You Are Here (Part One)

The Place You Go When You Die

That is what the sign said. Ashley Davies looked at the sign from a distance. There must have been twenty-five people in front of her. Her fingers tapped impatiently on her jean-clad thighs. They were dark jeans, the kind that were purposely made to look like they had been through the wash at least a hundred times.

She thought, as she stood behind a woman holding the hand of a little girl, that the sign she was looking at could be more graceful. Or at least more specific. Because honestly, she had no idea where she was. Ashley never believed in heaven and hell and Pergatory and all those things Catholic school preaches about. It was hard to define the way she thought about what would happen after you died. If anything, the sign could have been at least more personal.

"What the fuck is the hold up." She murmured under her breath.

The small, dark haired girl in front of her turned around to stare at her. "Mommy. That girl said a bad word."

Her mother was not listening to her daughter. She was thinking about how she had left her hair straightener plugged in the last time she left her house. Ever.

"Fuck." The little girl said with a giggle.

"Paulie!" Her mother gasped at her small daughter's outburst. "That's not a nice word."

Paulie pointed at the bored Ashley Davies with curly hair behind her. "She said it."

Paulie's mother gave Ashley a hard glare. "Sorry." Ashley mumbled softly. She let out a sigh as her fingers continued to tap her jeans. She was getting impatient.

"Fuck." Paulie said again with a straight face.

The Davies girl waved her hands in the air, as to let the girl to stop saying that "bad" word. She shook her head at Paulie. Little kids were something that always irritated her. They knew no boundaries. And they were selfish.

Already bored of her own finger-tapping, Ashley resorted to crossing her arms over her chest, over her black t-shirt. It was overcast outside, the sun covered by bunches of clouds. Ashley frowned, because she thought places like this were supposed to be full of sunshine and rainbows, unicorns and…angels? Maybe. At least sunshine would have been comforting.

The line moved forward, each person taking a small step in the direction of that boring sign.

Ashley's shoulder was tapped by an old woman behind her.

"Butterscotch?" The lady asked her with a smile on her face, a candy in her hand.

"Uh, no, no thanks." Ashley replied quietly. She didn't feel like talking. Actually, Ashley Davies never felt like talking. She found it easier to just stay quiet and observe. People used to call her reserved. Like it was some kind of horrid thing that being obnoxious and loud was not ingrained into her characteristics and traits.

"It'll make you feel better." The lady sang out, pushing her hand towards Ashley. Ashley looked at the older woman. She was just about her own height, and her hair, she swear, had a tint of green to it. She was the grandmother type. You could just tell with those kind of ladies. She probably had a rocking chair at home. She probably had rosaries in every corner of her house. She probably sent birthday and holiday cards to her grandchildren with dollar bills in them.

The young brunette shook her head. Just leave me alone, she thought to herself.

"You know." The older woman put her candy in her large purse and started to address Ashley. "You remind me of my granddaughter. She never took my candies either."

Well now Ashley just felt bad. She could have just taken the candy, what harm would it do her? But the moment had passed. All Ashley had to offer now was a small smile.

The line moved again. More steps were taken and she was getting closer. Ashley saw a woman with a clipboard walking down the row of people, stopping every once in a while. She must have been in her mid-forties, but Ashley thought she looked younger. The blonde hair and blue eyes of the woman stood out, and she was kind of tall.

"Ashley Cathleen Davies." The blonde haired woman stated. She didn't ask Ashley if that was her name. It was obvious she already knew, and she was looking down at the paper attached to her clipboard. Ashley looked at the way the clipboard was clear plastic. That was weird.

"Uh, yes." Ashley said quietly, meeting the eyes of the woman.

"Here you go sweetie." The woman said to her and handed the brunette a slip of paper with her name at the top. The paper had Ashley's birthday, her eye color, her hair color, her blood type, and a long list of other facts about the girl on it. Similar to an intensified drivers license. Except date of death. Those were usually not on Drivers licenses.

Ashley took the paper and slipped it into her pocket.

"Just sign on the dotted line and bring it to the front desk when you get in." The woman told her with a slight smile.

What is this, a car dealership? Ashley wanted to ask, but she didn't. She never really spoke things like that out loud.

The blonde haired woman waited for the brunette to ask he what it was. Actually, the woman standing next to Ashley with the clipboard thought this young girl seemed eerily familiar. Maybe in another life, she had known her. But Ashley never asked.

"It's a release." The woman told Ashley.

"A release?" Ashley asked, her eyebrow tilting up.

