text: t was the most thrilling moment of her life. Travelling to Paradise Island. The ultimate destination where you could find your happiness. If that happiness meant love, then love was what you would find. If money, then you would have money. If fame, then you would become famous. Paradise Island was a place where wishes would come true. The email said so. She received the mysterious email only two days ago. At first, she was going to delete it. Surely, this had to be a scam. Somewhere that wishes could come true! Be serious! No such place could exist. As her finger hovered over the delete key, she decided to google it. To her surprise, she found that it was legit. There was such an island and you could go there and find whatever made you happy. This was no scam. Holy shit! The thing was real. She didn’t waste any time. Booked her flight online, packed a few items of clothing and off she went to the airport. With her ticket in hand, she smiled and boarded the plane. It was a very small plane. For a moment, her smile gave way to a slight frown. ‘Excuse me,’ she said to the flight attendant, ‘am I the only passenger?’ ‘Yes,’ said the flight attendant. ‘Really?’ Suzan exclaimed. ‘I would’ve thought there’d be more people on this flight?’ The flight attendant shook her head. ‘We take one passenger at a time.’ ‘Oh, I see,’ Suzan said. ‘I guess it makes sense. More people means more wishes.’ Suzan giggled. ‘So many wishes to be granted. One wish at a time makes sense to me.’ ‘Where would you like to sit?’ asked the flight attendant. ‘Next to the window, thank you.’ ‘Follow me please. My name is Emma and I will be attending to you. Anything you need, just ask.’ ‘Thank you, I will, Suzan said as she sat down. Suzan closed her eyes and imagined herself as a famous actress. A beautiful famous actress. Why not? If you want to make a wish, then make it big. Very big. She had tried to become an actress. She took acting classes. Did some auditions. Got a couple of non-speaking acting roles. And that was it. The entertainment industry was brutally difficult to break into. She sighed and opened her eyes. Well, that is all over now. After this trip, she will conquer Hollywood. She listened to the humming of the engines. Any moment now and the plane would take off. She asked Emma, as she walked by, if she should put her seatbelt on. ‘I’ll notify you when the plane is ready to take off,’ Emma said. Suzan relaxed and let her imagination wash over her. Yes, a famous actress. Wow! She couldn’t wait to land on Paradise Island. If she could make the hands of the clock run faster, she would. She looked at her watch to check the time. *What the hell!* *An hour!* An hour had passed since she boarded the plane. No. This was wrong. She winced and tapped on her watch. It always kept correct time. It was a fancy watch that showed the date too. ‘Excuse me, Emma,’ she called the flight attendant. ‘Yes?’ ‘Why aren’t we moving?’ ‘I’ll go and check,’ Emma said. Anxiously, Suzan waited for Emma, while at the same time keeping an eye on her watch. Ten minutes. Where was she? Emma,’ Suzan called and rose from her seat. ‘Oh, there you are,’ Suzan said, seeing Emma coming out of the cockpit. ‘What’s happening?’ ‘Just a little delay. Not to worry,’ Emma assured. ‘Okay,’ Suzan said as she sat down again. The humming of the engines continued. And Suzan’s anxiety kept growing. She looked at her watch again. It was now two hours past the scheduled flight. Suzan rose from her seat to go and look for Emma. But Emma was nowhere to be seen. Suzan looked about, not knowing what exactly to do. Maybe she should go and see the pilot. Yes, that is what she should do. She made straight for the cockpit to talk to the pilot. ‘Excuse me,’ she addressed the pilot. ‘Yes,’ the pilot said, turning his head around. ‘When is this plane taking off?’ ‘We are just waiting for clearing. Hopefully very soon.’ Suzan nodded and returned to her seat. And she waited. And waited. Four hours. Eight hours. The engines were still humming. But no flight. The plane was stuck on the tarmac. This was very strange. She called for Emma and she received the same response. Soon. The pilot gave her the same response. Soon. And Suzan waited. Twenty hours. Thirty hours. The strange thing was that she didn’t feel hungry at all. Nor thirsty. She debated with herself whether she should abort her flight or stay put. But she didn’t want to let go of her wish. She wanted to be an actress. A famous actress. A beautiful famous actress. And the only way to become a beautiful famous actress was to catch this flight to Paradis Island. She wanted to scream at the pilot or whoever was responsible for the delay. ‘Oh, for the love of god, take off,’ Suzan finally screamed. No, this wasn’t working. She had been on this plane for forty-eight hours. Enough was enough. Damn with the wish. Suzan got up from her seat. ‘Excuse me, where are you going?’ Emma asked, appearing in front of her. ‘I am getting off this plane. This is ridiculous. I’ve been stuck here for two whole days. I haven’t even eaten anything. I am done.’ ‘Done?’ ‘Yes. Now could you help me to get off this plane?’ ‘I am sorry, I can’t.’ ‘You can’t? What the hell does that mean?’ ‘Captain!’ Emma called. ‘What seems to be the problem?’ asked the captain, leaving the cockpit. ‘The passenger wants to leave.’ ‘Leave? Leave and go where?’ ‘What the hell!’ Suzan exclaimed. ‘I wanna go home. I’ve been stuck here,’ she paused to consult her watch again, ‘Oh my God, I’ve been stuck here now for ... for ... shit ... I can’t believe it ... for seventy-two hours. I’m getting off.’ ‘You can’t get off.’ ‘Why not?’ Suzan objected angrily. ‘This plane is stuck on the tarmac. It’s not going anywhere. I wanna get off and I want my money back.’ ‘We can’t do that, I am afraid. Remember, we had a deal!’ ‘What? What deal? I want to go to Paradise Island. But you are not taking me there...’ ‘We will take you there.’ ‘When?’ Suzan cried, frustrated. ‘I haven’t eaten or drank in days. Just sitting ...’ Suzan’s voice drifted away. She could readily accept that the whole thing was a hoax, but her lack of hunger or thirst was not. How could she have gone this long without food or water? ‘Come,’ the captain said, helping her to sit down again. ‘Stay calm. Don’t panic. We will get you to your destination. We are just running into a bit of a trouble.’ ‘What sort of a trouble?’ The captain looked at Emma, then back to Suzan. ‘We are waiting for certain things to be clarified.’ ‘Like what?’ ‘Well, not everyone who wants to go to Paradise Island can. They have to meet with a certain approval.’ ‘Approval? Approval from whom?’ ‘From God.’ ‘What?’ Suzan cried in disbelief. ‘This is purgatory, Suzan. And until we get the approval, you are stuck here.’ ‘What?’ Suzan winced. ‘Am I .... dead?’ Suzan asked, swallowing a lump in her throat. ‘But ... but ... but how? I have no memory of being dead.’ ‘You died two days ago. You were on a plane to Chicago when your plane went down.