The Guide

How do you meet your Guide? Who are they, why are you meeting them?

The Guide

         Chuck woke from a sound sleep and for once, he felt no pain. This was a pleasant way to wake, he had forgotten how good it could feel. Walking around the house, he saw no sign of his wife; then he remembered that she had an appointment in the morning and was comforted with that small fact.

         After fixing his favorite coffee, he went outside to sit on his porch. He loved sitting on the porch swing, watching the day unfold in front of him. He joked with people a bit about watching the grass grow in his yard. What he really enjoyed though was seeing what his friends and neighbors did in the morning. He knew that Jackie next door would water her flowers. On the other side of his house Mike would be picking up small twigs from his grass. He rarely saw Mike’s wife; he supposed she was someone who rarely came outside. At least there wasn’t much traffic on his street. What traffic there was, consisted of people heading to work with an occasional car that sounded like it needed a new exhaust system. His biggest dislike though was anyone who sped too fast along the residential street. He had retired three short months ago after a lifetime of working the same boring job in an office cubical, he was just learning the pleasure of sitting there relaxing. His coffee was almost gone when he saw his friend Dennis walking down the street.

         Chuck spoke loud enough, making sure Dennis could hear him. “Morning, Dennis. How are things in your corner of the world?”

         “Ahhh, Chuck! Good to see you, man! Things are well with me, how ‘bout you?”

         “I can’t complain, and if I did….”

         Dennis finished the sentence with him, almost in unison, “No one would listen.”

         “Hey, I was heading to town in a little bit to visit ‘The Lift’. Why don’t you join me?”

         “The Lift? That’s a little odd, I’ve never heard of that place. Where, and what, is it?”

         Dennis scratched his bald head as he answered. “It’s right in the middle of town, on the corner of Broadway and Main. It’s relatively new, only a couple of years old. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of it. It’s been all over the news lately m’friend.”

         “We don’t watch much of the news now; I get a bit agitated at all the bad things happening in the world. Marie is worse than me about that.”

         “Well, it’s an interesting piece of work. C’mon, you obviously need to get out.”

         Chuck thought for a moment before replying, “Sit here a moment and relax while I get presentable and leave a note for Marie.”

         Chuck went inside while Dennis sat and looked around at the general area. It wasn’t long before Chuck returned. “Let’s take my car. I need to fill it up.”

         “Sure, let’s get to it!”

         Dennis acted as a GPS for Chuck to get them to ‘The Lift’. When they arrived, Chuck was surprised at the numerous parking spaces available. But seeing it for the first time amazed him. It looked dilapidated and run down. If Dennis hadn’t been with him, he would have thought it to be a deserted building. “I thought you said this was relatively new?” Chuck asked.

         “It is!”

         “Then why does it look so old and rundown?”

         “That’s intentional, buddy, completely intentional.”

         “Why would they want it to look old and rundown?”

         “Y’know, I’m not sure. I haven’t asked. Let’s go inside. I’ll show you around the place.”

         “Alright, but why do you need to show me around?”

         “Well, my first time here, I got lost to be honest. I figured you might also. I’ll tell you, it was a trifle scary being in this place and not know where to go.”

         “How did you finally learn your way around then?”

         “A stranger took me under their wing and showed me the place. I figured I could do the same for you.”

         Chuck tilted his head and looked sideways at Dennis. “A stranger showed you around. And you weren’t worried about them. Not one bit? You didn’t think that they might want to get you to an out of the way place and beat you?”

         “Well, she was a short, older lady who looked like she could be my Grandma. For some reason, I just felt safe around her.”

         That made sense to Chuck. He figured he would have felt the same way most likely. “C’mon, lead the way then.”

         The entry doors looked like they should be replaced. The exterior of the Lift might have looked old and worn down, but the interior looked almost new! Walking around the place, Chuck thought it was a museum at first and said so. “No, it’s not a museum, though parts do look like one. This place has about everything you can dream of. A nice gift shop, an area to sit and rest, a bowling alley, a library with almost any book you want, even a playground for the children! Not to mention the food! You want something, anything, you can get it here.”

         At first Chuck was tense but couldn’t place a finger on why he felt so out of sorts. When he looked at Dennis though, he saw him looking around, enjoying the moment. “How is it that you look so at ease? I mean I feel tense for some odd reason.”

         “You forget, I’ve been here several times, and I know my way around.” This reassurance allowed Chuck to slowly get into things over the next ten to fifteen minutes. Once he did that, he found enjoyment in being there.

         After about an hour of exploring the area and grabbing a small bite to eat, Dennis said, “How about we go up to the next floor? That one is even more interesting that this one!”

         Chuck shrugged his shoulders and said, “As you wish. I’m just enjoying myself now.”

         “Let’s head over here, The lift never stops, even at night.”

         “Lift? Oh, you mean Elevator.”

         “Elevator. Lift. Call it what you will, it’s this way.”

         The two men entered the lift with several other people and the lift slowly ascended. As they left the lift, Chuck remarked, “Hey, I didn’t see any buttons to press to get to this floor.”

