by Tim Hawken
“We’re in the Far Reaches. There’s nobody here. It’s isolated from the city by these fields. This is where any soul who comes from Hell to Purgatory ends up. We need to head north,” she said, pointing ahead of us. “We’ll come to a hill and then once we get to the top of that, in the distance we should see the city. It’s quite a journey by foot.”
No use in delay, I thought. I picked my way carefully over the short space of uneven rocks to the safety of the grass. Mary came close behind. Without pausing, I led us with purpose through the vast grey meadow of boredom.
We trudged on. I resisted using the elements. My body had healed, but the effort had made me tired. The dreary feeling of Purgatory tugged at my brain. Even the air seemed to pull passion away from me. The sky was morbid. The ground was monotonous. The only ray of color around was the beauty of Mary next to me.
“It’s all so dull,” I said to her, hoping conversation would nudge my brain out of the doldrums.
“You’re only feeling that because we’re out here,” she replied. “God made it like this on purpose when he built it. I told you, he didn’t want natural beauty to distract the souls here from their real intent of passing to Heaven. That’s one thing Hell has over Purgatory; it’s savage, but it’s still striking. Once we get into the city, the people will help lift you out of what you’re feeling. The souls light up this place.”
We lapsed once more into silence.
The meadow stretched on and on. There weren’t even any more rocks to break up a sense of travel. We’d been walking for hours and it felt like we could very well be in the same spot. The light around us wasn’t dark, but it wasn’t bright either. It was like the few minutes before dawn, where you can see everything perfectly fine, but there’s no real brilliance about the world. Whereas with an earthly dawn there is the anticipation of a new day about to break over the horizon, here I knew it would stay this way forever.
I reached out with my mind to Mary and sensed love emanating from her. It heartened me to be travelling with a true friend.
“How far do we have to go until the main city?” I asked.
She looked ahead and then back to me.
“It’s hard to get a bearing, but I think we’re a half day’s walk. It’s flat, so it shouldn’t be difficult. That’s if it’s still the same as when I left.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s been almost five hundred years since I left for Hell. At lot has changed there since. I imagine it may be the same here. As technology moves on earth and generations develop ideas, they bring them to the afterlife. People change over time in many ways. In others they stay the same.”
Five hundred years. She had been alive for over two thousand. I had only been alive for just over thirty and already I felt weary. It was hard to imagine someone living for so long and still looking so young.
“What are the big changes you’ve seen?” I asked, interested as well as wanting to keep the conversation going to help pass the time.
“It’s mostly in technology. If you had told me about the Internet or even a computer a thousand years ago, I would have laughed. Cars, planes, skyscrapers, everything.”
“It must be strange.”
“Yes and no. It’s like living with someone who grows their hair out. Because the change happens slowly, you are accustomed to the changes. They’re gradual. The real challenge would be if you slept for a thousand years and then woke up. It amazes me that Judas wasn’t completely overwhelmed when he was freed from the forest.”
I nodded my head. The mention of Judas dampened my spirits.
“Is there anything that hasn’t changed?”
“People mostly. Thoughts and ideas might change, but emotions don’t. The big motivations for existence are the same as when I was a girl so long ago. People seek love, they seek wealth. Above all they seek happiness. There is always conflict, though. One person wants one thing and another person seeks something different. This is why there’s so much pain in the world; everyone lives within their own personality. Two people might agree on something, but there’s always a third party who thinks theirs is a better way to do things. Always. That’s why I believe it’s so important to work towards an absolute truth. If everyone was able to see things exactly how they are, with no opinion, then there would be no conflict.”
“Is that possible?”
“There’s always hope,” she said. “I really don’t know, though. It’s a wonderful idea, true peace.”
We walked on and I turned the concept over in my head. True peace. No conflict. Would it become boring? Would no opinion mean that we were all really dead in a way? Would no variance take away individuality, take away color? I looked about at the grey world of Purgatory. Maybe conflict was something that the human mind needed in order to keep an interest in life. Had we been created that way on purpose as another one of God’s cruel jokes? I hoped that someday I would have the intelligence to know.
“What do you think will happen when we destroy the filter between Hell and Purgatory?” I asked.
“I’m not certain.” She paused. “But I have thought about it quite a lot in the past. Zoroaster and I would talk it over for days on end. Our most promising theory was that it will simply open up the two realms to each other.
“But how?” I asked.
“Right now, we are walking over the swirling barrier. The crust at our feet is solid, but below is moving. The barrier we saw at the top of the Chinvar Bridge is like a huge tectonic whirlpool that shifts constantly. Where we came up, you can see the power of the filter trying to bubble through.”
“The cloud rocks.”
“Yes.” She smiled. “That’s the same point we’ll return to once we can bond the keys together. If we can jam the power flow of the barrier, then it will create a reaction that should cause something like a gigantic earthquake. The filter will solidify quickly, and because of the heat and pressure it will crack. With an elemental push from you and Zoroaster, the ground we stand on now will give way. The sky of Hell will fall in over the desert below. In essence it should open a celestial porthole the same size as the filter. It will then be easy for people to travel through at will. Souls will be able to move up to the city here, or vice versa. The space of Hell will be doubled, but because there are fewer souls in Purgatory, there will be more room for everyone.”
