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A fireman rushes into a house to save a boy trapped in his room. This fireman has tempted fate so many times, but he never leaves anyone in the house. Gabriel Cairns has always been a man of action and heroism. As he rushes though the flames, he doesn’t feel the heat, doesn’t hear the wood charring all around him. All he can hear are the screams of a scared little boy. He rushes up the stairs, as if ascending from hell itself, and bursts onto the second floor. The wood creaks and groans around him, but he finds the boy’s voice. He kicks in the door and see’s the boy huddled in a corner, beneath his blanket. “It’s alright, everything will be fine.” As he picks the boy up, he hears the stairs collapse from where he had just been. “Guys, I need a team to pick this kid up on the right side, over.” “We’re already there.” As Gabriel opens the window, he looks down to see the kid’s parents and his team. He turns to look at the child. “You ready kiddo?” The boy nods and Gabriel wraps the blanket around the boy. “I’m going to lower you down to them, so you hold onto this blanket for dear life, ok?” The boy nods as Gabriel ties it below his arms, just in case. As he lowers the boy, the house groans in agony as if to urge him to hurry. Finally the boy rests safely in the arms of his parents and Gabriel takes a moment to relax. The house gives up the fight in that instant and collapses inward on itself.

When Gabriel opens his eyes, he assumes he’s at the hospital. The all white room feels extremely sterile, the light above him shines directly into his eyes. As he sits up, brushing the light to the side, he realises that this is no ordinary room. A small tabby kitten looks up at him from the floor. As Gabriel drops from the bed to pick it up, the kitten bolts to the door and looks back at him playfully. Gabriel is unnerved by the whole situation, but feels compelled to follow the little tabby out of the room. As he walks toward the door, the hallway seems to grow ever so bright, almost unbearable.

“Hello Gabriel Cairns, I’ve been waiting to meet you.” When his eyes finally adjust, Gabriel is standing in what looks like an extremely sterile white office. With only two chairs and a small table in the room, Gabriel’s gaze is drawn to the sharply dressed man in the suit and tie in the chair beyond the table. “Who are…” Gabriel changes his mind, mid thought. “Am I dead?” The man at the table fixes his tie and raises his hand to the chair across from him. “Please Gabriel, have a seat.” Gabriel looks around confused and startled. Am I really dead? Suddenly a voice answers his thought, the voice of the man at the table. Sadly yes Gabriel, now please, take a seat. We have much to discuss.

Gabriel eventually calms down enough to sit in the chair and stares across at the man in the suit. “Did you just read my mind?” Snickering, the man shakes his head. “I could have if need be, however I read your body language. I know you better than anyone, even your own wife.” Gabriel slouches in despair. My wife… The man realizes what he just did and lowers his head. “I’m sorry, my apologies.” After a brief moment of silence, the man begins again. “You’re probably wondering where you are, and who I am correct?” Gabriel stares at him blankly. “I’m dead, this is heaven, and you’re god.” The man looks shocked and looks himself up and down. “I am hardly a god, let alone the God. This is not heaven either I’m afraid. In fact, there is no God.” Gabriel looks up at him. “Then where are we?” The man smiles. “Now I’ve piqued your curiosity.”

The man straightens up in his chair and fixes his tie once again. “Gabriel Evan Cairns, I am your creator, Edward. I have been watching over you since you were an instant of passion between your parents.” He extends his hand  for Gabriel. “It is an honour to finally meet you.” Gabriel straightens up in his chair and stares at Edward’s hand. “Why couldn’t you have saved me?” Edward frowns a bit and nods. “I understand your frustration, but every creator gets but a few chances to aid the people they watch over. I used yours early on.” Gabriel looks him in the eye. “Early on? Like when I was younger?” Edward perks up. “Precisely! Remember when you saved Emily’s puppy from that car?” Gabriel thought back and thought back hard. “I was five, and I rushed into traffic to save the poor thing. He was chasing a plastic bag.” Edward nods. “The driver wasn’t paying attention, and I was able to snap him back to reality and he swerved, narrowly avoiding you.”

