By the time he reached sight of the door at the end of the corridor, Vincent had been subjected to a series of distressing scenes involving his wife, his daughter, Ginny McRae and her daughter Lori. He was in tears after seeing the way Tina had been used and how her life was destroyed by the vengeful women. Marie had succumbed to a brain aneurism and Alec had taken over the family interests, getting Tina admitted to a rehab centre for drug and alcohol abuse, and settling the massive debts those sins had cost Marie. He avoided the last two windows and pushed his way through the large door at the end of the corridor.

The room was small and at a large metal desk that had no legs, a small man with large white whiskers and a pink, bald pate, stared at him with piercing eyes. He held a large quill pen and a thick ledger was open in front of him.

"Sit."

Vincent jerked at the brusque command and took a seat in a chair that magically appeared.

"You missed the final two portals."

Vincent said nothing.

"Well?"

"Well, what? Yes, I didn't look at them. I had enough."

The man wrote in the ledger, muttering to himself.

"Vincent Marcos," the man began. "You have witnessed the consequences of your decisions in life. You have been through the necessary stages of admittance to the Realm of Eternity and have compounded some of your previous life errors by repeating them here."

"What errors? I can't change anything?" Vincent's voice rose in anger.

There was a pause and then the man spoke again. "

"I have evaluated your passage here and have accorded you a probationary entry."

"Entry to what?"

"The Realm of Eternity."

Vincent gaped at the man. "Eternity? How can I be on probation in eternity? The very term suggests a period of time doesn't it?"

"It's all relative, Mr. Marcos."

"This is dumb. What do I do in this Realm of Eternity?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? What's the point then? All this bureaucracy just to accomplish what?"

"Eternity, Mr. Marcos." The ledger closed and the Monitor vanished along with his desk. The space it occupied changed to a pinkish hue and Vincent saw what appeared to be an iron gate with a large plaque, which read: Realm of Eternity, Entry by Permission Only. Vincent assumed he had permission and pushed the gate open and entered.

The entire space inside the gate was pinks and soft looking, like cotton clouds, and it was crowded with dozens of people all standing alone or in groups. He looked about then approached a man who stood with his back to him.

"Excuse me, what's going on here?"

The man turned and his face brightened. "Hi! I remember you from the waiting room after the Hall of Decision. I'm Charles Meadows." He held out his hand and Vincent took it automatically.

"Yeah, right. You were with Michelle."

"Yes, she was something, eh?"

"Yeah. Listen, what's happening here, who are all these people?"

"Probationers. We're all waiting to be called."

"Called for what?"

Charles almost laughed as he looked at Vincent. "Why to enter eternity of course."

"All of them!"

"Yes. Most get right through but anyone who had to be evaluated by the Monitor wait here."

Vincent looked at the crowd and he felt a little less guilty about his own actions. If this many people had to be monitored, he wasn't such an exception after all; they just made him feel that way.

"How do you know this anyway? Nobody told me what the procedures were."

"It's not my first time."

Vincent blinked. "Not your first time? What do you mean? You can only die once." He felt a tightening in his chest and he looked for something to lean against.

"You can't sit or lean in here," Charles smiled sadly.

"I asked you what you meant about it not being your first time."

"Well, let's see. First time I was an eleven year old boy that drowned on a fishing trip. The second time I was shot down in a mall by a bunch of thugs having a gang war."

Vincent put a hand on his arm and stopped him. "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Charles smiled again but before he could speak, his name was called in a soft but loud voice and he gave Vincent a small wave as he vanished into the pink surroundings.

"Wait!"

"Too late. You'll never see him again." The voice was gentle and feminine and Vincent turned to find a beautiful young woman watching him.

******

Vincent stood across from the woman listening as she explained what Charles had started to tell him. He wanted to sit down but he wasn't tired, he just wanted a change from standing. The woman had revealed her name to be Felicia Downs—this time around—and was on her fifth passage through the various divisions. Vincent listened as she explained how eternity meant that they never stopped living lives; they were just different lives with completely different identities. It was only when they returned to the Realm of Eternity that they were aware of their previous existences and could remember and discuss them.

"You mean I'm going to be born again as somebody else and I won't remember who I am now until I return here?"

"That's right. I have been male and female, as well as a variety of races. It's only when I'm here that I can look back over those lives and judge how I used them. My favourite was when I was a Mexican artist. The only drawback with that life was the fact that it was short. I died in a boating accident."

"But what good does knowing all this do?"

"It doesn't have to do anything, Vincent. It's just the way it is. Some small bits of previous lives stick with the new ones and it's interesting to see their effects if any. People who experience previous lives are not crazy; they are actually feeling larger carry over effects. People under hypnosis that go back in time to other people, really do. They were those people once. It is so interesting to compare your mortal beings over long periods and see how the world has changed in some ways and not in others."

"What about all the people who die violently or with horrid diseases?"

"They're here too. It doesn't alter the cycle. Next time they might be a health savior or a hero; that's how it all plays out."

"How long do you have to wait before you- you become someone else?"

"There is not time here, Vincent. You go when you are called, that's all."

"But can't you judge from when other people leave, people say that came just ahead of you?"

"That situation doesn't exist, Vincent. You can't say when you arrived here, there is no way to know."

"I just arrived! You and- and..." He stopped, realizing he couldn't remember the name he was searching for.

"You see. Once gone from here, no one exists until they return again." Felicia smiled and tilted her head. "Would you like to tell me about Vincent Marcos?"

He did. And Felicia related the life she led on earth, including anecdotes from previous incarnations.

"Why don't I remember any previous lives?"

"I can't answer that, Vincent. I've never met anyone who was here for the first time but I suppose it must happen. It all had to begin somewhere, right?"

"That's the question we all ask on earth; where did it all begin? Is there really a god up here? What about the people who take us through the different stages, who are they?"

"Just who they say they are; that's all we know about them, but they are here every time we come back."

Another name was called and nobody seemed to pay attention except Vincent, yet he saw nothing happen and when he turned back to the girl, she was just smiling at him.

"What?"

"I'm just curious about you not having any previous lives; that's a first for me. All the others that I've met here have been coming back and forth—" she paused and giggled, "—for eternity."

"No more curious than me I can tell you. Maybe because it was a stupid accident that brought me here."

"Reasons don't matter, Vincent. We all wind up here regardless."

"What about those that aren't probationers?"

"It's a very quick turn around. You get no time at all to dwell on the past." She stepped closer and lowered her voice. "There are some who claim they can remember enough to deliberately fail some part of the passage so they can come here and meet old friends or make new acquaintances. I've done it myself." She placed a finger over her lips.

"So even here people can be deceitful." Vincent made a wry face, thinking about Ginny McRae.

"I'm sure it doesn't go unnoticed." She said with an easy acceptance.

Another name was called and then another right after and Vincent looked at the empty space where the woman had been standing. He scanned the crowd but knew quite well that she was gone forever. He strolled slowly through the different groups, catching snatches of conversation, pausing now and then to listen. Nobody seemed to mind; everyone was welcome to join in.