“Hello, Agnes.”

Agnes looked up from where she was kneeling in her vegetable garden. It was the spirit of Burt, Mayor of Heavenly Aden. It was hot and she was wearing only a pair of shorts and a sleeveless blouse. He was shirtless. Her hands were soiled with dirt. “Hello, Burt,” she answered. “Welcome!” She stood up, brushed strands of light brown hair out of her eyes, rubbed her hands together to clean off the dirt, and walked over to where Burt was standing at the edge of the garden. Sweat streaked her cheeks.

“Melody tells me you’re doing great. I came out to see for myself.” Melody was Burt’s buxom and bubbly wife.

“Things are going well.” She looked around at her vegetable garden with pride.

“You’ve been here for three months now? I’ve seen you at Friday Fuckfest. I apologize for not paying more attention to you.” Burt ensured his re-election every year by careful attention to the needs of his three hundred constituents. With the enthusiastic support of Melody, they operated on the maxim of “No spirit unfucked.” Burt had apparently not perceived that Agnes needed his sexual attention.

“Melody has been wonderful showing me around and we’ve had some good times together.

“So, I hear -- and with the Three Amigos. I’m curious. Did you enjoy them?” Sex, she had learned, was a common subject of discussion in the virtual reality of Aden – which differed from Eden in that spirits wore clothes. Sometimes.

Agnes blushed. “It’s been wonderful. I’ve met so many nice people. I was uptight at the beginning, but I’ve loosened up. I even volunteered for “Y’all Come” at the last Fuckfest.”

“How was it?”

“Ten men came to me. And they came.” She snickered.

“Ten! You’re a popular woman. I look forward to enjoying you. But I’m here with another task for you on my mind.”

Agnes was disappointed. She thought he had come out to her house to see her for sex – and she was willing. Sex was a requirement at the Friday Fuckfest, but optional and voluntary at other times. Agnes had sampled a few men between Fuckfests. Life, or rather Spirit, in heaven was sensual.

“We have a new arrival today and you’re the best person to greet him and introduce him to our community.”

“With pleasure,” she responded. Agnes welcomed opportunities to be useful.

“He’s a problem. He’s sixteen years old and was killed in an automobile accident on earth.”

“Sixteen,” she grimaced to herself. “Why me? Wouldn’t one of our eighteen-year-old girls be better at this than me?”

“Oh, no, they’re much too forward. This spirit was a choir boy on earth and he is religious, conceited, and prudish. On earth, he wanted to be a priest. He is a virgin and declares his intention to never sully his body and soul with sex or sin.” Burt added with a smile, “Given his personality, I doubt he had many opportunities to lose his virginity.”

“If he wants to abstain from sex, why is he being sent here?

“God knows! Or at least Saint Peter does. Anyway, we have to make the best of the situation. I would appreciate it if he could stay at your house for a few while and you introduce him to our culture gradually.”

“Aren’t I a little old to do this?” Agnes had selected the age of thirty-five for her spirit in Heavenly Aden; on earth, she had died at age eighty-two.

“Given your religious background, you’re the perfect person for this job.”

“Am I supposed to fuck him?” Her language had become much more explicit in Heavenly Aden.

“Oh, no, not necessarily, but you need to prepare him for Fuckfest. Five days from now.”

“Well, I can’t refuse, can I?’ she said with resignation. “Even in heaven, a nun has obligations.”

“I’m sure you’ll succeed. He will be projected into our reality in two hours on the path in front of your house.” He kissed her on the cheek. “I also have a second reason for coming out to see you today.”

“Oh?” she answered, enjoying the arm that snaked abound her back and the touch of his bare chest against hers.

“Perhaps we could enjoy a little tryst. Our first of many, I am sure.”

“I thought you’d never ask. First, I need to wash off the dirt and sweat.”

“I want you like you are.” He kissed her and she melted into his arms. “His name is Joshua.”

***

After Burt left, Agnes washed away the dirt, sweat, and sperm in the emerald pool below the waterfall a few steps out the back door of her house and put on a fresh pair of shorts and a shirt. The shorts were short and the shirt was sheer. In bright sunlight, the outline of her breast and the pink of her nipples showed through the thin cloth. “Not a suitable outfit for meeting an aspiring priest,” she thought to herself. “But the Heavenly Host in her wisdom doesn’t believe we need much in the way of clothing.”

