The Amber Spyglass

There's no one to fret, no one to condemn, no one to bless me for being a good girl, no one to punish me or being wicked. Heaven was empty. I didn't know whether God had died, or whether there never had been a God at all. Either way, I felt free and lonely and I didn't know whether I was happy or unhappy, but something very strange had happened.

from The Amber Spyglass
by Philip Pullman
Laurel-Leaf