Paradise can Wait

Rain fell in sheets on Sunnyside rest home. It was a small place on a hill just outside of the city with a nice view overlooking the lovely cityscape of downtown. 

But the view was the best thing about this place. The food was awful, and everything was old and cheap. The staff was the lowest paid in the county so everything they did was half-ass.

The old residents that ended up here were those who couldn’t afford anything else, those who couldn’t speak up for themselves, and didn’t have family to speak for them. That was the predicament Raymond Greene found himself in.

He had a stroke about a year ago that left him paralyzed from the neck down and non-verbal.

On one hand he was glad that his mind was still sharp at 65, but there were days he wished he wasn’t aware of the trashy conditions he had to live in.

Now he was sitting outside watching the rain fall over the city he loved and spent most of his life.

Next to him was his least favorite staff member. He was smoking something that smelled disgusting and cursing loudly on the phone.

He paced as he flailed his arms wildly. All Raymond could do was roll his eyes, turn his attention back to the city and remember his youth as part of the police S.W.A.T. squad.

The smile those memories brought to his face quickly faded when he realized his chair was moving.

None of the brakes on the wheelchairs in this place worked. Somehow, the idiot on the phone had bumped Raymond’s chair causing it to slowly make its way down the hill.

At the bottom of the hill was a two-lane, two-way road. On the other side of the road was a deep runoff ditch that was about half full of water due to the rain.

To make matters worse Raymond was starting to pick up speed and the idiot on the phone had yet to realize anything was wrong.

Raymond’s annoyance at his inattentive attendant quickly turned into panic as he noticed the vegetable truck starting to round the hill on the road in front of him. Raymond felt helpless.

He couldn’t stop, he couldn’t turn, he couldn’t even scream. The storm raged above him, washing away his helpless, desperate tears as he careened toward his doom.

It was too late when the distracted worker noticed his charge was gone. It was the motion that caught attention.

The corner of his eye has registered something moving fast down the hill. When he turned, he saw his patient / excuse for being outside wasn’t where he left him.

He dropped his phone and took off after him. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, spitting curses in rapid succession the whole way.

He saw the truck and knew he wouldn’t make it. He kept his eyes on Raymond trying to will the chair to stop before it reached the road.

The last thing he saw was the chair clip the edge of the pavement and lurch forward.

That was the moment his foot caught a rock in the mud. The rock slid to one side, taking his ankle with it. He heard and felt his ankle crack causing him to hit the ground in a screaming heap.

Raymond closed his eyes as he neared the road. He may have been done with this life, but this was not the way he wanted to go.

Any of the dangerous situations he had been in, the shootouts, meth house explosions, the hand-to-hand fights, could have taken him out at any time.

Here he was, paralyzed getting ready to be hit by a truck.

He had once considered himself a warrior. In his mind, this was the worst death a warrior could ask for.

There was no rhyme, reason, or purpose in it. He hated that the only thing he could do about it was clench his eyes tight, wait for it to come, and hope it would be quick.

He lurched forward as his chair caught the edge of the pavement.

Raymonds face hit the pavement. He felt his skull crack before his neck broke. It was a small mercy.

Ramond was dead before the truck slammed into his body.

Raymond opened his eyes and was immediately overwhelmed by the expanse of the universe.

As far as he could see, every celestial body he had ever heard of, and many he hadn’t, was laid out before him.

It was the most awe-inspiring thing he had ever seen. He had never dared to imagine what heaven looked like, he never thought he would see it, but this had to be it.

Raymond didn’t even think about moving. He lived with paralysis so long that it didn’t even occur to him.

He just stared into the expanse, tears rolling down his face.

Suddenly he heard a voice that seemed to come from everywhere.

It wasn’t loud or harsh, but the fact that it came out of nowhere startled Raymond.

“Raymond Greene of Earth.

Your life has come to an end. Because you lived a life upholding justice, full of integrity, helping others, you have earned the favor of the universe.

You will be allowed to choose the next phase of your existence.

Option 1: You may enter into the afterlife and spend eternity at rest in paradise. You will never again need to be concerned with the trials or trivial issues of life.

Option 2: You can return to Earth as a child. You will have no memory of your past life, but you will start your life from a higher station, giving you a chance at a better, more comfortable life than you had.

Finally, option 3: You can answer the call of another world.

There is a world that is vastly different from Earth where a great evil is growing and vying for power.

The faithful of this world have prayed for a champion to help them fight against this great evil. Should you accept this call you will be given a divine body, in peak condition, with special abilities.

You will retain all of your knowledge and memories from your past life, along with all the knowledge you need to operate in this new world.

It will be a struggle, but should you succeed, you will be hailed a legendary hero of the people.

What say you, Raymond?”

Raymond was speechless. he never thought his life had been anything special, he only ever did what he thought was right.

He thought about his options. Eternal paradise, a life of comfort, or the chance to be a hero.

His life on earth had been hard. He grew up with nothing and had struggled and fought for every dollar he earned and morsel he ate.

If the universe thought he deserved paradise after that he was not going to argue.

At the same time, while a comfortable life did sound nice, going back to Earth with all the problems there, without the benefit of the wisdom he’d gained over the years, did not sound appealing.

In the end, the thought of helping people who desperately needed it, really spoke to him.

Also, the thought of being in peak condition after having been paralyzed so long was not without its own appeal.

Raymond smiled to himself and nodded his head.

He decided paradise can wait.

He had a world to save. r