“Well, go on,” he demanded.

  Jesus began.

  “This is Ruach.”

  Yuri took in the shimmering colours emanating from her form. She was unlike anything he’d ever seen, and although he wanted to stare at her, he lowered his gaze.

  “We are here because we love you. We’ve been with you your whole life, and we are going to be discussing what you did and what was done to you. You have passed from the Previous Age, and we are responsible for you.”

  “Everything we say and do is for your ultimate good,” added Ruach.

  Yuri’s face darkened.

  “I’m dead? But I’m alive? But… ” Yuri stopped, rendered speechless.

  “You have passed over from the Previous Age, where you were conceived, born and began your journey as a human being. Your Previous Age body died of sudden heart failure after you were ambushed. Your life was full of violence – violence against you, and violence by your hand. However, the essence of who you are, your spirit, is greater than your body and the things you did. We are here to help you understand this.” Jesus paused to allow this to sink in.

  Yuri’s eyes were locked on Jesus. He was listening but struggling to take in the fact that he was no longer living his life as he knew it.

  “Everybody, including you, was made for loving relationships and deep connections with those around them. For reasons that we shall explore, you have not experienced this. We have ways to help you discover this wonderful way of living, but you’ll have to learn to trust us.”

  “Trust you? I don’t even know who you are?” Yuri yelled indignantly.

  “You see Gulag?” asked Ruach.

  Yuri’s face softened at the sight of Gulag’s adoring eyes staring back at him.

  “We are the ones who give life. We are the ones with the creative means to restore all things and encourage reconciliation. All things that were born, lived and shared in our great gift of life, these things are being made new and encouraged to mature.”

  “You sound like you are playing God.”

  Jesus smiled. “That’s an interesting expression.”

  “So, you are God?” snapped Yuri.

  “Well, it depends on what you mean by God.”

  Yuri was stumped again for a second.

  “Isn’t God almighty? If you’re saying I was evil, aren’t I meant to be damned? I never believed in God anyway, but if this afterlife bullshit is actually real, shouldn’t I be thrown into the flames or something like that?”

  Ruach drew Yuri’s attention.

  “We aren’t into torture. We are more interested in encouraging your journey into pure, unfailing love: agape love. That’s what all of this is about.”

  “The only thing I ever loved was this dog!”

  “And that’s why we start with him,” responded Ruach, warmly.

  “If you’re not ready to talk with us, you can wait with Gulag for as long as you need. Just head back into the living room.”

  Yuri hesitated. He was caught between two options, both of which left him feeling powerless and weakened. He was not used to this.

  “No, I’ll stay,” he said abruptly.

  “I’m glad,” replied Jesus.

  Yuri fixed his eyes on Jesus.

  “How would you describe your life?” Jesus asked.

  Yuri considered his response for a few seconds.

  “I learned that the only way to survive was to be the top dog. If you gave me life, then why are you blaming me for trying to live it? You don’t know anything. You don’t know what it’s like to be born poor and to be abused.”

  For the first time, Yuri saw Jesus’ face turn more serious.

  “Actually, I do. But this isn’t about me. We aren’t here to condemn you.”

  “So, if I’m guilty? Then give me what I deserve. If you’re really God, then you can strike me, or torment me, or snuff me out! Yes, I had a shit life. Well done! Well done God for giving me a shit life.” Yuri sarcastically clapped his hands in mock applause.

  Jesus looked Yuri firmly in the eye.

  “Yuri, I realise you…”

  “Fuck off!” interrupted Yuri. “I’m done with this. Get me out of here.”

  Jesus nodded.

  “Ok. You can go out of that door if you want to leave.” Jesus pointed to the back door.

  Yuri got up with Gulag following him.

