A TANGLE OF LIGHT 

By Tessa Harvey


    Ava leaned against the sky. She thought "I am dying." She felt a deep sense of loss. What have I ever done, she thought, that meant anything. I have worked in a store - that was good. My husband was once a good man, but I forgot how to really talk. Did God matter after all? Where am I going?
    "Oh my God," people said hundreds of times a day, but it meant nothing. They did not believe in an after life. God was foolish superstition. Why then were there horoscopes, ouija boards, star signs, crystals telling about your birth? Occult groups - who could see the truth?
    How foolish I have been. God, give me another chance. She heard Damien praying, Adrienne crying....
    Her eyes opened. She gasped for breath. "You came back, Mum," whispered Annabelle. Tears pooled in Ava's eyes.
    Belle hadn't called her mum since she was ten. A nurse came into the room. She looked angry and miserable and said "Stop that noise. She's dead. She can't hear you. Praying is for fools. Her heart stopped five minutes ago.

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