Short Stories and poems

Julia and the Wolves

After her death, a woman finds herself with a pack of wolves.

The pain in Julia’s leg was excruciating, as she sped, the masked robber keeping their gun pointed at her head.

“Remember,” the man said. “One wrong move and I’ll blow your head off, just like I did your friend.”

Julia glanced up ahead, and a despite plan came. She then glanced down at her leg, saw the blood. She knew she wasn’t going to make it. She looked at the mirror, and saw the flashing of the cop lights. She also saw the image of her, her six-year old daughter, and the man that had been working the armored money truck together with her the last six months.

“I’m going to kill you, for what you did to Joe,” she said.

“How?” the robber asked, with a chuckle. “Your leg is shot, you have no weapons, and I have a gun on you, as you drive.”

“We’re at the top of a very steep hill,” Julia said, flooring the gas. “Just after that curve ahead, is a hundred foot drop, into another hundred plus feet of water!”

The robber looked ahead, and their eyes widened, as the van flew off the road, over the water.

Julia could hear the robber’s screams, as she looked at the image of her daughter and co-worker. “See you in a moment Joe. Martha, please have a good life.” Those were her last words, before the van hit the water. She hit her head hard and lost conscience.



Next thing Julia knew, she was in the water, under the surface. She swam upwards, taking in a deep breath, upon breaking through. She made a series of breaststrokes, as she headed towards a nearby shore. As she reached the shore, she painfully crawled upon the land, grateful to be alive. As she looked at herself, she saw that, surprisingly, her clothes were gone, and her leg was intact. She wasn’t sure which one was stranger. She looked around. The place was nowhere near the city she knew.

That was when the weather changed, from cool, but sunny, to cold and heavy pouring rain and wind, and fairly dark. She started walking, searching for some place to hold up, maybe call for help. Perhaps, let her daughter know that she was alright. She soon saw a cave, and figured that it would be dry, at any rate. She walked to it, and entered it. A few feet in, and the wind wasn’t bothering her, and the cave was dry, if nothing else. She heard the rumble of thunder. She looked back at the entrance, saw a flash of lightning, and heard another rumble of thunder.

“Guess I’m not going out there for a while,” she muttered. She then turned back, and that’s when she saw the eyes. They reminded her of dog eyes, but something told her that they weren’t dog eyes. The owner came forward. It was a wolf, with something in its mouth. It placed the object next to her. It was an apple. The wolf walked away.

“You a tamed pet or something?” Julia asked, joking. She bent down, picked the apple up, washed it in the rain, wiped it off, and took a bite. The apple was delicious. She was also hungry. She devoured the apple.

“Guess that answers that question,” said a female voice.

Julia turned around, looking for the speaker. “Who’s there?”

“Look down a bit.”

Julia looked down, and saw the wolf looking at her.

“Name’s Alieta,” the wolf said. “And no, I wasn’t a tamed pet – I was a wild wolf, when I was alive.”

Julia gulped. “I’m having a near-death experience, and you represent some sort of spirit guide to help me determine if I want to stay, or go, right?”

The wolf sighed. “No. Anyone that ends up here, is already dead. Trust me on that one.”

Julia looked back. “No, this can’t be. This doesn’t look like Heaven.” She looked around. “Or even Hell, for that matter.”

“This is the Afterlife,” the wolf said. “Not fluffy clouds, but not fire and brimstone. It’s like what the world would have been, for the most part.”

There was a bolt of lightning, and a crash of thunder.

“The weather could be better,” Julia said, as she looked out of the cave.

“Makes you appreciate the sunshine better, after everything is cleaned up,” said Alieta. “Also, nice weather all the time is boring. Besides, sometimes the lightning puts on a nice display that makes the cold worth it.”

“I guess you have a point,” said Julia. She sat down. “So, what happens now? I had a daughter.”

Alieta smiled. “How old is she?”

“Six years old,” said Julia. “Just started Kindergarten. She’s going to have to live with her father now – good man, aside from the fact that he lives in another state.”

Alieta walked over beside her. “You’ll see her again someday, hopefully not until she’s become a great-grandmother of course.”

“I guess that is something to look forward to,” said Julia. “I hope she won’t hate me.”

“You’ll be able to make up the time,” said Alieta. “Trust me there. You’ll run into your ancestors, and later on, your descendants.”

“What about friends?” Julia asked, as she looked at the wolf.

Alieta chuckled. “Them too. I’ve run into plenty of old friends.”