  “Fuck this!” he cursed as he strode out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

  *

  Fran was aware of the sound of her own breathing and opened her eyes. Looking around she found herself on a very comfortable sofa in a living room that felt somewhat familiar. Fran was immediately excited, but at once also embarrassed to find she was naked. Looking down at her body she was thrilled to see it was youthful again. With a great sense of relief, she saw a wardrobe with open doors across the room; it was full of clothes that looked like hers. She hurried over and got herself dressed.

  Fran didn’t have to know everything to guess that she wasn’t in Hell and was therefore probably about to meet God. She rubbed her hands together, and as she did so, she noticed that all her liver spots had disappeared and her whole body was zinging with life. She was impressed with how real everything felt.

  Fran tried to recollect her final memories. She remembered that she had skin cancer and had been surrounded by her children and her grandchildren in the hospital bed. She remembered the beeps of the machines keeping her sedated and the foreign nurses with their accents that she didn’t like. However, she was pleased that she couldn’t recall the actual moment of death.

  Fran began to look around the room. It was simply furnished and illuminated with what she presumed was sunlight. Fran felt that maybe God’s living room could be a little more impressive and wondered why she was on her own.

  She noticed a door next to the sofa and couldn’t help but open it. There was a moderately-sized entrance hall and another door with a frosted-glass panel. Whatever was behind that door glowed with a warm orange light.

  Fran crossed the hall and strained to hear any noises that might give her a clue as to what lay behind it.

  Without warning the door opened and a man with wavy black hair, olive skin and a short beard stood facing her. He smiled.

  “Fran,” said the man with a welcoming warmth.

  “Yes. Hello,” said Fran. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Jesus,” replied the man.

  Fran couldn’t prevent a perturbed look from crossing her face. “You’re Jesus Christ?”

  Jesus smiled.

  “The Son of God? The Lord?” Fran continued, her voice high-pitched with surprise.

  “Some might say that.” Jesus seemed slightly amused.

  “But you’re so… you’re so…”

  Jesus stood smiling, waiting for Fran to finish.

  “Not what you had in mind?” he eventually chuckled as Fran continued to search for the right words.

  “Well, no, it’s… I don’t…,” she stuttered.

  “Come on in,” invited Jesus, holding out an arm to keep the door open. Fran couldn’t help but notice a large ugly scar on Jesus’ wrist as she passed him and entered the kitchen.

  “Francesca!” said a being, seated at the table, radiating an attractive glow.

  “This is Ruach,” explained Jesus.

  “Who?” said Fran, curtly.

  “You may have known me as ‘the Holy Ghost’ or ‘the Holy Spirit’,” said Ruach.

  “Right! Ok! So I have the Son and the Holy Ghost,” said Fran slowly. “Where is the Father?”

  “Papa leaves this bit to us,” replied Jesus.

  “This bit?” questioned Fran.

  “Yes, it’s your… let’s call it… appraisal. We’re going to talk through your life in the Previous Age.”

  “Previous Age? Oh, Ok. I’m in Heaven though, right? This is the ‘age to come’?”

  “It’s one of them,” replied Ruach.

  “Here,” said Jesus as he put a cream soda float in front of Fran.

  She was delighted. “Goodness! I haven’t had one of these since I was a child.”

  Fran took a sip and smacked her lips excitedly.

  “So, I’m very pleased to be here in Heaven. I always knew I would be coming here. Is it true I get a mansion?”

  Jesus looked back at Fran with a slightly furrowed brow.

  “Slow down a bit, Fran,” he said with an unsettling seriousness. “We have to talk about some things first.”

  “Why?” Fran said obstinately. “I believed in you and went to church every Sunday. I have always been a Christian. And now for my reward!”

  Jesus took a seat next to Fran at the kitchen table.

  “Fran, firstly you must understand that we love you. Love is above all. But, we desire that you come to fully choose agape love. This is our hope for everyone.”

  “Whatever do you mean? I loved my friends and my family as best I could. This is not what I expected from you, Jesus!” she said crossly. “You said there would be no condemnation for those in… well… you.”

  “What do you think that means?” asked Jesus, with a kindness in his eyes that irritated Fran.

