I was a 29 year old military veteran, wounded while deployed I was released from service. While floundering in depression due to my new disabilities, I had no hope and while I would never try to end my own life I sought the end of it all. While in the grocery store a man stalked a young lady who wasn't aware of his presence until he pulled out a gun and yelled her name, I happened to be between them on the other side of the aisle.

With a hidden strength I didn't know I had I forced myself out of my wheelchair and used the shelves for support and managed to propel myself at the man with the gun. While I wasn't one hundred percent paralyzed, my legs could hardly move and the only time I had feeling in them came with intense pain. So I was more shocked than the gunman when I managed to wrap my arms around his waist and force him to the ground, that was when I heard the first shot, at first I thought he missed and I tried to wrestle away the gun, but suddenly blood started pouring out of my chest all over the gunman's face causing him to scream, and go completely pale. Then I started to lose all my strength, and everything was fading.

I didn't have any last thoughts because I was fading to fast for my mind to truly realize I was dying or even in pain, but a feeling of satisfaction shuddered throughout my body, that could only be described as the feeling one would get after they spent a long night with a beautiful lover. Then before I knew it everything faded to black.

I don't know how long I was gone, I don't even know where I was. I know I died, and I know everything just ended. Then suddenly I was here in this strange white room, with a blinding light coming from the ceiling. To be honest I don't even know if it was a ceiling, because all I could see was a solid wall of extremely bright blinding white light. There were no doors or windows, just solid white walls with a white table and a white chair made out of a unknown material in the center of the room. I of course woke sitting in said chair. It's amazing the nonsense one's mind can come up with when your going through shock. Here I am, was just murdered while buying some cereal, and all I can think about is what the hell material this table is made out of. It felt natural like wood and stone mixed but so perfectly made that only a machine on Earth could of possibly produced it. I could feel a strange energy coming from it as well, like it was a living being. The energy came off it in waves and couldn't help rubbing hands all over the surface of the table, not noticing the edges turning a light shade of pink.

"Hello Jake from Earth", a female voice suddenly sounded from what sounded like the table itself. I immediately jumped from chair and turned in a complete circle to figure out who was speaking. "Excuse me, I figured it was time to say something before you groped me any further, you know I thought men from Earth at least asked permission before rubbing there paws all over a beautiful maiden," said the voice that was suspiciously coming from the table that I just rubbed my hands over. "Ummm huh I, what a table, your a table?" Was all I was able to reply to the snarky voice.

"Wow… I get sexually assaulted, then instead of owning up to it and begging for forgiveness from this maiden, you call me a table? I look nothing like a Earth table, and I even made you a place to sit on my beautiful body because you are supposed to be some hero or something, this is a case of giving a man a inch and he takes a light year" said the table that was obviously not a table, her voice started to crack towards the end like she was about to cry.

I of course reacting to the voice that was definitely my definition of female, and the fact that I had made it cry immediately began to stumble out an apology, "hey now ma'am umm I'm very sorry for… rubbing you? I didn't mean to call you a table, it's just that your in the general shape of a table I suppose, or at least a earth table? I'm pretty ignorant about what goes on after death. You just felt so alive and I know I died so I guess I couldn't help myself. If I'd know you were a maiden from the start I definitely wouldn't of… groped you?" I shuddered as I realized that I just possibly assaulted some unknown being and the surface of the table did feel really nice on my skin, so I couldn't deny I didn't hold myself back at the time.

There was a long awkward silence, it felt like hours and I was so out of my element that I backed into a corner of the room because I didn't want to provoke the strange table shaped maiden in the room or the chair part of her. Then finally she acknowledged my apology, "I suppose I can forgive you, you are my first hero I need to process into reincarnation, and I looked up earthlings a bit more and I realize you are telling the truth. My name is Celia and I'm what you Earthlings would probably consider a Angel, a servant to the Gods."

As if this wasn't already a reality bending statement she continued, "we take many forms, but looking up your personality profile it was determined that this form would be best to process your reincarnation, please don't be shy now you have already felt me up go ahead and get out of the corner and sit down." I swear as she said this the edges of her table like form turned a light pink. I then sat down and the surface of the table angel began to show pictures of me with data like script as if it was a ultra high definition display. Then the pages rose from the surface and spread out in front of me, in a presentation format.

She began to present information about myself to me, "Jake Light- 29 earth years old- Level of maturity- adult, although that is now up for debate", she snarked. "Come on now I said I was sorry I had no freaking clue you were an angel, you know on earth people think you guys pretty much look like us… well like us if we were made perfect, oh and had wings, well I suppose there are some other descriptions, but those are less flattering I suppose" I said as I tried to remember my Sunday school days when the youth pastor read bible passages about angels with six sided heads depicting beasts, but decided I shouldn't bring that up, my table angel was sensitive. I was curious on how utterly messed up my mind was if she determined a talking table was a better form then a beautiful all powerful Earth angel to ease my mind for my transition to the after life. All of this went through my mind, before I realized that my table angel never said anything about a afterlife, she only mentioned reincarnation, and actually mentioned it more than once.

