God said, “Hell is as wide, but Heaven is deeper. All Hell could be
engulfed in Heaven, but all Heaven could not be engulfed in Hell.”
And we entered. It was a still great land. The mountains rose on every
hand, and there was a pale clear light; and I saw it came from the rocks
and stones. I asked God how it was.
But God did not answer me.
I looked and wondered, for I had thought Heaven would be otherwise. And
after a while it began to grow brighter, as if the day were breaking,
and I asked God if the sun were not going to rise.
God said, “No; we are coming to where the people are.”
And as we went on it grew brighter and brighter till it was burning
day; and on the rock were flowers blooming, and trees blossomed at the
roadside; and streams of water ran everywhere, and I heard the birds
singing; I asked God where they were.
God said, “It is the people calling to one another.”
And when we came nearer I saw them walking, and they shone as they
walked. I asked God how it was they wore no covering.
God said, “Because all their body gives the light; they dare not cover
any part.”
And I asked God what they were doing.
God said, “Shining on the plants that they may grow.”
And I saw that some were working in companies, and some alone, but most
were in twos, sometimes two men and sometimes two women; but generally
there was one man and one woman; and I asked God how it was.
God said, “When one man and one woman shine together, it makes the most
perfect light. Many plants need that for their growing. Nevertheless,
there are more kinds of plants in Heaven than one, and they need many
kinds of light.”
And one from among the people came running towards me; and when he came
near it seemed to me that he and I had played together when we were
little children, and that we had been born on the same day. And I told
God what I felt; God said, “All men feel so in Heaven when another comes
towards them.”
And he who ran towards me held my hand, and led me through the bright
lights. And when we came among the trees he sang aloud, and his
companion answered, and it was a woman, and he showed me to her. She
said, “He must have water”; and she took some in her hands, and fed me
(I had been afraid to drink of the water in Hell), and they gathered
fruit for me, and gave it me to eat. They said, “We shone long to make
it ripen,” and they laughed together as they saw me eat it.
The man said, “He is very weary; he must sleep” (for I had not dared to
sleep in Hell), and he laid my head on his companion’s knee and spread
her hair out over me. I slept, and all the while in my sleep I thought
I heard the birds calling across me. And when I woke it was like early
morning, with the dew on everything.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account