Heaven and Hell (24 page)

Nothing could have prepared her for the intensity of the pain and terror of this ghastly experience. Despite her best efforts, the terrible black fluid penetrated into her body, through her nose, her ears, and between her lips. No part of her body was unaffected by the broiling touch of the black sea. It fried her tongue, and her eyes felt as if they would explode.

She tried to fight her way back to the surface, flailing her arms wildly through the thick, swirling inferno. She couldn’t even be sure if she was moving in the right direction, yet she eventually burst to the surface. She howled in pain, as a mouthful of the black oil mixed with boiling saliva and blood erupted from her lips.

She opened her eyes, only to see a wall of pitted black rock looming directly ahead. The current nearly threw her into the cliff before sweeping her away once more. Again she was swept toward the rocks. Again she was drawn away. She vanished below the surface of the black sea once more, pulled downward by the powerful undertow. She kicked and flailed wildly before emerging again. An instant later, she was bounced mercilessly off the cliff. She was pulled back once more stunned and bruised.

Nothing in her experience could have prepared her for this. It was a pain beyond pain, an engulfing agony for which there were no words, for life could not offer its equal. She was tossed and swirled around again and again by the violence of a sea like none other, and through it all, she screamed as she had never screamed before.

For an instant, through the rippling waves of heat, she saw satan, standing at the threshold of the cliff; then he was gone. Serena fought against the pain and formulated a desperate plan. The cliff. If the waves threw her against it again, she just might be able to get a handhold. Yes, it was almost vertical, but its rugged, pocked surface was filled with small crevices and holes, potential handholds if she could just reach them.

Yet the current was sweeping her away into the open sea. She tried to swim, but the black slime was hot and unyielding. Her plan faded into a screaming realm of pain, which swiftly became the center of her world.

Her beautiful long hair burst into flames, burning to blackened stubble. She struggled desperately, to what ends she knew not. For a few seconds, her right arm emerged from the undulating sea—a steaming mass of scalded flesh oozed with bubbling dark blood.

“Oh God!” she cried, thrashing about, pushing upon the dark surface of the seething sea, trying to prevent herself from vanishing beneath the swirling mass. It took all of her effort to prevent it from swallowing her. The flesh above the dreadful touch of the searing sea was caressed by the flames, lending to it a different yet no less terrible pain than that below. Her face was soon covered with ugly red splotches. She could feel the intense heat penetrating her body, the pain plunging ever deeper. A growing cloud of steam and smoke erupted from the boiling black mass surrounding her, as her blood boiled and vaporized. Were she not immortal, Serena was certain that she would already have been dead.

Within a minute, the terrible searing pain had penetrated to the deepest regions of her body. Her lungs burned with a terrible agony, as the immense pressure of a heart attack struck at the very core of her chest. The red splotches on her skin swelled and pulsated, and the veins and arteries in her neck bulged. She gasped in terror; her blood was boiling within her! She coughed up volumes of her life’s essence; it oozed from her nose and the corners of her eyes.

Her skin finally yielded to the growing pressure from within, and steaming blood issued forth from great rents. Surely she would pass into shock from the total collapse of her internal organs, but she didn’t; if anything she was more alert.

She was tossed around in the turbulence as her body was reduced to a seething mass of desecrated flesh. She was swept into an erupting plume of black horror, swirled round and round before being cast into the torrid air, and back into the burning sea. Through it all, her tortured flesh still managed to cling to her bones, a ragged reminder of the smooth skin that had once been.

The incredible regenerative powers of this immortal body would fight an eternal battle with the great sea, preventing her from being completely consumed. Already it had reached an equilibrium in which destruction and regeneration struggled to reach diametrically opposite goals.

The nature and intensity of her agony also reached equilibrium as she watched the shoreline fade into the distance. Soon her horizon would hold only a lonely vista of fire upon black swirling fury. Thus it would be for all times. Surely there were others here, adrift in this sea of agony, but if there were, they must be scattered far and wide, for she had not yet seen them.

Hell was real, not a dream, not a fantasy, but a horrible reality, and it would be her reality for all time. With only her agony to keep her company, she would be tossed about forever amid the waves, forgotten by all those she had ever loved, save one. Perhaps she was even forgotten by God. Her eternity had just begun.

C
HRIS Davis opened his eyes to sunlight streaming in through the great window of his bedroom. The white translucent drapes rippled gently in the slight breeze that blew in from the garden. Chris stretched his arms wide and sat up on his large, oak canopy bed. He’d had another wonderful night’s sleep. He’d never been much of a morning person, but that was all in the past, on Earth.

Upon the white pillow beside Chris, Ebbie stretched lazily, apparently aware that her human friend was now awake. She looked toward Chris, at first with only one yellow eye, then two. Her mouth briefly opened, but no sound came forth. To Chris, it almost seemed as if his companion was smiling at him.

“Ebbie, you silly thing,” Chris said softly, stroking his bedmate gently on the head and then down the back. His actions elicited a gentle soothing purr. “Are you ready for another beautiful day?”

Of course, there was no answer, yet Chris could sense that Ebbie was ready to go. Chris sat up in bed. His large bedroom seemed so familiar, despite the fact he had been here less than a week. The flower pattern of the wallpaper, the shiny hardwood floor, and many throw rugs, all reminded him of his bedroom in his parents’ old home outside of Eugene, Oregon, only on a far grander scale. They’d moved out of that old house when he was 12. The house they had moved into in Salem was larger and newer, but it somehow lacked the distinctive character of the old home in Eugene. It was the memory of that old house that he treasured. Even the pleasant garden that lay beyond the white double French doors was reminiscent of that house, that era. He chuckled as he swung his feet out over the end of the bed.

