by Dynah Zale
SKELETONS
IN MY
CLOSET
SKELETONS
IN MY
CLOSET
A novel by
Dynah Zale
Editing Services provided by WordMaster Nate Productions LLC
http://wordmasternate.com
&
The Hand I Write With by Zakiyyah Zai'mah
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, either living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2011 by Carissa Evans
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be produced, distributed, or transmitted in any form by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
Dedication
This is the hardest dedication I’ve ever had to write,
Jason T. Howell (1973 -2009)
We’ve been cousins and friends since birth and there is a bond between us that not even death can remove. Until we meet again I’ll carry with me your spirit of forgiveness, kindness and laughter.
Loving You Always – Dynah
Acknowledgements
There are a slew of people who have kept my spirits lifted during my hiatus from the world of writing. Through emails, tweets and phone calls they kept me going and have pushed me to release something I am very proud of. I thank you all.
I’d like to tell DeJuan Boyd of Rabbitt Productions to Rise & Grind. Over the years he has been a shining example of a person on that daily grind.
Secondly, I would like to give special thanks to my accountant Marc Wasserman out of Mount Laurel, NJ. This is the man who keeps me balanced financially. He does a superb job with my taxes every year. He is so friendly and outgoing. It’s always a pleasure doing business with you.
I would also like to extend a long overdue thanks to Mr. Cyrus Webb. When I visited the city of Jackson, Mississippi his southern hospitality made me feel welcomed with an experience I will never forget.
Then a big shout out goes to the ladies of the SAVVY BOOK CLUB in Jackson, MS. I can’t express what a joy it was to meet with you ladies. I had such a memorable experience with you ladies that spending the evening with you is something I will never forget.
…and last but certainly not least. I have to give Him all the praise, glory and honor He is so worthy of. This project was definitely a thorn in my side and I asked God several times to take this cup from me, but with God’s guidance I endured and He lifted me up and carried me through. He will never give you more then you can handle. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
Love Dynah
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Chapter 1
A lone cry cut through the silence; like a razor-sharp dagger piercing the soul of the only two living people left in the church.
He had never felt this scared, alone or helpless before. Fear paralyzed his thoughts as chills ran up and down his spine faster than a one hundred yard dash. Seconds ago he witnessed an entire church congregation drop dead.
“What happened?” His wife mumbled.
The man wished he could answer his wife’s question and push aside any uncertainty in her heart, but he couldn’t. The sight of lifeless bodies surrounding them left him clueless.
Minute’s prior, the entire church was in full swing. It was an awfully joyous funeral; not many people were in mourning. Trumpets blared, tambourines clapped and drums roared from the Christian band. Every person in attendance stomped their feet to the beat of a classic soul-stirring hymn.
Then out of nowhere, a man appeared; a man who looked as though he had just returned from the battle of Jericho. The stranger staggered down the middle aisle dragging a bum leg behind him. His left eye purple and swollen shut; bottom lip split wide open. A badly soiled white button-down shirt full of blood clung to his torso like shredded rags.
He hobbled to the huge tattered wooden cross that hung from the church rafters.
“I’m a sinner.” He lifted his hands up to the sky and wept. “I know I’m a sinner and I can’t do this without you.”
The pastor of the church recognized the man and raced down to assist him. This was a familiar scene to him. Many men had come to the church seeking forgiveness after becoming cognizant of the wrong they had done. The huge bear hug Reverend Tomlin gave his “ole friend” was the only sign the stranger needed to confirm he had come to the right place. The pastor then whispered something that brought the man to his knees.
“Honey,” the woman whispered to her husband. “Isn’t that Councilman Dunn?”
The husband leaned over to get a better look, “It sure is. Man, I didn’t even recognize him. He looks horrible.”
The previous day’s newspaper headline shifted to the forefront of the wife’s mind. She covered her mouth with her hand. “All the things that man did to his child; now he’s here to repent? I don’t know if God is that forgiving.”
The longer she watched Councilman Dunn cry out in anguish, the more envious she felt. She was jealous because the councilman had the courage to come before the church to confess that he was a sinner before she had the courage to. Ready to join him, the woman reached for her husband’s hand and gripped it tightly. Then she attempted to walk out into the center aisle, but he pulled her back, “What are you doing?”
“I think we should join them.” She was anxious to become one of God’s children, “I think we should do it now.”
“I don’t think this is the right time.” He wasn’t as sure and gestured towards the front of the church. “Right now it looks like this man is having some serious problems.”
She turned to witness an altercation brewing. A huge angry crowd had gathered. They stood very close in proximity to a plethora of wreaths and standing funeral sprays. They stood so close that flowers began falling; and a mere three feet away from the deceased’s casket, a very irate man pointed his finger in the councilman’s face and threw nasty insults and accusations. Abruptly, a group of people marched out the church in protest.
