The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Joey took a final breath and died.

Looking down, he was amazed to see his lifeless body lying beneath him. How fascinating, he thought. Joey looked around. The hospital room seemed somehow faded, lifeless, as if it had taken on some of the attributes of the corpse it was now home to. Joey watched as his beautiful young wife, Cicily, entered the room.

A vase filled with a colorful bouquet of flowers that Joey couldn't name, fell from her fingers, shattering in a million pieces on the hard floor. She screamed and ran out into the hallway.
"Nurse! Nurse!" she cried. "Somebody help!"

Joey watched as the room filled with medical personnel. "Clear!" someone yelled as they zapped him with those paddle things. Joey found this all fascinating, but something told him he should be moving on. Where he was to go next, he had no idea, but he turned and flew out the nearest window.

Looking around, he saw that the entire town looked grey and lifeless. He could see people moving around, but they were as shadows, barely perceptible to him now. In the distance, he noticed a strange white light. Glowing, beckoning him. I've heard of this! he thought, excitedly. I'm supposed to go toward the light!

With a little trepidation and a lot of curiosity, Joey headed toward the beautiful light. As he got closer, he heard singing and harp music. It was the loveliest sound he had ever heard and his heart leapt with joy. He hurried closer, looking forward to finding out, finally, what the afterlife really was all about.

He was only a few yards away now and could see that it was a tunnel. The tunnel was dark and scary, but the light at the end was still pure white and breathtakingly beautiful. He attempted to enter the tunnel, but something stopped him. A force field of some sort was blocking him!

"What is your name, sir," A man with long brown hair and a goatee stood in his path.
"Where did you come from?" Joey exclaimed.
"I asked you a question," the man replied, crossly. "Who are you?"
"Joey Baker," he answered. "Is this the tunnel to heaven?"
The man ignored him while looking over a clipboard that had appeared in his hand as soon as Joey stated his name.

"You may enter." The man disappeared.
Joey frowned, but slowly entered the tunnel. The music and singing was louder now and it still sounded beautiful to his ears. He hurried down the tunnel toward the light.

After what seemed like an eternity, he reached the end and peeked through to the other side. He could barely believe his eyes. Beautiful women in long white robes sat by a sparkling blue lake, playing their harps and singing old gospel songs. Joey knew he must be in heaven, his just reward for all the years he spent in the fundamentalist church, reading scriptures and trying to save wayward souls.

He rushed over to the nearest woman to introduce himself. Everything went dark. Joey stopped, confused. Looking around, he could see that the tunnel had disappeared, along with the lake and the women and everything around him.

"Hello?" he called, nervously. The man with the clipboard reappeared beside him.
"Welcome to Hell, Joey. Glad you could make it!" The man made some kind of notation on the clipboard, waved his hand and the scenery changed.

Joey found himself surrounded by strange and evil-looking creatures, still wearing the white robes, but no longer disguised as beautiful women. The song had changed as well. It was dark and discordant. The harps looked worn and were out of tune.

"There must be some mistake," he gasped. "I'm a good Christian!"
"Yes, you were," the man replied. "This is where Christians go. You were judgmental, preachy and you treated your wife like a possession. You consistenly told people they would be condemned to Hell. I have other people to greet. I'm sure you'll find something to do with your time. You have plenty of it now." The man laughed, a sinister, horrible laugh, and disappeared again.

Joey sat down on the cold, hard ground and stared at the desolate wasteland around him.
Eternity is a long, long time.