Excerpt: Head over Heals

It has been said that in the moments before your death your life flashes before your eyes. If that is true then Katherine realized that she must have led a very uninteresting life, because it went by so fast she even missed the repeat.
In her mind’s eye Katherine could see herself putting on the only pair of black shoes she had for eveningwear. She remembered telling herself that it was a bad idea, considering there would be children around. However, that didn’t seem to stop her.
The next thing that crossed Katherine’s mind was why she was hearing voices, specifically her sister’s voice. Then she realized there was no light. She was in darkness. She thought all dead people got to see the light. Did the darkness mean she wasn’t going to heaven? She had led a decent life; she should at least be allowed to see heaven.

It was then that Katherine felt a great weight being lifted from her mid-section and then she started hearing more voices. As her awareness grew, Katherine noticed something sticky on her hands. Oh God, she hoped she wasn’t bleeding.

Katherine finally decided that she needed to check things out for herself. She had been acutely aware that she had been intentionally keeping her eyes closed. Slowly she opened her eyes and found the bluest eyes she had ever seen looking back at her.

“I think she’s going to be okay”

Katherine recognized the voice, but couldn’t place the name. The back of her head hurt. She moved her hand to reach up and feel where the pain was coming from. Suddenly she remembered the sticky feeling on her fingers and then she remembered what it was.
It was not blood on her fingers but icing and she most likely wasn’t dead, because it had been a gingerbread house that had fallen on her and not just any gingerbread house, but the President’s gingerbread house.
Katherine closed her eyes again. This time she prayed that she wouldn’t have to open them again. Where was death when you needed him? Hanging around in eternal night was much more favorable to what faced her in the real world.