My name is Cicero James, and I died last Thursday.

I know how it sounds, and the rest of what I have to tell you is just going to make it worse. But it's true. I died, and I came back. And the rest of it—why it happened, what it means, and most importantly what we're going to have to do about it—is what I need you to hear.

I'm going to start at the beginning, and I'm going to tell all of this as faithfully as possible. I'm going to try to bring you along for the ride. It's all coming out in a rush, so if I don't tell it quite right, try not to hold it against me.

And if I don't manage to convince you... I understand. No harm, no foul, no hard feelings. This is all insane to anyone who hasn't lived it.

But if you're in, then you're in, and here we go.