Gabriel was impressed, however he was still dead. Nothing could bring him back. “How many times can you intervene?” Edward looked down at the table. “To avoid death, only once. To avoid injury about ten times.” Gabriel smiled. “Well that explains why I’ve been slowly becoming less and less invincible over time and much more prone to accidents.” Edward nodded and fixed his tie. “Would you mind if I remove my tie? I’m not used to wearing one.” Gabriel nodded in approval. After removing his tie, Edward felt more casual already. “Gabriel, you must have some questions for me first before we discuss where we are. So feel free to ask away.” Gabriel thought long and hard, suddenly a great one came to him.

“Why are you called a creator?” Gabriel leaned in, much more interested now that he was resigning to his fate. Edward grinned and leaned forward. “I am called a creator, but back in the mortal world, we’re called Guardian Angels. Some of us care more than others. We are supposed to watch over and protect the beings who are brought into the world. We shape who you are and that thing you call a conscience is actually a creator’s nudge, if you’ve got a good one. Gut feelings? Those are our department as well.” Edward paused to ensure Gabriel was still paying attention and to his delight Gabriel returned with a question. “What if you were a bad creator?” Edward sighed. “Bad creators put their people on auto pilot and it’s amazing how long some people can survive without guidance.” Gabriel shook his head in confusion. “Auto pilot?”

Edward smiled politely and played with his tie on the table in front of him. “Some creators, most creators actually, want people to succeed and eventually get here to meet them face to face. It is without a doubt the greatest day of my secondary existence here and I still have a young lady who will meet me down the road.” Still fidgeting with his tie, he continued on. “Like most jobs, some people don’t want to pull their weight or just do the bare minimum to get by. These creators have a few options available to them. They can place them on a predetermined path, such as guiding them to an already established religion or allowing them to be push overs and adapting to those around them.” Gabriel leaned in. “Then what of me? What have I become? I believed in God, I thought that’s why I was here, I thought this was heaven!” As Gabriel’s rage grew, Edward stood and looked at him. “You believed in a god. You thought I was god. You’re not entirely wrong, and this is your heaven.” Gabriel sat back stunned by the news.

Edward gave Gabriel a few moments to gather his thoughts and started again. “I pointed you toward religion. Religion has an incredible sense of belonging and an amazing set of basic morals and values you needed through life. You always put others before yourself, even playful puppies chasing plastic bags.” As they shared a quick laugh, Edward got to his point. “Religion isn’t about God, it’s about the belief in the moral code and values that is sustained. You never once believed someone created the world, you were far too involved in the sciences through school to have allowed yourself to consider that. But you believed in the higher power, something to believe in and something to give yourself strength and faith as time went on.” Gabriel smiled and leaned back in, his interest returning over his anger. “But how is that any different from being on auto pilot?” Edward nodded. “Good question, those on auto pilot go through the motions, but as they’re never checked up on, some lead horrific lives which could have been avoided.”

Edward paused for a few moments, trying to consider a bad auto pilot example. “I can’t think of any of the top of my head, but not all auto pilot people turn out bad. This is because there are about eighty five percent more good creators than lazy ones. When someone is a good influence on another, they have been indirectly helped by a creator.” Gabriel seemed deep in thought, but still attentive, so Edward continued. “Remember that apartment fire you were first on the scene for? That poor girl who was trapped in the burning room?” Gabriel looked up. He definitely remembered her. The poor girl was only about thirteen years old and she looked terrified. Edward leaned his head to the side, cracking his neck. “That girl was seriously headed down the wrong path. She had no influences around her and unfortunately her parents were both watched by lazy creators. Did they ever find out what started that fire Gabriel?” He thought hard, but Gabriel didn’t think that they had. “They never did, and if they had, that girl would have been in a ward somewhere. She had microwaved her neighbour’s cat, and the poor thing burst into flames. The girl knew what she had done was wrong and did not want to call for help. Lucky for her, you saved her and the microwave and most of the kitchen burned to nothing.”

