~~~
By judging the position of the sun, we knew it was evening. Unexpectedly the flexi-bubble started moving again. We all shrieked with excitement. This time it wasn’t moving horizontally but it was rotating 360 degree circles in the same place. It made three rotations very slowly giving us a panoramic view of our hometown. Then it started moving to the east. My guess on its new destination was perfect when I saw a cemetery with hundreds of crosses standing tall. It was a beautiful cemetery. We knew the intention of the flexi-bubble was to show us Chris’s funeral. Chris was very excited, but still and silent. We gathered around him.
We saw the huge crowd as we approached the burial spot. The coffin was already there surrounded by an orderly crowd. All were seated in the rows of chairs that were pre-arranged. “We should have come here a little earlier,” I said, making a complaint about the flexi-bubble’s lethargy. Chris’s parents, sisters, nieces, nephew, Aini’s parents and the priest were the closest to the coffin. They were in the front row. Chris started telling us who they were one by one. I remembered some of them at Chris’s wedding. The priest was a family friend. Chris’s father had probably chosen him to conduct the funeral service. There were a lot of his friends and office colleagues. We saw the picture of Aini and Sara placed on top of the coffin. The coffin looked grand and probably made out of oak or pine. I presumed Sara knew what was going on, though she never stopped her questioning.
The priest started the funeral service. He opened with, “We brought nothing into the world, and we take nothing out. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” He kept on reading bible verses as hymns were sung intermittently. The crowd joined in voicing some of the readings.
The eulogy was given by Chris’ sister. That was followed by Chris’ eight year old nephew reading aloud some memories he had of good times with his uncle Chris. There was humor initially in his speech but it had a sad ending.
After the commendation prayers were over it was time for the burial. We saw the coffin descending into the grave very slowly. The grave was gradually filled up with soil. The crowed started moving out. Many people spoke to Chris’s parents and his close relatives before leaving. Some went back to sign the guest book. Chris was gazing at the thinning crowd. Aini kept on consoling him.
“Hey! Chris, are you OK?” I asked.
“I will be, Thanks,” Chris said.
The sun was still shining from the western hemisphere when the flexi-bubble started moving again. It was moving west. We had to say goodbye to our hometown when it gathered speed. Within seconds we realized it was following the route we took on the fatal day of the accident. It stopped at the exact place where we had the accident. There were still parts of the SUV but the main chassis wasn’t to be seen. The brake mark of the trailer on the road was still visible. Lily started barking continuously. Dan managed to stop her with some effort. Down below there was a recently disturbed patch of soil and Dan pointed out that to us. There were some dead flowers on top of this soil hump. We guessed it was Lily’s grave. Probably the rescue crew buried her. Dan was happy to see Lily’s mystery was solved.
The flexi-bubble started moving again. This time it was Dan who said we were going towards the Monument Valley. He was right. We reached it pretty quickly. We were very happy to see the scenic view with the sunset. Dan enjoyed it very much though he lost his dream of taking the pictures he wanted. The flexi-bubble was very kind to slow down and take us from place to place until the sun gradually sank into the western horizon. The sky was still breathtakingly beautiful with red, orange and gray colors.
It was dark when the flexi-bubble started speeding up again. It was moving south. Chris immediately said we may see Las Vegas if it continues moving in the same direction, as he had an inbuilt GPS. Chris was right. Within a few minutes we saw the spectacular display of lights of sin city. The flexi-bubble hovered over the Las Vegas strip giving us an extravagant hawk’s eye view. The excitement on Sara’s face showed how much she enjoyed it. The water fountains that danced to blasting music in front of the Bellagio were fantastic to watch. We hovered along the strip from north to south a few times covering the action packed streets. I wouldn’t mind staying there for the rest of my dead life.
After about an hour the flexi-bubble started moving again. It took us to the back of a hotel where we saw a few parked trucks. A little later I realized it was the back of a restaurant. We saw six people tossing out loads of food into the trucks. The variety of food items they threw out was unimaginable. We saw three trucks leaving with food filled up to the crest. Then, the flexi-bubble took us to another restaurant where the same operation was taking place.
“Chris, it looks like the flexi-bubble is trying to show us the food wastage in Vegas,” I said.
