I Woke Up Dead at the Mall Page 21
The Boy transformed into an old man, complete with the white beard, the flowing robes.
“We seem way more important like this. And this is an important moment,” he said. He was in a serious mood now, peering down at Declan, saying, “You can now move on, if you believe you are ready.”
“Yes, sir!” Declan seemed completely intimidated by this version of the Boy. “Yes, Your Lordship. I would be honored.” And with that he gave a deep bow.
The Boy turned to Lacey but didn’t get a chance to speak. She looked at all of us and said, “Are you kidding? Let’s go! Right now! I want to have a whole life. I want to be a person, have some kids. I want to get old and not die till I’m totally ready.”
The Boy looked at Alice.
“Yes, I’m completely ready to move on,” she said eagerly. “My life was too brief and too dark. My afterlife has been too long, too arduous. I’m ready. I want some life. Some joy.”
He looked at me. I wanted to find some poetic way to say, “I’m ready!” But he said this instead:
“Sarah. You aren’t an ordinary girl. You’ve always known that, even if you pretended otherwise. If you so choose, you could become an angel,” he boomed. “You could stay in the afterlife. You could help the living and help the dead. You would be immortal. But you would not be alive.”
I couldn’t speak. Was I about to choose between life and death? For all time?
Bertha stepped forward. “When you were able to haunt in your dreams, it was a clear sign that you’re an angel. If not this time, eventually, Sarah, you will be an angel.”
When I looked back at the Boy, he had transformed into Oprah.
“Don’t make this decision because of him.” She pointed to Nick. “He’s not much of an angel, I have to tell you! He couldn’t help an old lady across the street. But he helped you and your dad. And he is kind of heroic, so there you go.”
I looked straight at Nick. “Thank you. Not just for this, but for everything that went before. Thank you.”
Oprah laughed to herself. “He’s a sweetheart. True. But. As angels go, this one needs help!”
Nick nodded and answered Oprah. “Okay, yes, I have a lot to learn. It’s true.” He turned to me. “If you want to move on, I’ll understand. It’s sort of maddening to be among the living and see them not get it. Life is this amazing gift. Who would turn it down? And, Sarah, if you move on, I’ll watch out for you. Hopefully by then I’ll be good at it.”
“Sarah,” Bertha said. “When I found you in the park, you were singing to a little girl. Why?”
“I had seen her a few times before. She was almost always singing. I needed someone to hear me, and somehow I knew this little singing girl would hear me,” I answered. And now that I was saying it out loud, it sounded crazy. Why didn’t I go to the policeman, like Nick did? Why did my instincts propel me toward the strawberry-blond singing girl, Elizabeth Anne?
“Yes, of course she could hear you. Oh, Sarah. You and she are deeply connected. You knew her in her last life.” Bertha stepped toward me and took my hands in hers. “She was your mother. She’s returned.”
I gasped and fell back a step. Nick put an arm around me.
“How did you know, Sarah?” he asked. But I had no answer.
“I believe you would make an excellent angel.” Bertha spoke with quiet confidence. “Even if you have a lot to learn.” (She just had to add that. Then again, it was true.) “And I, for one, am ready to move on. I need someone else to be in charge here.” Bertha was looking at me and half-smiling.
Lacey and Alice shook their heads with a violent, determined “no” on their faces. “You were just a kid when you died,” Lacey said. “You should get to have a real life.”
“And we could all meet up together,” Alice reminded me. “Alive.”
Life, in all its noisy, messy glory, pulled at me like an undertow. At the same time, a silver voice inside me tilted toward being an angel. And oh, I didn’t dare even look at Nick.
Have you ever had to make a choice that would last beyond time?
I woke up dead. At the mall. And while I was there I fell in love, found out who killed me, haunted the living, made friends, and saved my dad’s life. Not a bad afterlife.
I was a daughter, a friend, a lover, a singer, a Mathlete, a New Yorker, a girl. All of my stories were woven together.
I have a new story now. I’m the girl, the angel, who helps you move on. I’m the girl, the angel, who lives here at the mall. I’m the girl, the angel, who loves Nick. He’s the boy, the angel, who helps you move on too. Who loves me. Here at the mall.
We both hope that you stay safe and well. But if something should happen to you, we’ll be here for you. We want to know your story.
But first, stop and listen. Can you hear that? It’s the sound of life and afterlife. And it sounds exactly like music.
acknowledgments
Thank you, thank you, thank you, in no particular order, to:
Wendy Loggia, for multitasking as an editor/deity
Dan Lazar and Victoria Doherty-Munro of Writers’ House, for being scary smart and endlessly patient
Myra Donnelley, for being a staunch supporter, an evil twin, and a goddess among mothers
Ryan, Kirsten, Donna, Erin, Phil, and Dandan, for being such a delightful work family
Diane Lambert Dixon, for all that early encouragement
Edward Zabala and the friendly baristas on Bond, for providing me with my personal writer’s colony, plus tea
Jeanne and Mur, for being like sisters to me
Annie, for being my favorite human
And a group hug to Fred Sullivan, my Senior Seven sisters, Dream Moms, Justine Lambert and Kenneth Nowell of Looking Glass Theatre, the PS130, MAT, and Baruch gangs. Go, Blue Devils!
about the author
Judy Sheehan is one of the original cast members and creators of the long-running stage hit Tony ’n’ Tina’s Wedding. She was the playwright-in-residence at New York City’s prestigious Looking Glass Theatre and has had plays produced there and at regional theaters around the country. She lives in New York City, which is sort of like living in a giant mall.
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