  “So, am I going to Heaven or not?” she demanded.

  “Fran, you are now on the New Earth. It can feel like Heaven, or it can feel like what some might call Hell. Your attitude and desires will determine how you perceive things. You are the only one who can determine your openness to agape love,” Ruach explained.

  “That is not what I was told,” said Fran, arms folded in a child-like sulk. “All that going to church for this?”

  *

  Adilah stirred, stretched out her arms above her head and yawned. A rush of endorphins made her feel good. Expecting it to wear off and be replaced with the usual aches, Adilah was surprised to feel a teeming joyful buzz pulsating through her body. She opened her eyes to find herself in a room with log walls. Golden light streamed through the windows and she could smell something cooking nearby. She sat up and found herself on a sofa.

  Adilah didn’t really mind where she was, because she immediately felt safe. She had not felt safe for such a long time. Maybe she had been given a new life as a rich person, she wondered. She reached up and touched her face. The injury that had marred her appearance had gone. Delighted, she reached up to where previously the wounds had robbed her of her hair. She laughed out loud as she ran her fingers through her hair and looked around for a mirror. She saw some beautiful dresses hanging on a rail. Realising her nakedness, she was pleased to get dressed. The clothes were exquisitely made and fitted her perfectly.

  She heard a knock at the door to her left.

  “Hello?” she called softly, nervous to meet anyone in this mysterious place.

  “Hello Adilah,” called back a voice. “May I come in?”

  “Yes,” answered Adilah politely, presuming the voice belonged to the owner of this home.

  The door opened with a slight creak. A man peered around the door smiling and holding a hand mirror. Somehow, despite all she’d been through at the hands of men, she sensed this man was not a threat to her. There was a kindness in his eyes like nothing she had ever encountered before.

  “Here,” he offered her the mirror.

  Adilah took it in her hands and shrieked out loud, clasping a hand to her mouth. Looking back at her was her reflection. She was clearly still Adilah, a young woman from West Africa, but her facial scars had completely gone.

  “Uncle, I do not understand!” she gasped.

  “Adilah, your time of healing has come. You are safe here.”

  “Where am I?”

  “You are a guest in my house. Please, would you come and meet my friend.”

  Adilah didn’t need to be convinced. She stood up, ready to follow Jesus. He led her across a short hall into a kitchen.

  Adilah gasped.

  “Oh, Friend! Is that really you?”

  Ruach came across the room and the walls were ablaze with colours as she took Adilah in her arms. She wrapped her in a hug that felt like being held by the very source of love itself.

  In the embrace, Adilah felt her consciousness expand past both her body and the room and begin to fill the surroundings of the house. In every direction, she felt a euphoric freedom emanate from her inner being.

  Ruach began to gently loosen the cosmic hug and Adilah’s consciousness gently retracted back to her body.

  “Friend, I knew one day I would see you.” Adilah’s tears flowed freely.

  Jesus stirred Adilah’s favourite drink, deeply moved by the encounter.

  “Friend, you were always with me and somehow … within me. Even when I hurt the most, even as I was dying, you never left me. I couldn’t see you, but I knew your voice, I knew your presence.”

  Ruach gently ran her hand down Adilah’s cheek, wiping her tears away.

  Adilah looked at Jesus.

  “I beg your pardon, Uncle, but I don’t know your name?”

  “You can call me Jesus,” he said, passing Adilah a glass of mixed fruit juice.

  “Jesus? I thank you.” Adilah slightly bowed her head as she accepted the drink.

  “What has happened to me?” she asked, timidly.

  “You died and we raised you,” replied Jesus.

  “But how? How is it you can you do this for me?”

  “We have life to give. We do this for every single person. Everyone is special, a one off, and everyone is loved,” added Ruach.

  Adilah suddenly became anxious.

  “Every person? The militia? Are they here too?”

  “You are safe now,” answered Jesus.

