it, Vincent?"

"What else is there?"

"Shame."

"Okay, shame too." Vincent caught Michelle's smirk from where she sat on the lawn away from the pond.

"And after seeing these events have you experienced and accepted any of those sentiments, Vincent or did you simply feel a rage and anger over what you saw?"

"Sure I'm sorry it's happening- happened, I mean it's my daughter!"

"Sorry but not responsible."

"Huh? Why should I be responsible, Moffat is the one doing this to her."

Meditatio appeared beside him, his face calm and still slightly out of focus, and Vincent felt a sudden urge to cry.

"Do you remember back in the Reflection Lounge I tried to explain that your existence on earth was decided by the choices you made?"

"Yeah."

"Well this is all the result of those choices."

"But how could I know?"

"You couldn't. Nobody can. But those choices decide your path through life. Right or wrong they are all a result of your decisions at the time; everyone chooses their own path, Vincent." Meditatio moved as if floating and stood beside the pond, glancing down. "In the Hall of Decision you were given an opportunity to rectify one of your regrets and you chose not to; the results are now played out along the path you chose in life."

"But if I did change it you said it wouldn't matter."

"I said it would matter here as you go forward, Vincent."

"I don't get it. What's the purpose of all this anyway. I can't fix anything; what's done is done according to you so what's the purpose of this— silly business?"

"If you examine what you have learned since you arrived here, Vincent, you will see that it has made a difference."

"How?"

"Think about it. By ignoring your contract in the Hall of Decision, you learned what happened in the lives of Michelle and your friend, Benjamin. That in turn brought you both to the Repentance Garden, something that Michelle had avoided for some time. Events have already changed the course for both your paths."

"But so what? Where does it get us? You said there's no scorecard; nothing can change. What good is all this?"

"That can only be determined by your actions from here on. The decisions you make, Vincent."

"Why me? What about her? Don't her decisions affect me... anybody?"

"At the moment we are dealing exclusively with the existence of Vincent Marcos; Michelle has had her interviews and elected not to move on."

"But she did, she's here!"

"Only within the context of your path." Meditatio backed away and Vincent was bathed in a warm yellow glow. "The time is now, Vincent, to accept repentance or not. What is your decision?"

"You mean for my failure in the Hall of Decision?"

"Yes. I caution you not to make your choice lightly."

Vincent stared at the blurred vision and then at the pond. Tina was seated at a drawing table with Lori behind her, an arm about her shoulder. He groaned inwardly and clenched his fists. Of course he wishes to repent for what he did. No father would leave his daughter in the clutches of a— someone like Lori or her mother. He turned and Meditatio's caution jumped into his head giving him pause. What is there to worry about? What can happen anyway? Nothing will change for Tina, and what can they do to him, he's dead isn't he? He turned back to Meditatio and felt his heart ache as never before.

"Nothing will change for my daughter, will it?"

"She will make her own choices, Vincent."

"So no matter what I do up here, nothing will change for her."

"It will determine things for you."

"Okay, you know what, I regret what I did back there but any opportunity to put it to that— Ginny, is something I don't think I could pass up."

"Is that your decision, Vincent?"

Vincent wet his lips and took a breath. "It is... as stated."

The change was sudden and Vincent felt dizzy as he tried to adjust to the new surroundings. This time the space was smaller and had prescribed dimensions. A tall window of green glass occupied the middle of one wall. The wall itself was composed of what appeared to be dark clouds only they were flat. In the centre of the room was a short pedestal with a small black orb sitting on top. There was no ceiling and the height seemed infinite when Vincent looked up. The floor was a cloud of grey mist and he couldn't see his feet as he moved toward the centre of the room.

"Am I alone here?" He called, hearing his voice echo endlessly around the room. He went to the window and looked out but all he could see was his own reflection and it showed a much older man than Vincent remembered.

"Is anyone here? What am I supposed to do?"

"This is the Chamber of Fate, Vincent." Meditatio's voice seemed to come from all sides. "Your previous choices have brought you to this point in your journey."

"What happens here? What do I do?"

"You do nothing, Vincent. This room contains your fate as determined by all your previous actions."

Vincent looked around, bewildered. What the— what did that mean? He was annoyed that he still couldn't swear, even to himself. His eyes fell on the black orb and he went to the pedestal and peered at it. Jet black peered back; he could see nothing. Disgusted, he stuck his hand on the top and immediately the room changed again. This time he was in a familiar place; it was the street where he lived. He could see his house and he could see his wife sweeping the front porch.

He walked quickly over and called her name but she didn't respond. Vincent tried touching her but his hand passed right through, feeling nothing. Maria gave the porch a final whisk and went back inside. Vincent followed, feeling odd seeing the familiar things of his home. A family picture stood on the side table by the window and it showed a happy couple with their two tiny children. Vincent remembered when it was taken and he felt a pang as he tried to touch the photo but couldn't feel anything. Fragments of his past skipped through his mind as he wandered about the room, and then he heard a male voice and he followed the sound to the kitchen. There was the same table and chairs; his was now occupied by a tall lanky boy... his son, Alec. He and Marie were having a conversation about his schooling and Vincent listened with a moist-eyed pride at his son's achievements.

Suddenly his mind jerked to halt. Alec was much bigger, and in college! How could that be? He only died that morning. He listened to them talking and was forced to realize that a lot of time had passed since he was the main topic. The door opened and Tina came in announcing her arrival. She strutted to the kitchen and dropped her purse on the table then stated that she would not be home for dinner; she was going out with Lori from work. Vincent felt his throat catch. He stared at his daughter and at her excessive makeup and clothing style. Lori! She was going out with Lori!

He tried to object but it was obvious that they couldn't hear him and he could only cringe as Tina and Marie began a noisy argument. His daughter shoved a finger in the air, grabbed her purse and stomped out of the house. Marie slumped at the counter and Vincent felt a sudden sensation of déjà vu. His grandmother in the kitchen on the day he slammed out of the house. He stared at his wife; his heart filled with fear for her well-being, and then noticed that his son was gone. He closed his eyes trying to collect his thoughts and when he opened them, he was no longer at home.