[ WP ] In the realm where souls reside before we 're born , everything is pretty great . There 's no poverty , no one wants for anything , everyone knows their role and purpose . It is , essentially , perfect . But that perfection is accomplished via draconian law : the only punishment is the `` birth penalty ''

Talk was easy in the last realm. It was n't really talk, more like a direct transfer of thoughts. Gary was sure he was not the only soul to remember this realm, though all conversations he attempted to have about it fell short of any sort of understanding. Communicating this would have been a lot easier in the last realm. 
 
 Perfection is overrated. `` Maybe that's why I was penalized with Birth, because I think that way,'' Gary said to his aged reflection. Some souls do n't like perfection as much as others, it seems. 
 
 Gallivanting in the endless sunny meadows as a child in Southwestern America seemed closer to perfection than the hot white light of the last realm... though memories of the last realm are confusing. 
 
 `` Not everything is as simple as it seems, but that does n't mean things have to be difficult either,'' he remembered his grandmother told him. She made the best scrambled eggs. 
 
 Gary knew he would die. The doctors told him he had about a month left. What he did not know is if he would return to the last realm, or if there were another he has n't seen yet. He knew that he hoped to remember this birth though. Ice cream and sex are too good to forget. `` Hardly a punishment,'' Gary laughed.
