Page 99 of The Time of My Afterlife

After I gently put her down, I kiss her like it’s our last day on earth. Which it might be.

When we get back to her house, we lie on her sofa. She rests her head on my chest and I stroke her hair.

‘We won’t have passed today,’ she murmurs as I twirl a strand of her golden hair around my finger.

‘No. In terms of the test it’s probably been our worst yet, after Pearl didn’t want to meet Rodney. However, for me it’s been one of the best days of my life.’

She lifts her head and smiles. ‘Really?’

I nod and glance across her room. ‘The big question is whether I buy my own whiteboard.’

She giggles. ‘You can use mine.’

As she leans in to kiss me there’s a knock at the door. Florence casts me a worried look. ‘Oh no,’ she mutters, climbing off me.

I go with her to see who it is. We both gasp at the sight of Iris and Hilda.

They smile and wave their clipboards. ‘Just your friendly neighbourhood angels,’ coos Iris as they troop past us and into the living room.

Florence and I sit on the sofa and hold hands.

Hilda flicks through the paper on her clipboard at speed. ‘Right, Florence and Clark, we’re here to tell you that your time is up.’

My heart grinds to a halt. ‘What?’

Iris casts us a sympathetic look. ‘Tough news. Sorry.’

‘Tomorrow will be your last day in the living world. At 11.59 tomorrow night there will be a terrible storm…’

Iris interrupts her and smiles at us. ‘If you were impressed by my animal and bird messengers, you will be amazed at what I have planned for the storm. I want you to know that I’m working hard to give you a spectacular send-off.’

Florence’s face has frozen in shock.

Hilda rolls her eyes at Iris. She then looks at Florence and me. ‘Any questions?’

‘So, that’s it?’ I croak as emotion builds inside me. ‘We’ve failed.’

Iris nods. ‘You spent far too long at the start bickering and not working together if you ask me. We always knew you two would be a tough assignment.’

‘Can we have more time?’ I ask.

Iris shakes her head. ‘We’re out of budget, sorry.’

Florence’s face flickers back to life. ‘We’re going to die,’ she murmurs.

Hilda looks at Iris. ‘Time to go.’

Iris smiles and clasps her hands together. ‘You’ve been a pleasure to work with, Florence and Clark. Enjoy your last day.’

As they make their way to the front door, I rise from the sofa, feeling desperate. ‘But is there no way we can change our fate?’

Hilda shakes her head. ‘As Iris said, we’re out of budget, and we need to wrap this assignment up. You both gave it your best shot so you should be proud.’

Before I can say any more, they open the door and leave.

I hear a sob come from Florence, which makes me rush back to the sofa.

She presses her head against my chest. ‘We’ve failed. All our efforts meant nothing.’