Disappear: Into Shadow

- CHAPTER THIRTEEN -

"What's Heaven like?" Michael asked.

"There's no need to work. Everyone has enough food, shelter and limitless possibilities for recreation, all within certain parameters. The limits of these worlds are: everyone must believe and follow the strict beliefs of their groups. As long as the rules are obeyed, anyone can stay in these places for as long as they choose. Question those beliefs and your soul is expelled. You become an outcast."

"Expelled? Where do you go then?" Michael asked.

"There are places," she mused. "Being 'cast out into darkness' by one's old belief structure is an eventual destination for all souls. It frees us into the Spirit, the place we should be going to rather than sight seeing here. Expulsion is meant to help you conquer your limits. That's the largest of the back doors in and out of these realms."

"Backdoors?"

"Ways for anyone stuck in these worlds to escape, or sneak in. There's always a way. A myriad of backdoors litter every Heaven and every Hell. If you don't believe in it anymore, you can leave. Sounds easy, doesn't it?" She asked.

"Yeah, it does."

"Believing takes a lot of will. Often more will than anyone who is stuck can imagine. Some souls are going to stay in these places for the better part of eternity, but the ways out will always be there, waiting for them. The choice is theirs; move on and progress, continuing the journey of incarnations as a soul; or, stay limited. A soul can remain anywhere of their own choice."

She held out her hand. A small pillar of blue fire appeared, burning in the center of her palm. Cupping her other hand over the flames she pressed down, trying to suffocate the flame as she spoke. "Creation allows all energy the ability to never be trapped or contained against one's will. This control measure ensures souls will eventually move onwards in their journey."

The flames trickled through the spaces between her fingers, breaking into smaller pillars and began to burn separately. She grabbed at the flames, squeezed them, pattted at them, but they would not extinguish. They spun about on her open palm until one by one, they rejoined themselves back into a single pillar. Lifting her hand to her mouth, she exhaled and sent the pillar floating out over the water. Fragmenting into tiny balls of fire, they ascended into the air and disappeared one by one.

"Heaven and Hell don't try to suffocate a soul's energy. They just slow it down and filter it. Any soul choosing not to return to the source stays here, where they slowly move about until they are ready to go further outwards. Those back doors allow a constant flow of energy, avoiding any spiritual stagnation. It prevents metaphysical logjams." Death said.

"What about eternal damnation and all that?"

"That's an idea created by you humans. A myth."

"You said you and Charon are myths."

"We are," Charon wheezed, "but we weren't created by man."

The three floated downstream in silence. A couple more splashes broke the surface of the river's black water. Michael saw a flipper and a long sinewy back but couldn't make out what manner of creature was causing the splashes.

"How do you find a backdoor?" Michael asked. "Just disagree with what's going on?"

"Like I said, it isn't as easy as it sounds. But it's a start, that, or just ask for help."

"Help?"

"There are helpers dedicated to retrieving the souls lost in these worlds. You can call them Angels, but it's not the case. Beings of light and love, some are graduated souls who've finished incarnating in the Earth school like you'll soon be."