"Of death. Yes." And with that, the woman moved down the line and out of Ashley's sight. Ashley thought, after she left, that the woman was probably very pretty when she was younger.

After about another fifteen minutes of this whole waiting in line thing, Ashley was getting extremely bored. The little girl Paulie served as her only distraction. She kept saying "fuck" and other words she must have learned somewhere else. Definitely not from Ashley, because the brunette hadn't said anything else since she was given that slip of paper.

"I can sing you know." Paulie said suddenly to Ashley. "I know the ABC's. That's my favorite song."

Ashley thought maybe this little girl needed to get out more.

"I'll sing it for you." Paulie said, angry that the girl behind her was not responding. She had just offered the ABC's. What was wrong with this girl that she didn't understand the greatness of the ABC's? "A b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p-"

"Margaret and Paulie Stewart" A voice, thankfully for Ashley, stopped the little girl's singing mid-song.

Paulie and her mother stepped forward, and Ashley, in her boredom hadn't even noticed that they were now in the front of the line. The man at the head of the line, looked over the small girl and her mother, then let them inside. There weren't even gates or anything. How lame, Ashley thought.

"Later!" Paulie yelled back to Ashley as she was dragged by her mother's hand out of Ashley's sight.

"Ashley Davies."

She stepped up to the man and he looked her over. Not in a creepy, weirdo way. In a way where it was almost like he was looking for something that was out place. Weirdly, Ashley did not feel out of place.

The man nodded his head in the direction in front of Ashley. She followed his nod silently through the opening, and her eyes took in the surrounding. It looked like a condensed town. Same overcast sky. Same clouds. Ashley thought maybe it would be more peaceful or open, or, something. But it wasn't.

She had no idea where to go next. Becoming frustrated, Ashley walked towards where there was another line of people, including Paulie and her mother. This place should have been more straight-forward, or at least she should have been directed better.

At least this line went quicker than the last. Ashley felt like she was on line in a grocery store. Or maybe a store like T J Maxx where there was a large counter where you were to return an item. The brunette looked ahead of the one person that was ahead of her. The girl behind the counter was whistling and twirling her blonde hair in her fingers.

When Ashley handed the girl behind the counter her slip, she glanced a peak at her nametag. A nametag? How commercial, Ashley thought. The large, bold print on the metal attached to the girl's shirt read Spencer.

"Ashley Davies." The young blonde said as she wrote some things down on the slip. Ashley noticed right away that the girl had very blue eyes and very blonde hair. She looked like a young version of the woman who had been holding the clipboard.

Ashley thought right.

"Ashley Davies." The girl said again, finally meeting the brunette's eyes. She tilted her head and repeated the only two words she had been saying for the last thirty seconds. "Ashley Davies."

"Yes, God, that's my name." Ashley blurted out, holding onto the counter. Not many people annoyed her, but this girl was irritating.

"I'm Spencer, not God." The blonde, Spencer, said, giving Ashley a smirk.

Ashley felt no need to respond to the annoying blonde's clever statement.

"Here ya go." Spencer finally said, handing Ashley a small piece of very white paper.

Janitorial Staff

"What?"

"That's your job." Spencer said like it was the most obvious thing, like she was explaining crayons to a kid.

"I have to be a janitor?" Ashley said more to herself than to anyone around her.

Spencer clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth. "Uh, yah. Don't worry, it's not bad." She smiled at the curly-haired brunette who looked very distraught.

"I'm in heaven and I have to be a fricking janitor." Ashley mumbled.

"Whoa whoa." Spencer said slowly, holding her hands up like she was innocent. "You're not in heaven cutie-pie."

Ashley glared at her, again folding her arms over her chest. "Well where am I then?"

Spencer shrugged, taking the slip of the next person as Ashley got pushed aside. "You're just here."

Ashley rolled her eyes at the stupid, pretty, but obviously ditzy, blonde girl. When she walked away, she almost felt like there should be a directory in the middle of the pathway. With one of those arrows that said: You Are Here. Wherever here was, Ashley didn't like it. Couldn't they define this place better?

Her feet took her to a building, a building that was written down in the piece of paper the blonde had given Ashley. Cautionary Complex. Ashley didn't like alliteration. And the further she walked in, the more she didn't like it. The door opened automatically, and Ashley felt like she was at some hotel, or on some college campus.

The wide hall to the elevator was lined with mirrors, and the moment Ashley caught a look at herself she almost gasped. Stepping closer, she saw herself squint into the mirror.

She was surprised.

She was…

Young.

To Be Continued...