It all started with me dying.

I am a very religious person, so I always knew that I would go to heaven when I died. You know, angels, clouds and harps?

Yeah, that went a bit differently than I expected.

But I'm getting off track here. My name is Harper Tisdale, and I died.

Dying is a very interesting experience. My life didn't flash before my eyes or anything, I just, died. To be honest, I was expecting things to go a little differently in my life, but at least I saved my kids.

It was June 12th, 2017 when the shooter got into my school. I was teaching my students about the French Revolution, not knowing that I would soon be interrupted by screaming alarms and gunshots. Living in Germany hadn't really prepared me for this sort of thing, it doesn't usually happen in schools. I locked the door, and ushered my students into hiding places. The door to our classroom had a small window, and all the students were told to stay out of sight.

Sure enough, not even a few minutes later we heard loud footsteps echoing down the empty halls, heels clacking against tile. Several of the teens had their hands pressed against their mouths, some of them with silent tears rolling down their face. The shooter stopped briefly outside our room, looking inside. I held my breath, and prayed that they couldn't see any of us. For thirty seconds it was silent, and then the footsteps started to go away.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and had started to reposition myself when I heard a loud crash from the other side of the room. I stared with wide eyes at the student who had accidentally knocked over a chair, and I heard several muffled cries.

The footsteps ran back, and the shooter started to pound at the door. I heard screams from my students, and decided that we couldn't hide anymore. I thanked God that we were on the first floor, and started to help my students out of the window. The pounding at the door became louder and louder, and I hurried my students out as quickly as possible. There were only two left when a bullet broke the window in the door, and I they practically threw themselves out. I had one leg out of the window, and then nothing.

The second bullet did its job. A bullet had gone straight through my skull, making me die instantly. I never had the chance to see if any of my students were wounded, I never found out if the shooter escaped.

No, the only thing I found out was that heaven was a bit different than I had imagined.

Instead of being taken to the throne of God by angels, I saw a row of doors, and two gates. One of them I recognized as the Pearly Gates, the other looked like something out of Las Vegas. You know, neon lights and lots of smoke?

A light cough interrupted my thoughts, and I turned around. A man stood behind me, smiling warmly. "Who are you?" I asked him cautiously, studying his features. No matter how close I looked, I could never get a good picture of him. His features were constantly shifting, and his body seemed to be made out of rainbows of light.

He smiled a bit, then took a step towards me. "I am, well, God. It's so wonderful that you're home Harper. I truly wish you could stay longer."

My overworked brain almost exploded with that statement. I rushed towards him, and wrapped my arms around him. He chuckled a bit, and hugged me back just as tightly.

It seemed like we stood there for centuries, but I still felt empty when I slowly released him. I smiled deliriously, but then realized what he had said before.

"What do mean? I can't stay?"

He must have heard the disappointment in my voice, because he put a hand on my shoulder before answering.

"Harper, it's not yet time for you to join me. Your life has only just begun. All those times that you ignored the rest of the world through books, all of those times that you wished to be in another world, I heard you. I always heard you, even when you thought I wasn't listening."

I looked down, ashamed. I really hadn't had enough faith in him over the years.

He continued, gently moving my head up to look at him. "I love you so much, Harper. I heard all your wishes over the years, and now that you've finished your first life, I've decided to grant them."

I gaped at him, and thought of all of the worlds that I could go to. There was so much I could see! Sherlock Holmes, Merlin, and…

I grinned and my heart soared at the thought.

Middle earth.

He must have heard my thoughts, because he gently guided me to a door that looked suspiciously like that of Bilbo's Hobbit Hole.

"You've made a good choice, my child. Don't worry about the horrors of this world, I will always be with you."

And with those last words I stepped through the door, and onto the next big adventure.