“Aaahhh….ahhh...ahh” I tried to scream, but I couldn’t hear my own voice. I was just now in an accident, is my body even okay, and are my ears okay. Why can’t I hear anything? Why cannot I feel any pain?

 Am I going to die?????

I tried to open my eyes and prepared myself for the worst but the sudden appearance of strong rays of light flooded my eyes and blurred my vision for an indefinite period of time. As I tried my hardest to make out the surrounding and was first time pleased to see my other classmates. Were we really okay?

I touched my body from bottom to top and was relieved to find it in one piece. Not even a single cut or bruise. But how is that possible? Weren’t we just now the victims of an unfortunate road accident? Am I dreaming?

The number of unanswered questions only increased further when my vision was reconfigured to its normal state. I and my classmates were standing on a huge white marble platform circular in shape and was floating mid air without any support. There was no land to be seen. The whole area was drenched in a white light, which had no source in whatever direction I looked, but the light brought a soothing feeling to my eyes and my skin felt warm. I calmed myself and started registering the information in my brain.

The sky was clear with no clouds. It was an unusual ending space and the clouds at our feet made it more unbelievable. All the students were in healthy conditions and have come to their sense which was quite obvious with the fuss they had started to make. I pinched myself and felt the pain which gave me the creeps that is this method really viable to draw the line between reality and dream. Because just then an ANGEL with white wings spread across its back descended on the platform out of nowhere.

Most of the students were first startled and took a defensive stance to see an alien being but after a short while, seeing no signs of hostility they ran towards him in hope of getting their illogical questions answered.

“Hey man, where are we?”

“Did you bring us here?”

“What do you want to do with us?”

“Sir, can you please tell me where my parents are.”

Some of the students started crying. Some went to the edge of the platform and played tricks of jumping. Some girls crowded near the class rep who tried his best to clear their doubts by reassuring them of his own position in class.

“Are we dead.”

“Did the bus accident really kill us all?”

“Is this the place where people are judged before they are being sent to heaven or hell?”

“Is this really it? I want to go home.”

The word ‘home’ caught everyone’s attention and they started raising their voices to force out the answers from him even if it meant they would have to fight. Some of them like me stood at their places waiting for an answer to clear our doubts and afraid to be a part of an angry mob which had resorted to vandalism.

The angel’s face showed no sign of discomfort or surprise. He quickly grasped the situation and came up with the best solution. He flew high up in to the air with his white feathered wings spread out in the sky, a loop of light radiated from his back, which caught everyone’s attention and distracted their minds.

He was truly a mystical being. The perfect picture of an angel with wings and white gown which went below his feet and even covered his own shadow.

“CHILDREN OF THE MORTAL RACE. PLEASE LISTEN TO MY REQUEST. FOLLOW ME TO THE PANTHEON AND ALL YOUR DOUBTS WILL BE CLEARED.” These words from a non-human character played like a beautiful sonnet in my ears and made me unable to deny his petty request. Every student became silent, some wiped off their tears and moved to the middle of the platform and then looked back at the angel.

The angel then looked upwards and flew much higher than before into the white sky. Suddenly the platform, before we even realized was moving upwards slowly yet it seems to have been maintain a steady pace.

A massive temple surrounded by huge marble pillars, statues and torches came into our view. This shining new temple despite giving the vibe of being an ancient one towered over the immediate landscape, where there was nothing beyond it but a sea of clouds. A terrific series of huge brickstone stairs stood in front of the temple. The only thing up above us was a circular rainbow, with a blue inside it deeper than anything I’d ever seen before. The angel landed in front of the stairs and started climbing up the humongous pile of blocks.

No one made a sound among us. It was pin drop silence, one never witnessed before. The feeling of fear, confusion, amazement, frustration and sadness had overwhelmed our reasoning ability. With a bit of hesitation we followed the angel in a single line without any instructions. What was surprising was we reached the top of the colossal stairs in no time at all and there was no sign of fatigue in any of our muscles. Every minute spent brought terror and bewilderment at the same time.

‘Is this the so called pantheon the angel mentioned?’ We dragged our legs through the entrance, and suddenly our surroundings changed. We were supposed to be in a building, but the place looked more like a castle courtyard. There was a lush-green lawn, flowers I had never seen before which can hold anyone spellbound, and a large fountain too. For some reason I was captivated by the water which flew in the fountain system. The water was so pure that it was transparent like a super expensive glass and at the same time one could see his own reflection.

But what surprised me was that the whole area was empty and no one was there to enjoy this scenic landscape. The angel climbed a small flight of stairs on a stage which I was sure never existed a second ago. He stood at the side as if waiting for someone important to arrive.

