Page 184 of You Like It Darker: Stories

“Do we go on? After we die, do we go on?”

“Yes.”

The grayness started to come, closing in around them very slowly. At the same time, the Answer Man began to recede. Also very slowly. Phil didn’t mind. There was no headache, that was a relief, and the foliage—what he could still see of it—was very beautiful. In fall the trees burned so bright at the end of the cycle. And since all the answers were free…

“Is it heaven we go to? Is it hell? Is it reincarnation? Are we still ourselves? Do we remember? Will I see my wife and son? Will it be good? Will it be awful? Are there dreams? Is there sorrow or joy or any emotion?”

The Answer Man, almost lost in the gray, said: “Yes.”

Phil came around behind the wheel of his Cadillac, surprised to find he wasn’t dead. He felt okay for the time being; actually pretty good. No headache, no pain in his hands or feet. He started the engine.

“Do you think I can get us back home in one piece, Frank? And without killing someone? Bark once for yes, twice for no.”

Frank barked once, so it was yes.

It was yes.

For Jonathan Leonard

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