“What about enemies?”

“Them as well, and I’ve run into some of mine.” Alieta looked at her. “Looking for someone?”

“Well, a friend named Joe got his head blown off,” said Julia. “The guy that pulled the trigger had set up an accident, Joe looked to see if someone was hurt, was killed, and then the shooter got into the bank van I was driving before I could close the door.” She looked out into the rain. “He told me to drive. I refused. He shot me in the left leg – said that next time, it would be my head. I sped, getting the attention of the police, and he made a threat about my family, how he’d kill them if I didn’t get him away from the police. I was losing blood – I wasn’t going to make it. We were on the top of a hill, which had a cliff with a steep drop, and a deep section of a lake. I came to the decision that, if I wasn’t going to make it, neither was he.”

Julia looked back at Alieta. “He’ll be here too, right?”

The wolf nodded. “Your killer will be here, as will your friend.” The wolf looked back into the cave. “Well, if you want more to eat, follow me. Got a stash of sliced dry venison you can gnaw on, along with fruit, vegetables, and a few other things.” She started walking away.

Julia’s stomach growled, and she followed after the wolf. The cave was bigger than it first seemed. They soon encountered many more wolves, females nursing pups, and males watching over others that were old enough to not need milk.

“I’m surprised that there are cubs here,” she said.

Alieta nodded. “Not all make it to adulthood. Here though, they can grow up, as it were. It’s the same with humans, and others. The young get to grow up.” They soon came to a spot, and paused. There was a hole in the wall, three feet up, easily a foot tall and wide, with a rock on the ground near it, which had rope on it. “Here’s one of the Guest Food Storage holes. Apples are in this one. Another has the dried venison I told you about.”

Julia looked into the hole, and saw easily a dozen apples, minus the one she’d eaten. She saw other similar sized indentations along the wall.

“So, you just put the apples in here?” she asked.

Alieta nodded. “The hole helps the food last a few weeks before it needs to be removed. Same with the other storage holes.”

Julia removed an apple, and took a bite out of it. Again, the taste was delicious. “These are good apples.”

“Good to know,” said Alieta. “The fact that you think that they are good, means that, regardless of anything else, you’re one of the Virtuous.”

“What does that mean?” Julia asked.

“Means you lived right, and were a good person, overall,” said Alieta. “This grants you certain privileges.”

“Such as?”

“If I wanted to eat you, I’d need your permission,” said Alieta. “If you said yes, I could eat you. If you said no, I couldn’t eat you.”

“I’m not comfortable with being eaten,” said Julia.

“You’d reform, not too far from where you’d die,” said Alieta. “Same with any other death. Also, the pack and I could tear into you, and you’d feel no pain until you did die, as it were. Of course, if a Condemned Predator tried to claim you as a meal, they can’t even touch you, if you kept running, unless you let them catch you. Likewise, Condemned Prey can never escape a Virtuous Predator. That being said, the Virtuous taste much better.”

“What do you mean by Condemned?” Julia asked.

“Your killer’s probably one, if they killed your friend without a good enough reason, among other things,” said Alieta. “Most other animals start off in a more or less neutral area, as we’re innocent of what you define as Right or Wrong. However, as we come to grips with the concepts of morality and such, most of us go towards the Virtuous stance. Granted, it might be annoying to ask those one meets if they could be lunch, and hope that they give permission, but it’s worth it.”

“What about those that are Condemned?” Julia asked.

Alieta gave a grin that wasn’t exactly friendly. “We don’t need to ask permission, and they feel all the pain until they die.” She then gave a chuckle. “Of course, as I’ve said, they don’t taste that good compared to Virtuous Prey.”

“Um, good to know, I guess,” said Julia.

“Try something from each of the storage areas, and make sure to seal them when you are done,” said Alieta. “There’s also a spot you could rest at – let us know if you want some warmth, and one of us will lay near you.”

“Um, thank you,” said Julia. “I don’t know how to repay you.”

“Breakfast would be nice,” said Alieta. “Humans are something of a treat.”

“Humans are not a good source of food,” said Julia. “I mean, we’re very boney, for our size, among other things.”

“True, but that’s not too much of an issue, because, as I’ve said, you’d reform,” said Alieta. “Same thing about your rate of maturity and reproductive capabilities. All rendered moot due to the ability to reform. That, and you’re already dead.”

“Okay, let’s suppose I did give you, and your pack, permission to eat me,” said Julia. “Anything I need to know?”

