I’ve read a lot of stories about heaven. Stories about what people perceive it to be. Who gets in and who doesn’t and all of its mysteries. How bad does a person have to be, to end up shoveling coal, in a less desirable place? My name is Kurt, and I just so happen to be here in Heaven now and I’ve got permission from Pete, to tell my story!
I ran a construction company in my days on earth and I came to heaven at the early age of 31. I was an orphan for most of my life and I worked a lot of construction as a teen, mostly building houses. I did it all, from carpentry to electrical. When I was just 22, I went into business with two older craftsmen who groomed me to take over the company, and by the age of 26, I did.
I built quality homes in the Houston area for the next 5 years. My company was one of the two largest home builders in the state of Texas. We used nothing but the best material and built Premium homes. The other builder claimed to build Premium homes as well, but those who knew construction, knew that they were cutting corners to bolster their profits. They also knew that some of the things they were doing were not up to code and they put the homeowner’s safety at risk. But somehow, the inspectors always seem to pass their work.
His name was Tyler Johnson, and we didn’t always get along! In fact, we butted heads several times at meetings with some of the Counties and Municipalities. He always seemed to have the right people in his corner though, or should I say, in his pocket. He was always jealous that my company was still the top builder and offered much better homes. In fact, he tried to buy me out on a couple different occasions, but that was a ridiculous notion. I had no interest in selling, especially to Tyler!
I never got married and I was only ever in love once. Her name was Sara and she was truly the most beautiful person I’ve ever known. When I was 27 and Sara was only 25, she developed a rare disease that took her life. From that point on, all I did was work and grow my business. I knew I’d never again find another girl like Sara!
As you’ve probably guessed, I didn’t care much for Tyler Johnson, but I never guess that he was such an evil man. There were rumors about the bad things he had done. One even claimed that a few years back, he had poisoned a man he’d been doing business with. One day, on a Tuesday, when I returned to my office alone, I would finally find out how evil he truly was! As I approached the building and unlocked the door, I had an uneasy feeling I was not alone. As I turned to my right, there was Tyler with a metal pipe in his hand and before I could react, he hit me in the head and I dropped to the ground!
The next thing I knew, I was sitting in a room with clouds for walls. The floors were clouds, as well! You could look down and see right through them, but you could still walk on them. Well, that was when I first met old Pete, I mean St. Peter, as he prefers to be called. There were others in the room also, and someone asked him, “Is this Purgatory? ” Pete said “No, no, it’s just a slight delay getting in.” Someone yelled: “In where?” “Into Heaven,” Pete said. “You’re all going to heaven, we’re just running a little bit behind and there’ll be a slight delay!” “What do we do in the meantime?” someone asked. Pete: “Well, I can have Gabriel show you around some clouds.”
I walked over to Pete and spoke quietly. Me: “Is there any way to go back to earth for a couple of days?” Pete: Well, not really!” Me: “What do you mean, not really?” Pete: “It’s highly unusual, but I could send you back to watch over one person for a day or two. But all you can do is watch.” Me: “What else?” Pete: “Well, I could send you back in the mind of a creature, like a dog or cat. You could see everything they see and you’d know each other’s thought.” “Me: “What about in the mind of a human?” Pete: “Well, I don’t know, that would be highly unusual.” Me: “A man attacked and murdered me and I need to know why!” Pete: “Okay, I’ll do it this once.” Me: “His name is… just then Pete says I already know!” Pete: “Are you ready to go now?” Me: “Most definitely, Pete, thank you!” Pete: “It’s St. Peter, Kurt”! Good luck’! ”
Just like that I was looking through Tyler’s eyes as he was attempting to cheat one of his sub-contractors. He was telling him that he would only pay him half, since he was an hour late in finishing his work. So I started talking in his head. The man wondered why Tyler kept shaking his head. I was saying things like: “You’re the best sub I have” and “You do the best work”! Until Tyler finally blurted out “You’re really the best”! “Let me sign your paper and you can stop by the office and get paid”! The man thanked him and walked away. Tyler stood there a moment wondering what had just happened. He was thinking why did I say that, and found himself questioning his sanity.
