He was old. He felt old. His body did not work right anymore, and
he was always tired. His eyes were rheumy, and there were pains in his
joints that woke him in the cold night time.
One night, as he slept, a soft white light filled his hut. He
looked up, and saw the most beautiful Lady he had ever seen standing in
the room.
"Who are you?" he whispered.
"Death," She answered, quietly.
"Death?" His reply was confused. "I never thought Death would be
so beautiful! We have always pictured you as some kind of spectre of
fear."
The Lady smiled. "You only fear Death because you do not remember
it. Just as you fear Life, because you do not remember it. Come. Walk
with me, and be at peace."
He got out of the straw bed, and walked to Her. She took his
hand, and he looked back at the bed. He saw his body, laying there. Still
and unmoving. Dead.
"It's quite a shock, isn't it?" Her voice was calm.
"Am I .... dead?"
"Most assuredly so. Come."
They walked out of the cottage, hand in hand, and he noticed that
they were not walking thru the streets of the village where he had lived.
"Where are we?"
"You'll see in a moment. Wait."
"Am I bound for Hell?" he asked.
She stopped, and looked him in the eyes.
"There is no Hell. You have lived as most humans do, loving,
hating, being loved and being hated. You did the best you could with the
Light you had to see by. You have learned much, and earned much."
Her voice was low, but filled with a vibrancy that touched his
very soul.
They continued a little way down a hill, and then turned a
corner, or something very much like it, and he saw, and heard the
laughter.
"Is it Heaven? What is it? It's beautiful!"
"This is the Summerland. Here you will rest a while, and play,
and perhaps meet old playmates again and discuss your Game, and ways to
improve it. It is time for you to remember all your lives."
She reached up, and softly touched him on the forehead.
"Now remember."
And he did.
"It is time for you to go now."
The Lady spoke to him in a sweet voice.
"So soon?" he answered, "It seems as if I just arrived."
"It always does," she smiled, "But it's time to move on to
another life and another body. You'll like this one."
"I hope so. Buchenwald was not pleasant...."
"No, it isn't. But, like you folks say, 'that's Life!'"
He laughed, and stood up on the so-green grass.
"Yeah, I guess it is. See you in a while, folks."
The Circle of friends waved at him, wishing him luck and good
fortune, and he and the Lady moved off into a misty area.
"Pretty foggy here," he remarked.
"It will clear up soon," she said, and she took his hand.
They walked for a long time, until he saw they were on a quiet
street in a small town. It looked like a nice place. Around the corner
was a park, and in it, two people, a man and a woman, were sitting on a
bench, holding hands. They were deeply in love, and that love shone
around them to those with eyes to see.
"These are your parents. They're nobody special, but they're nice
people and you'll like them," She said.
"They look like nice folks," he replied. "Anything I need to know
before I do this?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you. Life is one of those things that
you just have to experience on your own."
"OK," he said, "I guess You're right, all things considered."
The Lady laughed, and touched him on the forehead.
"Now forget, for a time, until you return to Me."
And there was a timeless time, and some of him went to the
forming child, not separating from him, but to the child none the less,
and he was the child, and himself also, and he returned to the
Summerland, rejoining the Circle.
"I'm back," he said.
"Did you ever leave?" they asked.
He just laughed.
Thus it was, and so it is, and evermore shall be so!
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