[ WP ] You 've just died and wake at Heaven 's gate . Saint Peter stands there and points toward a pay phone , hands you a quarter , and whispers `` you have five minutes . ''

I turned the quarter over in my palm and the silver eagle stared back at me. Freedom? That's what that represents, is n't it? I guess I was free of everything now. My pain, my responsibilities, and my loves. Ironically, that hurt more than the pains of the flesh that had now passed. I glanced up from the quarter I'd been given to the man who had given it. He was difficult to see, but he stood there beside what appeared to be a golden gate his hands folded across his lap. I was n't sure if he was sitting or standing. Both the man and the gate shifted about in my vision slightly obscured by a fine mist. Sometimes there, Sometimes not there. Sometimes at the corners of my visions, but never jarring. They simply were in these places. Maybe all of these places. 
 
 And the light. It came from nowhere, but illuminated everything except... there was nothing in this place. There was only me. And the man. And the gate. I was n't even sure that those other things were there. In fact, I had the feeling that I was already in a place beyond time and was only seeing what I wanted to see. Or maybe, only what I expected to see? 
 
 The man by the gate motioned off to what I would call my left if such a thing existed in this place. At the end of his gesture, there appeared a pay phone. Or had it been there the whole time? The pay phone was n't extraordinary though. Just a simple box attached to a pole with a phone inside. Looking down at my hand again, the silver eagle had transformed into a lake. I knew the lake meant death. 
 
 My memories of Before came back to me. They transformed the place into a floating surreal underwater scene. From inside my car, I watched fish scatter from my impact just before. The underwater plants still rippled from my entry. The water surrounded me inside, but this time, it was soothing. I looked above my car and through its roof. Above the water, I saw my daughters, Sam and Riley, playing hopscotch on the surface of the lake. My ex-wife, Emily, stood nearby watching over them. The man beside the gate rested his hand gently on her shoulders. She was crying. I made her cry. She was crying because of me. 
 
 My thoughts spun quickly. The underwater scene dispersed as quickly as the fish escaping from my fiery chariot of death and alone in the misting landscape stood the pay phone. The man beside the gate again motioned to it. I walked without moving until the pay phone was before me. Bringing the quarter up, its side now bearing an eternal ring, I placed it into the slot and picked up the phone. 
 
 Without dialing, it rang. 
 
 It rang. 
 
 And it rang until her voice spoke to me and a light beep was heard. 
 
 `` Emily, I believe that I'm dead. I'm not sure if this message will reach you or if it is some figment of this place that comes After, but either way, there are some things that I need to tell you. Some things that I never got to say. 
 
 Listen, I know that we were terrible for each other. I know that you poisoned my heart with your mind and I poisoned your mind with my heart. And I pushed you away. I pushed you away when you needed me most. I know you somehow think that my leaving was an inevitable punishment for your past, but it's not. You did n't deserve the way your parents treated you. You did n't deserve the mental harm you gave yourself for every little mistake. And you definitely did n't deserve me as a failure of a husband. 
 
 But- 
 
 I need you to understand. We are not defined by our past. Not I nor you. Each day, you get to decide how to react to the things that have happened and will happen to you. You are not your parents. You are not your surroundings. You are not your emotions or even your thoughts. It is your actions that define you. The strength of your conviction. I have always admired your ability to take everyone's failures upon yourself, but now, I need you to reject what was given to you and stand for something better. I need you to move beyond what you know. For me. For Riley. For Sam. For you. 
 
 Please let go of the chains that you've tied yourself down with. It's time to heal. To grow. To believe. To trust. But most of all, to hope. 
 
 If a concept of time like the future exists here, I hope we meet again. And I will spend the eternity between now and then becoming the man you loved. Because you're worth it. If you can take away one thing from this message, I want you to know you're worth it. You're worth it and I'm sorry, Emily. I am so, so sorry. I love you. I love the girls. Please - tell them I love them.'' 
 
 My words stopped. Tears began to stream from my cheeks and felt cool upon my hand. I could n't say any more. Then again, what else could be said? I placed the phone back on the receiver and tried to wipe the tears from my eyes, but they were already gone. The pay phone had also returned to the mist and light. Turning, I looked upon the only way left. The gate and the man who stood beside it.
