Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the Gilmore Girls, I'm just using the characters for my own enjoyment. I'm also shamelessly borrowing from Anne Sebold.
Rating: This story is rated PG-13 for mild swearing, allusions to suicide, and sexual situations. Please don't read it if you aren't comfortable with the subject matter. Thanks!

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Chapter 3 – I'm Finding it Hard to Believe this is Heaven...

They say death is where you find your true self; that death is the link between past and present; that death is a new beginning...

Rory was lost.

Spiraling through a misty haze, she was jolted back to reality when she landed with a thud on the steps to the town gazebo. "Owww..." she grumbled, stumbling to her feet and brushing off the leaves that littered her shirt. Regaining her bearings, she looked around herself in awe. She was home!

The town was exactly the way she'd left it...only slightly different. As if everything was underwater, the town moved with the different aspects of the sun, reflecting the angles and planes of the buildings. "Where am I?" Rory asked aloud, and to herself, seeing as nobody was around.

"You don't know where you are?" she heard behind her in the gazebo. Whipping around to see who was speaking, and who was a reality in this dream, Rory was confronted with the figure of a young woman reclining on the bench inside the gazebo. Taking a cautious step forward Rory asked, "Who are you?"

Pulling her legs around to the floor and standing, Rory spied the face of a teenager who looked like she would become a beautiful woman if time and grace permitted. "But you didn't answer my question," the girl replied. "You don't know where you are?"

With an exasperated sigh Rory replied, "Well if I knew where I was, I wouldn't be asking." "Tsk tsk," the girl responded, walking slowly down the stairs so that she was directly facing Rory. "Let's go back further. What was the last thing you remember screaming while you were on Earth?"

Perplexed, Rory sat in thought for a few minutes before replying, "I honestly don't know." The girl continued, "So you're telling me that the last few precious moments we granted you on Earth weren't put to good use? That you can't even remember your last words as a being?"

With a blush, Rory replied, "No." "Well, I can see that the favor wasn't put to very good use. Oh well, at least you're here now. 'Wanna take a look around?" the girl responded before traipsing off in the direction of the diner. "But wait!" Rory called after her. "What were my last words?" The girl stopped and pretended to ponder while filling the silence with a steady "Hmmm..." as her 'thoughts' gathered.

"Well, I must say that you were a pretty smart one to put your last words so pleadingly. I haven't heard of another case like that since Joan of Arc, but then again, she had the whole 'visions' and 'saint' thing going for her. Yes, you are at a completely different odd in this matter." Seemingly done with her thought, the girl turned and continued down the street and up the steps of the diner.

Rory ran after her frantically, not wanting to lose sight of the first tangible thing she'd seen in the past 20 minutes. "But what did I say?" Rory questioned further. "You still haven't answered my question!" Stopping the girl flippantly replied, "And you haven't answered mine." Opening the door to the diner, the teenager stepped inside, holding the door open for Rory, who was trailing behind her.

"Take a seat," she said, pointing to a chair at the counter. Walking behind the counter to where Luke would normally stand, she asked, "What'll it be for you today, Rory?" "I guess just coffee...wait, how did you know my name?" "Coffee it is," she replied, tugging a mug from under the counter and pushing it toward Rory's still frame.

"I know lots about you," she continued. "Astound me," Rory replied sarcastically, drinking her coffee.

"Welllll..." the girl began. "Your first boyfriend's name was Dean. He made a bracelet, then later a car. He told you that he loved you, but you didn't reciprocate the words at the time. My my, that was a messy breakup. Then you finally reciprocated, but you didn't really feel it... At least, you told yourself you did, but you didn't because... Well, never mind, I'm just rambling now. Then you met Jess. He was trouble from the start, always getting you to do things that you were uncomfortable doing. Pushing your limits. Stretching you too far. The big thing with him was the virginity factor. That was definitely solved soon after your hook up. He's the reason you were unhappy, and he's the reason you're here today."

"Which is where?" Rory replied to her lengthy monologue, undisturbed by the lengthy display of knowledge the girl had shared about her life.

"Well that's really for you to decide. It can be whatever you want it to be. Heaven or hell. Past or present, but never future... The possibilities are endless."

