Stairway to Heaven

I’d been climbing the staircase (a spiral one, mind) for what felt like days. The muscles in my thighs burned with the effort, and I was running low on water. Leaning over the banister, below me I could see only mist. Above me, blackness. But then – at last! A pin-prick of light. The hum of angelic voices. I was close.

But then again…

That speck of light was just that, a speck. I sighed, and tossed my water bottle over the edge.
Who was I kidding? I wasn’t a good man.
I didn’t deserve to go to Heaven.