She tidied up her small, two-room stone house. Suddenly, she started in surprise. “Where is he going to sleep?” Her bedroom contained only a single double bed. Her living room had cushions on the floor, a couple of chairs, and a wooden table that served both for eating and as a work place. Outside on a small terrace overlooking the emerald pool and the waterfall were another two chairs and a brazier on which she cooked her modest meals.

“Well,” she said. “He’ll have to sleep in the bed with me, or find a place on the cushions. I’m not in charge of accommodations here. It might be more heavenly if I were. Sorry, God.”

She was waiting on the pathway in front of her house when Joshua appeared suddenly. He looked around in puzzlement. “This isn’t at all what I expected Heaven to look like.” He studied Agnes, her long, brown legs, the curves of her chest, rosy lips, dimpled cheeks, large green eyes, and light-brown ponytail hanging over her shoulder. “Who are you?” There was disdain, and a bit of fear, in his voice.

“Call me Agnes,” she answered. “I was Sister Agnes, a nun on earth. I’ve been asked to introduce you to our virtual reality.” She looked him in the eye. Priests had a way of ordering nuns around, and that was not going to happen to her.

“This looks like a poor farm,” Joshua said, turning to view the surroundings.

“It is,” she answered. “It’s a rural medieval reality.” She attempted humor to relax him, smiling and singing, “In short, there’s simply not a more congenial spot. It’s Camelot, Camelot!” She trilled the last words like a Broadway singer.

He stared at her in disbelief.

“It’s beautiful,” she exclaimed. “The emerald pool, the waterfall. There’s a hot spring for bathing over there and the cows in that field produce milk and butter of a quality you can’t believe. And look at my garden. The squash, the beans, the corn. All delicious. You’ll be happy here, I assure you.”

He continued staring at her. Joshua was of medium height and slender with black hair and thick, pouting lips. He was dressed as she was in shorts and a shirt.

“Let me show you around. This is my house.” She led him through the door. “No pearly gates here,” she joked. “No harps, no angels, we’re just ordinary souls living in a dream world without sin or pride or avarice. Heaven, in other words.”

Joshua looked around her small stone house. “Am I supposed to stay here?” he asked with skepticism in his voice.

“Only for a few days while you get used to our customs.”

He poked his nose into the bedroom. “Where do I sleep? There’s only one bed and one bedroom.”

“I can fix you a pallet on the floor, or” – did she dare to say it? -- “you could share my bed with me. Don’t take that the wrong way. I’m not suggesting anything.”

He laughed. “Oh, no. I couldn’t do that! You are as old as my mother and it would be wrong to sleep even in the same room as you. Not that I would be tempted to. I am pledged to God and must avoid temptation to sin.” He stepped out of the house onto the small terrace overlooking the emerald pool and the waterfall.”

“Pious prick,” Agnes thought. She was not at all pleased to be compared to his mother.

Joshua suddenly turned around, red-faced, demanding, “What is going on there?” He pointed toward the emerald pool.

Agnes looked where his finger was pointing. A couple was standing at the edge of the pool “Oh,” she said, trying to be casual. “That’s Andy and his wife, Mabel. They come out from the village to soak in the hot spring and to swim. They never wear clothes.”

Andy and Mabel were the ugliest couple in all of Aden. They were barely five feet tall and obese. His penis was like a tiny button beneath an overhanging belly; her vagina was concealed by rolls of fat and her huge empty breasts hung as low as her navel. Ugly as they were, Andy and Mabel were a popular couple. Their preference was threesomes and they were reputed to be artists of the flesh. Agnes hoped to engage with them in the near future.

“That’s disgusting,” Joshua said.

“Judge not lest ye be judged.” When in doubt, she thought, quote the Bible.

“I can’t tolerate sins of the flesh. You shouldn’t either. You were a nun.”

She changed the subject. “Are you hungry? I am making a soup of beans and corn.” This was going to be a harder and more thankless task than she had imagined.

He showed a spark of interest. “I like chicken tenders and french fries. Can I get those?”

“Sorry. We don’t eat meat in Heavenly Aden. And I don’t grow potatoes. The climate is not suitable for them.”

He looked at her incredulously and exploded. “This is not acceptable! Why am I here! Somebody has made a mistake! I want to leave!” He was shouting and tears were running down his face.

Now she was angry. She shouted back. “You’re here because God, in her wisdom – her wisdom! -- thought you would benefit from living in this reality! Are you questioning God? Maybe, she thought you would learn that goodness and mercy are what matters and not your spoiled, distorted, male-chauvinist opinions of what is right and what is wrong. So, shut up – or go wander in the wilderness for forty days, as did Jesus. He learned something, and maybe you will too. God makes the rules here; you are the servant of God and you better fucking well get used to it!”