Alieta smiled. “Make the hunt worth it.”

“What does that mean?” Julia asked.

“Simply killing you is no real challenge, and after a while, the pack and I would get very fat,” said Alieta. “In short, try to get away from us, maybe find a hiding place, and when we do get close enough that escape is not possible, find a hefty stick and fight us off.”

“But, what if I hit you, or one of the other wolves, very hard, maybe even killing the one I struck?” Julia asked.

Alieta chuckled. “Then I, or they, would end up as the meal. Basic rules really – if we’d tried to hunt you in the world of the living, you’d do what you’d have to do to live, right?”

Julia nodded.

“Similar rule here,” said Alieta. “Of course, here, it’s more of a high stakes game – the loser of the hunt will still die, but, as I’ve said, they’d reform.”

“And Condemned?” Julia asked.

“No rules,” said Alieta. “Besides, a Condemned could still harm you, even if they aren’t looking for food. They might be looking for, other, things.”

“What do you mean?” Julia asked.

“After a while, if you’d get lonely enough, you might think that a male wolf looks good enough to scratch a certain itch,” said Alieta.

“You’re talking about sex, right?” Julia asked.

“Virtuous ask for permission, but the Condemned do not,” said Alieta.

“I doubt that I’d ever seek out a wolf for sexual companionship,” said Julia.

Alieta chuckled. “True, but it does happen.”

“So, is it possible for a Condemned to become a Virtuous?” Julia asked.

“Takes a bit of work,” said Alieta. “But, it is possible, if they actually mean to change their ways. The opposite is much easier to do, especially if you prey on someone without permission.”

“Useful to know,” said Julia. “Well, I guess I’ll have some more food before taking a nap.”

Alieta chuckled. “Let me know when you’re ready, or one of the others. There are some spruce branches and large grasses covered in furred hide for a place to rest, plus some furs you could use to cover up with.”

“Um, thank you,” said Julia, as Alieta walked away.

A while later, after Julia had eaten her fill of food, Alieta came back over to her. With her were a number of cubs.

“The younger ones haven’t had a chance to get close to a human,” she said. “Some have never even seen one.”

“They do look adorable,” said Julia.

“Most of them want a chance to taste you by licking you,” said Alieta. “I told them that they’d have to ask you for permission.”

“Um, are there any issues with me petting them?” Julia asked. “I might let them lick me if I’m allowed to pet them.”

“What’s petting?” one of the cubs asked.

Alieta chuckled. “Well cubs, if you want a chance to taste a human, you’ll have to find out what being petted is.”

One came forward as Julia carefully sat down. She gently started petting the cub. Soon, there was a look of pleasure on the young wolf’s face.

“That feels nice,” the cub said. The cub then started to lick Julia’s wrist. “Hey! She tastes nice too!”

Soon, more cubs came up, and soon, Julia began petting more of them, and more of them started licking her. It reminded her of when she had petted a number of puppies that her childhood dog once had. A frown came to her.

“Is something wrong?” one of the cubs asked.

“Oh, just thinking about a friend of mine,” said Julia. “Maybe I’ll see them here.” She looked at Alieta. “Do dogs end up here?”

The wolf chuckled. “Yes. Some look for their family, and others will run with a pack of one sort or another. It all depends.”

Julia smiled. “Good to know.”



A little while later, Julia followed Alieta over to the “bed”. Surprisingly, it was reasonably comfortable.

“I’ll sleep near you,” the wolf said, laying down. “By the way, scratches behind the ears feel wonderful.”

“Could you tell me what happened to you?” Julia asked. “Either I bled to death from the shot to my leg, or drowned, while unconscious. So, what about you?”

“Let’s just say, that I can relate to the getting shot part,” said Alieta. “I lived in a National Park – Yellowstone. One moment, I was trying to catch fish for my cubs, and the next, severe pain in my side. Seems one of the rangers was nearby, heard the shot, went to investigate – they found me, and got shot too. The shooter emerged, and came up to us. He laughed. I had just enough life left to make one attack – I tore their throat out. Me and the ranger, we ended up in the same area, recognized each other, and we traveled together, as we learned how things work from others.”

“And the one that killed you?” Julia asked.

“Seems he was one of the Condemned,” said Alieta. “Liked to wound wild animals, wait for some curious passerby to come to try to help, and shoot them. He has since learned that around here, he’s not the top Predator. As I’ve said, there’s no rules were going after a Condemned is concerned. I can go after him without worry about becoming a Condemned, unless they are trying to become a Virtuous. Sometimes though, it’s just not worth going after them.”

