~
My wife Monica arrives thirty-five years after me. Eating healthy and yoga obviously paid off. Many of us go to greet her and we give her our locations, so she can visit us after meeting God. She looks old and gray but we know she will look like new in the morning. She arrives the next morning in my town looking lovely. I still have twenty days left on my vacation, so I am thrilled to show her around. She has missed me so much on Earth she decides to stay living with me and she does for about six months. We travel together many times, especially to the planet where Robert lives. I choose a parcel of land twenty miles from Robert's home on the coast. I want a place where I can fish the ocean and trade with my neighbors for crops and other products. Monica helps me to build my home and says she will come live with me some day. She does not have to wait fifty years to move there because we were married on Earth, however she wants to explore other places and visit family and is excited about traveling and visiting places on her own. She is free and I am free and we are all free. We have only one master to obey; God.
I leave my first planet after fifty wonderful years. It's possible I may come back, after all, I feel at home in this planet and would surely visit my family and friends. But I also want a change. I enjoy solitude and I want the company of my dog, Walter. My family and friends can visit me and I can enjoy their company one at a time and spend precious moments with them in my country home surrounded by exquisite nature, green landscapes and a breathtaking ocean.
I decide I want to spend the next fifty years fishing by the seashore with my dog Walter. The first two months I am alone, except for the occasional visit from neighbors trading for fish I catch. Walter joins me on the third day and brings some company, a female Shepherd I name Baileys. They chase each other in the sands while I fish. Baileys comes about once a month and spends a couple of days with us. Surf fishing is very productive on this coast. The fish here are similar to Pompano, Snook and Flounder. They come to the beach to feed on small crabs so I tie flies that simulate crabs.
Sometimes when I am short on material, I snip some hair off the dog's tails. The word starts getting around that I am fishing and people show up to trade for crops, clothing, wine and many other things I need. Sundays I ride early to the meeting square and bring fish, crabs and lobsters. I also bring my soccer outfit to play a friendly match.
About a year after I move to my new home, I am visited by man who comes walking late one afternoon. I am surprised because not many people walk this far; it's about ten hours from the meeting square. He asks me for food and shelter and I gladly give it to him. His name is Max, and he speaks to me in Spanish and I understand him well. He lived in Chile while he was on Earth and loves to fly fish. I invite him to stay a few days to try out the fishing and he accepts. That night Max tells me he has spent 100 years on a planet waiting for all his close family to arrive. They had now been almost 50 years in heaven and wanted to move to a planet and live together in a farm with their pets and so they sent out scouts to visit different planets. So Max was scouting for that special planet. That night Max asks me to let to him use the computer, and invites me to sit with him. He is very interested in history and asks the computer about the creation of planet Earth. The computer gives him this explanation:
"God was alone in the universe. He chose a planet that was made of hot molten lava. He cried one salty tear and covered the planet with water. The lava cooled down and one solid landmass was formed. He took a meteorite and loaded it with fish, reptile eggs and seeds. He slammed it into the landmass and when it hit it created the continents. The seeds and eggs spread all over and primitive life was created for millions of years in order to fertilize the planet. Then he sent another meteorite to destroy the dinosaurs so that man would had a fair chance of survival."
We spend hours at the computer; it's an incredible feeling to finally know the truth. We go to sleep happy, knowing that God has created us and is protecting us.
"Thank you, Heavenly Father," I pray.
In the morning, I see Walter licking Max on the cheek and I laugh because I know he wants to go running. We make breakfast together and after a quick shower we head for the beach. I carry the rods and Max carries water and lunch. I am anxious to fish with Max but he sets lunch down behind the shade of a rock, and says, "Do you mind if I take Walter for a jog? I want to take a look down the beach."
"Of course I don't mind," I answer.
He jogs over some dunes and over to the next beach. I start fishing and what a morning it is. I catch three new species and they turn out to be the largest fish I have ever caught here. Max comes back after a couple of hours. Walter is panting and asking for water with his body language. I let him drink and he lies down in the shade.
Max takes his rod and compliments me on my catch.
"I'm going to take the fish I caught to the ice house," I say. "Do you need any help or pointers?"
"Thomas, I invented fishing, go to the ice house." "How about a cold beer?"
"I accept," Max replies.
I leave him and come back in an hour. Some folks had brought milk and cheese to the house and I had given them fresh fish in exchange; perfect timing. I cut some cheese and grab a couple of beers and walk back to the shore. Max is good; he has caught more fish than I did in two hours. I have never seen anyone fly fish with such elegance, precision and speed. He was casting and stripping the line for hours, without showing signs of fatigue. I stare at him for about 10 minutes until he turns and sees me. I join him and yell, "Not bad for a fresh water Chilean."
