Introduction:  This is the second chapter of my short story “Message & Warning”. If you haven’t read chapter one yet or the ‘introduction’ you can do so here < click here >

I hope and pray that you will read the story and feel the message that is meant for you. Then share the story with others as you feel prompted to do so.

 

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Chapter 2

I was wide awake standing in large room. I can’t tell you how large a room it was, but it seemed as if it held hundreds of people. The room was odd in that it kept changing size and appeared to have no actual structure to it. I never saw the ceiling, there was something similar to clouds for a ceiling but yet, they weren’t clouds. It was a beautiful room, virtually impossible for me to describe in words.

I felt no pain, nothing. Not a single ache, no pain whatsoever. But I knew I had been shot several times and I knew, instinctively knew, I had died. I was dead. But yet here I was observing this magnificent room. There were furnishings in the room, chairs and tables; tables like the ones you would find behind a sofa in a mansion or in a lobby of a fancy hotel. The tables and the frames to the chairs were white, not a brilliant white, more like a soft creamy white. The white almost glowed and shimmered; the most warm white I had ever seen. And that isn’t entirely true, I didn’t actually see the white, it was more of an experience, a feeling of its warm whiteness.

The cloth of the chairs was a similar but a slightly different white, with very fine strands of gold woven throughout the material. None of the material appeared to have any wear on it, but many people were occupying the chairs as if they were waiting for something. As soon as a chair was vacant another person came along to sit in it. The people were patient and serene in their appearance, joyful.

The tables have gold edging around the tops and symbols on the sides of the tables. I recognized one symbol right away, it appear to be a menorah. I looked around the room at the various tables and saw symbols such as a beehive, one looked like a picture of the tablets of the 10 Commandments, another looked like two sets of scrolls side-by-side, a star on one, then two arms extended shaking hands on an other. I kept looking around, there was a square like I used to build my house, then a compass from grade school that we used to draw circles, another table had a peculiar risen sun with rays extending out in every direction. I looked to my right and there was a starburst, and three circles, and a Star of David on another. Everywhere I looked there were symbols on the tables. No idea why they were there or what they meant, but I knew they were important, I didn’t know why.

That was not all that was on the tables, there were vases of flowers that I have never seen before. Flowers of beautiful colors that actually seemed to slowly change from one muted and rich color to another. The vases were another version of the soft warm white, but there were flecks of gold in the vases and the rims of the vases appeared to be rings of gold. Each vase had an image on it, they were all oxen heads but each was different.

As I continued to look around I noticed one end of the room was actually a curtain, a very light curtain flowing ever so slightly with a breeze. But the curtain was almost sheer with, once again, a warm version of white that I cannot describe. Each side of the curtain was slightly different. The side that faced the room had extremely fine strands of golden thread woven into the material. Not too much, just enough to give the materiel a surreal glint or glow to it, the richness of which I had never experienced before.

The opposite side of the material, that which faced away from the room, was similar, but different. It was a slightly different shade of white, somewhat more dull, or rather slightly more dark, but still a warm shade of white. And this material too has strands in it. They are a brilliant silver and shimmered with reflecting light. This appeared to not be near as bright and beautiful as the curtain’s golden side but heavenly all the same. And while the material was sheer, it was not transparent, but nearly so. It was if one was standing in front of it, if they looked closely enough, hard enough, they might be able to see through it. From where I was I could not see through it.

I turned my head to the other end of the room to see if it too had a curtain as beautiful as the one I had just beheld. It did not. Truly, there was no other end of the room, at least no end that would resemble anything of structure. The other end was similar to the ceiling…formless but filled with clouds that continuously shifted in form. It was then I noticed people walking out of those clouds in groups of three and four. I turned back to the curtain and there too I noticed people walking through the curtain as it parted in different places. At the curtain, only one person at a time was walking into the room through the curtain, they were by themselves on this side of the curtain, but a hand had held the curtain back for them from the other side.

At that point I remembered clearly seeing Ann die back in Gaume’s Field, then the shooting nearby, and then me being shot and dying. But here I was, alive, and seeing all of this before me. But I was dead, and yet this was as real as anything I had seen I my life…but as if a dream. I became scared and dread came upon me. I began to worry about everything…everything that I had ever done, had ever seen, everything in my entire life…a sense of worry enveloped me.

I then heard a voice beside me, “Why do you worry? Why are you full of dread?” I had no answer, my entire body began to shake.

“Do you not know where you are?” he asked. “No,” was my whispered reply, “I do not.”

“Fear not. You are here for a reason; to be a messenger and a warning to others.”

“Then where am I and who are you?”

