THE LAST SOUL
Once upon a time there were eight souls gathered around the waiting area of Boss Pete’s office. They say that his office was the examination area and all souls before entering heaven or maybe hell passed this way. For those who fail, they were thrown into the pit of hell and for those who passed they would be given a golden ticket for an airplane going to the most beautiful palace of eternity and for those who were still in a conditional state, they were given a chance to choose between two paths. The long path contains too much hardships and trials. It includes 700 pushups and sit-ups every day in 70 years but when you’re done, you will be able to have a first class ticket from Heaven Airlines while the short path contains fewer struggles. It includes a tricky test. If you answered it correctly, you will be immediately sent to heaven but when you got a wrong answer, you would be beaten by men in red and send to Hell. These things were actually the topic of the eight souls who were waiting for their names to be called. Finally the first one stood up. His crime, he was a pedophile. Boss Pete’s secretary Ross the Rooster called the second one. His crime, he was an assassin who killed for the sake of pleasure. The next one was called, an atheist. The next one was a politician who annihilated a huge clan. Then a murderer who killed out of anger. The next one was a careless man who ran away from the battle field and left his comrades just to save his self. Then the second to the last man was called. The last man had not seen him walk out of the office.
The last one was called.
“Let me check your visa. Hmmm...VISA DENIED!”
“Why? Tell me! What have I done?”
“You glutton. You did nothing but eat, eat and eat so why should I send you to heaven???!”
“What’s wrong with that??? I just want myself to be healthy! Our bodies are our holy temple. We need to take care of it!”
“How dare you say that?! You are a fat ass who died due to high blood! Your heart was covered with fats that made it hard for you to breathe! You do not deserve to be in the kingdom of God.”
“Why not? I just fulfilled God’s desire for us. He wanted us to live abundantly, right? So I did! I ate all the foods I love while I was still alive.”
Boss Pete breathed deeply and said, “I’ll let you take a glance on your former world once again.”
A large LCD screen suddenly appeared before him. He saw people doing fasting, and others praying. Some people share their food with strangers. Some are eating…eating a small portion of bread.
“Now, let me ask you…what did you do on earth within the 32 years of your existence?”
Silence reigned and a different scene was played. It showed an obese man eating luxurious meals in a fancy restaurant with his comrades. They were all laughing together and eating as if there would be no tomorrow for them. When the fat man left the restaurant he ordered another meal and took it out. A little boy approached him and asked for some food but the man acted as if he did not notice the poor little boy but the boy followed the man and asked for his pity and this time the fat man pushed the boy causing him to fell on the ground. Then Boss Pete said, “Intelligent control of the stomach is the gate to all virtues. Restrain the stomach, and you will be able to enter the Eternal Kingdom. But if you indulge your stomach, you will hurl yourself over the precipice of bodily impurity, into the fire of wrath and vehemence, you will coarsen and darken your mind, and in this way you will ruin your powers of attention and self-control, your moderation and vigilance and all other virtues will be washed away.
You’re right. God wants us to live abundantly. In fact, God has blessed us by filling the earth with foods that are appetizing, nutritious, and delightful but you forgot something, we should honor God's creation by enjoying these foods and by eating them in appropriate quantities. God calls us to control our appetites, rather than allowing them to control us.”
Then Boss Pete called out for Len the Hen and asked her to bring the men in red in his office. The men in red held the man’s arms and the man begun to panic.
“Oh please give me a second chance. I am not aware of my sin!”
“It’s too late. There are no second chances at this point. 32 years is more than enough for you to take your chances but sad to say…you neglected those chances. It’s time for you to face the consequences of your action.”
“Wait! One last thing!”
“What?”
“What happened to the man who entered here before me? I haven’t seen him leaving this place…”
“Oh that man, he was given a free ticket courtesy of Heaven Airlines.”
“What???But he was a convicted murderer and rapist???!”
“He repented…”
The man was brought to the underground railway. There he would wait for the fastest train to come and this train does not stop. The man has to run to enable him to ride. He saw the train finally. He ran as fast as he could but because he was too heavy he couldn’t catch up with the speed of the train. Now, all he could do was to walk up to the gates of Hell for if he would not do this, night would come. Legends say that the temperature gets hotter and hotter as night comes and demons are wandering around and play with your pitiful soul.
After a long journey, he saw the gates of Hell. It was open for everyone and as the sinful souls enter, they were given a box. He opened the box. He thought it was a box of delicious foods. Indeed it was. It was the most delicious food in Hell— live rats, toads and snakes. From that they on…he was forced to eat those and if he wouldn’t he would be beaten a thousand times and even how many times he was beaten, he couldn’t die because he’s already dead. When he was tired he imagined what heaven looks like. When he closed his eyes, he saw angels and good souls laughing together and as his thoughts wandered around in this kind of kingdom, he saw a very familiar image and told himself…” That must be the righteous kid I pushed away from me.”
THE END