For the rest of the day I learned of all the illegal schemes he was up to, and I occasionally messed with his mind. I liked the way I could manipulate him to think about things he didn’t want to. He was getting angry with himself and at one point he grabbed his head in his hands and yelled: “Stop, stop, stop”! I gave him a break for a while, but then I started saying my name “Kurt” every few seconds. He finally yelled: “I had to kill him, I couldn’t compete with him”! So then, I started messing with his conscience: “I’m a rotten, no good killer and someones going to kill me one day… I need to be careful”! “I was really having fun “! “But once I was inside his head, I was quite sure he had been crazy before I started all of that”.
The next morning, after literally no sleep, he was thinking about some plan he had. We left to pick up his assistant Al Metzger. Al: “What’s the pipe for and what is your plan”? Tyler: “I might need it later, but that’s not important”! “We’re headed over to Sanders Roofing to visit the Sander brothers”. Tyler knew that if he owned the roofing company he could save a lot of money and Sanders Roofing had everything he needed.
Al: “Do you have another offer for them”? “I hope it’s a little higher than before”! Tyler: “No, in fact I’ve reduced my offer, but they’ll sign this time”! Al: “Why would they sign”? Tyler: “When they ask me to leave, or kick me out, I’ll close the door to their office and jam it shut with that pipe”. Then, after I threaten to burn down the place, they’ll need to sign the contract and slide it under the door to me”. Al: “I don’t think that will hold up in court, Tyler”! Tyler: “It will when there is no one alive to challenge it”! Al sat there silent!
So I took over and went to work. “I can’t trust Al, I have to let him out! “Find a place to stop, I have to let him out. “He can’t be with me! Soon, I guess I made him do something right. He pulled over at a gas station and let Al out.” Tyler: “I’ll see you later Al, I can’t involve you in this!” So Tyler took off again, saying under his breath: “Why did I do that”? “Dammit, that’s not like me”!
Soon we saw a sign that read “Sanders Roofing, 3.1 miles ahead on John Rd., the number is 316”. That’s it, John 316, I’ve got this, thought Tyler. Then I really took over his mind: “Faster Tyler, faster, this truck will go faster”! “Step on it Tyler”! “That’s good, 65, now 70 now 75, Tyler, faster, faster”! “Hit that tree coming up on the right, Tyler, all your problems are in that tree, Tyler”! “Hit it”! “Kurt and Sanders are in that tree”! “Hit it, Tyler”! “Run it over, Tyler, you can do it, Tyler… now, Now, NOW”!
Then instantly, it was quiet for a moment. I guess when a tree is 3 feet in diameter, they’re not that easy to run over! Then I heard Tyler say: “Kurt, where did you come from”? “Where the hell are we”? Me: “You really don’t get it, do you Tyler?” “You’ve lost!” “I couldn’t let you hurt anyone else!” Suddenly, I heard Pete say: “It’s time to go, Kurt.” “I’m not alone this time Pete, they’re two of us now.” Pete: “No Kurt, he’s not coming with us, he’s headed in a much different direction that you.” Me: “What, no Purgatory?” Pete: No, Satin knows his days are limited and he’s no match for my boss! He is taking everyone he can and taking them fast, and he’s getting a lot these days. They’re really stoking up the fires down there!” “He’s been stirring up things as much as he can. Earthquakes, wildfires, global warming, he has his hands in all of that.”
In less than the blink of an eye, I was standing in the “cloud” room again and Pete said “Let’s go in.” There I was, and I have no words to describe it! Pete said: “Do you recognize anyone, Kurt?” A beautiful angel was standing magnificently before me, it was Sara, my precious Sara! It truly was heaven.
I asked Pete, Saint Peter that is, if I could tell my story so people might stop hurting others and stop all the evil in the world. I wanted them to know how quickly they can be dispatched to the place down below and I was only kidding about the coal, that’s not really what they burn down there. If you’re a good person and you make it up here to heaven, you’re gonna love it! In fact, love’s the only real emotion we have here.
I’m not allowed to say much more. I would like to have written this years ago when I was still on earth, but it hadn’t even happened yet! I had to settle for taking over this writer’s mind, so he could tell the story for me. With love, Kurt. □
