Tetra rode on a bottlenose dolphin; the glistening soft waves whipped back and forth; the wind flowed through her long blonde hair. Life was pretty okay. Mostly.

She was dead. That wasn't so bad, though. She lives on Cloud 9, the 9th ring of heaven. You've heard of how Hell has circles, right? Heaven has them too.

Cloud 9 is the lowest ring and the higher up you go, the more powers and abilities you get to use as part of luxury. It was like Earth, but slightly better. 

Her friends, Evyn and Ava, rode up beside her on their own dolphin. Ava's hands were wrapped tightly around Evyn's waist to keep her from falling and her brown hair was whipping in the wind.

"How much longer until we get to the docks?" Evyn said, brushing her black hair from her face. "The saltwater's ruining my makeup."

Ava laughed. "It's your fault for wearing it so thick. You look like a goth girl from all those cartoons."

"Well, maybe I am a cartoon goth."

"Girls," Tetra said. "You can have your couples' quarrel later or something. We're almost to the other side."

They rode their dolphins towards the South shore, where the shoreline was filled with tall buildings lined with gold and silver. Beachgoers crowded the shallow waters with their umbrellas and towels. Children played with pygmy sharks and jellyfish; teenagers surfed on stingrays. The air was crisp. Not too hot or too cold.

As the girls got closer to shore, the magnificent high-rise apartments came into view. Lush greenery spilled from the sides like waterfalls. The golden accents made everything pop and it looked wonderful.

"I don't come here often, it just looks so beautiful," said Ava while gazing at a rainbow that was strewn between two buildings like a bridge.

"It could use some darker colors," commented Evyn.

Tetra interjected, "Can you two go a few minutes without fighting? We're not even here to live; this is central housing. We couldn't move here for a couple centuries. You know that."

"It would be nice if we could live here," Ava pouted.

"You're acting like where we live currently doesn't look almost the exact same."

Ava's face perked up. "You're right! I almost forgot..." With that, they reached the docks.

They waved goodbye to their dolphins as they walked down the pier to meet their other friend, Lo. Tetra saw him and her feet bolted themselves to the ground.

His short brown hair and deep green eyes made every other guy look gray and dull in comparison. Tetra blushed at the sight of him and ducked behind a nearby sign.

"Oh Tetra," Ava pulled her from behind the board that was advertising hot dogs. "Seriously? Only you could still be nervous in the afterlife. Just ask him out already! It's been like 10 years since we all met."

They slowly walked in his direction, both Ava and Evyn pulling Tetra towards him.

"I only agreed to come with you guys cause we were going to see my favorite movie, not for...him." Tetra's thoughts trailed off as he turned their way, his pure white smile almost blinding her.

"You have love written all over you," said Evyn in a prying voice.

"Shut up!" Tetra whispered. She attempted pulling away as they approached him.

"Ava, Tetra, Evyn, hi!" said Lo when they got closer.  Tetra straightened up and smoothed her shirt. "It's been a few weeks since I've seen you guys right? Evyn, still as emo as ever?" 

Evyn gave a playful hiss.

"And Ava, how's your parents? Still alive?"

"We're all dead, Lo." She covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. Tetra rolled her eyes.

"And...Tetra? I could barely tell it was you under all that hair."

She brushed her hair to the side. "Yeah, I chose to grow it out faster. Perks of living in heaven, right?"

Lo laughed. He looked her directly in the eyes and she turned away in embarrassment. "So how about that movie, huh?"

All four of them started on their way to the grand theater down the street. Tetra almost wished she wore a hoodie that day to hide her face, because Lo's eyes almost seemed to pierce through her. But soon they'd be in the dark eating popcorn so she wouldn't have to worry about it.

*****

"I can see why this was your favorite movie, Tetra," said Lo while stretching.

"Yeah," Evyn said, "The dogs were cute."

Tetra blushed. "I guess...even though it took you guys a decade to watch it."

They walked out of the theater back onto the pier; the sunset lit up the ocean's horizon. People were leaving the beach to return to their homes or their sectors to sleep for the night.

"Aw man, nighttime already?" Ava hung her head. "The day goes by so fast."

"Come on, Ava, let's go home. I require cuddling," Evyn said with a smirk. She summoned a helicopter to take them back home, then she and Ava got into the helicopter and flew away.

"Wait, guys!" Tetra ran after them, waving her arms. "Don't leave me here alone you two!"

Evyn only turned back to face Tetra and waved back at her. 

"Tet," Lo's voice made Tetra skid to a stop. He looked at her with concern. "I could take you home if you'd like. It wouldn't be much of an inconvenience."

"N-no, I'll be okay," she said as she went knee-deep into the sea and flagged a shark down to take her home.

"Are you sure?"

Tetra nodded and looked back at him. He seemed to be considering something, but he simply waved at her instead. She waved back and felt the shark nuzzling her thigh, apparently getting impatient with the delay.

She grabbed onto the shark and let it take her back home. The tears wouldn't make much difference as the saltwater covered her face anyway.

Lo sat in the water, looking at the full moon.