This story is by Lorena Kiefer and was part of our 2023 Fall Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here.
My name is Bruce and it had been a long, long night. Usually, I would greet one or two people and help them pass into the light on their way to the other side after passing away. Tonight, it had started with an elderly lady who had passed in her sleep in her home. She had always been a devoted Catholic and did not really understand what happens when you die. She felt that it would be like going to sleep and that was the end of it.
When I greeted her as her spirit rose from her body, she was afraid of me. I took her hands and turned her around to view her body on the bed. She looked so peaceful.
“That cannot be me. I am not ready to die. I have nothing wrong with my health. Why did I die? and, who are you?” she asked me.
“I am your guide that will be leading you to your place beside God where you will have no more pain and will live in peace until when and if it is decided that you will be born again to a new life.”
“I do not believe in reincarnation or whatever it is called on this side of life. When you die that is the end,” she said.
“You will be given the chance to learn and understand how things are achieved to give you a peaceful afterlife or a chance at another life. It will be up to you once you are given the information you will need to collaborate with God to decide what is best for you,” I said.
“Are you sure this is what I am supposed to do?” she asked.
“Yes. We are all given a choice if we want to finish out our days with God or come back in another life. I hope you will learn what you want, and I will see you on the other side sometime,” I said.
After I spoke, she turned towards the light and started her journey.
It always took a lot out of me to pass someone over. I did not know why, but I was totally drained and ready to call it a night.
Tonight, though I was not going to have a chance to recoup before I would be asked to pass another soul into the light. This time it was a young man who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“I am not dead. You must be joking. I am only seventeen. I am still in school. I have not even had sex yet. You must be out of your mind. “No way, no how,” was all he could say.
“You should have thought of that when you decided you wanted to hold up that store with a gun. You know that is not legal or ethical. You did not even know the shop owner. Were you planning to shoot him if he did not hand over the cash?” I said.
He was hard to convince. We moved to where his body lay on the floor of the store. “Is that you?” I asked.
“Do you see your chest moving?” I asked.
“Are you moving at all?” I asked.
He just kept shaking his head and saying “No, no, no. It cannot be. I am not ready to die,” he said.
“It is too late. You are dead. Now you will be passing through the light to the afterlife. You will have the opportunity to be born into a new life and you will be able to remember what you did wrong in your current life and try not to make the same mistakes. God will be helping you to learn the error of your ways and how to have another life where you may be able to remember your past and not repeat it.” I hoped that he would decide to give himself another chance with another life.
He finally accepted the fact that he was dead. And he slowly moved through the light. He waved as he passed through the light and said thank you.
Now I can rest and get some sleep before I need to go to work in the morning. But it was not meant to be. There was another knocking on my desk beside me.
“I am tired and need some sleep.”
God answered that he needed me to help one more soul to pass to the light. When I was shown the soul, I wished that someone else would be doing this one. It was just a little baby that had passed from SIDS and had not even started to enjoy life or learn what life was about.
At least it would be easier because I would not have to explain, but I still did not like passing a baby to the other side. I knew that she would be greeted with several pairs of open arms and would start her on her way to a new life with a new family. I often wondered who would be helping her family to accept the fact that their child had died. I had never been involved with the grieving family.
This is what I have been shown to believe is that there is life after death, and that sometimes you do come back again. I personally have been back several times. I have a spirit that has collaborated with me and helped me along the way. Her name is Amoli. We have been together for over four hundred years.
She would visit me during each of my lifetimes. During my current life, she has stood aside as she felt that my wife was a strong enough woman to understand what I did and what I was asked to do by God. As I lay in my bed in the hospice waiting for my time to come, Amoli stood by my bed, but my wife could not see her.
Lorena looked at me. We had been married for 49 years and I had told her about my adventures with Amoli. She knew that Amoli had been in the shadows waiting for me to join her again. She knew my time was near.
She turned and said, “Amoli, I know you are here, and I know that Bruce will not be getting better this time. It is time for him to join you once again. I also know that he will be made whole again and will not have the illnesses he has suffered with in this lifetime. I love him and will always love him and know that he was a special person sent here by God to help others.” Just a few minutes later I passed.
I am now with Amoli, and we are fighting battles again. I got my legs back that I had lost due to diabetes and all my health issues are gone.
I would not trade my life, or should I say lives for anything, I have helped many people to pass to the other side and to accept the fact that they have passed. They should look forward to it not being the end of their time collaborating with God and doing his work when they die. He has plans for all of us, be it one life or many.
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