“So, what would motivate you into going after a Condemned person?” Julia asked.

“If they were being an active threat to those I cared about,” said Alieta. “That, or really hungry.” She then looked at Julia. “Get some sleep. We can see about finding your friend tomorrow. I know most around here – they’re bound to have seen them, maybe even started showing them the ropes.”

“Thank you,” said Julia. She found a set of furs that Alieta had mentioned, and wrapped herself in them. She soon fell asleep.



When Julia woke up, it took her a moment to recognize where she was. She looked over, and saw Alieta looking at her.

“Morning,” the wolf said.

“Morning,” said Julia. She took the fur blanket off, stood up, and looked herself over. “Um, do you have some clothes that I could wear?”

The wolf chuckled. “No, but I do know of a place that can make them for you, especially if you bring along an animal friend whose fur you wouldn’t mind wearing.”

Julia looked at Alieta. “Are you saying that you don’t mind your fur being made into clothes for me to wear?”

“Might require three or four wolf furs to fully clothe you, depending on what you want,” said Alieta. “Still, a deal could be made – my fur, and those of a few of my packmates, to be made into clothes for you, and in return, you could be our lunch.”

Julia blinked at this. “Is that what every predator says?”

Alieta nodded. “Fair trade – my life and hide for your flesh and meat.”

“Um, what if I wanted deer, or cattle hide?” Julia asked, as she walked towards the cave entrance. “I don’t see them wanting to eat me.”

“True, but expect to earn their hide by trying to hunt and kill them,” said Alieta, walking beside her. “After all, they’ll be protecting themselves, as it were. Holes can be patched, and blood can be washed out. Respect though, that’s earned. Put up a good enough fight, they might let you take their hide for clothes, even if they killed you, repeatedly.”

“Um, anything I need to know about hunting?” Julia asked.

“Don’t waste the meat,” said Alieta. “Even if all you want is just my fur, at least prepare my meat to be consumed by others, or take it to those who can. After a while, wolf meat’s a nice addition to any fruits and vegetables you can find.”

“I guess that’s fair,” said Julia. “I’ve always hated folks that bragged about the Trophy they got, yet ate none of the meat, or didn’t donate it to those who needed it.”

“I don’t blame you there, given my own personal experience,” said Alieta. “Like I’ve said, hunting around here is for food. Predator makes an arrangement with the Prey-to-be, Prey leads Predator on a chase, tries to flee, and fights with everything they got – if the Predator wins, they get to eat, if the Prey wins, some other Predator gets to eat.”

“What if I wanted fish?” Julia asked.

“They swim up to you, and you try to grab, or spear, them,” said Alieta. “Like I said – it’s something of a game – either you get a meal, or you don’t. No one makes it easy for anyone, and no one can really complain too much there.”

“So, what about injuries?” Julia asked.

“For Virtuous, like you and I, there’s a sort of numbness,” said Alieta. “If I managed to tear your Achilles tendon for instance, you’ll have a hard time running, as you’ll lose some feeling to your foot, but feel no pain. Likewise if I managed to sever the ligaments in your wrist – lose the use of your hand. If I tore your belly open, and pulled something out – you’d feel a lot of numbness, the closer you got to the point of death. Tear out your jugular and you’d simply die.”

“But the Condemned, they’d feel the pain from those injuries?” Julia asked.

Alieta nodded. “Every last bit. Of course, as I’ve said, there’s no point in going after them without a good reason. They don’t taste good, and after a while, their screams of pain get to you. I remember once, I’d found my killer. I’d killed, and eaten them a few times by that point, so he knew me well enough. On this occasion though, seems he’d twisted his ankle in a hole, or something. He was sitting against a tree, trying to splint it. He saw me – there was fear in his eyes. I could have done whatever I wanted to him – toyed with him until he finally died. Believe me; I wanted to rip him to pieces. I wanted to make him suffer. However, something stopped me.”

“What was that?” Julia asked.

“A bright red apple, within my reach,” said Alieta. “I looked at him, and saw that he hadn’t eaten for some time. He wouldn’t have been worth killing. So, I picked that apple, set it by him. Then, I got sticks for a splint, more sticks for a fire, a good flint rock, an iron rock, and then a very sharp shard of flint, one that could be used as a knife.”

“Why would you do that?” Julia asked.