Persistent, the woman whispered to her husband again, but this time with such urgency that she could not explain why she needed salvation at that moment. Her conscience was telling her to do one thing but her husband was asking her to do another. That little voice kept nagging in her ear telling her it was her time. “I still want to do it. What’s going on with them has nothing to do with us?”
“We can go up on Sunday when it’s a bit calmer.” He assured her. “This is a funeral. I want our commitment to the Lord to be a joyous event that neither of us will forget.”
Disappointed, she considered leaving him and going up alone, but knew she would never make such a big step without him by her side. As newlyweds, they made all major decisions together. Salvation was no exception.
Consenting to the plans her husband suggested, she sat back in the pew and watched as the Holy Spirit took control of the service. Members sprinted at top speed in the sanctuary, saints laid hands on people in need of prayer, and the deacons spoke in tongues.
Suddenly the air around them changed. The trumpet player blew into his horn one final time before life vanished from his eyes and he collapsed to the floor.
The couple looked around unsure of what was happening. Suddenly, they stood in a sea of lifeless bodies. It appeared as though God had sucked the life out of ever
y breathing being in the sanctuary – the entire congregation was dead, leaving only the married couple behind.
“God help us!” The wife searched for a pulse on the pastor’s wife but found none. Next, she pressed her fingers up against the organist’s throat still looking for a pulse. Nothing. Then she quickly scanned the sanctuary, praying for any signs of life: a hand twitching or a leg moving. Anything to let her know they weren’t alone.
“Come on.” Her husband took hold of her hand and led her towards the exit doors. “We have to get out of here and find some help.”
“Wait.” The wife refused to go and dug her heels into the carpet. “Something isn’t right.” She snatched her hand away and grabbed the nearest bible. She scanned the scriptures with her finger.
Desperate to leave, her husband hollered, “What are you doing?”
“Listen to this” she pointed to a verse in the book of Matthew. “‘Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.’” Confused her husband stared back at her. “We’re left behind. Jesus came and he left without us.” She screamed.
“What you’re saying doesn’t make any sense?” He snatched the bible away from her and threw it on a nearby pew. “When Jesus returns he will come and take all the Christians back with him. The bible didn’t say everybody would die first and then go to heaven. Nobody disappeared, everybody is dead.”
“What if God was telling us that instead of Jesus physically taking Christians back to heaven with him, he just took their souls.” Her husband turned his back to her and her assumptions. She continued, “What if we’ve been reading the bible wrong? Jesus could have come back and taken everyone’s soul; leaving behind their earthly bodies.”
He had to admit that what she was suggesting did make sense, but he didn’t have time to entertain any theories on what happened. He had to get them out of there. Unable to willingly get her to come with him he tossed her over his shoulder and marched out the church doors.
“We’re too late!” She cried. “It’s too late for us!”
She became hysterical; with legs flailing, she beat on his back and slapped him upside his head.
Outside, their attention was immediately drawn to the mayhem that had erupted. The moment he placed his wife back on her feet, a runaway bus sped pass them. Passengers trapped inside the bus desperately pounded on windows to escape. The bus driver appeared to be dead by the way his body slumped over the steering wheel. The couple watched in vain as the bus slammed into a nearby gas station, collided with several gas pumps and subsequently exploded into flames. The desperate passengers perished in the fire. They had a fighting chance of survival.
All around them mothers wept over dead babies in strollers. Husbands and wives cried over parents gone too soon.
The woman reached out for her husband’s hand and squeezed with all her might, “Jesus came back and left without us. We were too late.” She mumbled in a state of shock.
Chapter 2
His eyes fluttered a bit before his eyelids allowed a sliver of light to awaken him from his slumber. Garrett jolted to an upright position. His hands covered his eyes to shield them from the blinding light.
When his lids finally opened wide, his mouth formed a perfect ‘O’ and his heart pounded rapidly against his chest. He rubbed his eyes hard to adjust to the light, “I must be dreaming.”
In a daze he looked around at a utopia of light blue skies streaked with a multitude of pastel colored rainbows crisscrossing over his head.
Garrett stood to his feet and took a couple steps before realizing he was in an abyss of emptiness. He saw no buildings. No people. Nothing surrounded him except a peacefulness that soothed his soul.
The sweet smell of lilies, lilacs and roses in full bloom drifted past his nose. That’s when he noticed that the road he stood on was made entirely of red and brown jasper. The sound of running water turned his attention to the left. A few feet away, a river flowed with brilliant blue water.
Garrett knelt down along the riverbank and peered down into transparent water with hundreds of multicolored fish. He reached out his hand to touch the water when a school of gold fish lifted up their heads and shouted, “Hallelujah!”
