by S. B. Niccum
Everyone’s wedding or vow renewal happens before ours. Alex purposely makes me wait until everyone else ties the knot. I don’t mind; I’m busy designing wedding dresses anyway. My skills are in high demand now that we can actually wear clothes again instead of Heavenly robes. Silks, cottons, and other natural fibers have already been woven, dyed, and are being distributed in villages across the world.
The development of our new society moves along quite rapidly. Buildings, homes, stores, businesses, factories, crops, everything develops faster than ever before. In no time, I’m able to find fabrics, threads, buttons, and all kinds of sewing items needed for dressmaking. My hands move as quickly as my mind, Robyn’s too, and together we crank out more fashion than ever. We’re not the only ones of course. All of us designers, tailors, and seamstresses frequent the same haunts to get our materials. It’s like a fashion farmer’s market and Robyn and I have been able to meet some of our fashion heroes. Every time we get back from shopping we are as giggly as two schoolgirls.
While I’ve been sewing, Alex has been reading and attending philosophy and writing seminars with the best. He’s getting writing tips from the likes of Milton and Dante, and discusses different philosophical issues with Socrates and Gandhi. I’ve never seen him this happy before, and every time our eyes meet, my heart leaps with joy at the fact that we are so insanely happy. It’s such a foreign feeling to enjoy this level of peace that sometimes I fear I’m dreaming. But I’m not. It’s real! Our immortal lives are very real.
In our spare time, we are learning to fly. Now that we have bodies again, the laws of physics bind us once more, but our brain capacity is limitless and we can learn as quickly as we want. Flying by thought alone is much like the Link—mind over matter—so a few of us are taking lessons from one of the High Councilors who has been resurrected longer than the rest of us. It’s a good thing we heal quickly, because in the process of learning, we’ve broken several bones and dislocated many joints. A cut that Alex got by knocking his head on a tree revealed silver, not red blood. It was weird, but I guess that’s what fuels our bodies now that we’re immortal.
The minute Alex and I say: “I do, for all eternity,” we fly off together, partially blinded by the rice grains that our family and friends are throwing at us. No one has been able to get Alex to confess where he’s taking me, or where we’re going to live. I don’t care. Not in the least. I’ll live anywhere with him, as long as we’re together.
We are not great at flying yet; we are more like frogs, taking huge leaps. Not beautiful to behold, but we’ve got time to get better. At our last long hop, he blindfolds me, and orders me not to peek. I assure him that I wouldn’t dream of it. I would not spoil his surprise, because I have one of my own.
“Are you peeking?” Alex asks, after we take another huge leap. We’re holding hands, and I have no idea in what direction we’re going. I feel like I did while I was directionally challenged.
“No, I told you, I can’t see a thing.”
“Good,” he says and pulls me up again into another huge leap. Then he makes me straddle what seems to be a motorcycle. “Sit and hold on to me,” he orders.
“You’re sure bossy nowadays,” I grumble.
“We’ll be there soon,” he promises, then rubs the engine and we’re off like a bullet. We snake our way through a series of turns and finally arrive somewhere.
“Okay! We’re here.” He helps me off the motorcycle, and as he pulls the blindfold off my face, my eyes quickly come into focus on a large mast and sail. “Tess, meet Endless. Our new home!”
“Endless…” I whisper, as I take in every angle of the beautiful sailboat. It’s a huge fifty-foot sailboat with a cabin that looks more like a trendy apartment than a boat. It has three bedrooms and sleeps eight people. Our living room rests on a see through floor, so we can see the fishes below us as the boat moves.
“Wow!” I say with awe. It has everything we could ever need or want in it, the extra room inside the cabin being the most important part. “Plenty of room! It’s perfect!” I exclaim.
“I know! We can have our families come visit us here any time.”
“Or our own…” I suggest, gently patting my middle.
Alex’s eyes grow in size and shock registers in his aura as he connects the dots. “Are—are—are you…?”
“Yes,” I confirm triumphantly.
“But—but—” he looks around the boat and bites his lip. “You’re going to get sick here, and this is not exactly the best place…not to mention…what if you miscarry—again?”
“I’m immortal, Alex. My body is perfect, the pregnancy will be perfect and so will this baby.”
Relief washes through him like an ocean wave, removing all his worries and apprehensions with one swift swish. Then I get to watch as his mind starts to register the implications of what I’m saying, and his face lights up with excitement.
“Well, we can postpone this. Do you need a doctor? Do we need ultrasounds?”
“Nope. Nothing. When it’s time, I’ll push, you catch!”
“Just like that? How do I do it?”
“You’ll learn.”
“Yes, yes I will,” he assures me, and starts pacing. “So what? Do we need to stock up on baby things?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. I hadn’t thought that far.
For the second time in our existence we sail off again, not into the sunset, but into a beautiful sunrise, the first of an endless supply of sunrises. We’ve lived, yet our lives seem to be just beginning, and our love story has no end.
In Memory of Byron.
Book Club Discussion Questions:
In your opinion, what does Heaven look like?
What is the fire and brimstone that the Bible speaks of?
The Bible talks about Cherubim and Seraphim. Who or what are they? What function do they serve?
When people die and their spirits move on, do they still suffer from the same mental and emotional ailments that they had in mortality?
What do spirits do all day?
Can spirits find love after death? How do they court?