He looked at her with astonishment. “You can’t talk to me like that. I was going to be a priest,” he said, but his voice showed hesitancy.

“I can, and I will. We are not priests and nuns here. We are equals. Sit down and eat your beans.”

Joshua quit complaining and sat silent and sullen.

After lunch, Joshua helped her in the garden and swam in the emerald pool. They ate okra, tomatoes, and chunks of whole-wheat bread for dinner. He was hungry and still silent. Since her outburst, he had barely spoken to her.

Darkness and bedtime came all too soon. “I’m going to bed,” she announced.“You may join me or arrange the cushions to sleep on the floor.”

“I’ll sleep on the floor. First I must do my devotions.”

In her doorless bedroom, Agnes took off her shirt and shorts and laid down on the mattress, and pulled a blanket over herself. She didn’t glance Joshua’s way to see if he was looking at her during her brief moment of total nudity. “Fuck him,” she thought. “I not going to play into his prudery.” She had trouble going to sleep. It had been an unpleasant day in Heaven.

Agnes woke up in the middle of the night. Joshua was climbing into the bed with her. “I can’t go to sleep on the floor,” he said.

“Welcome,” she said grudgingly. “This is how we sleep in Aden. You’ll get used to it.” The bed was small and she felt the touch of his body. He was shirtless but still wearing shorts. She turned away from him and her bare buttocks rubbed against the fabric of his shorts.

When Agnes got up in the morning, Joshua was still asleep. He was snoring peacefully and had a smile on his lips. “He looks angelic,” she thought. “Maybe there’s hope for him.” She climbed out of bed carefully to avoid rousing him. She pulled on her shorts and reached for her shirt and then put it aside with the thought, “I’m not going to dress for him. He has to get used to seeing boobs.” When Joshua awoke and got out of bed she was still topless. She served him a breakfast of eggs she had collected from her chicken house and fried strips of squash. Joshua ate heartily and avoided looking at her bare chest.

After breakfast, she said to him, “I usually take a swim and soak in hot spring. Will you join me?” With that, she stripped off her shorts and walked naked out the back door toward the emerald pool. She was wading into the water when he joined her, his shorts still on.

“Look at all the beautiful fish,” he exclaimed. That was the first positive thing he had said about Heavenly Aden.

“You can fish for them today, if you wish. We will eat them for lunch and dinner. We eat fish.”

"I’ll try to catch some. If you show me how.”

“I will. Let’s go soak in the hot spring, and then I need to be working in the garden.” She took him by the hand and led him to the hot spring and they sat together, breast-deep in the bathtub-like spring. She noticed that he turned his eyes downward to see her breasts and that he looked at her body as she was climbing out of the spring. “Maybe, there’s hope for him. He’s just a scared, little boy.”

All in all, it was a pleasant day and he was excited and proud when he caught half a dozen bass and bluegills and she fried them in olive oil for lunch and dinner. When it was time for bed, she stripped off her clothing as usual and lay down and he joined her, leaving his shorts on. They lay side by side beneath her only blanket.

“Tomorrow, if you wish, I’ll introduce you to my neighbors and we can walk into the village. It’s less than a mile.” He was tamed enough, that she thought he might be presentable in the community.

“I’d like that,” he answered. She noticed that his body was just a little bit closer to hers than was necessary in the bed. When she woke the next morning, he was curled around her and she could feel the outline of his penis pressing against her buttocks.

The visit to the village went well. Joshua’s tight-lipped expression changed into polite interest as he spoke to the people circulating in the small marketplace. but as they were returning to the house, just off the road they saw a couple on the banks of the small river. They were both naked and he was on top of her.

“Is that...are they….?”

“Yes, they’re fucking. We all do it here. It’s okay.”

Joshua couldn’t tear his eyes away from the couple, she, young and buxom, he, lying on top of her, his erect penis sliding in and out of her. “Are they married? Aren’t they ashamed? Everybody walking by can see them.”

“No, they’re not married. Some people are, but everybody fucks everybody. It’s a rule of the reality. Everybody is equal; we all fuck.”

“You’ve had sex? Even though you’re a nun?”

