Parting
"The upward flight, where does it go?" Dante asks as they descend slowly.
"To Purgatory. And consequently Heaven." Answers the girl looking back over her shoulder.
"And where are we going?" Dante asks running his hand along the wall as they walk.
"I am taking you to the next guide, for I have shown you all I can." The girl answers as they reach the bottom of the steps and an open door. "You are to walk through that doorway and you will meet your next guide." The girl said pointing into the dark room beyond.
"I don't understand, where are the homosexuals, and the heathens? Why are they not in Hell? Is it not the proper way to live, being Roman Catholic, and straight? " asks Dante facing his guide.
"There are no homosexuals or pagans in this Hell unless they commit sins severe enough to deserve the punishment of Hell without any repentance. Their sexual orientation, or their religion have nothing to do with their being in Hell." The girl answers staring Dante in the eyes.
"I do not agree," answers Dante "I believe that it affects their place in the afterlife greatly."
"Not anymore Dante. The world, along with Hell, has progressed since your visit with Virgil. The proper life now is just living as well as you can by your beliefs, no matter which god you accept." The girl states calmly. As Dante starts to speak the girl interrupts him and says: "Before you go let me give you one piece of advice you are going to need for your journeys through the rest of Hell. Do not waste pity upon the residents of the Hells you walk through, instead take a lesson from them and use it in your book to teach others how to avoid this everlasting doom, from which there is no escape." With those words the girl shoves Dante gently through the doorway and shuts the door behind him.