“I suppose that I felt sorry for him,” said Alieta. “It’s not often that the Condemned get help easily. I told him that I was bored of killing him all the time. I offered them a trade – my hide and meat for them to use for splint and food, in exchange for them apologizing to all of their past victims.”

“What if he’d refused?” Julia asked.

“He did ask that,” said Alieta. “I told him what I could do – mess up his knees and shoulders, so that moving wasn’t possible for him, and how I could take my time killing him, very slowly, while keeping him alive with fruits and vegetables.”

“That sounds rather cruel,” said Julia.

“I missed my cubs,” said Alieta. “That’s an ache that won’t go away, until you see them again, or so I’ve heard. I found out that others of my pack adopted my cubs, but I doubt I’ll see them for a few more years, as the pack is very healthy.”

Julia scratched Alieta behind the ears as they walked along.

“That does feel nice,” the wolf said, as they got to the entrance. The day looked to be full of promise.

Julia looked, and saw the lake. “Closer than what I thought.”

“If you want to go for a swim, the water’s a little cold, but moving around helps, and some of the others can help you to dry off if you let them rub against you,” said Alieta. “Now, if you want some fresh fruit, I can send some of the pack to look for some, and likewise, if you want venison, there’s a few deer around that I could set up a hunt for.”

“And the deer would allow me to hunt them?” Julia asked.

“The pack would help out, as we too want venison, but if you want to take part, might want to make some of those throwing spear things, like javelins,” said Alieta. “There’re some things you could use to make them in a storage section – a knife, as well as flint and steel for making fires, along with some tinder and that sort of stuff.”

“Why didn’t you mention that last night?” Julia asked.

“Fire’s normally not the sort of thing wolves deal with,” Alieta said, with an embarrassed look on her face. “I hope that you’ll understand that.”

“Right,” said Julia. She looked out at the lake. “This reminds me of a book I once read – Julia of the Wolves – set up in Alaska.”

“Heard about that place,” said Alieta. “Even ran into those from there.”

“Tell me, what do you think the odds are that I’ll run into my killer?” Julia asked.

“Eventually, you will run into him,” said Alieta. “If you killed him at the same time you died, he’ll be around here. A Virtuous will sense a Condemned for what they are, as well as the reverse. As I’ve said, he could harm you, so be careful. Rest of the pack will be nearby. If you need help, give out a whistle.”

“Alright,” said Julia. “I guess I’ll go wash off.” She started walking.



A little while later, Julia was enjoying her swim, her body moving through the water. A little cold, but it did feel wonderful, now that her life didn’t feel like it was on the line. As she got into the shallows, she checked herself over. The worst of any dirt, and stray furs and any other debris was gone. Still, a comb, soap, clothes, and a few other things, would be nice to have.

“Well, if it isn’t yesterday’s driver,” said a familiar voice.

Julia looked up, and there on the shore was a man, holding a stick-like club, in the manner of some movie caveman. She didn’t recognize the majority of the face, but she recognized those eyes.

“You tried to kill me,” the man said. “Guess I’m a better swimmer than you thought that I was. Funny thing, I washed ashore with no clothes, and none of the loot. You don’t look half bad without yours on.”

“So, have you seen anyone else?” Julia asked, cautiously.

The man scoffed. “No, and no one is going to save you. There’s no police, and your dead friend won’t be able to help you. I’m going to have some fun with you.”

“That’s not going to happen,” said Julia, as she noticed Alieta, and several of the wolves approaching. “As it is, it might be better for you to just walk away. I made some friends last night, and I don’t think that you could just outrun them.”

The man slowly turned his head and shoulders. He saw the wolves. The wolves didn’t look too happy to see him.

“Don’t tell me,” he said. “You think that you’re the Beastmaster, or Mowgli from The Jungle Book, and that you can get animals to do what you want them to do.”

“More like they were decent hosts that gave me some food and a place to stay for the night,” said Julia. “They were also nice enough to inform me of some very hard truths, which concern both of us.”

“Oh, now you’re Eddie Murphy from Dr. Doolittle?” the man asked, with a scoff. “You’re crazy.”

“No, just dead,” said Julia. “Just like you.”

“What are you talking about?” the man asked, still keeping an eye on the wolves.

“It’s true what they say, you can’t take it with you when you go,” said Julia. “No clothes, no weapons, no money – nothing. Unlike you though, I will probably be having an easier time. Seems I won’t have to worry too much about pain, you will. If they came after me, I wouldn’t feel a thing from their attacks – you would. As it is, they’d have to get my permission to hunt me down – they don’t need to ask you. Then, after we got reformed, if I saw them, I’d merely say hello, and be about my day – you would end up fearing them.”