“I’m not a nun any longer. And you’re never going to be a priest. They don’t exist in heaven. And yes, I fuck. I’ve fucked thirty men in the three months I’ve been here. And I’ll fuck another thirty in the next three months. There’s no shame in it.” She laughed. “It was shocking to me also when I arrived here. God, it turns out, is a libertarian in matters of sex. Don’t forget it all began with the Garden of Eden. That’s where we are.”

She continued: “The world we came from was imperfect, and in heaven, you have freedom from the bad things about Earth. This reality celebrates honest work, simple living, and equality in all things. Once you have learned what we offer, you may move on to one of an infinite number of other realities. But first, you have to overcome what you experienced – and believed – during your earthly life.

“In three days we will celebrate the Friday Night Fuckfest. Everyone is required to attend and everyone who wishes will have sex. You will be expected to participate, to ensure that all women – or men, if you prefer – have sex that night. That’s a way we enforce equality. Nobody gets left out. And everybody has the right to sex at least on Friday night. Thus, we eliminate the angst about sex that is so common on earth.”

He looked worried but didn’t respond to her speech. That night they went to bed again, she naked, he still wearing shorts. She woke up in the middle of the night. He was crying. She put her hand on his cheek. “What’s the matter?”

He clutched her to him. “I miss my mother. I should be happy that I’m in heaven, but I’m not. It’s all so strange to me.”

“Your mother will join you after she dies. That’s part of heaven, reuniting with the spirits of your loved ones. You’re lucky in a way. I had no loved ones to reunite with.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s okay. I’m happy here. I love all three hundred spirits in this reality.”

“What if I can’t do sex? I’m worried about that also.”

“Nobody is going to judge you. You’ll learn. Quickly, without doubt.” She pulled his head to her breast. He didn’t resist. “Maybe this is the moment that he begins to overcome his earthly inhibitions,” she thought.

“Am I supposed to have sex with you? Is that what your job is?”

“No, not at all. I’m just supposed to accustom you to Heavenly Aden. You died on earth at a young age and I’ll help you overcome that trauma and learn to enjoy the afterlife.”

“I’m frightened about sex. I was that way on earth. I was afraid of women, so I ignored them.”

“Have you masturbated?” That was a bold question.

He thought before answering. “Yes, but I tried not to. It was sinful.”

“I felt the same way when I was a nun – but I often masturbated.” She laughed. “Why not do it now? It might help prepare you for sex later.”

“You mean right now? With you here?”

“I can leave you alone if you wish.”

“No,” he said after a long pause. “I like you here. I feel safe.” He moved his head up from her breasts to her cheek and put his arms around her.

She sighed. Now seemed the time. “I can help you.”

Her hand roamed down his hairless chest and his muscles tensed and then relaxed as she continued her gentle massage. She pushed his body down on his back and leaned over him and explored him with her fingers: face, ears, nose, cheeks, neck, chest, nipples, stomach, navel – but she stopped at his waistline. She nestled her cheek against his and her breasts rubbed against his chest. She bent one leg over his and rested her pubic area on his hip, half straddling him. She waited.

His hand reached up to touch her breast, carefully and lightly at first, and then with more assurance, running over both breasts, pressing her nipples between his fingers, and beginning a slow, undulation of his hips seeking a closer union with her.

“I’ll help you,” she said.

She ran her hand slowly downward from his waist, ready to withdraw it if he showed any sign of rejecting her touch. He didn’t. She felt his penis beneath the cloth of his shorts. It was erect. She undid the top button of his shorts. He didn’t protest. She undid the second button. Nothing. Third button. Now her hand touched his penis. He hunched forward. Without moving her hand, she kissed him on the lips, clutching him to her, pushing her breasts against his chest, and grinding her pubic area against his hip.

Fourth button undone. Fifth button. Now his penis was outside his shorts, sticking up hard and straight into the air, and she stroked it. Once. Twice. He cummed! Warm and sticky sperm ran down over her fingers as his body shook with excitement and he breathed heavily and exhaled noisy puffs of air and little mewing sounds.

“Well, that was easy,” thought Agnes, still holding his penis in her hand as it began to soften. When his breathing had returned to normal, she lowered her head and kissed him again. “Is he going to feel guilty now? Sinful? I must make him believe that cumming is a good thing. That a woman is a pleasure, not an evil seducer. How do I do that?” She continued the kiss, hoping that he would respond favorably as he lay supine with her body draped over him. Her bent leg rubber up and own over his penis

He finally said something. “Please, stop. I need to think about his, and what just happened.” She raised her lips from his and lay her head on his chest, blowing softly on his nipples. She moved her hand away from his soft penis and put it on his hip, touching him lightly with her fingers. He pushed her away gently and she reclined beside him as he lay on his back on the bed, his legs spread wide, his hands above his head in a gesture of prayer, his limp penis and the black bush surrounding it visible in the moonlight that flooded through the window.