“It’s definitely trying to teach us something. I can’t understand why? I’ve read Las Vegas sends over 9,000 tons of trash to landfills every day, and the bulk of it is food trash,” Chris said.
“That’s a lot,” Aini said.
“I’ve read that industrialized countries waste over two hundred million tons of food annually. That’s a hell of a lot, too,” Chris said. “I also know every year 15 million children die of hunger.”
Anyway, it was too late for us to know about any of these things unless we get another chance to live life. The food waste at colossal levels deserves another look by someone.
After the half hour teaching lesson to us by the flexi-bubble, it went up and started moving towards the south east. It didn’t take much time for us to realize it was taking us to a distant place. When it finally stopped we knew it was over an African country. It was evident by looking at the people.
The bare land stretched for acres. The very little green vegetation seen here and there, made us realize the barren nature of the area. Probably there had been no rains for several months. The few corn bushes that we saw had only dried leaves and no cobs. The tiny huts we saw were actual human dwellings. The people including children were weak and definitely malnourished. They didn’t have electricity or any other basic utilities. Not even basic sanitary facilities. The clothes the adults wore barely covered their bodies. Most of the children were naked and were covered in dust. The squinted eyes of adults and children had a plea for help.
The way Sara was asking questions from Aini, I knew she was surprised and shocked. We found it emotionally difficult to keep looking at all those horrendous conditions of people. A few times I purposely looked elsewhere. I felt guilty of having those thoughts and realized my death has not changed me into a kinder person. I wanted the flexi-bubble to move.
“The life expectancy of these people must be very low. It’s a pity that these people die from hunger when places like Las Vegas toss out truckloads of food daily,” Chris said that with a deep pain and inner feeling.
What we observed during the last few hours showed us the appalling side of human life on earth that we had never ever imagined. We couldn’t believe the extreme difference between these two conditions. In one place of the world it was the luxury and waste in gigantic proportion and in the other place it was poverty and starvation to an unimaginable level. Why couldn’t these situations balance each other? What have these poor children done to undergo such a miserable life while people in another part of the world enjoy luxury and an abundance of food? Is this nature, super power, Karma or what? I wondered. I wouldn’t know what to do even if I get another chance to go back to the physical world. All of us chattered about the inequality and wondered why we were subjected to exposure of these two extremes by the flexi-bubble.
“What will happen to us next?” Chris asked his familiar question after a few minutes of silence.
As the flexi-bubble appeared to have responded to Chris, it started moving again. First it went up and then started speeding up towards the east.
“I’d like it if it stops at a nice place this time,” Aini sai
d as if she was getting ready for a guided tour.
“So, would I,” said Dan.
“I’d like to see the pyramids and coliseums,” I said loudly and wanted the flexi-bubble to consider it.
The way it was moving, I realized it was not going to stop. The altitude was becoming higher and higher with its increasing speed. After about forty minutes we saw the entire earth behind us. From the higher elevation, the views we saw were just similar to the views from the space shuttle. After a few more minutes we knew we were thousands of miles away from the earth.
“Pretty soon we will be closer to the moon,” Chris said.
“It looks like we are moving away from the moon,” Dan said.
“Dan, you are right. Look at the size of the moon. It’s the size of a tennis ball,” Chris said.
The location of the moon at that time was on the far side of the earth. The size of the earth was about the size of the moon as we see from earth. Though we didn’t know the intention of the flexi-bubble, I had a feeling that it wouldn’t come back to earth again.
“Then, where are we heading to? May be its taking us to another planet in the solar system or to heaven as people believe,” I wondered seriously. Sara kept both Aini and Chris busy with her new stream of questions. Aini kept Sara close to her. The little bit of comfort we had when the flexi-bubble was hovering over the earth was gone now. Our destination was unknown. The situation could worsen at any moment.
“If we get separated at any time it would be sad,” I said aloud.
“Do you guys have any idea where we are heading to?” I asked as I couldn’t keep quiet.
“We’re definitely going away from the earth. And as I said earlier I think we are heading to heaven,” Aini said. She had a definite confidence in her voice in stating that. Though I joke most times, anxiety overtook me.
“Why do you think we are heading to heaven?” I asked.
“That's common knowledge. Believe me,” Aini said.
“What do you think, Chris, Dan?” I asked
“Aini must be right,” Chris said.
“Well, it is very possible,” Dan said at the same time.
