With no clear destination in mind, Shun carried on walking. Nobody else was around. Maybe all the people were in their houses. However lonely Shun might have felt, he didn’t want to see anyone, not even his friends. I wonder if they’re worrying about me at home by now?Shun’s feet led him back to his house.

But it looked as though his house was in complete darkness. Shun’s dad was supposed to come home from work early that day, so Shun wondered where his parents could have gone. At the same time, he felt relief to be back. They must have gone out to look for me, he thought. And it wasn’t as if anyone was actually hassling me earlier, they kept staring at me in that weird way, that’s all. Feeling much better now, Shun decided to wait for his parents in front of his house. The winter sky at night was beautiful, and the flickering of the stars soothed his heart.

Footsteps drew nearer. That must be Mom and Dad.Shun went running up to them. “I’m really, really sorry to make you worry about me, I just …” But something was very wrong about them. Maybe they can’t recognize me in the dark?So Shun grabbed his mother by her arm …

 … or he thought he did, but her arm wasn’t there. What? This can’t be happening!Shun had absolutely no idea what was going on. He just stood there, struck dumb, as his parents walked by, right in front of him. All Shun could do was repeat to himself, This can’t be true, it can’t be true. He crouched on the ground, hugging his knees. What’s happening to me? What’s going on? Help me. Help …

“Ah, so here you are.” Shun heard a voice and looked up. Standing there was the old man he’d met outside the supermarket. He was looking down at Shun with a kind face. “You’re all right. You’re all right. Let’s go back together.” The old man took hold of Shun’s hand.

Shun just looked at the old man.

Softly, the old man told Shun, “You don’t belong to this world anymore.”

Shun didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.

“Shun,” the old man said, “you didn’t notice the moment that you died. On your way to the supermarket, I’m afraid you were hit by a car that ran the red light.”

The memory of the scene slowly returned to Shun. Yeah, that’s right, I meant to dodge the car, but then I sort of froze and couldn’t move, yes, then I was hit, and I thought, What an ungodly mess thisis going to be, but then I came to again and there I was, still outside the supermarket … Shun’s eyes began to brim with tears. So I’m dead? Me? Dead? And I can’t even stop blubbering … I don’t want to be dead. No. No, no. No!

Shun cried, and he kept on crying.

How much time had gone by? Nobody can cry forever, after all. By and by Shun’s tears dried up, but his mind was still blank. The old man spoke: “Righto. What say we go back now?”

Back? Go back where?“But my home’s right … here.” Shun had a quick peek into his house through the window. He could see into the living room. Crying … Mom and Dad are both crying their eyes out.

Shun’s eyes started filling up once again.

So what am I supposed to do now?

The old man motioned to Shun and began walking, and, as if drawn after him by an invisible cord, Shun followed. The old man strode out toward the west. What’s waiting for me up ahead?Even though Shun was dead, he was still gripped by the fear of death. In a quaking voice he asked, “Where are we going?”

The old man put his arm around Shun’s shoulder and replied matter-of-factly: “We’re off to Heaven, of course.”

“Oh. I’ve, um … never been to Heaven before.”

The old man laughed out loud. “Obviously.”

The Path to Heaven. Yes, I read about it in a book, a long time ago.… It was a beautiful white path leading upward to Heaven, with the loveliest never-ever-seen flowers all around. Thinking these things, Shun kept pace with the old man. About half an hour may have passed. Shun was wondering if the Path to Heaven could really be as plain and dull as this one. What’s more, he didn’t feel the remotest bit dead. Even though things had looked so desperate and bleak before, Shun was now feeling much more like his old self again. “Excuse me, sir, will we be arriving in Heaven any time soon? It’s just that I feel tired enough to keel over and die.”

The old man snorted out a laugh.

So Shun snorted out a laugh, too.

Who would have guessed it?thought Shun. You can find something to laugh at in any situation, even when you’re dead. Mulling this over, Shun found he was feeling happier.

“Well, you finally smiled about something,” said the old man. “Then the Path to Heaven begins right here.” Serenely, he raised both his hands toward the sky. He seemed to be saying something, but Shun couldn’t catch what it was.

Now that I think of it, somebody once told me how when we die, we become stars. Must have been Mom, I guess. She was always on my side. Dad gave me a lot of time too, mind … but no more games of tossing a ball to each other now … Shun looked up at the night sky and gave a small sigh.

“What d’you reckon?” said the old man. “Time to be off?”

Shun grew afraid again. Am I dying? No, no, I’m already dead. But what’s going to happen to me now? If only Mom …Shun’s whole body started shaking.

The old man noticed. He gave Shun a concerned hug. “There’s nothing to worry about. You’ll only be gone for an instant.”

Only gone for an instant?Shun was confused. What’s going to become of me?Slowly, surely, the scene in front of Shun grew hazy, and he collapsed on the spot.

Down in his deep and dreamless sleep, Shun was thinking, How come people have to die? There’s still so much I want to do. Then, fearfully, Shun opened his eyes to see what had happened. An ancient man in white robes stood before him, and it dawned on Shun that this must be God. In fact, this God was the spitting image of the one Shun had seen at the art museum. Wow, God, I’d better be on my best behavior. To pay his respects, Shun leapt to his feet. Huh? My feet are gone! So ghosts really do float around without any feet. But then Shun realized something that nearly gave him a heart attack: “It’s gone! It’s completely gone! My body isn’t anywhere!”

This was too much, and Shun lost his head, forgot that he was in the presence of God and started freaking out.

“Oy, oy, oy, there’s no need for that,” said God. The voice seemed vaguely familiar to Shun, as if he’d heard it long ago. “You’ll hardly be needing your body now that you’re dead, will you? All the things that used to tie you down and hold you back, they’ve gone now.”

Oh, that’s right, yes … I’m dead. Despite the fact Shun had no body, all the energy drained right out of it. “Please, sir, what’s going to happen to me?”

“Absolutely nothing’s going to happen to you, because—well, look around you—you’ve gone to Heaven.”

So what’s this place like, exactly?Shun examined his surroundings. The dark was darker than the depths of night, but scattered all about with pulsing stars. I never saw so many stars where I used to live … wow. Stars really are infinite. Lost in their pure beauty, Shun gazed and gazed, letting thoughts of his death slip away.

“For the time being, do whatever you wish,” said God. “I dare say you’re still very much attached to your last life, and still have unfinished business to chew over. But you’ll come to understand how things stand, by and by.” And with that, God’s outline began to waver and vanish like mist dissolving into more mist.

It’s all very well for Him to say, “Do whatever you wish,”Shun thought. He was at a loss. He looked down, and there he saw the Earth, piercingly blue and beautiful in the darkness. So this here is Space I’m standing in. But what do I do now? How am I supposed to live when I don’t even have a body? All alone, as well. The first thing I have to work out is how do you live when you’re dead. Shun had no idea.