Jump When Ready by David Pandolfe Read Free Book Online

what’s
heaven?”
    “The opposite, of course.”
    Something about that made sense to me, but I still felt
confused. “Why do some people stay so much longer than others?”
    Martha walked to the window and looked out. For a moment,
I wasn’t sure if she was going to answer my question. Then she turned to face
me again.
    “There are many reasons. For some, it’s a matter of being
ready again. For others, it’s a matter of the right circumstances aligning. By
that I mean we often look for others we’ve known and loved before to share our
future lives with. Most of the time, we do. But not always. To put it simply,
sometimes we just need a break. Sometimes we take a break while we’re living,
sometimes we take it while we’re between lives. Either way, there are always
choices to be made.”
    “What about you?” I said. “Have you been here long?” I
wondered if she might have shown up here as a kid, like us. Did people age
here?
    “Sometimes people choose to stay,” Martha said. “In
Service.”
    Each answer called for another question. My mind was
reeling. I was about to ask what she meant by “Service” when someone rapped
loudly on the frame of my open door.
    Curtis stuck his head into the room. “Hey, dead kid,
how’s it—” He noticed Martha standing near the window and frowned. “Hello,
Martha.”
    Martha smiled. “Hi, Curtis. How are you this morning?”
    Until she said that, I hadn’t realized that I must have
slept through to the next day. Or had I? Time here was impossible to figure
out.
    “Well, it’s not really morning, is it?” Curtis said. “I
suppose we could pretend it is, if we’re stupid.” He walked toward my bookcase,
turning his back to us as he read the titles.
    Martha gestured toward the sunny window as if he could
still see her. “The consensus seems to be that it’s morning,” she said. “It’s
all relative, no matter where you are. You know that, Curtis. Even on Earth,
it’s not morning or night for all people at the same time.”
    Curtis kept his back turned but I looked out over the
neighborhood. Once again, I could hear people out there but I couldn’t see
anyone.
    “Henry, whenever you’d like to talk, just knock on my
door,” Martha said. “I’ll be here when you need me.”
    “And even if you don’t,” Curtis muttered under his
breath. He exhaled loudly. “Is she gone yet?”
    I couldn’t believe he was saying this with Martha still
in the room.
    “She is, right?” Curtis said.
    Curtis was right. When I turned from the window, I saw
that Martha had simply vanished. “Apparently, she’s gone,” I said.
    “Apparently?” Curtis turned and grinned. “Look around,
bro. Do you see her?”
    “Well, no.”
    “Then she’s gone.” He took a step closer. “I know this
place is confusing, but some things hold true, even here. For example, if you
can’t see someone, they’re not in the same space you are. We share the same
reality. That’s a Rule. You guessed it, with a capitol R. You can hear that
somehow, I know. It’s just one of those things.” Curtis flashed his grin again.
“But here’s the deal. There are others who don’t share the same reality as us.
The Rules are different there.”
    “Sorry, not sure I’m following exactly.”
    “Feel like having some fun?”
    “Sure, I guess.” I wasn’t sure where Curtis was going
with this, but couldn’t see any reason not to go along.
    “Okay, cool. Let me show you what I’m talking about.
Think about someone you don’t like. Anyone. Doesn’t matter.”
    I was about to say I really didn’t dislike anyone all
that much, but then someone came to mind. My brother’s friend, Tommy Balboa.
While all of John’s friends had enjoyed harassing me from time to time, Tommy
had never missed a chance. And while the others had just meant it as goofing
around, Tommy had been more nasty. The kind of kid who’d punch me in the arm or
give me a shove just because no one was looking.
    “Got