I wasn’t sure of that as I still had a lot of doubts about the concept of heaven. But at that moment I decided to leave aside my philosophical ideas and go along with their idea, as I felt enormously happy in embracing the idea of heaven.
At that very moment something strange happened. The flexi-bubble disintegrated. It didn’t burst, but it shot us out from it at a lightning speed.
Oh my God! We weren’t in a flexi-bubble anymore. All of us were moving together in the same direction at tremendous speeds. Aini and Chris were at the front leading the line with Sara. Behind them was Dan with Lily. I was the last in the group.
“The flexi-bubble is gone. Can you guys breathe?” I asked.
“Remember we are dead, Tony,” Chris reminded me. This time he was serious.
I looked back at the earth and I couldn’t believe the size of it. It was about the size of a tennis ball and the moon was like a golf ball. The earth was still shining like a blue gem in the pitch dark background. I had a proud feeling of the place I was coming from. I immediately asked others to look back. All were surprised and admired the beauty of our mother earth.
“Where are we going?” It was Sara who asked Chris’s question this time. Chris looked at Aini.
“We’re going to heaven darling,” was Aini’s answer. Sara was thrilled hearing that, without understanding that this could be our last journey.
Dan was silent and he had Lily close by.
The feelings I had was very similar to the feeling I have had in astral flights in dreams when I was a kid. As the speed gathered I realized the gap between each of us was gradually increasing. The distance among us widened with time. We couldn’t talk to each other anymore. “Are we really heading to heaven?” I thought, and this thought kept repeating in my mind like the sound produced by a damaged vinyl record.
Suddenly, there was a huge bluish glow in front of us. It was getting brighter and gave us a welcoming feeling.
What hit my mind was Paul Simon’s song named “Afterlife”. This was one of my favorite songs that I listen to in my SUV all the time. Here are the lyrics of “Afterlife.”
After I died, and the makeup had dried, I went back to my place.
No moon that night, but a heavenly light shone on my face.
Still I thought it was odd, there was no sign of God just to usher me in.
Then a voice from above, sugar coated with Love, said, "Let us begin".
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
OK, a new kid in school, got to follow the rule, you got to learn the routine.
Woah, there's a girl over there, with the sunshiny hair, like a homecomin' queen.
I said, "Hey, what you say? It's a glorious day, by the way how long you been dead?"
Maybe you, maybe me, maybe baby makes three, but she just shook her head...
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
Buddha and Moses and all the noses from narrow to flat,
Had to stand in the line, just to glimpse the divine, what you think about that?
Well it seems like our fate to suffer and wait for the knowledge we seek.
It's all his design, no one cuts in the line, no one here likes a sneak
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
After you climb, up the ladder of time, the Lord God is near.
Face to face, in the vastness of space, your words disappear.
And you feel like swimming in an ocean of love, and the current is strong.
But all that remains when you try to explain is a fragment of song...
Lord is it, Be Bop A Lu La or Ooh Poppa Do
Lord, Be Bop A Lu La or Ooh Poppa Do
Be Bop A Lu La
The beauty of the glow couldn’t be explained by words. It was a clear indication that we were close to heaven as stated in the song. Within seconds the heavenly glow was all around us just as we were travelling through colored clouds. We could see each other very well.
Though Aini was far from me she looked back and indicated to me with a hand gesture she was right in her prediction of heaven. I acknowledge her gesture with a full smile. She was happier than ever. Faces of Dan and Chris were glowing with happiness. I was very happy too. What more can we expect than this! The ultimate place of pleasure, after all. We were still moving through the glow but now at a slower speed just like an aircraft coming to land.
Have we got to fill out a form and stand in line, as it says in the song, I was thinking. It seemed not. It seems to be a more advanced place than that. No paper forms. I saw holographic consoles in front of us. A huge screen console reserved per person. Sara and Lily didn’t have the screens. The screens weren’t rectangular but had odd shapes with flat display. With the little knowledge of computers, I thought the screen resolutions were better than 1080p. I couldn’t read what appeared on other’s screens as those were far away from me. When letters started appearing on my screen I gave my full attention to it.
