At first, I thought it was a joke. I was at the pool party, watching my friends Maxwell and Arthur run in and out of indoor pool area they deemed "Purgatory." When it was first discovered, the Purgatory believers, or "Purgatorians" as they called themselves, had fun with the idea that Purgatory existed in an Earthbound health club where senior citizens swam at the pace of a snail. The Purgatorians flitted around, laughing like monkeys who had stumbled upon a golden banana. Quickly, however, the playfulness in their eyes gave way to nervous fear, then to solemn certainty that this indoor pool was purgatory headquarters.
I observed them go through this transition, from giddy to aghast, not thinking much of it. Then I read their disturbing blog entries depicting the absolutely horrifying aspects of purgatory, and I, too, became a Purgatorian. I cannot deny their eyewitness reports. I saw the same things they saw, but with an ignorant mind. I made no assumptions or connections.
I had always thought of Purgatory as that place in the Dr. Seuss book Oh, the Places You'll Go. You know, the waiting place, where "everyone is just waiting." Now, the waiting place and the indoor pool are obviously very similar. Purgatory exists in this health club. I am sure.
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