Fiction, by me again.
It's getting a bit
old
by
Roy Marshall
"Come on
Damian, we'll be late for supplication again if we don't hurry!" exclaimed
Damian's friend Rudy as he floated off toward the brightly lit clouds in the
distance. Damian held back, slowed and
settled upon an outcropping of clouds that formed a pleasing array of resting
areas with wondrous views of the Earth below them. Rudy turned and saw Damian sitting, slowed
and came back to sit next to him.
"What's wrong
Damian, why aren't you heading over with everyone?"
"I don't know
Rudy, I just feeling a little lost. Sort
of thinking back to the before times, you know, when we were alive. Down there." and he pointed down through
the clouds to the Earth. "I just,
you know, miss the excitement."
"Damian, how
can you? I mean we are both part of the
chosen. We're here in heaven, part of
god's chosen flock. We made it Damian,
we are here in heaven for all eternity now, that's something special."
"Well, I
guess. I mean is it really such an
accomplishment though?"
"Damian, what
on earth do you mean by that?"
"Look Rudy,
realistically, look at who's up here.
Look, there's Richard Nixon. And
last week I was talking to Jimmy Hoffa.
They're up here too."
"Really,
Jimmy Hoffa?"
"Yeah, seems
he confessed his sins and accepted Jesus into his heart as they were pouring
the concrete over him and so he made it in just at the last minute."
"Wow,
Hoffa. I bet he has some stories to tell
you."
"Well, yeah,
but like most everyone up here, we sort of don't talk about it much. You know, I don't think anyone really knows
what the protocols are. We are all
supposed to have accepted the wisdom and teachings of Jesus, and of course god
himself into our hearts, and what happens if they sort of find out that maybe
we were just sort of kidding about the whole thing and we're wishing we had
done more, and not good things either.
Look Rudy, I mean here we are, it is a nice place and all, the heavenly
ideal, clouds, comfort, everything. But
I'm never hungry, I don't need food anymore.
But that hasn't taken away the hunger itself. I want to eat stuff, real wondrously
delicious succulent steak and maybe a lobster as well. Just because I don't need food, doesn't mean
I don't want it anymore. And women Rudy,
I miss women. Sure they are everywhere
up here, but they all wear the same white robes and with their wings and all,
but I never get to enjoy looking at women, and touching, and you know, making
love to them. Man, is this really heaven
if the best things about being a living human are denied to us after we are
dead and given access to what's supposed to be the greatest thing we could have
ever possibly wanted when living that life?"
"Ixnay on the
negative talk Damian. You don't know
what god or his kid will do to you if they hear you questioning the whole
thing."
"Rudy, have
you eve heard of anyone getting kicked out of here before?"
"Well,
yeah. I mean, you know, Satan. I think that's the only one. I don't remember hearing about anyone else
though. But then maybe no one has ever
thought to go against the will of god and question why we are here. I mean it is pretty simple, we accepted god
into our hearts and now we get to exist here in heaven forever. And all we have to do is worship god. And you know, that isn't much different from
when we were alive on earth and all right?
I mean I went to church all the time, prayed, never did anything against
the teachings of his son and my reward came true, I'm here. Yeah, but if I think about it, it's not
really like living. We don't eat, I do
miss sex with my wife. And she has her
own friends up here now, we barely see each other anymore. Yeah, I go to supplication when they call us,
and give silent thanks and praise god and all that, just like I'm supposed
to. But you know, the thing I miss the
most is coffee on a rainy morning.
Sitting on the back patio barefoot with my feet getting splashed with
cold raindrops, and a cup of good joe in my hand. Man, wow, hadn't ever expressed that feeling
to anyone before Damian."
"You know
Rudy, I bet that we aren't the only ones that feel that way. Let's face it, after a fun and fulfilling
life on Earth, watching life go on below us in our viewing areas and spending
most of our time giving thanks to our god for creating us and bringing us up
here, is getting kind of old. Don't you
think so?"
Rudy was looking
nervously around him in all
directions, then began, "Sorry, just checking about for any of the
archangels, I may not be all that thrilled with my eternity so far here, but I
have got to think that it's a whole lot better than the alternative. You know, down there." And with that, he pointed downwards.
"I don't
know, maybe. How do we know. I mean, that's what they tell us. Look, here comes Gabriel to shepherd us to
supplication. Let's talk to him a
bit."
A giant angel in
long silky robes of the whitest white fluttered over to the pair, "You
two, reverence and thanks to our lord is about to begin, why are the two of you
sitting here viewing?"
Damian look over
at Rudy who sat frozen in fear, then he turned toward Gabriel and began,
"Gabe, I am just wondering what else there is to heaven. When I was alive, I firmly believed that by
my living a truly good life and giving myself to my god and his son then I
would be rewarded in my afterlife with all good things and heavenly
prosperity. So far, it's just been look
at the world we left and give praise all the time. I kind of want to partake in some of those
pleasures, you know, a steak, a woman, some good wine..."
With a gesture of
his hand, Gabriel's wave caused a blinding flash of light and a puff of
heavenly smoke existed where moments before Damian sat questioning heaven
itself. He then turned to Rudy,
"Don't you think you should get off to supplication?"
Rudy flew off
toward the bright lights of the gathering about the lord god as fast as his
wings could take him. Never again would
he question how wondrous the dull and boring existence was here in the lord's
eternal sanctum provided for him.
Damian found
himself as a newborn baby, reincarnated to begin to learn all over again what
it means to be a human, and to find his place somewhere in the grand order of things.
The End
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