  “Ok, but where am I?” asked Adilah, still unsure how safe she really was.

  “You are on the New Earth. We are in the next age now. This is a time of deep healing for all. But Adilah, you know much of the ways of agape love already.”

  “Agape love?”

  “Yes, my darling Adilah, the highest form of love,” replied Ruach. “And we have prepared a place for you.”

  “I do not deserve this,” whispered Adilah.

  Ruach leaned slightly closer to her.

  “You were always worthy of our love. The suffering you experienced in the Previous Age and the way your heart was so open have prepared you for what is to come.”

  Yuri

  Yuri tried to walk with his usual imposing attitude, but this was proving more challenging in this unfamiliar terrain. The path leading away from the house led into a land the like of which he had never seen before. Huge trees with thick trunks and dense branches stood proud across the undulating hills. Sounds of all kinds of animal life could be heard, hidden from view by lush green leaves. Gulag pricked up his ears, alert to his surroundings but not afraid.

  Looking up, Yuri noticed the sky was awash with vivid hues in a sweeping gradient. Purple, pink, peach, orange, red – it was breathtaking. But he was a little unsettled by what appeared to be three suns in the sky. One seemed to be the sun as he knew it, but there were two other orbs that also illuminated the cosmos, too big to be stars and too bright to be planets, yet there they were.

  Yuri and Gulag walked for a long time, and he began to feel a creeping sense of desperation. For most of his existence he had been surrounded by people who listened to everything he said. They feared him and he thrived off it. Every day he had all his wants taken care of. To be without human company in a strange land was a nightmare come true. He felt robbed of power, and it angered him.

  Eventually, Yuri sat down on the grass at the side of the path, and Gulag nuzzled up beside him. The only sounds were the animals in the trees and a gentle breeze rippling through the long grass and leaves. Yuri looked at the sky and, for the briefest of moments, he forgot his anger as he took in all the colours. But almost immediately his anxiety returned. He stood up and looked back in the direction from which he’d come. He’d lost sight of the house a long time ago.

  Scanning the horizon in the other direction, Yuri’s heart jumped when he saw two figures on the crest of a hill. They were a good way off but close enough for him to see that they were dressed in white. One was clearly a big man, and the other also tall but more slender.

  Yuri immediately began calculating how he could rob them. Surely travellers had money, and maybe food and water too? To his intense irritation, he realised that they were standing watching him.

  Trying to appear as big as possible, Yuri began marching up the hill, his chest puffed out. The two figures in white simply watched him approach.

  Yuri detested being looked down upon. Approaching from beneath them made him feel like a child and by now he was raging.

  “Yuri!” one of the figures called out.

  Hearing his name stopped Yuri in his tracks, a good hundred metres away from them.

  “Who the fuck are you?” he demanded.

  “Would you like some food?” asked one of them, a slim, willowy man with brown wavy hair to his shoulders and a short beard.

  Yuri didn’t know how to respond and remained silent.

  The men simply turned around and began walking.

  Perplexed, Yuri kept his distance but followed them, his curiosity overruling his pride.

  As they came over the top of the hill, a forest lay out before them. As far as the eye could see, the thick green canopy was teeming with life. Birds were swooping back and forth and colourful apes could be seen swinging through the branches on the tree line.

  Yuri took it in but soon realised that the strangers had not paused for the view and had disappeared into the trees.

  “Hey!” he shouted and let gravity lead him heavy footed down the incline and into the cover of the forest.

  The two men were peeling bark off a tree next to the path. Vapour rose from the trunk as they each pulled strips off it. Laying them on a large leaf, they handed Yuri a small stack of bark peelings as he approached.

  The light steam coming off the bark strips smelt amazing, and the portions looked juicy and inviting. Yuri’s mouth watered, but he couldn’t shake off his paranoia.

  “What are you giving me?” he asked again, looking at one of the men directly.

  “I’m not sure it has a name as such,” said the man calmly. “Would you like to try it?”