I couldn't believe how beautiful everything around me was. The grass tickled my ankles, and there was a light breeze that smelled like sea spray even though there was no beach in sight.

"I feel like I'm dreaming," I murmured. There was definitely a part of me that wanted to stop walking further into Hell and instead lie down and sprawl on the grass. And maybe when I close my eyes, I'll wake up and this all will have been some horrific dream. Of course, that wasn't the case, but you can't fault a girl for wishing.

I was able to make out the cottage more and more as we grew nearer. It was a small thing with crisp white shutters, a cobblestone pathway, and a delicately tended garden in the front. When I reached the garden, I stopped to examine the plants, but realized soon enough that I didn't recognize any of them. There were orange flowers that looked like corkscrews reaching towards the sky, and green spheres that reminded me of oversized grapes about to burst.

"This place..." I mumbled, leaving the garden to finally walk inside.

My dentist back on Earth had purchased an old home to use as her office, converting the front living room into a waiting room for her patients. This cottage had a similar vibe. In the back of the house, I could make out a kitchen and a staircase leading up to what I assumed were bedrooms. But the front living room had been converted into a rather pleasant waiting room. There were couches and a few magazines littering the coffee table—all from 2006, I noticed—and a desk with a little brass sign with the word "Welcome!" engraved into it. The skinny old woman who sat behind the desk peered at me through cat-shaped glasses, and then beckoned me over with a grin and a fluttering of her hand. "Come in, dear! I don't bite, I promise!"

I didn't quite believe her, but I walked up to the desk nonetheless.

She licked a fingertip—her nails were painted a vivid red—and then flipped through a few pages of a small spiral notebook. "Name please?"

"Jessa Brown."

"And are you a new resident or just passing through?"

I blinked. "Sorry?"

"Are you dead or alive, dear? My sense of smell isn't as good as it once was."

"Alive." I paused, then added, "Hopefully."

She chuckled and flipped through a few more pages. "Is the Devil expecting you?"

"Yes, she should be."

"Wonderful. Makes things a lot simpler!" She continued flipping through the pages at a speed that was almost inhuman.

"Is there... something you're looking for?" I asked. There was a large part of me that still didn't quite trust this place or its inhabitants.

"Just trying to find your itinerary," she said, pausing from her work to give me a kind smile. "My home is the first stop everyone makes in the Underworld. If you're just visiting, you receive an itinerary for your journey to meet the Devil. If you're a new resident, you get assigned a job."

"A job?"

She nodded pleasantly.

I bit the inside of my cheek. "Are these jobs... unpleasant?"

The woman seemed shocked by the suggestion. "No, not at all!" She gestured around the room. "This is my job. I've been doing it for 55 years and love it everyday. You get to meet the most interesting folks."

"Like... murderers and stuff?" I asked, the question coming out of my mouth before I had a chance to censor myself.

The woman paused and looked at me confusedly. Then she let out a laugh. "Oh I'm sorry, honey! I've been down here so long, I forgot what you folks hear about in the upper world, that Hell is full of sinners and such. Those people—the murderers and such—they don't end up down here."

"They don't? I thought... I thought Hell was a place where bad people went to get tortured?"

She shook her head. "Nope! Everyone down here is someone who has made a deal with the Devil—or a visitor looking to make a deal, like yourself. Of course, everyone made different deals. Some were less altruistic than others. But for the most part, everyone down here is just..." She shrugged. "Normal."

"So what happens to all the bad people who don't make a deal with the Devil?" I asked. "Where do they go?"

The woman shook her head. "Sorry, deary. I don't really know about any of that. But if they didn't make a deal with the Devil, they're not down here."

I was still trying to wrap my head around that when the woman made a little "Ah ha!" noise and plucked a buttercup yellow paper out of a stack. "Here it is! Your itinerary." She held it out for me, then ran a finger over the instructions, guiding me as she read. "You're going to just follow the painted road out back as far as it goes until you reach the city—looks like Lana has invited you to her home, how lovely! So just stick to the path and you'll reach the Devil soon enough." She leaned over the desk and eyed my feet me an approved nod. "Look at you with those sneakers—so prepared! I just love a prepared visitor." She passed me the paper, then smiled one last time. "Any questions, Jessa?"

"I think I'm all right. Thanks for your help."

"You are very welcome." She then reached across my desk and gave my hand a squeeze. "Now, I don't say this to everyone, but... whatever you're here for, I hope it goes well."

I stared at her, surprised. "Really?"

She nodded. "I just have a good feeling about you." And she gave me a wink.

I suddenly wanted to know what sort of deal this woman had made—she was so kind and sweet. And yet, I'd already asked my fair share of intrusive questions. So I just nodded and said, "Thank you."

She gestured down the hall. "Just head on back through the kitchen. The path begins just out the back door! Good luck!"

And just like that, I waved her goodbye and exited her home.

Once I was back outside, I looked down at James. "You were awfully quiet in there," I said as he wriggled in my arms.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I'm not quite sure how the residents down here would feel if they knew you were in direct communication with an angel up on Earth. Figured it best that I lay low."

"Got it." I looked down at my feet and saw a stone pathway that the woman must have been referring to. The stones were painted a soft mint green; I guess a yellow brick road wouldn't cut it for Lana.

Before I started walking, I held James up and asked, "Was what that lady saying true? That the sinners aren't down here?"

James gave a little shrug. "Perhaps."

"Perhaps?"

"What I mean is, I don't really know."

I stared at him quizzically. "What do you mean you don't know? You live in Heaven, don't you?"

"I do," he admitted, "but Heaven is a large place, and I don't typically go around and ask people if they murdered anyone while they were on Earth. To be honest, I've never paid much attention to that sort of thing. My interactions with human souls are fairly limited."

"So... it's possible that all those murderers and awful people end up in Heaven?"

"Maybe," James said. "Or maybe they go somewhere else... or maybe they're reincarnated and put back on Earth for a re-do. I honestly don't know. The Almighty works in mysterious ways and it's something I've never questioned."

I took a deep breath; my mind was whirring too much for me to make sense of much. "One more question," I said.

James looked at me with his single eye. "You're stalling."

"I know, I know. But also, I'm curious." I spun in a circle, gesturing at all the mysterious beauty surrounding us. "If this is what Hell looks like... what is Heaven like?"

The bear's expression softened. "It's... hard to describe. It's more of a feeling than anything else. When you're there, everything feels perfect and clear. Soft, and glowing. It feels like home."

I sighed. As beautiful as Hell was, it definitely didn't feel like home. "Thanks for answering," I said. Because there's a big possibility that I'll never get to see it myself, I thought.

"You're welcome," James said. Then, as he looked out at the path winding its way through the honey-colored hills, he asked, "So... are you ready to go?"

I sighed, unsure of what lied ahead, but knowing I couldn't put it off any longer. "Ready as I'll ever be."

And putting one foot in front of the other, I started to walk.