         “I know, that’s one of the odd things about this place. I did ask that question though. Apparently, someone in an office monitors each lift and will send it to the floor to take you up when the time comes.”

         “That sounds like a building I was in on a business trip. The elevator had no controls, the woman who greeted you would push the buttons for the floor you needed. The screen would light up with the elevator number, and she would tell you which elevator was for you. I found it pretty strange at first and ended up asking how the whole thing worked.”

         “That sounds like the Bank of America Building in Fort Lauderdale!”

         “You’ve been there?”

         “No, a friend of a friend was telling us about it.”

         “How many floors are in this building? It didn’t look like it had that many.”

         “Looks can be deceiving my friend. We haven’t even begun to explore the vast wilderness of this place.”

         Just then Chuck saw a face he never expected to see again. He didn’t mean to, but he gasped and found he was calling a name he never expected to say again. “Jeff! Jeff Simon, is that really you?”

         “Well hey, Chuck, nice to see you again!”

         Chuck wasn’t sure what to say next. Jeff saw the look of confusion on Chuck’s face and said, “It’s alright Chuck. I know what you’re thinking, it’s alright. Can we meet up later? I have some things that can’t wait. I have to get them done now.”

         “Err, well, sure, Jeff. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

         As Jeff walked away, Dennis turned to Chuck and said, “How do you know him?”

         “I’m sorry, I should have introduced you. Jeff and I were shipmates on my first Submarine. He was one of the first crew members I met and was the first one to become my friend. He showed me around a lot. The last time I saw him, he was leaving the boat, transferring to the USS Ohio Pre-Comm unit.”

         “Wow, that’s awesome. No wonder you were so excited to see him. I bet you don’t meet that many Submariners.”

         “Yeah, we’re a small group. But excited? No, surprised is more like it. I had heard that he died while on vacation with his wife.”

         “Wow, that’s really odd. No matter though, I'm glad you saw him. Let’s get going though, there’s a lot more to see.”

         “Dennis? I’m afraid I’m a bit tired. How ‘bout we call it a day, take the lift down and get out of here.”

         “Chuck, there’s much more to show you and tell you. Sit down for a moment, we can talk easier.”

         “Show me? Dennis, I’ve seen so much already, I’ll see the rest later.”

         “Chuck, please sit.” Seeing a nearby bench, the two of them sat down to talk.

         “Chuck, here’s the thing. You said, ‘take the lift down’. The problem is that the lift only goes up. There is no way you can go down.”

         “What do you mean, it only goes up? Everything that goes up will eventually come down!”

         “Not in this building. It goes up, that’s the only direction it goes. Now Chuck, I said there’s so much to show you and tell you still. I wasn’t lying when I said that.”

         “I’m confused. How can it only go up, but not down?”

         “Let me explain, please. I always have trouble explaining to a newbie what’s going on. We entered the building on what’s known as the third floor. We couldn’t go down as I said. Besides, you don’t want to go down to the first floor.”

         “Wait. How in the Hell am I a newbie here? I’m seventy years old for crying out loud.”

         “Shhhhh, don’t say that word out loud. It’s a word we don’t use here. I call it ‘The Unspeakable Word’.”

         “Which word?”

         “One of the words you just said. It’s an old word that is a cuss word in some areas of Earth.”

         “You mean Hell?”

         “Yes, please stop saying that word!”

         “Why?”

         “It’s where The Damned Go.”

         “The Damned?”

         “Yes, they go to the first floor.”

         “Then what’s on the second floor?”

         “That’s where ‘those who wait’ go.”

         “Wait? What are they waiting for?”

         “The 'Powers That Be' need to determine if they will go up, or down.”

         “You mean like Purgatory?”

         “That’s what people of the Catholic faith might call it. It has many names depending on your faith. Names like Araf, Gehenna, Tartarus, Inferno, Perdition, and many more. I know I said that you can’t take the Lift down, but the second floor has a special lift. It will go up or down, depending on the decision.”

         “Wait a minute here. Wait just a damned minute! This sounds like Heaven and He”… Chuck caught himself before he said The Unspeakable Word.

         “Yes Chuck, this is what you might call Heaven.”

         Chuck shook his head, unwilling to accept what Dennis had said. Tears rolled down his cheeks as the realization of his circumstances sank in. He shuddered almost uncontrollably as he swayed back and forth. Finally, he gained enough control of himself and asked, “So I’m dead? Is that what you’re saying, I’m dead?”

         “We all are. Think about it. The Dennis you knew has been here for two or three years of Earth time now. Your friend Jeff has been here a while now too.”

         Hearing this from his friend caused Chuck to almost lose his mind. He almost fell off the bench as tears streamed down his face. “I know how you feel Chuck. I was the same way when I was told by my Guide.”

         “Your guide? What’s a Guide?”

         “Your Guide is the one who greets you after you pass. Like I did this morning when we met.” Dennis grinned broadly and a feeling of calm washed over Chuck at that expression. “Welcome to heaven.”

Jim Dorrell
8/3/25