My Life Hereafter

They have made a huge mistake. She should be on the other side. Everything looks the same, as it was when Sunel was still only a human being. Everything is exactly the same, as before that day, which she can now only vaguely remember. The day her school bus ran over the cliff. The day she and most of her fellow students ended up here. The twins, Mark and David, were also on the bus, but David did not come here with them. David was sent across the valley to the other side. Mark convinces Sunel to help him find his brother, no matter what the dangers might be. Young Adult / Teen Christian Supernatural Romance Try it now. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter One It is oddly weird. The one moment I am clutching to the railing of the bus seat in front of me, hanging sideways and upside down simultaneously, with my hair falling over my eyes and then in the blink of an eye I am standing here in this brilliant white hall. I look around me at the unbelievably high ceiling, the white glimmering tiles all around, stretching into the sky as far as my eyes can see. It looks like an enormous and very clean industrial bathroom. The whiteness of it all hurts my eyes. Unexpectedly Charlene knocks into me, and whispers reverently, “Is this heaven?” “I doubt it. Surely, we would see a pearly gate, with hills rolling away into the distance. This looks like a giant railway station.” “But, we did…” Lionel joins us. “Wow,” he says, looking around him amazed. “Do you believe this?” I look away from him to a girl I barely know, she is crying softly. Giant tears are running down her cheeks and her eyes are puffy and red. The rest of her face has gone pallid white, so now her eyes look as if they are bleeding. As a hush falls over the crowd milling around me, I raise my eyebrows at Lionel, silently telling him not to sound so excited. Every kid on that bus with me, all sixty of us stop talking abruptly, all at the exact same time, and then we turn to face the large stage in the front of this colossal hall. I see him up on the stage. How can I miss him? He has biceps the size of me. He stands erect, and he lifts his hand to sweep his hair across his brow. His eyes are so blue, I can see the colour all the way at the back here, where I stand. In a loud booming voice, he says, while my heart skips a beat at the sudden sound, “Welcome. You will form groups of six.” He stops talking and I assume it is a direct order. I grab onto Charlene’s arm before someone drags her away from me. Charlene and I have been friends since pre-school and I am not going to go through this hallucination without her. Lionel inches himself closer to me, and then I lean forward not wanting my legs to move. I tap the sobbing girl on the shoulder. She looks so alone, and my heart goes out to her when I see no-one grabbing onto her. She looks at me through dew-dropped Bambi lashes. I suggest, “Join our group. If you want to.” She smiles shyly as she inches closer to us while keeping her eyes averted. I recognize her, and I think she was in one or two of my classes, but regretfully I cannot really remember her name. “Okay, that makes four. Quickly get two more kids, before we get split up into other unfinished groups.” I see Mark sauntering toward us. My heart jumps and I nudge Charlene in the ribs. Charlene has a serious crush on him, and I must admit he is dangerously handsome. He is not the most popular boy in school, but to Charlene he is an Adonis.