His mother paused, and let the spoon stand still in the pot on the stove. “Everybody,” she said, “both the Quick and the Dead and everybody that’s alive. Then the stars are gonna fall and all the sinners will be cryin’ and tryin’ to hide in the corners and under houses. But it won’t do no good to hide. You can’t hide from God. Then they gonna call the Roll with everybody’s name on it and the sheeps are gonna be divided from the goats, the Good on the Right and the Bad on the Left. And then the ground’s gonna open up and all them on the Left are gonna fall right into a burnin’ pool of fire and brimstone and they’re gonna be cryin’ and screamin’ for mercy but there won’t be none because it will be too late. Especially for those who don’t repent and go to church.”

Then his mother stood over him, her eyes almost red with emotion, her face wet from the stove, and shining black, and very close to tears.

Thomas felt the heat from the stove where he sat in the corner next to the broom. He was scared. He thought about being on the Left with Leroy and Arthur, and all the men who sat on the corner two blocks away from the Baptist Church. He did not think it was at all fair.

“Won’t there be no rooms for different people?” he asked her.

“What kind of rooms?” his mother said.

“Rooms for people who ain’t done too much wrong.”

“There ain’t gonna be no separate rooms for any Sinners on the Left! Everybody on the Left is gonna fall right into the same fiery pit and the ones on the Right will be raised up into glory.”

Thomas felt very hot in the corner.

“Where do you want to be, Tommy?” his mother asked.

He could think of nothing to say.

“You want to be on the Right or on the Left?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?” she said. “You still got time, son.”

“I don’t know if I can ever get over on the Right,” Thomas said.

His mother looked down at him. She was a very warm person and sometimes she hugged him or touched him on the face when he least expected it. But sometimes she was severe.

“You can still get on the Right Side, Tommy, if you go to church.”

“I don’t see how I can,” he said again.

“Go on back to church, son,” his mother said.