So well done, sweetie! I loved the structure from the start, the gradual building of intensity and nearness of the recollections, and the reveal that leaves you with this sliver of hope for John's soul, because ... well, okay, I'm going to go all Angel meta on you, but my favorite moment from that show is Angel's epiphany: That if nothing you do matters in the Big Picture, then all that matters is what you do Right Then. "If there isn't any bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world." Which, for this story, translates to, if all you have to comfort you in Hell are these tiny, infintessimal flashes of hope and love, then those flashes become the whole world. Or something.

Lol. Too early for braining that hard.