Without speaking I then knew where I was but I only had an idea of who the person standing beside me was. As I was standing there I then observed the people coming through the curtain from outside the room, they were my fallen friends from Tyler. Yes, there were others as well, but I didn’t know them. I instantly recognized my friends. I also noticed that the children that were coming through the curtain had people with them, holding their hands. Most were talking to the children or answering questions; but all the children had escorts with them. These escorts were gentle, kind, and had a spirit about them that you could feel from any distance. They were marvelous people who dearly loved the children and their responsibility. Strange, not a single infant or toddler was coming through the curtain.

When the people got fifteen feet or so within the room they were met by the groups of people, made up of the three or four, that had come from the other end of the room through the clouds. As each group met the person or child who had come through the curtain they hugged, almost all cried openly, some fell to their knees and began to pray. More than a few began to sing songs of joy that I had never heard before but whose melodies and words pierced and soothed my soul…and seemed distantly familiar.

I knew then that those who were meeting the ones coming through the curtain were relatives. The love that was shared by all within each group was tangible. I could feel it inside my heart. The groups did not linger long, they walked through the room and disappeared as they walked into the clouds opposite of the curtain. As they walked out, more people walked into the room in those small groups to take the place of those that departed.

I turned to the person beside me and said, “I am in heaven but I don’t know who you are.”

He replied, “This is not quite heaven, but very close. And if the veil had been taken completely off your heart you would recognize me at once. And one day you will.”

At that point I felt a wave of joy and happiness overtake me. I turned to the curtain once again and saw Ann walk through. She looked completely whole and well with a countenance I had never seen before. Two people rushed to her and I recognized them immediately, it was her parents. A group of four then rushed to her and I knew they were her brothers and sisters; I recognized them immediately. Together they began shouting “Hosanna!” but it wasn’t actually a shout, it was more like a song. I felt immensely relieved with this sight. They walked close by to me and the person beside me, as they did Ann turned to look at me…straight into my eyes she looked…and then smiled. Without saying a word she thanked me and went on with her family into the clouds at the room’s end.

The person beside me looked at me with a peculiar expression, “That doesn’t happen often.” He went on, “What you see here are those leaving the mortal life behind and entering preparation for the eternal life to come. The children have loving escorts to ensure they are not frightened and that they understand what is happening. Infants have no need of this.” His voice then changed noticeably, “Not all adults that die from the mortal body come this way. There are others who go to a different realm to learn and grow and make their decisions.”

“Then why am I here, why did no family great me?” I was saddened and it showed in my voice.

“Because you will not stay, your body is dead but will yet live. Did I not tell you that you were to be a messenger and a warning to others? You haven’t changed much, but you will now that you’ve been here and have been assigned a mission.”

A certain familiarity of this person began to enter into my mind but before I could ask a question he went on, “You and your group made the right choice, the man you called Bishop listened to the Holy Ghost, gave everyone their agency, and all chose correctly, wisely. They all have been here or will be here soon in their appointed time.”

“Will my wife be here? Can I see her? Can I talk to her?” There was a desperation in my voice.

“She has already been through here and moved on. She was met by her parents and great-grandfather, the one who you knew to be a pastor in the Universalist Church many years ago. She is happy and is waiting for you, when it is your time.” He went on, “Life is for joy and happiness, pain and sorrow, tests and trials. Some pass those tests and trials with an eye centered on God. Others, choose incorrectly out of ignorance, some out of rebellion. Those who heaped wickedness upon your group chose wickedness and rebellion…but not all did so as you will see. Many, probably most, will never have had that chance, they will once here and given time and knowledge.”

I started to ask questions, one of which if this person was my father, but he silenced me with nothing more than a sweet but firm glance.

“You will go back, you will share with everyone you meet what you have seen here and tell them all the details. You tell them that their families await them with gladness and joyful hearts if they but choose wisely, centering that choice upon God.” He continued, but in a slightly different tone, “But for those who do not chose wisely all is not lost, but it is better that they choose wisely now. Your days will be extended but not for long. Use each day to carry out your assignment, share the message I’ve given unto you, and warn others of what can happen that is the opposite of what you have seen here in this room.”

I allowed that to sink in and asked, “Are there others like, me a messenger and warning?”

“Yes, but you will not know them. Each has been appointed their own mission. Fulfill yours. When you return here you will come through the curtain. Your wife and father, and your children that were born but gained no mortal life will be waiting…and so much more will await you. Focus not on that, but it will await you. Go now and be that messenger and warning. You are loved.”

< Chapter 1                            Chapter 3 >

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Chapters –

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4

 

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