A Life After Death...

He stood by the coffin, looking at him with a dampened heart. Beside him was an angel, waiting for him to let go all his desires and to bring him to heaven to have his judgement. He finally decided that it was time to leave although his heart felt as if it was breaking into pieces to see his loved ones mourn over his death. He told the angel that he wanted to attend the funeral before he met his maker. The angel accepted his request and vanished into thin air.

His tomb was well decorated with flowers, the fragrance so alluring yet it brought tears to those around. Everyone was dressed in black, some kneeling, some standing but they all came with one purpose; to say their final goodbye to the man they used to call a friend, a husband, a father and a man whose death was inevitable. He looked at her, tried to place his hand on his wife’s shoulder but he could not feel her warmth. He tried to look at her in her eyes but it looked as if she could not see him. The angel approached him and said, "Pardon me, but it is time to leave, my child for He is waiting." He tailed the angel and left his burial site. "Hold my hand." The angel said. He grabbed her hand and soon he was lifted high above the azure sky. He closed his eyes as he was raised to His kingdom.

The angel uttered, "You may open your eyes now." He slowly opened his eyes and before him was faces he recognized, his father, mother, grandparents and others who were related to him. They were all deceased along time ago and here they are in a reunion. The Almighty sitting on his majestic, holy throne asked him to come forward. He then asked him, "Welcome to my eternal kingdom, my child. You have spent a valuable lifetime on earth with those you loved dearly so I have decided to invite you here and give you an eternal life to stay in my kingdom. Throughout your life, I have noticed your sincerity, your pure heart and your maturity and I am impressed with what you have done on earth. But I sense fear and sorrow in your heart right now, tell me child, why do you feel so?"

He muttered calmly, "My Lord, I have not done much in my life and I missed those I loved. I cannot imagine what their future will be like without me around." He answered, "My child, I shall let you visit your past and your generations’ future and may be you will find the key to unlock all your sadness. And if you passed my test, I shall let you have the freedom to choose whether you would like to be reincarnated or stay here and be part of our holy kingdom." He thanked Him and the angel brought him out of the throne room. "Past, Present, Future… you shall visit all of those realms and watch yourself and reflect if you have made the right decision. These realms are meant for your eyes only and cannot be altered. I shall be with you till you decide to meet His Grace one more time." The angel said to him.

He nodded and opened the door of the Past. As he entered the room, he could see a baby in the crib. Two adults seemed to be delighted and they played with the baby. "You were the jewel of your parents, their first born and your birth brought joy and bliss in their lives." Then he noticed, a boy walking across the room. He searched for a set of colour pencils and a blank paper then began drawing his family. "You loved your parents as much as they did to you." Later, the boy turned to be a teenager. The teenager looked outside his room window and noticed a pretty girl by the gate. He rushed to her and she gave him a letter. Both of them giggled and soon parted after exchanging smiles. "You were adorable and charismatic. Many fell for you yet you chose a simple girl, your neighbour, the girl whom you shared your childhood with." Grey clouds began to overshadow the teen’s house. The teen was crying, together with his mother and relatives by the bed. The doctor shook his head, gave a regretful sigh and left the room. The teen watched his father rested on the bed, there was no movement at all; he last saw him that odious day. "You were deeply grieved by your father’s passing and ever since you began cherishing life while you can because you have missed occasions where you could have at least give your father a comforting hug or just a warm chat." He visited his past event after event and each time the angel comforted him. Upon reaching the door end, the angel said, "You have a wonderful past, filled with innocence and purity. And these are major factors that created the man you will become in the Present. I am certain that your past have shown you what you did not see back then." He nodded and told her that he was more than satisfied to understand what he did or what those events were meant for. His regrets for the past gradually disappeared.

He then proceeded to the next door, the Present. He opened the door and saw his family in the living room. His wife had a sullen expression across her face, his three daughters stuck close to their mother trying to comfort one another. "They look sad, grieving upon your departure. In their moment of loss, there is nothing more important than to mourn." His eyes became teary but he could not feel the warm tear drop as it flowed down his cheek. He then took notice of his tomb. It was beautifully adorned with flowers and people whom he knew visited his tomb to give respect and bid farewell. "You will be remembered by those who knew you, even after your death." The Present had less to offer but at least it gave him a relief to know that his family was not traumatized and he found their bond to be closer somehow. The angel showed him the secrets that his wife and his daughters kept, mostly written in a diary.

