My next sensation was a warm glow on my skin. Evidently, the flames in hell didn't live up to the hype. When my eyes opened, I was lying on my back. I shielded my eyes from the sun, finding myself resting on a wooden bench in a park I had frequented as a child. The park was flattened and replaced with office buildings decades ago, yet there it stood.

There were others roaming the park. Children were playing on the jungle gyms, owners were walking their dogs, and there was an undeniable sound that had become so foreign to me. People were laughing.

An unassuming man was sitting behind a beverage stand. He wore a red uniform shirt and had wrinkles in the crease of his eyes.

"Troy, come over here."

I wandered up, in total confusion. He was the first person to address me by my first name since I died.

"What'll it be?"

"Passion fruit tea."

What was happening to me? Was I hallucinating? Is this some sort of mind trick? Maybe they were just messing with me again, just like they did with all the advertisements in my mailbox.

But the cashier handed me a tall glass of tea. I sipped it, and it quenched my thirst. It tasted just like the passion fruit tea I kept in my cupboard back home.

"Where am I?"

The man smiled.

"Do you remember the first thing they told you in purgatory?"

I shook my head.

"I have no idea. They told me so many things that I never could set them straight."

"I believe they said, 'You're a soul to be tested.'"

I gaped at the man, barely avoiding dropping my tea.

"Troy, you passed your test."

My mind returned to Ashley's grateful face.

"I'm not going to hell?"

Relief saturated my voice.

"You were in hell."

"What? No, I was in purgatory."

The man chuckled.

"There's no such thing as purgatory, and even if there were, it would never deal with that kind of red tape."

My mind traveled too quickly for me to respond. I couldn't allow myself to accept this. It was too good to be true.

"Yeah, that was hell alright. Wasn't it miserable? I thought we did a great job of it."

I didn't realize that I had started laughing. I bent over, guffawing over the irony of the situation until my eyes watered. At that point, I didn't know whether I was laughing or crying. All I knew is that I had never felt such a relief, in life or in death.

I had been expecting some big show, a dramatic moment of truth with fire and chariots that decided whether my soul would soar with angels or writhe in flames. Hell, I think that's what all of us were expecting. Everyone wanted that second chance. Yet there were second chances by the minute, passing us by as we searched for our defining moment of heroism. I had dozens of second chances a day. I was the only one keeping myself from heaven.

"I think you'll come to like it here, Troy. There's so much for you to see and experience. And by the way, the tea is on the house."

I gave the man a nod and a thank you, venturing to find out for myself.