He laughs and winks his eye, it was the perfect Kodak moment. After lunch, we nap by the shade of the rocks. There is something about Max's face, like he wants to tell me something, but he is enjoying himself so much that he lets it go. After catching a few more fish, we go home and shower. We have some coffee with carrot cake and get to work in my garden. We clean the fish and bury the scraps under the earth, where I plan to grow crops later in the year. At the end of the day when the sun is going down we walk to the beach. I notice some very large paw prints on the sand. "What do you think made this print?" I ask Max.
"Probably a lion or tiger. I used to work in a zoo," he says in a non-convincing tone.
"You got to be kidding me," I say.
He laughs and changes the conversation.
The next day, when Max goes on his morning run, I follow from a distance. When I get to the top of the ridge I see a picture that will forever remain in my mind. Max, Walter and a seven hundred pound tiger were running gracefully down the beach. I know at that moment that Max is not a regular person. When he returns, I can tell he knows I followed them.
He smiles and says, "I was not a zoo keeper Thomas. I am Jesus. We met the day you came to heaven."
"I had my suspicions but I never imagined you would visit me." I do not know what to say or do, so I drop down on my knees and look at his feet.
"Please stand up Thomas," Jesus says smiling. "The reason I disguise myself is because I like being treated equally. The moments that we have shared here are precious to me. In fact, it is the reason why God created man. Do you understand?"
"Please explain more," I say.
"God, Our Father, wanted to have family and friends that He could love, and so He created us very similar to Him. But He gave us free will to develop our personalities. He enjoys our company, and visits people, just the way I came here."
"I think I understand."
"You do," says Jesus and smiles again. "Can I play with the tiger tomorrow?"
"It's a deal," says Jesus and shakes my hand.
~
The next morning Jesus tells me the story of how He raised the tiger because poachers on Earth killed his mama. He spent three months in the Siberian Forest feeding the tiger goat milk. When the cub was strong enough He placed it with a female tiger whose cub had died and she took him in. He had been very surprised that the tiger remembered Him.
"That's the power of love," Jesus says. "Every time I come to this
planet, he shows up."
"Where does he usually stay?"
"God has made a planet for each species of animal where they live happily and in perfect harmony. God has simply replaced the tiger's teeth with those similar to our teeth, and so they mostly feed on grass, grains and fruits."
We run together down the beach and play around with Walter and the tiger. I am cautious so he won't step on me. The tiger is playful but gentle; although he's rougher with Walter. When we return we pick up our fishing gear and head to the beach.
Another day in paradise, I think to myself. Hanging around with Jesus is the best experience I have had in heaven so far. He is genuine, smart and has a great sense of humor. He died in a horrible way on Earth to give us passage to this magnificent paradise. Like a dog that gives his life for his master, or a soldier that dies for his men and his country, He performed the maximum sacrifice, making Him my all time hero.
I had prayed to Him all of my life on Earth and I always wondered if He ever listened. And so, I have to ask Him. I am curious and I feel comfortable enough with Him to ask on our lunch break.
"Do you hear people's prayers every day?"
"I do, but it's hard for you to understand the magnitude of God's and my power. Sometimes people ask us to save the lives of their loved ones, but we know that they are better off here in heaven.
We can heal many, and we do. But greed has poisoned the foods and the waters on Earth. Most of the time the sick that die come to heaven, but sometimes we heal people and their souls become lost on material lust later in their lives. Sometimes, the death of a loved one brings a family closer to God and the family is saved.
"I remember how my brother's death saved our family, "I say. "Some people pray but we cannot hear them, because they are surrounded by sin. The people that live clean lives with lots of love we can hear loud and clear."
He begins to eat lunch and I stop asking questions. His explanation is good enough and makes sense. We finish the day gardening and eat a delicious dinner. After two weeks he tells me one morning he needs to go back. He thanks me and we hug and Walter licks His hand. I thought he would take the road, but He heads to the ocean. He walks on water about 100 yards out, then a waterspout comes down from a cloud, He lifts his hand and waves and He's gone. "Who are you waving at?"
The voice is familiar. It's my best friend and wife, Monica. "Jesus visited me and just took off in a funnel cloud," I say.
"How many beers did you have with breakfast?" she asks smiling. "I'm just kidding. Please tell me about His visit."
We go back inside the house and I tell her the whole story. She loves my experience with Jesus. She is the best listener, just like the day I first met her. Spending time with Monica makes me feel so happy that after a few days, I decide to ask her to stay.
She says to me, "Thomas, after traveling to so many places and meeting so many nice people, there is nothing on this universe that would make me happier than being with you."
We hug and tears roll down our faces. She makes my home her home and we live happily another fifty years in heaven.
The End
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