Startled, he quickly pulled his hand back and stared in amazement. Then more fish joined in and the river was full of singing fish.
“Fish can’t sing.” Garrett rubbed his head in disbelief. “I may not know everything, but I do know that fish don’t sing.”
The choir of fish sang in perfect harmony. Every high note sounded better than the Supremes. Their melody was so precise and rhythm so mellow they could have put the Temptations to shame.
A cardinal, blue jay, humming bird and dove, surrounded Garrett to serenade him. The humming bird sang lead vocals.
“You sound just like Whitney Houston,” Garrett said. The hummingbird winked his eye at Garrett before flying away. The other birds followed and the fish instantly disappeared.
Then a fluorescent lime green ball of light skyrocketed past Garrett’s head like a cannon. The round sphere sailed through the air before making a bumpy landing less than five hundred feet from where Garrett stood. The ball rolled around on the ground and came to a complete stop right before Garrett’s feet. He watched as the ball slowly uncoiled itself revealing a ten-foot tall figure. Garrett’s mouth dropped wide open. He had never seen anything as radiant as what was standing before him now. His eyes marveled at the lime green effervescent column of rotating shredded crystals that spun around at lightning fast speed. It closely resembled a spinning tornado, but with much more grace.
The figure that stood before him was so appealing that it lured Garrett closer. Its radiance filled the entire area with eyes so purple they shined like gems.
Like a child, Garrett used two closed fists to rub each eye.
The figure extended its arms revealing magnificent wings. “Welcome.” The angel greeted him. “I’m Kiel, your guardian angel. I’ve been looking after you since the day you were conceived in your mother’s womb and now it’s a pleasure to welcome you back home.”
“Home?”
Kiel smiled warmly at Garrett’s response.
A flash of light swallowed them and they were instantly transported to a room that was fit for a king.
Walls made of one hundred percent platinum, columns decorated with over seven million different diamonds, rubies, emeralds and pearls. Twenty-four caret gold floors sparkled like stars in the sky.
“Is all this real?” Garrett couldn’t help reaching out to feel the walls.
"This is the Throne Room.” Kiel announced. “This is where Jehovah spends most of his time listening to prayers, watching over humans and making the universe move at his command."
“Jehovah?” Garrett’s eyebrows turned downward. “As in Jehovah Jireh?” Kiel nodded his head yes. “Jehovah Nissi?” Again Kiel nodded his head yes. “Jehovah Shalom?”
“The one and only God almighty.” Kiel watched to see what Garrett’s reaction would be. He realized that every human reacted differently to this news. Some people fell to their knees in worship, some wept and other’s simply passed out on the floor.
Revelation showed on Garrett’s face. The pieces were all starting to come together. He could search all of earth and never find any place that could compare.
“I made it!” Garrett imitated Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s dance from the Jerry McGuire movie when he caught that winning football pass. “I can’t believe I made it.” He screamed in excitement.
“Don’t get too excited.” Kiel hated to be the bearer of bad news. “You still have to make it past those pearly gates.” He pointed out across the riverbanks. “This is just an intercessory place for your soul. You still have to stand before the King for judgment.”
The level of excitement Garrett felt just moments before plummeted to the floor. Then for the first time since his journey began Garrett felt scared. “Judgment? What judgment?” Words poured from Garrett’s mouth so fast that
they were running together. “I don’t remember this being mentioned in church.”
“Perhaps it was discussed one of those Sundays you were hiding from God.” Garrett’s face turned red from guilt. “Or maybe this topic was preached on one of those Sundays when your mind was focused on your mayoral campaign instead of God.” Full of embarrassment Garrett felt like he could die, but apparently he was already dead. ”But I distinctly remember your pastor speaking on this subject several times.”
Garrett swallowed hard and thought back. He honestly didn’t recall his pastor ever teaching on this. “Okay, well since I can’t remember, why don’t you explain this to me.”
“It was written that before you start life anew, to live eternal life with the Father you must account for each and every sin you committed while on earth. Then God will render the final decision. If your name is written in the Book of Life, you get to spend eternity in paradise; if not then you spend eternity in hell.” Kiel explained.
“Well…Uh…” Garrett stuttered. “Is there any way I can get out of this, because I wasn’t aware of this part?”
“There is nothing you can do.” Kiel placed his hands behind his back. “What’s done is done.”
Garrett closed his eyes wishing he could hide. “What have I done?” He muttered. The mere thought of standing before God and having to relive all his sins a second time terrified him. Unpleasant memories flooded his mind. There were so many things in life he wished he had done differently. So many times he wished he had been obedient instead of disobedient. So many regrets.
“Garrett!” A loud boisterous voice interrupted his thoughts. Garrett knew it wasn’t Kiel who called his name and the only other person it could be was the Father. His heart nearly stopped at the thought. He stood frozen with fear.