“Yes, but will it make things better for those souls?” I asked.
“I hope so,” she said slowly. “At the very least it will improve the overall balance in the universe. The reason there’s so much conflict and untruth is that no one is on even ground at the moment. We don’t have the same experiences, the same lives. We see what someone else has and want it. When I heard about the political vision of communism, I thought it was a wonderful idea. However, the human mind took hold of it and corrupted it. It became useless, evil even. It shows how something perfect in the mind can become imperfect in reality. There is always someone worse off than us, but there is always someone better off as well. Until we can create a true balance, the universe will tip from side to side.”
Mary’s intelligence and insight had rattled me. I had never really thought of the world in that way. I had just been selfish, looking within myself for answers. She had had more than several lifetimes to ponder these things, but did that mean she was right? I knew she meant well in her heart.
“Do you think the human condition will corrupt what we want to achieve?” I asked after a few moments.
“Not if the powerful are willing to lay down their might for the greater good.” She stared at me pointedly.
I looked down at my feet and continued in silence. There would be a fight, no matter what we did. Power meant nothing to me; I would willingly let it go. If I could subdue Asmodeus, then there was true hope for peace.
As we walked, my mind kept wandering back to Charlotte. It helped a real smile spark inside me. She was here. She was so close. Butterflies crept into my stomach and fluttered madly. I let myself
fall into daydreams of our old life on Earth together. I thought about how we’d met on a plane and hit if off instantly. I remembered my proposal on the cool sands of Greece when she had cried tears of joy. Everything I did was to see that same happiness in her eyes one more time. A reunion with her would be worth all the suffering I’d been through.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn’t even noticed we were walking up an incline. One moment it seemed like endless meadow still laid out in front. The next, we rounded the top of a soft peak.
We stopped and looked down over a bleak city. Lackluster buildings rose into the sky. The metropolis spread out toward us, but gave way to lifeless trees before turning into the meadow we were in. We walked down towards the small wood. The trees were sparse, but seemed to be a marker for the beginning of the city. We pressed through the grey forest. As we drew towards the middle, I spotted a person.
“Hello!” I yelled. The man looked up to us. He was sitting beneath a tree, his legs crossed. His hands were resting on his knees, palms up in a pose of meditation. He appeared middle-eastern and had a white turban wrapped around his head. His being sparkled with light. It made me glad that we were with another living form.
“Hello,” he said. “I thought I felt a shift out there in The Reaches. It’s good to see you, Mary. Who is your friend?”
I was startled that he knew Mary’s name.
“His name is Michael,” she said next to me. “Michael, this is Zoroaster.”
SEVEN
“ZOROASTER?” I BLURTED INVOLUNTARILY, surprised that this was the prophet we’d come to find.
“Yes, Michael, that is what Mary called me,” he replied, still sitting. “Maybe if you’ve spent some time with her, you already know who I am. I don’t know who you are yet, but we’ll have time to talk. Your aura looks very strong. I wonder if I could beat you in a fight. Maybe if the fancy takes us we can try later. First I want to talk with Mary.” He turned to Mary with a smile.
His strange manner took me aback. He seemed to jump from one thought to another as they formed is his mind. These were very weird things to be saying; yet I sensed no malice in him at all. He had an easy grin on his lips, and even when he said I might know of him, it was said candidly rather than with any kind of pride.
“It’s very nice to see you, Mary,” Zoroaster continued. “It’s been a very long time. When I felt that small breath of hot wind coming from the direction of the gateway, I hoped it would be you and not someone else. You haven’t lost an ounce of your wonderful beauty. I’m disappointed you’ve come with a man. I felt a stirring in my loins when you first approached. I haven’t been with a woman in many weeks. He is more handsome than me, so I can understand your choice would be easily with him. We have a lot to catch up on. Are you still practicing the way of truth?”
Mary blushed and flicked her eyes to me before looking back at Zoroaster.
“Yes, I’m doing my best – although I’m still not close to your standard! I’m not romantically together with Michael; we’ve come to seek your help.”
“Oh?” Zoroaster said. “My help with what, Mary?”
She paused and looked at me before continuing in a slow voice.
“We’re here on a mission to seek your help in creating more freedom in the universe. Michael is the new Lord of Hell. There has been a revelation that Satan and God were two sides of the same being. He has now reunited those halves into an entity we call Asmodeus. Michael wants to end his reign of lies. Our first step in the plan is to bring down the barriers between Hell and Purgatory.”
“Oh!” he said again, his eyes growing wide. “That’s all very interesting. Very interesting! I’m glad you still practice the way of truth. It always brings you to the biggest things on your mind first. Maybe we should go to my home and you can explain this to me some more. I’d like to know the whys and hows and whos. I had heard whispers of a revolution in Hell, but the details have been thin until now. I’m reluctant to help you attack what God has created, but I could be persuaded if I think your intentions are worthy and any hidden motivations are in the open.”