Gabriel looked at Edward and dropped his head in shame. “Great I saved a cat killer. Next you’ll tell me I saved a rapist.” Edward half laughed and then realized it was an inappropriate time. “No no, you haven’t heard the point. You influenced her. Your selfless act of rushing in with no gear on, just a soaking wet comforter, really left an impression on her. She is now a part of the fire brigade in another city where her and her husband have two incredibly well behaved and well watched over children.” Gabriel smiled and straightened up. “I did that?” Edward nodded. “The good creators can only affect those less fortunate through those we watch over. When you had your bad feeling that it wasn’t just a small kitchen fire, I was urging you to help. Even knowing what I knew about that girl.” Gabriel nodded. “That’s fair.”

Gabriel stood up and stretched. “So if this isn’t heaven, where are we?” Edward looked at him and nodded. “Yes, I think you’re ready.” The wall behind him melted away and revealed a beautiful world seemingly just like his own. “This is it?” Edward laughed at Gabriel’s reaction and patted him on the shoulder. “This is where everyone who is not evil is, in a sense it’s heaven and also limbo. You see those who don’t believe in a god will get here too, so long as they still obey the laws and rules and basic courtesies.” As they stared out at the world Edward looked to Gabriel with a very approving smile. “The exceptionally good, they become creators, sometimes they don’t work out but for the most part they do. That is what I’m offering you. You have been remarkable in your presence in the world, and you have done so much good for others that so long as you remain an amazing creator, you will be allowed to stay here. No bills, no worries, just good times. Creators work on two lives at a time and then we are given two lives off.” Gabriel turned to him. “You mean like you are responsible for me and the other girl you mentioned and then are paired with another two that someone else governs?” Edward nodded. “Exactly.”

As they walked among the others in the world Gabriel was stunned by the beauty of it all. “So what about the people who aren’t creators?” Edward stared straight forward, smiling at people as they passed. “They get a single lifetime here, one hundred years of whenever they were happiest in their lives. Then after their time is up, they are placed back down upon the earth for another lifetime there. The end goal is for everyone to become a creator.” Gabriel looked away from Edward and nodded in approval of the answer he received. “And those who are evil?” Edward continued staring ahead. “Those who do not make it here, are watched over for a thousand years of torment among their peers. Only the creators who have been here for many millennia take turns watching over them. After their time there, they are also placed back into the world for their second chance.”

Gabriel stopped and stared at a huge statue of a being with no determinable features. Edward leaned in. “If there must be a god, that would be it. Although they were the only one, they had been a birth defect of a pair of gorillas. Left to their own devices the beings that watched over the gorillas much like we watch over you, refused to take responsibility for it. Then, the being found it could reproduce and had two children. One with male organs, and one with female organs. Essentially, Adam and Eve, except not as kind a telling as the churches make it out to be. The parent of both of them watched them, raised them into adulthood and died of disease. As time went on that being watched over it’s family until finally its family joined them here. Ever since then those people watched their ancestors and helped create this place to match the times for the newcomers.”

Edward turned to Gabriel and took his hands. “Gabriel, will you take up the watch and guide others as you have been guided as a creator?” Gabriel smiled and nodded. “I’d be honoured. I spent my entire life saving others, might as well spend my time here doing it too.” Edward nodded. “Then it shall be so. You will be trained by me and you will help me with the people I watch over. After I leave, you will enter the cycle.” Gabriel nodded, but then appeared rather sad. Edward noticed, and brought him to another office. “Gabriel, this is where we can see our loved ones. We cannot speak with them or guide them as a creator, however it allows us to keep those bonds until they arrive here with us.” Gabriel turned to Edward who had extended his hand for a hand shake. Gabriel shook his head. “If you knew me at all, you’d know I was more of a hug kind of guy.” As Edward hugged Gabriel he felt himself even more at peace. He had finally achieved his own redemption.