“Fat chance,” the man said. “I’m not afraid of them.”

“Neither are we,” said Alieta. “Walk away.”

“Oh, you’re a ventriloquist too – cute trick!”

“Trick or not, this is your last chance for you to walk away,” Alieta said, as she and the pack started approaching.

“I’m going to teach you and your mutts a thing or two,” the man said, as he rushed the wolf pack. He swung his club at one of them, but they dodged the strike. The man kept swinging at the wolves, and those he swung at, kept backing away, while others circled around, placing themselves between the man, and Julia.

Alieta, who hadn’t really done much, looked over at Julia, and made a motion with her head. Julia looked, and saw a clear area, and started wading in that direction, occasionally making some splashing noises. The man looked towards her, and tried to run in her direction, only for the wolves now there to growl.

“Drop it, now,” Alieta growled, joining the pack. “Walk away!”

The man let out a roar of his own, and swung at Alieta. That was when it happened.

One of the wolves ran up, and bit the man’s ankle. As the man stumbled, another got the wrist of the hand holding the club. A third went for the other ankle, while a fourth went for the other wrist. A fifth leapt upon him, bringing the man down. That was when the rest of the pack rushed in.

Julia heard the man’s screams of pain, as the wolves bit him. She could hear other sounds – bones breaking, flesh being torn – and she could see, quite clearly, that the wolf pack was eating the man alive, much like in a video she saw involving a wolf pack that had hunted down a deer once. Finally, the creaming stopped. After a little bit, the pack walked towards the lake, and began drinking, or cleaning their blood-covered muzzles off. Julia looked at the body – there wasn’t much left. Then, there was a flame, and the body vanished.

Alieta walked over to her, her face cleaned off. “Are you alright?”

“More, or less,” said Julia. “Is that how you hunt?”

“Condemned suffer,” said Alieta. “But, if we’d hunted you, we’d of torn your throat out after bringing you down – lessens the annoyance of being eaten alive.”

“What about the fire?” Julia asked.

“Nothing more on the body we could use,” said Alieta. “Not good tasting, but best to not waste anyways. Bodies always burn up when everyone else is done with it. Still, they’ll reform, and now they’ll know that you have some friends that have no issues killing them.”

“How long will it take for him to come back?” Julia asked.

Alieta looked up at the sky. “Within an hour.”

“Do you think he’ll come back this way?” Julia asked.

Alieta chuckled. “If he doesn’t know his way around, he probably will.” She sniffed the air. “Smells like Bruno is coming, and they have company.”

Julia looked, and watched as a bear came into view. Beside them was a familiar looking male human.

“Joe?” she asked.

The male human looked at her. “Julia?”

The two of them ran towards one another, and gave the other a big hug.

“What happened to you Julia?” Joe asked. “All I remember just before I got here was having a gun in my face.”

“I died, the same as you, and the same as our killer,” said Julia. “We’re all dead.”

“I’m so sorry,” said Joe. “I shouldn’t have gotten out of the truck. I should have listened to you.”

“Joe, it’s alright,” said Julia. “I made sure that he won’t be able to harm another living soul, ever again.”

“So, what now?” Joe asked.

Julia looked him over, and chuckled. “Some clothes would be nice, for both of us.”

“I’m willing to help out with that,” the bear said. “Although the tanner might need additional hide.”

Alieta chuckled. “Not a problem there.” She looked at Julia. “The hides of me and my friends in exchange for lunch?”

“The same offer from me,” Bruno said, looking at Joe.

“Sounds like it’s worth it,” said Joe. He looked at Julia. “Um, folks around here, when they die, they-”

“I got the picture,” said Julia. “If we die, we reform.” She looked out across the lake. “I just hope that Martha doesn’t give her father too hard of a time.”

“I told you,” said Alieta. “You’ll have plenty of time to make up. Besides, there’s bound to be a relative or two you want to see that’s here.”

“Wouldn’t mind seeing my grandparents,” said Joe.

“I have a similar feeling,” said Julia.

“Well, let’s get going,” said Bruno. “You want your clothes, and we want our lunch.”

Alieta chuckled. “We’ll have plenty of time for that stuff.”

Julia smiled, as she looked at Joe. “That we do.” She then kissed the man. It was a new day, in the Afterlife.