Read A Fate Worse Than Death for Free Online Page B

something that was slightly, vaguely, just a little bit odd amidst this tableau of suburban serenity. I was approaching a school crossing, and standing in the middle was a figure with a large stop sign. This was unusual for two reasons. Firstly, there were no children around. Secondly, there was not a single car on the street. I resolved to investigate this sinister situation immediately.
    As I approached the crossing, I couldn’t help noticing the light that seemed to emanate from the crossing guard. It was one of the angels I’d met yesterday—the male one. I racked my brain, trying to recall a name. My brief encounter had been so dominated by the delightful Sally that I had retained very little impression of the other two.
    The name Raphael popped into my head at the exact same moment I remembered God telling me Phil was supposed to be meeting this angel for lunch on the day he disappeared. It looked like the time for aimless wandering was over. I had reached the starting point at last.
    Raphael was considerably shorter than me, and slight. He had a narrow face, with eyes that stuck out like small, dull billiard balls, and a mouth that seemed to be fixed in a permanent dumb smile. He was wearing the standard robe, but over it was a bright pink sash that proclaimed him to be a licensed crossing official. Pinned to the sash was a little badge that stated, A smile a day makes Heaven a happier place .
    Raphael’s dumb smile turned into a dumb frown as I approached.
    “You weren’t very nice to Sally yesterday,” he said.
    “Sally wasn’t very nice to me first,” I replied.
    Raphael shook his head. “You don’t understand. You have to be nice to Sally.”
    “Forget about Sally. I want to talk about you. First of all, what are you doing here?”
    “I’m the official school crossing guard.” The smile returned to Raphael’s face and he puffed out his chest. This was obviously a great honour, in his mind if nowhere else.
    “But I don’t see any children crossing.”
    “Oh, they’re all in school now. But I like to stay back, just in case there are any stragglers.”
    “Okay,” I said. “But I also don’t see any cars.”
    “There are no cars in Heaven.”
    “No cars?” Was this Heaven or Never-never Land?
    “Why should there be cars? We don’t need to go anywhere. It’s already perfect right where we are.”
    Raphael’s idea of perfect was clearly different from mine, and pretty much every other person’s I had ever met. I let it pass. I was intent on following this line of questioning through to the bitter end.
    “So if there are no cars, why do we need a crossing guard?”
    Raphael’s smile disappeared again, to be replaced by an expression of slight hurt. “To be a crossing guard is to provide a service to the community. What sort of place would Heaven be if everyone went around with your attitude?”
    Exactly the same but without crossing guards , was what I thought about saying, but I didn’t.
    “Of course, you’re absolutely right,” was what I did say. “There are a few other things I’d like to ask you about.”
    “Anything I can help you with.” Raphael was smiling again.
    “Last week, you were supposed to be having lunch with God’s son, Phil. Is that correct?”
    “That’s right. We were going to discuss setting up a charitable society.”
    “A charitable society?”
    “Of course. My chief interest is helping those less fortunate than myself.”
    “What sort of charitable society?”
    “That is exactly what we were going to discuss. I feel that Heaven needs an all-embracing organisation that is capable of meeting the needs of the underprivileged. There are so many things we need to look at. Shelters for the homeless. Toys for the poor, sick kids in the hospital.”
    “I didn’t know Heaven had a homeless problem?” I said. A moment ago, Raphael had been telling me how perfect it was.
    “Of course it doesn’t,” said Raphael, “but that’s no reason not to start