“Lord, you said that there were many mansions here,” said Chris, knowing that God heard the voices of all of his children. “I had no idea that the one you had prepared for Mom and me would be so wonderful.” He glanced once more at the beautiful cat, standing on the bed at his side. “And you didn’t forget a thing.”

Wearing only his white nightshirt, Chris walked barefoot across the floor and through the French doors into the garden, followed by his furry black companion. There were so many different and magnificent flowers, and their aromatic fragrance filled the cool clear air. He looked around at pure green grass and a garden full of vegetables without a single weed. Surely, such perfection could not have been achieved on Earth.

Beyond the garden and the vineyard, beyond the great lawn and the hedge, was the vast forest. Perhaps he would go there again today, to wander through the handiwork of God’s creation. Yesterday he’d had many a pleasant encounter there, both with other people who appreciated its intricacies and grand design, and with the wildlife, which neither feared nor posed any danger to him.

He smiled when he thought of yesterday and his encounter with a tiger in the depths of that forest. He hadn’t even noticed the great beast until he was practically upon him. At first he was alarmed, yet the great animal had made no threatening moves. He just sat there, doing nothing more than swinging his long tail back and forth. Then he stretched out in the gentle sun with a look that showed Chris he had no reason to fear. He remembered a Bible verse that told of the lion lying down beside the lamb. That probably applied to tigers too.

Chris also remembered his encounter with a large, partially buried rock. He had been so caught up with the beauty of the colorful birds amid the trees, that he tripped over a round rock, and down he went, scraping his knee in the process. Yet, even as he dusted himself off and examined the minor scrape, it vanished before his very eyes. Within 30 seconds, it had totally healed—a testimony to the incredible regenerative power of a glorified body, a physical form without flaw, designed to last for eternity.

He would never have to concern himself with the ravaging effects of time. No more trips to the health food store for vitamins, antioxidants, or protein supplements. Back on Earth, he had spent a lot of his hard-earned money on those sorts of things. It was probably his background in health care that had made him so aware of the body’s basic dietary needs. Quite abruptly, his thoughts seemed to run up against a roadblock. There was something significant about the health food store, something beyond the vitamins and mineral supplements. It was important, of that he was certain, yet it was also illusive, a sort of phantom memory.

It was like a jigsaw puzzle, this earthly life he had left behind. All of the existing pieces fit together fine, but there were gaps, missing pieces. One of those pieces had something to do with health food. No, not with health food, but with the store, a specific store. The New Life Center; yes, that was the place. He could picture the little downtown shop, wedged between the old theatre and the dollar store. It was just two blocks from the community hospital where he worked as an X-ray technician; and he’d walked there quite often. He even remembered the things he purchased, but that was where his memories ended.

He recalled the words of Jesus, when he had brought him here six days ago. He had said something about painful memories, about them being blocked, about loved ones he would never see again. The fragmentary nature of his remembered life during the past five years had something to do with that. It made him feel uncomfortable. Should he seek the answers?

“Chris, I do believe that you and that old cat of yours have fallen in love with my garden.”

Chris turned to see his mother standing by the French doors, wearing a long white dressing gown. Her blue eyes practically sparkled. Chris walked to her and wrapped his arms about her, kissing her on the cheek. He felt like he could have hung on forever. Come to think of it, he did have forever. “Good morning, Mom, I hope you had a nice rest.”

“Wonderful,” said Jennifer.

“I can hardly believe that I’m here with you,” said Chris. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too, Chris,” said Jennifer. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

“Meow.” Ebbie looked up at her two favorite people, doing her best to join the circle of joy.

Jennifer glanced down to meet the glance of her yellow-eyed friend. “Yes, Ebbie, I missed you too.” Ebbie seemed to understand. She walked around Jennifer’s ankles, as she had so often done on Earth. Jennifer had always liked that, the feel of her soft fur.

“You know, when Ebbie first showed up here a few days before you did, I was confused. I was sitting on the porch swing, just daydreaming. The next thing I knew, she jumped up on my lap, and started purring away. I knew that it was her right away. I really didn’t think I’d ever see her again.

“The Bible is rather silent when it comes to the topic of our beloved pets, and I’d never thought to ask the Father about it. But, then again, why shouldn’t they be here? They were so much a part of our lives on Earth, why can’t they be a part of our lives here? She was here because you were coming, and God knew just how much you loved her. She is a gift from God to you.”

“Having the two of you with me makes my life complete,” Chris said, smiling broadly.

Jennifer continued, “When our Lord saw fit to take me from the world, to deliver me from that terrible pain, I was so very thankful. But I quickly realized that I had lost you and your father. Here in Heaven, I had everything I could ever have wanted, except the two of you. You guys were my life. I missed you both terribly; still, I wish that you could have had more time on Earth, a larger portion of life. But, I’ll not be questioning God’s wisdom on that matter.”

“I worry about Dad,” said Chris. “He’s all alone now.”

“Your father is strong. His faith is strong. He’ll get through this, you’ll see. The day is coming when we’ll all be together again, here in the loving hands of our heavenly Father.”

Quite abruptly, the direction of the conversation changed. “Mom, how well do you remember your life on Earth?”

Jennifer looked into her son’s eyes. That question didn’t surprise her at all, yet she responded with another question. “Why do you ask, dear?”

“Well, I guess I’ve been trying to evaluate my life on Earth, sort of in retrospect.”

“Yes?” Jennifer said.

“Well, the thing is, I’m having trouble remembering details. I was never like that. I mean, I seem to know everyone I meet here in Heaven. Yesterday, I ran into this wonderful white-haired man in the woods. We had a fascinating conversation. We talked just like we were old friends. I knew that I couldn’t possibly have met him on Earth, he came here centuries before I was even born, but I did know him, felt very comfortable around him.”