He narrowed his eyes and looked at me. I felt naked beneath his stare. He then glared the same way at Mary.
“I can see both of you have the chaos of hidden lies within. They can wait for the moment. For now let’s take a walk through the city and I can bring you up to date with how things are progressing here. We’ve made many breakthroughs during your absence.”
Zoroaster unfolded his legs and reached out a hand to Mary. She leant down and helped him stand. He was short, only coming up to my shoulders, and was even a little shorter than Mary, albeit a lot wider.
He took off at a brisk walk through the trees.
“He’s like no one I’ve ever met,” I whispered to Mary as we started to follow behind him.
“Most people take a while to get used to undiluted honestly,” she whispered. “He often appears a little manic because he says whatever jumps into his mind. When he’s focused he is a sight to behold.”
“I can hear you talking about me,” called Zoroaster. “No need for whispering. There are no secrets, only truth. I know I can appear unusual to outsiders, Michael. Come, come, don’t dawdle.”
We emerged through the trees to a road. There were no cars to be seen, but there were crowds of people. Everybody was on foot, walking in the middle of the street with an easy pace. I could feel the warmth of their souls. My weary mood from the meadow had entirely lifted to an invigorated sense of spirit. It was as if we were in a black and white movie, but all the people were still in color. The contrast made their souls dazzle even more than usual.
“I’ve recently managed to convince the people to take away most modern conveniences from Purgatory,” Zoroaster said, as we crossed the road, winding through the bright people. Many of the passersby said friendly hellos to us as he spoke.
“It was a lot of work at first, but now with no cars or televisions people have been brought back towards inner contemplation. Instead of rushing forward to nowhere, where they can get lost in an alternate reality, people are turning within. The most interesting reality is here. The spark of awareness is the truth of things. It’s rather amazing really. With less distraction from trivial amusements, more and more are passing over to Heaven! I actually think God was onto something when he made the surrounds of this realm so lifeless.”
Mary nodded.
“You’re right Zoroaster, He did have a point. But beauty is still important for people, is it not?”
“Of course! It is a powerful driving force. That’s my point exactly.” He laughed. “If there is no external beauty surrounding you, there is a desire to cultivate the beauty inside yourself and others. Unfortunately, some of the people have painted their buildings different colors to satiate that desire for the beautiful instead of looking within. Those people tend to be the ones who regretfully stay here because what they seek is superficial only. I haven’t asked any to repaint back to grey yet, but I’m toying with the idea. I really hope they will come to the realization on their own. I don’t want to force anyone to do anything. Often I wonder if I should, though. The suggestion of removing the pursuit of technology alone has worked wonders.”
I looked around. Indeed there were a few buildings of color. The overwhelming majority of them were still grey, but there were brilliant exceptions. One house near us was all blue, with white trim around the windows. It was a beautiful flower amongst rows of uniformity.
The streets were overflowing with people. I was surprised at the amount of them. There was no disorder, though, no one in a hurry. Men and women were moving along at ease around us, talking with each other as they went, or sitting around quietly. There were seats on the pavement, butted onto all of the buildings, so if people wanted to stop and rest they could at their leisure. The thing that struck me most was that almost everyone was smiling. They seemed quite happy, even animated in conversations. It was a world away from the streets of Hell, where scowls
reigned and souls surged to their next appointment with little regard for the others around them. I searched among the people, hoping I would see Charlotte. She was nowhere to be seen.
“Incredible,” Mary said, looking around her. “Although I have to remind you, there weren’t televisions or cars around when I was here. It has been almost half a millennium, remember?”
“Really? I knew it had been a long time, but so long! Well, we’ve peeled it back to something close to what you began with then. I remember you saying how successful it was at first. Of course the difference is now that the people who come here are already used to those material things. It takes some weaning off the technological teat until they understand the culture. It seems that over the centuries people have become obsessed with a life of convenience. My mother always told me that nothing good comes easy. She was a mean old lady, but I think I understand her a little more, finally. You would think by making life easier with inventions that humans would be able to remain focused on the goodness of the soul. But it appears the opposite has happened on earth. Convenience has become an obsession. The easier things become, the more people demand a lazy life. They start to crave instant amusement instead of lasting happiness. I can’t blame them; it’s hard to differentiate between the two when life on Earth is so fleeting. Of course now they know there is an eternity, people calm down much more easily.”
We stopped in front of a squat structure with a wide entrance and wide windows all the way along the front. A black and white sign above the entrance read: Veritas Splendor. People were milling in and out of the doors. Everyone coming back out seemed to be in a contemplative frame of mind, looking either into space or intensely at the ground.
“This is my school,” Zoroaster said, walking up the pathway set over grey spikes of grass. “I won’t take you in for too long, we’ll just peek inside.”
We picked our way through the crowd to sidle up to the open entrance. Zoroaster and Mary stood on one side of the doors and I moved to the other. Inside the building there were rows of people sitting cross-legged on mats facing the front of the large square classroom. An elderly woman standing at the front was speaking to them. I could hear her mature voice over their heads.