There was another long silence, this time I didn't mind it because I was having a panic attack about reincarnating back to earth. Even after death I had no desire to go back there, and a hopeless feeling began to envelope my mind, then suddenly as if on cue my table angel disappeared and I hit the ground because my chair had disappeared as well. Then suddenly I was staring at the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, it was definitely an unearthly beauty, there wouldn't be a man or woman on earth that wouldn't stumble before her perfection. It was hard to describe, a vision so intoxicatingly beautiful that it takes over your mind. I couldn't even lust a tiny bit over her perfect form, the only thing I could feel was a deep since of the need to protect her, beauty like this couldn't of possibly experienced evil of any kind. Her skin was a light bronze with flecks of gold scattered about it, a perfectly symmetrical face, with eyes that looked like she was of Asian decent. Her eyes were a pure gold, with pupils that I swear I could see galaxies floating in, the more I looked into them the more I couldn't look away. She wasn't skinny, but perfectly proportioned. Toned body that looked powerful, but also deeply sensual, with curves exactly where they were supposed to be.

Then as if my mind wasn't already blown, she looked down a bit and her face turned a bit pink, "hey now do you have to look at me like that." When she said this I realized that I had groped this being earlier and almost made her cry, once again I felt a need to drop to my knees and beg forgiveness of this Princess I was about to try to serve for all time. As if realizing what was going on, her face had a shocked expression and she snapped her fingers. Suddenly I got my mind back as if I wasn't about to offer my very soul to this person in front of me.

Are you ok? I dulled your emotions a bit, I forget sometimes while you don't have a actual body right now your and in your soul form your emotions are extremely heightened, especially after losing your old body due to a death event." She quickly said while looking apologetic. "Hrmm… yeah… yes, yes I'm fine I think", I said as my mental facilities slowly came back to me. "I suppose I can see why you chose the first form, although I much prefer this one, even if it made me desire to protect you to the point I was about to try and offer my soul for the privilege."

Once again I managed to make the angel turn pink, and I was beginning to think I had developed a special ability. I decided to ask a question to throw off the awkwardness that pervaded the room. "So, how old are you? I know you said I was your first… hero? While I don't think I'm much of a hero, I am curious." Once again my angel turned even more pink and said, "I reached adulthood when I turned two thousand years old, then I do my training, then I follow another angel while remaining invisible for a hundred years or so." Then with a excited face she said, "I did graduate top of my training class and even managed to get my first soul a hundred years earlier than usual." While I listened intently I was definitely sure she never answered the age question, just that she was mature and super well trained.

Then as if the mood changed she looked at me intently and said, "you are a hero, you know. A large part of my training was affirming a souls purity but not only that but recognizing a hero's soul. Hero's souls are never the most pure, and often it is there own thoughts about themselves that darken it, so you really have to know how to look for these things. I spotted you though and since your my first hero I even had it confirmed by my commander. So yeah definitely a hero", she said with a definite snarky attitude that was expressed much better now she wasn't a table maiden. If I could blush in my soul form then at this point I definitely was.

Then out of nowhere a checklist appeared in front of her and she checked off of a couple lines, then made it disappear. I don't think she meant for me to see it, but I definitely saw it and read the entire thing.

Hero Check List- Cadet Angel

1. Establish a comfortable form to put your hero at ease. Don't use your true form, although something similar is best.

2. Establish rapport with your hero, you will eventually discuss tough topics. Rapport will make this easier.

3. Don't let the hero dictate the conversation, you are in charge.

4. Don't let the hero talk you out of sending him where he needs to go, they have wants, the universe has needs.

5. A lot of hero's will deny being a hero. While in this denial they can't be sent for special reincarnation. Make your hero realize there… heroness.

*Please note checklist was written by male Angel. There are heroines. Such a masochist.

That last part looked like it was handwritten and not apart of the official form. She then looked at me suspiciously, "ummm did you see that" I looked at her incredulously, "of course I saw the hero checklist you brought out of thin air. You didn't look like you were trying to hide it." Once again I confirmed my new ability, when my angel turned a dark shade of pink. Then I decided to help her out and just told a small lie, "I only saw the title you did a good job hiding most of the contents, your doing a great job." At this her whole posture and confidence changed, and she smiled so brightly I thought I would have internal bleeding and even with my emotions turned down, I think I would offer to jump into the fires of hell and fight a army of demons just to keep that smile on her face.

Thankfully she didn't realize I was close to having another mental shutdown due to her form. "Well we have wasted enough time, and we need to get your reincarnation started soon." She snapped her fingers again and a completely normal table and two chairs sitting across from another appeared in the room. She gestured at a chair as she gracefully walked to the other. Man she even walks perfectly I thought to myself before I realized once again I was going down the path of insanity again and the last thing I wanted was her to change into a some piece of furniture again.