Every time I died, it was a different experience. I floated with Bubba and Sherry in my arms until I got to a clearing. It looked a little like a clearing in the swamp, only this was more welcoming.

The oldest man I've ever seen was sitting on the other side of a tiny creek that ran through the clearing. He, or maybe it was a she, was smiling and watching me. He wore woven clothes of the brightest colours. Her hair poured down her back in a silver fall.

"Excuse me," I said, "are ...