“My dear children, I welcome you all in the holy land of Gods. There is no need to fear. All your questions will be answered, so please ask without any hesitation.” An old lady descended from the sky again out of nowhere and had grayish-white hairs, with a physical body of a seventy year old woman. It was such a pleasure to hear a pure and humane voice after a long time. There was no doubt in my mind she was a goddess, the kindest soul I have ever met yet.

We started looking at each other to choose our representative, and all our gazes extrapolated at a single point where the class rep stood biting his nails. It was kind of unsightly but no one minded. He had a charismatic personality and was intelligent and quick witted but a lustful person too at that. There was no time to vote and Homura who felt the pressure of everyone’s gazes stepped forward.

“Are we all really dead? What is the reason of bringing us all here?” Homura hurriedly finished the sentence and took a step back. The presence of a heavenly being commanded respect and devotion from every soul with no exception.

“My name is Gaea. The goddess of ‘Mother Earth’ in this holy sanctuary called ‘PANTHEON’. I am sorry to inform you of your demise in the unfortunate accident. I am sure you all are grieved to realize that you will never be able to see your loved ones. Mere words cannot heal the wound of hearts nor undo the present and dry up those tears filled with grief and loss. The reason you all have been summoned here is to give you another chance to live again and be reincarnated in another world. Of course you can refuse and move to the spiritual realm.” The goddess put forward her proposal and looked at us with the most caring and sincere eyes I had ever seen. I was hooked up to her appearance. She was old and had wrinkles on her forehead and face, but it accentuated the majestic presence of a person who has been an expert in his field for a long time. She was a pro at this!

We were surprised and at the same time not. It was quite obvious after seeing the angel that we were no more part of the living world. But what caught our attention was the part where the goddess mentioned the word ’REINCARNATION’. Can it really happen? Will we get another chance to live? Weren’t these my thoughts just before I died! So I pinched my cheeks again to confirm and draw a vague line between reality and fantasy. I started slapping my cheeks and drumming my head to get rid of any hallucination. I was not embarrassed in the least because some people performed the same exercise and other followed because they thought it was reasonable and totally normal.

“Oh my little darlings don’t fret over. I know you are all worried about your family and are unable to collect your thoughts and are overwhelmed by it. Your state of confusion is totally normal. I know death is irreversible and we must steel our hearts to accept the truth with all our being. Please take rest in the rooms we have prepared for all of you and decide your next course of action. After hearing your decision we will be able to talk in details later.” The words of the goddess struck a chord in everyone’s soul. Lady Gaea looked towards the angel standing on her left side. The angel disappeared and then reappeared in front of class rep and signaled to follow him. It would be hard to getting used to this sudden materialization and dematerialization. It seems that he doesn’t like to talk very much. But he somehow enjoyed taking us by surprise now and then.

 We formed a line and again started to follow him towards a small entrance. We all had our own doubts and thoughts, but for now all have concluded it was best to go with the flow and follow the orders of the supreme beings.

At that time I looked back at the small stage and saw two other figures descending from the sky and each stood beside Lady Gaea. Were they Goddesses too, I wondered! But I soon lost their sight as a new landscape; presented itself in full grandiose.

“Are these the human children chosen by the Divine System?”

“How fascinating! Thing are starting to get interesting sooner than expected.”

Goddess Hera and Goddess Artemis presented their thoughts.

“I agree! I hope these children rise to our expectation and make the best out of it. By the way Artemis what are you doing with that thing?” Lady Gaea too spoke her mind without holding back.

A young girl, tall and slim wearing a knee length tunic, with, hunting boots, a quiver and was armed with a silver bow and arrows neatly placed inside a quiver tucked at her back and had a huge fat wild boar tied to her right shoulder. She was definitely Goddess Artemis – ‘Huntress Goddess of the Moon & Lady of the Wild Things’. Her auburn hair colour and silver eyes were elegant and her beauty was mysterious but real. But the most concerning aspect was her massive strength to hold onto such a huge boar without any hesitation with those puny thin arms of her. She sure is a hunter through and through.

“This piece of juicy meat is for the feast tonight. I will ask Lady Hestia to prepare the best dish with this heavenly beast.” She held out the boar in front of the two goddesses, as if she was waiting for their praises.

“Sure we will love to feast on one of your esteemed spoils of wild hunting.” Goddess Hera spoke in her sweet and young accent.

The three Ladies started moving in the exact opposite direction of the students while continuing their conversation till they vanished from anyone’s sight and the courtyard was left empty again where the flowers fluttered and danced in the cool breeze.

***