"June 23rd, Dad came home late as we expected. Luckily, we waited for him and we saved his birthday cake. We had our first birthday celebration for Dad in a candlelit living room. It was rather romantic but I prefer the chocolate, black forest cake. Oh, happy 47th birthday, Dad…if you happen to see this. Love, Claire"
"May 3rd, Mom and Dad are having their wedding anniversary today. I wonder what they are going to give each other. From what I know, Dad always comes up with something new every year. Just last year, he bought her a mini piano. Mom has always loved playing piano. And guess what, she could play that mini piano with ‘a whole new world’ tune. Oh, I guess all of us are going to take a peek tonight in the living room, I bet it is going to be one of a kind. Love, Lisa."

"December 26th, Merry Christmas everyone; it is snowing cold. It is a great time to build snowman and have snow fight. I’m not going to lose again, Dad. You will not believe it, Dad, last night I had put a plate of cookies and a glass of warm milk by the table downstairs, near the telephone. And in the morning, they are all finished and I found candy sticks in the red sock I hung by the fireplace. Santa must have sneaked in last night. I’m going to catch him next year. Love, Beth."
"April 1st, to my wonderful husband, I have hidden your car key in the kitchen and I am glad you did not find it till this afternoon. You panicked that you will be late for work and desperately searching for your key high and low. Claire, Lisa, Beth and I were giggling away seeing you behave. Revenge is sweet. I hope you learnt your lesson and I will appreciate it if you do not hold any grudges on this matter. Love, Elena."
"To my handsome prince, I have been waiting for you to say ‘it’ for a long time. Now that you have admitted ‘it’, I think our relationship can start to blossom like the rose you gave me a few days ago. I was kind of nervous when I waited by your gate to give you my letter and worried that you would not come. But you did and that really make me feel so…you know, (blushing). Hope to hear from you soon. From your princess, Elena."

He smiled after looking at their writings; he did not know how much his family loved him. The angel said, "Love is a beautiful thing. And I am glad that you have such loving family and you must have felt the same towards them. But nothing last forever, even so, their memories of you will always have a room in their heart. Death is temporary loss, but all those memories will always live." He understood what she meant and continued to open the final door.

"Beyond this door is unpredictable." The angel said. After hesitating for a while, he entered the room, the Future door is opened. He saw emptiness at first but slowly, there was light, then there was life, water, air, plants, animals. He found a fountain by the garden. He walked towards the fountain and looked at the reflections on the water surface. Elena became a widow all her life, had adorable grandchildren and she still looked beautiful even at her old age. Claire married a rich man who loved her deeply. Lisa remained single, working as a vet and opened her own pet clinic. Beth is doing very well in school and received a scholarship to London to pursue law. Yet after decades of his death, his tomb was well maintained and flowers still were being placed. "Their future is bright and so will your next generations. They will walk the path you have taken and all of them will grow up to be just like you. There will always a part of you in all your future generation." He smiled but remained silent. The angel continued, "Let us go, there is nothing left that I can show you." Both of them head back to the throne room where His Majesty was waiting.

He asked him, "It was quite a trip, wasn’t it? My child, it is time you decide. Would you like to stay here and watch your family from afar or would you prefer to be reincarnated to be close with your family? Both ways, you win. You have impressed me from time to time when you are on earth and I want to test you once again and if you pass this test, I shall give you what you seek." He thought for a moment and made his decision…
"My lord, there is nothing I shall want. It was you who brought me to life and it was you who brought me here. The Past, Present and Future do not matter to me, I may have left those I cared for, but I have cherished every moment when I was alive. Now only my spirit remains and what I brought back together with this spirit worth much more than being reincarnated to be close to my family. And watching my family from afar would not gain both my family and I with anything. I would be glad to commit myself to you. There is nothing I shall want, My Lord." He answered.

"My child, you are special yet you are not arrogant, instead you are sincere and willing to let go of your desires. I no longer sense any fear and sorrow in you. You are true to yourself and I am impressed once again. Very well, my child, here is your final judgement. You will be sent back to earth as a guardian angel just like the one who brought you here. You will live an eternal life in my kingdom and shall never be reincarnated to feel pain, shame, guilt, lust, greed, anger, sloth and fear. You will be welcomed to the table of the Last Supper just like everyone here. Go now, spread the good news about my everlasting kingdom and lead the lost sheep back to the Promised Land, where life is everlasting."

There is peace in his heart, mind and soul. He received a life after death, an everlasting life for those who walk on the path of heaven. There is nothing he shall want…