"But what is this...exactly?" Rory questioned.

"It's kind of an in-between place. Not purgatory, but not heaven or hell. It's simply a state of being that is completely separate from reality."

"I don't understand," Rory replied, perplexed.

"Follow me," the girl said, moving from behind the counter to the door. Walking through the town square, Rory was once again struck by the similarities between reality and this... place.

When they reached the gazebo, the girl stopped and pointed inside. "Go and take a look," she prompted Rory. "It will give you a better idea of the place in which you reside."

Cautiously proceeding up the stairs, Rory felt a sudden drop in temperature as she walked toward the center of the floor. "Take a seat on the bench," the girl called after her. Rory complied, sitting gingerly on the wooden bench that was placed in front of the blackened center of the wood floor.

The girl followed Rory up the stairs, but stood at the entrance of the gazebo, not fully entering the vicinity. "What would you like to see?" she asked. "Anything?" "Anything at all," she responded. "Past, Present, Future... It doesn't matter."

Thinking for a moment, Rory responded with a quick, "I'd like to see my mother at the present, please." "As you wish," the girl said, before tapping against the wooden paneling along the gazebo's exterior.

Rory leaned over the hole and gazed into the contents which where swirling into focus. With a small gasp, and a whispered, "Oh my gosh," Rory saw her mother.

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Lorelai was sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands, halfway between crying and sleep. She'd been wearing the same clothes for two days, and she hadn't showered in three. Placing her head in her hands, she wondered what she was going to do now that Rory was gone. Her logical response was to move past it, but how could you move past something that ripped out a piece of your heart.

Hearing a small knock at the door, Lorelai shouted, "Go away," before returning her head to its resting place. The knock continued, this time louder, and Lorelai grumbled as she got up from her seat and trudged to the door. "This had better be good," she threatened as she reached for the doorknob.

Opening the door, she was surprised to see Luke, who seemed to by carrying about two tons of prepared food and other essentials which Lorelai hadn't seen in days. "What's all this?" she asked as she walked away from the door, knowing Luke was following her. "It's for you," he replied.

Dragging a chair out from the kitchen table, Lorelai resumed her earlier resting posture and ignored Luke as he stocked her refrigerator. Clearing his throat, Luke said, "I also wanted to check up on you."

"Well check away," Lorelai replied with an embellished swoop of her hand. "How would you think I would be in this situation?" she asked. "Pretty damn bad," was the only reply, as Luke pulled out a chair and sat next to her.

"Ummm... I'm not really good at this, but... do you 'wanna talk about it?"

"No," was the only audible reply he got.

So they sat in silence. The silence was only penetrated by the quiet sobs of Lorelai into her arms.

And all Luke could do was sit there and rub her shoulders telling her everything would be okay...

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"Enough," Rory said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Alright," the girl replied, and with a swoop of her hand, the hole was closed.

"Was that real?" Rory asked.

"Of course it was," was the reply. "You think I could make something like that up?"

"I don't know, I mean this whole thing seems pretty made up to me," Rory said, gesturing to the town around her.

"I didn't make that up, you did. It's what you most secretly harbored as your heaven."

Rory sat on this for awhile before replying, "But you said this was neither heaven nor hell."

"It isn't... yet," the girl replied. "After you're here awhile, you'll know what I mean."

"How long am I going to stay here?"

"As long as it takes..."

"As long as it takes for what?"

"As long as it takes for you to let go," the girl replied.

Snorting a quick bit of laughter, Rory replied, "I'm already over it. Let's just go now."

"No," the girl said, "I don't think you are..."

"Well, fine," Rory pouted. "I'll stay here forever then."

"Forever's a long time, but I'll be here to help you with that."

"Am I going to see anyone at all while I'm here?" Rory asked.

"Me," was the simple reply.

"And who are you?" Rory pressed.

"I'm the one you called for at the point of death."

"I don't understand," Rory cried out, obviously frustrated.

"You asked me a few minutes ago what your final words were on Earth, and I told you to think about it. You didn't have finals 'words' per se... rather, a final... word."

"Which was..."

"God."

"And who are you?"

"I'm God."

And with that, Rory was sure she had landed herself a seat straight in hell.

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A/N: Feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading!