'Til Death, Part 2: Heaven

Haley opened her eyes once again. She got a sense of serenity similar to the one she had when she woke up before but this time it was different. There wasn’t as much of an emptiness this time and the overwhelming clarity just felt normal, easier to handle. She stared around at her surroundings, it was a bedroom. Not too unsimilar to the one she had with Sam, but there were a few small changes that were nicer. This time there were blue drapes, a walk-in closet and memory foam pillows. It was her perfect bedroom. But the bedroom wasn’t all that she had to inspect.

            She walked out the door to find a beautiful landing with light beige carpeting and a series of magnificent paintings that lined a perfectly painted eggshell white wall. Haley felt a little bit disappointed to find that this was pretty much all there was in this place, wherever she was. There was a door behind her from her bedroom and a door in front of her. The one in front of her was taller and made of a fine mahogany. It looked heavy but she managed to push through it with ease.

            On the other side was a beautiful garden. Short and soft grass, surrounded by a short hedging with a few potted plants and a single bench in the corner. Through this garden was a cobblestone path that led to a green painted fence door. Something in her head flashed and in an instant she knew why this garden looked so familiar. As a school assignment when she was a child Haley drew her “perfect garden.” It was renowned piece of art amongst her peers and teacher. For her whole life she cherished the picture and dreamed of recreating the garden. And here it was.

            Haley turned to see the building from which she had just emerged. She imagined it was going to be a faithful recreation of one of the cabins she stayed in as a child that she always enjoyed. But no, instead it was just a door. It was the same mahogany door painted in a fiery red, her favourite colour. Just at eye level on the door was a golden plaque which spelt out her name.

            She was so caught up in the mind boggling spectacle that was, discovering this mysterious place, she almost jumped when she heard the outside noise of a door closing. She peered across the hedge. There was a man coming out of a door similar to hers.

“Ohh, ehh, excuse me?”

The man turned. He seemed already be unnaturally happy but when he turned and saw Haley his smile broke all reason and grew bigger.

“Hi my name is Haley. Ehh, I dunno what to say I’m really confused right now.”

The man chuckled. “Don’t worry. We’re all like that when we first arrive but you get used to it.” Haley leaned her head to the side to indicate further confusion. Most people didn’t understand when she usually did it but this man seemed to pick up on it almost immediately. “We’re in heaven. Simple as that. And believe me it is heaven.”

            Haley looked at him slightly dazed. She had guessed as much that she was in heaven but there was something about actually hearing it out loud that made the fact really sink in. She was dead. The man chuckled again. It was a very nice chuckle. Very soothing, she could tell it came from deep within and it just made it sound smoother.

“Would you like to go for a walk? I’ll gladly explain everything.”

She nodded ad made her way toward her garden entrance.

Haley gazed up at her new found friend Brandon. He was slightly taller than her but not much wider. His hair was short but she could still see the curls starting to sprout from it. He had a very dashing face with soft eyes that glistened in the morning sun. He began to tell her about all the amazing qualities of heaven.

             “So in your bedroom you should find a booklet that goes into better detail but these are the basics. There is no need for food, sleep or exercise unless you desire it. And there is no negative reactions to how much or how little of each you choose to have. In your home there will be two doors. The front door will bring you here to the endless community of heaven and the other is a multifunction door. Whatever you want it will be there when you open the door. So as much as some people hate to admit, J.K. Rowling was really onto something when she thought of the room of requirement.”

             They both laughed. She really liked Brandon, he was a nice guy. But there was something different about him that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. It was then when she noticed the chain around his neck. She waited until he wasn’t looking so she could sneak a peek into his shirt. Attached to the chain was a Star of David. They sat on a bench beside a lake. She wasn’t sure where the lake had come from but she accepted it because she loved the ambiance of it.

“Brandon, are you Jewish?” She blushed as she said it. If she was wrong it would be awfully embarrassing.

“I’m guessing by your surprise that you are some form of Christian?”

“Roman Catholic.”

He let out another one of his unique chuckles. “Well, on top of everything else being so confusing today I may aswell lay out the real truth for you. It’s a weird thing but all the religions were a little bit wrong and a little bit right. Every religion despite their differences will always fall back on one golden rule and that is to be a good person and to worship something. So if you were a decent human being then you will have made it here along with everyone else. And before you ask, yes there is a God. One God. But at the same time reincarnation is a real thing that can be arranged. But for those who stay they will get their own piece of heaven so the Muslims may get seventy two virgins and the Norse will have a Valhalla.”

“So is Jesus real?”

“He is, but not in the way you think. It turns out Muhammad was the prophet. And eating pork was not a big deal. And the real Holy Day was a Friday and not the Sabbath. And the list goes on about who was right and wrong but it’s all in the pamphlet.”

Haley was speechless. It was all so much to take in. Her head was swimming. Something on her face must have given it away because Brandon stood up.

“C’mon, I’ll walk you home.”

            They walked back the way they came. Brandon told Haley about all the small enjoyments he got from heaven that weren’t directly explained in the pamphlet. As he talked Haley stared across the lake. She saw a man in glasses with a guitar surrounded by several people. The man looked like Buddy Holly but she couldn’t exactly tell. She made it a point in her mind to come back here and say hi. She loved his music.

            It didn’t take long before Haley was back at her garden with Brandon. Just before she went inside Brandon left her with one last piece of information about heaven

“Heaven is the greatest thing. It has infinite possibilities for happiness. But it’s not perfect. Even God in everything he does unfortunately only reaches ninety nine percent of perfection. But he does have a plan so whatever way things happen there is an overall rhyme and reason to things. So just know that there might be a few moments where everything isn’t as great as it should be.”

            She had no reply to this. She simply nodded and gave her goodbye. She walked through her mahogany door to the small landing filled with artwork. It smelled so fresh in here. She walked through the multi-door, as she wished to call it, and it turned out to be her bedroom again. She agreed in her mind. She wasn’t sleepy tired but she did just want to lay down and chill out. She sprawled herself across the king sized bed. Her hand hit something hard. It was the remote. She then remembered something Brandon had told her. There was a channel that showed what was happening on earth at any given time or place and that it would automatically show the most interesting thing. She pressed the on button on the remote and on the screen was Sam.

            He sat alone in the kitchen. He was still in their house. He was eating dinner alone. She could tell by how slowly he was eating, with no music and no laptop out that he was thinking. It was probably because he was still depressed. It was horrible for Haley to see the man she loved in so much pain. But at the same time she really appreciated that he missed her that much.

            The next few days acted as a dream for Haley. Without the need for sleep or eating she just had non-stop excitement. She met new and interesting people all the time while still hanging out with Brandon. She saw her grandparents for the first time in what was effectively fifteen mortal years. They looked fantastic and she almost didn’t recognise them. But apparently it was an option in heaven that people could take the form of any period in their life and her grandparents chose their youth. She was hardly surprised. After all the time she spent creating these new and fantastic experiences she wondered why people even bothered living at all. But one day while going to meet some new neighbours she was given a stiff reminder of why she may have chosen life over death.

            Haley had come across a garden. The grass was kind of long but it match the exotic flora that was spawning around the area. She decided to explore further into it. There were small caved out patches of trees which house garden gnomes, poised in hilarious positions. It was only when she saw the tacky pink flamingos beside the door when she realised she knew one person who would decorate their garden this way. Her suspicions were confirmed when she looked at the shiny, varnished, teak door. The golden plaque that said “Sam Whitmore.”