The heading was, “Your history” in large fonts. It had my name, the date of birth and the family details at the top. Then it started jotting down all my past activities from childhood; one by one as it knew my whole history. At that moment I had a perfect memory capable of verifying all the events that appeared on the screen. All facts, the good and the bad, were dead accurate and I didn’t have any doubt about any of them. The line items kept moving up like the text in a movie screen giving me sufficient time to read. If I looked elsewhere the screen stopped until I brought back my attention. I was surprised when it flashed the incident of me
hiding our math teacher’s eye glasses when he left to the rest room. That was when I was 14 years old and it was because my friend had incited me. I don’t know whether that will have a negative impact on my entry marks to heaven. Hope not! I was already punished for it by the school principal with after-school detention. Taking ten dollars from my sister’s purse without her knowledge came up as well. That was when I was 16. But later on she knew it was me who did it and I was scolded amply. So, I should be excused. I decided not to write in this essay some of the naughty ones that appeared. After a full run up, up to the time of my death, the holographic screen swiftly disappeared.
I thought my overall report was pretty good, if that was the form I was supposed to fill according to the song. But I am not the judge. I didn’t have any clue of the entry requirements either. Moreover, I didn’t know whether this is Aini’s heaven or Chris’s heaven or one of the thousands of heavens Dan explained. Intermittently I had a feeling of getting rejected. If that happens what would happen to me? I am not yet 40. So, as Aini said I still have a chance to get judged as a “non-mature person”. My mind was thinking harder and harder.
We came to a complete stop in the weightless environment. A great sensation ran through my body for the first time after I became a soul. “Am I gradually getting re-constructed with flesh and blood?” I wondered.
I saw a door opening about 100 ft in front of us. It wasn’t a conventional door but a curved opening. As it was at an angle I couldn’t see what was inside. The glow inside was light orange and exceptionally soothing to the eye. I saw Aini, Chris and Sara automatically getting sucked into the entrance. Sara was the first to enter. I saw a beautiful halo appearing over Sara’s head just before she was taken in. The suction action moved all of us towards the entrance still maintaining the distance between us. Just before Aini and Chris went in, both waved at Dan and me. They were very happy. I didn’t see them after. After about three minutes Dan was taken in, leaving Lily at the entrance. Dan waved at me before entry. Lily started barking nonstop. For a moment I though Lily will not have a chance to enter heaven. I was wrong. A minute later Lily was taken in as well.
It was my turn next. Every minute seemed like an hour to me. I wasn’t sure whether I’d be taken in or not. I was about 30 feet from the entrance but still couldn’t see anything inside. When I was about 10 ft away from the entrance the orange glow suddenly turned to pale red. With the transparency it created, I saw a bell hanging at the entry way. Unexpectedly, the bell started ringing. The sound was not pleasant; like a fire alarm. It was so loud that I found it almost unbearable.
My hand automatically reacted to stop the irritating noise. When I got up I realized it was my alarm that was blaring. I looked around to see where I was. It took me some time to come to my senses and realize it was a dream. What a dream that was! I spent over fifteen minutes still in bed thinking of all the events that took place. It was fascinating and scary. In the midst of all that, I was proud of the fact that my beliefs were still intact. That’s the nature of our psyche, I thought.
What caused me to have such a dream? I was thinking of what I might have done differently before I went to bed. May be the Sri Lankan beer I drank for the first time.
I looked at the time and it was 8.00 am. I knew I had to go to work for the meeting at 10. After having a shower I got dressed up and took my bags to the SUV. On the way to work I picked up my coffee at Starbucks. I turned on my CD. It started playing the song “After I died, and the makeup had dried, I ……,” I turned it off immediately.
Just after I got out from my SUV, my phone rang. It was Dan.
“Hi! Dan, what’s up?”
“Tony, do you think you can get out of the meeting a little early?” Dan asked.
I said, “I will let you know, Dan,” and hung up.
I was thinking whether I’m going back to the future I had already experienced. The feeling I had, can’t be explained; it was scary, awful, and weird with plenty of thrilling elements induced by the dream.
Am I heading for disaster? Should I cancel the trip? However much I tried to convince myself not to be superstitious, the inner voice in me was dragging me in that direction.
What do you think? Should I tell my friends about the dream? It is tough.
Can you tell me what I should do? I need your help on this conundrum.
~~~~~~~
“Dreams have only one owner at a time. That’s why dreamers are lonely” – Erma Bombeck
The Phone Rang in the Middle of My Shower Page 5
