Soul Arts

Chapter One

Only one train passes through this place tonight, Melody Kalia thinks to herself as she stands patiently in line. The platform beneath her feet seemingly stretches endlessly off to her left and right. She is surrounded by children; young, short, and frail children just like her. Probably the same age too. As she looks to her left, the ages and heights of the children appear to be ascending. Through those neat, perfectly organized rows and columns of people standing perfectly still and waiting in line, she can see adults and elderly as well. She looks to her right hand side. The children are getting younger and shorter by the lines. Beyond the lines of the ones who are old enough to stand on their own are hundreds of black cloaked blob-like figures, no bigger than children themselves. They are all cradling still infants.

Virtually no atmosphere exists inside this station. The place is silent and dark, complete with slate-gray walls and no life. Suddenly, the set-up all becomes clear to her. The platform is accommodating all of the world's passing souls. Every single person on this platform passed away in the last twenty-four hours in some way, or for some reason, and now they are all here together, waiting completely calm and still as if in a trance. There is no shuffling or crying. No one is even moving; except for her.

Kalia, nine years old, was born and bred into a traditional Christian American family. She knows many of her iconic bible stories, attended bible study every Wednesday night, and went to church every Sunday. For as long as she can remember, she had always been told that as long as she remained a good and righteous girl, and pure until marriage, when she died she would become an angel, float up into the sky to this paradise called heaven, meet God, and live forever with her relatives and loved ones in his kingdom. However, if she did bad deeds and allowed herself to be influenced by the Satan, her soul would be seized by him. When she died she would sink down below the earth to a place called hell where she would be tortured and burned for all eternity. Passengers wait in straight lines ascending by age from her right to her left. She must be waiting for the train that will take her to her final resting place. She doesn't recall anyone ever mentioning anything about this in church. Are we all going to the same place? Or does the train make stops? I've been good . . . I think.

Over the edge of the platform where the train should materialize soon glows a faint blue light; perhaps the only light that makes visibility even possible in this place. Kalia quickly glances from her left to her right, and then again over her shoulder to make sure she has not captured anyone's attention being the only person who is moving around. She has not. She gingerly begins to stride out of line and makes her way up closer to the edge past twenty-three other boys and girls who must be the same age as her. Some are a little taller, some shorter. The tips of her feet eventually find the point blank edge of the platform and she eagerly peers over, careful not to fall. Wouldn't want to die again. Kalia stares down into what looks like a distant map of a continent without lines or markers. She gazes over snow dusted fields and trees withering in submission to the harsh winter air. Highways snake and loop each and every way. In the middle of all this is a tight cluster of buildings; the big city. She squints and she thinks she can almost see the thousands of microscopic figures moving about the city. Above her, shimmering stars burn brightly through an otherwise desolate black sky.

A small, bony hand seizes Kalia's arm just above the elbow and pulls her away from the edge of the Earth. She defensively frees herself and turns around, shooting the grabber a nasty grimace. It returns to her a look of emptiness. What grabbed her was one of those black cloaked blobs she noticed before. Up close, it appears to be just another kid, slightly shorter than her, wearing a sheet and a mask; the mask is featureless, if not for all but two tiny holes for eyes. Its arms seem to vanish when they are at its side. After a brief moment of silence, the blob points back to the end of Kalia's line beckoning her to get back in her place.