Dirk Nowitzki stood on the clouds. To either side of him were ornate Romanesque columns that extended into the distance until they disappeared into the haze. Seeing nothing else to do, he walked down the colonnade with only his thoughts to keep him company.
Dimly, he remembered that he had just finished playing in a game against the Suns. He had played well, it seemed like, and his teammates had been happy for him. The fans, too. But all of it felt like a half-forgotten scene from a past life; a scene of little importance. Walking on these clouds as the bright sun warmed him was very peaceful, and at that moment, the thing that made him happiest was that peace.
In time, he came to the end of the rows of columns. Now, instead of clouds beneath his feat, he was on a wide circle made of marble. Inlaid in the stone were fanciful mosaics, shimmering with color, that looked like they had been pulled straight from antiquity. Perhaps they had been. It certainly felt to Dirk that the predictable linearity of time itself was being bypassed here.
Dirk chanced a look over the edge, where the floor ended but the clouds had not reached. If there was anything below him, it couldn’t be seen; there was just an endless expanse of the purest, bluest sky he had ever beheld. The columns were still there, in a ring around the outside of the floating sky-circle, not supporting anything but the blue sky above, which was visually exactly the same as the sky below.
Now he walked to the center of the circle, wondering what would happen next. Not that he especially needed anything to happen. To spent eternity in this place did not seem like a bad option. It made his experience as a human on earth seem hopelessly complex and busy. But something did eventually happen; two forms made of pure light, brighter than the sun behind him, were descending towards him from above. He regarded them calmly until they both stood in front of him, robed in white and emanating a silver aura.
“You must choose one of us,” said the angel on the left. In its right hand was a stone tablet which read the word “retirement”.
“It is a decision which cannot be avoided,” said the angel on the right. In its left hand was a stone tablet which read the words “one more year”.
Dirk looked at them both, feeling a sense of sadness that the tranquility of this place had been broken by the reminder of his “real” life as a basketball player. Or was that his “fake” life, with this one being the “real” one? It didn’t matter. He had been given a choice, and there was no walking away from it. Even if he walked back down the path which had led him to this, his final trial, he would not escape the responsibility that had been placed on his shoulders.
Taking one step forward towards the two heavenly beings, he knew in his heart what had to be done. The decision was made. Carefully, with a trembling hand, he reached out to grasp the chosen tablet. When his finger touched the rough stone, all turned to black.