“Is this a plot to corrupt me? Have I failed God? Have I become a servant of Satan?”

“How to respond to that?” she wondered. Finally, she said, “Why would you think so? You saw Saint Peter and the pearly gates. He sent you here; you see no evil here. This is a vision of Eden as God intended it. Without evil, sin, avarice, deception. Instead, we have challenges, choices, work, Freedom! Relax! Enjoy yourself.”

“I cannot stop thinking of the battle of good and evil.”

“Oh, bullshit! Believe me, if the devil wanted to corrupt you he would have picked a more impressive temptress than me.”

“I need to pray on the matter.”

“I’m going to sleep while you pray,” she said, but with a kiss on his cheek. With that, she wiped her sticky, cum-soaked hand on his stomach and said kindly, “You can wash that off in the morning.” She turned away to lie on her side, and slowly, slowly calmed herself down and dropped into a restless sleep.

Agnes woke with the sun pouring through the window onto the bed. She was on her back. Joshua was still beside her, still naked. His hand was on her shoulder. She looked down. His penis was erect. “I want to believe you. I enjoyed ...uh...what you did to me last night,” he said, “but I’ve been taught that the devil works in mysterious ways, and I’m suspicious.”

“Forget about last night and the devil,” she answered. “Let’s have a nice day. I’ll take you for a swim under the waterfall and we can soak in the hot spring and take a walk into the mountains. You can go fishing again and carry a sackful of tomatoes into the village to sell in the market.”

They barely talked all day and when they did it was in pleasant platitudes. During their swim and soak, Joshua seemed more comfortable with their nudity. Several people stopped by her house or shared the hot spring with them. They attempted with modest success to draw Joshua out of his shell, and he even responded with a touch of warmth. He was proud of himself when he caught more fish and hovered over her to watch as she broiled them on her brazier. “He’s only sixteen,” she reminded herself. “I was a prudish little bitch when I was sixteen.”

That night, she got ready for bed as always, stripping off her clothing and getting under the blanket. She lay there wondering what Joshua would do. He came into the bedroom naked and got into bed beside her. “Welcome,” she said.

“I had fun today,” he said.

“Good. Tomorrow I’ll take you into the village again and you can play ball with some of the other young people who live here.”

“Are there girls among them?”

“Yes, several.”

“I don’t think I want to meet them yet. Not until I resolve – uhh, you know – the problem I’ve been having here.”

“Suit yourself. The peach trees need pruning. You can do that for me.”

She was laying on her back and he turned toward her, his penis touching her. “Could we maybe do some more...uh...of what we did last night?”

A quiver of triumph radiated through her. “Teenage hormones at work. How to play this?” she asked herself. “Careful, not bold. Let him take the initiative.” She remained silent, but turned her face toward him.

He kissed her. “Is that all right?”

She kissed him back on the cheek, but remained silent. She would be the demure female; he would be in charge utilizing no femininely wiles – which she didn’t possess in any case – to make him suspicious. He needed confidence in himself.

He kissed her again and this time he lingered with his body covering her chest and then he was kissing her frantically and his hands went to her breasts. She put her hands on his hips and pulled him closer.

He rolled on top of her and his penis sought her vagina and she spread her legs to assist his search and he was inside her and stroking – and, boom! He cummed with his body shaking and then collapsed on top of her.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “It was so fast; I should have gone slower. I’m not good at this.”

“You’ll learn,” she answered. “I enjoyed feeling you inside me and we had a good time today. You’re a very good fisherman – just like Saint Peter was. I’m going to sleep now a happy woman. I hope you are happy also.”

Agnes woke up the next morning with Joshua on top of her and his penis penetrating her. She took him inside her and he lasted about a minute. “Progress,” she said to herself. His progress continued. Joshua was naked and hard most of the day. Three times he had sex with her and he lasted long enough for her to climax with him. She begged off when he climbed on top of her that night. “I can’t,” she said, laughing while kissing and caressing him. “I loved fucking you, but I am exhausted.” She went to sleep contented with what she had wrought.

After sex the next morning, she wrote a note and sent it to Burt with a passerby heading to the village: Mission accomplished. Send a horny youngster out here to service Joshua. You owe me. Big time. Agnes.