The bed felt nice. It was warm, with a cool breeze slowly wafting into the room. The smell of the autumn air carrying with it reminders of the best times in his life. He had always loved the way the leaves turned yellow, orange, and red before falling to the ground and making a mosaic of colours. He smiled as he lay in his bed, thinking about what tomorrow might bring. He drifted off to sleep. When he woke up, he was no longer in his bedroom. He was now standing in what appeared to be the reception area of a doctor’s office.

The attendant at the desk barely looked up at him, sparing him only a quick glance. They seemed far too busy with whatever paperwork was in front of them. He had never seen such a disorganized jumble of paperwork, in such a myriad of colours and sizes. The attendant must have had some system going which was allowing them to pull out exactly the right form that they required, but whatever system that was, he could only guess.

“Okay, listen up. Hope you enjoyed that experience and whatnot. Time has come, Heaven or Hell?” The attendant asked, not looking back up at him. He was confused and his face showed it plainly. More than confused, he was sure he must have just misheard this attendant. 

“I’m sorry? Could you repeat that?” He asked, still unsure of what kind of medical office he had found himself in. 

“I was very clear. I will only repeat myself this once. Heaven or Hell?” The attendant repeated tersely. He had not misheard and that was arguably more unnerving than if he had misheard. There was a choice he could make. He could choose Heaven. Why would anyone choose Hell? He had to be sure, but he didn’t want to risk annoying this attendant who seemed to be able to merely send him to one place or the other. 

“Is there information on why I might choose one or the other?” He asked, hoping he was not annoying the attendant. Looking up, the attendant’s eyes searched him up and down. Going back to work as quickly as they had stopped, they gestured to a small table and chair off to their left. There was written material on the table. Sensing he would not get any more information from the attendant, he walked over and picked up the materials before slumping into the chair. The title on the first one said Heaven or Hell? Is there truly an option? He read through the provided pamphlet and with every question that came to his mind, the pamphlet appeared to get longer to answer his questions. He had no idea how long he had been sitting there, but when he looked up the attendant was turning off the light on their desk. 

“My shift is over. You’ll have to wait until my replacement gets here. Just keep reading, it won’t be long,” the attendant informed him. Suddenly, the attendant vanished right before his eyes. What was happening, he wondered. Was he dreaming or was he truly dead? He shook his head. No answers seemed forthcoming to him. He reached out and picked up the remaining sheet of paper from the table. It was a simple document with ten questions on it. The title read Determination Guide - Heaven or Hell; The Choice is Yours. As he read through the questions a flurry of activity suddenly appeared at the desk.

He was certain that this was not the same attendant. This was a man of perhaps seventy, with a receding hairline gone to white and an unkempt beard wearing a simple off-white robe. He stood and approached the man. 

“Excuse me?” He asked the man now sitting at the desk. “Is this all the literature I have to determine where I now go?” The man at the desk looked at him, staring unblinkingly while examining every inch of him. Slowly, the man broke into a smile. 

“You arrived when Mammon was sitting the desk, no? Always rude to the arrivers. Come now, take a seat and ask your questions,” the old man replied. He found himself sitting at the desk in the chair that he had walked away from. How it was suddenly underneath him, he didn’t know. He looked at the old man more closely. 

“I have so many questions. Who are you? Why am I here? Am I dead? What does it mean that I can choose Heaven or Hell? Why would I ever choose Hell? Is the choice a fair one or is it an illusion? Who is Mammon?” He asked in rapid fire. The man at the desk raised his hands to him. 

“Slow down! We have time, there is no rush,” he responded with a smile and laugh. The attendant held up his hands to forestall the quickness of questions. “I shall answer you in the order you asked. I am Matthew. You are here because we have no clear-cut answer for where you should go. Yes, you are dead. It means you are neither good nor bad. You merely are. You might choose Hell because something attracts you there or because you believe you owe penance for something. It is a fair choice and one you, and only you, can now make. There is no illusion of choice, it is a genuine and fair choice. Mammon is a demon. One of us chosen to sit the desk and aid those like you,” he answered, speaking calmly and deliberately. 

“Matthew? Saint Matthew? The Apostle?” He asked. How could that possibly be the case, he wondered. 

“The same. Although, I prefer Matthew. The titles are all pretentious as far as I am concerned,” he replied. He looked kindly upon the now concerned man. 

“What do you mean by ‘sits the desk’?” he asked, trying to piece together what all of this might mean. 

“We rotate the role of being here to help those like you. We, that some have called the Evangelists, as tasked by God and those, as called the Seven Princes of Hell, as tasked by Satan, are here to help answer questions, but give no orders. We cannot dictate nor determine where you go now in death, that choice remains yours. Instead, we are supposed to help you determine your own ultimate fate, although Mammon might be the poorest of us all at that task.”

“So, Christianity is correct? It is the one true religion?”

“No. There is no one true religion. All are true to some extent. You, who followed the belief of Christianity, fall into the pantheon of what we call ‘one god above all’. Some, for example, may fall into the Roman, Greek, Norse pantheons of many gods. Others fall into the Natural pantheons of the First Nations or Indigenous Peoples. All are correct and none are incorrect. They merely are all a part of one existence in which all that have been, are, and will be are a part of. I know that sounds impossible but trust me when I say that if it has been considered a possible explanatory system of belief, then it does truly exist and work that way,” he responded. How could they all coincide without one being more correct than another, he puzzled. Something to think about later, perhaps. He had a more pressing question. 

“So, I might choose Hell because I have to repent or because I feel the need to repent? Then, if I chose Heaven, I would be washed of that Sin anyways, right? Choosing Heaven is the best logical answer, no? Isn’t Hell for all of eternity?” He posited, genuinely unsure of his own understanding.

“Ah, that might be the one flaw in the system. No. Hell is not for eternity. Not for everyone. Not even for most. It exists to punish and to cleanse those of Sin that cannot merely be forgiven. You would recognize some of those that are in Hell right now. But they will not always be there. You are given the choice, because you have committed deeds both good and ill in fairly equal measure and the balance of scales is not clear with you.” He replied, trying to sound assuring. 

This seemed like a trap, but he could only know if he made a choice. He thought on this, wondering if Matthew might say more to him. It seemed that Matthew was content to merely await his decision or answer another question. Finally, he grew tired of thinking in roundabout circles. He had made a decision and Matthew smiled. A door appeared in front of him as the desk and the attendant disappeared. He was alone in a room with only one way forward. He reached out and grasped the handle. Opening it quickly, he found himself exactly where he had decided he belonged.