“But I need it in writing: I get to live my full life, as long as my body will have it. No bus collisions, no faulty brakes. I have to take care of some business in North Carolina, and I’ve got a girl who needs a ride.”

He faltered briefly, eyeing me. But then he nodded. “Of course.”

“And I have one more request. It’s very important.”

“What’s that?”

I knew my purpose. Or, rather, I should say I remembered my purpose. Not just the words of it, but their meaning. And I wasn’t going to mess it up again. Maybe I didn’t turn out to be a good person in Hell. That shouldn’t be surprising. But here, I was. Good enough, at least.

Turns out, that’s all it takes.

“When you take me, wipe my memory.”

“Excuse me?”

“Wipe it clean,” I said. “I don’t want to remember anything. Not even my name.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS