Part 11, Naja Haje Abyss

“We will spend the night here in the meadow by the brook, Trevor?” Windoline said.

“I would like very much to rest. I suddenly feel quite weary.”

           Alter I bathed in the brook and drank of its waters, Windoline and I spent a glorious night under the stars. For the first time in my life I was truly at peace with myself. Together we enjoyed an evening being waited upon by other angels. They brought us bread, wine and fruit, and we dined stretched out on the fragrant grass until we were satisfied. Then the angels played their harps and flutes for us, and exuded beautiful music, which was exquisite to my soul─I did not want the day to end.

“Why did you choose me Windoline?” I asked as we sipped our wine.

“I did not choose you, The Wind did. The Wind blows where it will; the Angels of God only do His bidding.” 

Suddenly I could not keep my eyes open, as the music seemed to say, “Rest, my beloved, rest.” 

The next morning came, and I knew it was time to leave for the abyss. First however, Windoline asked the other angels to serve us a hearty breakfast of bread, cheese and apples. Meanwhile she told me as much as she could about why I needed to go to the Naja Haje.

“You have lost something of prodigious value, but you will find it below. Angels of Darkness, or fallen Angels, do all within their power—the power of their father the Devil, to keep human’s from the Word of Truth.” Windoline looked very sad as she spoke. “They alter God’s word, deride it, add to it, and subtract from it; mostly they try and keep it from you. They will twist it and turn its meaning to suit their purposes for evil disguised as good.” 

“What is this Word?” I asked.

She smiled beautifully at me and answered, “It is the Word of Truth and it answers the mysteries of life and speaks to your soul. If you have faith it will bring you to the River o Life.”

I didn’t really want to know, but I asked anyway, “Where would I be if I had received a call from one of the other judges?”

Part 10, Naja Haje Abyss

When I opened my eyes I was standing next to Windoline in the Hall of Judgment. The hall was made of white marble and tall columns. In the middle of the room were four huge desks with judges sitting behind them.

“What happened, how did I get here?” I questioned Windoline, forgetting how beautiful she was when I had looked at her in times past. She was still very lovely, but not in a sensual way anymore. Peace flooded my soul, and I wanted to thank her, but she stopped me.

“You must not thank me. Thank The Son of Man.” She smiled and said, “You have found what those left behind in the Halls never will. Their hearts have been hardened beyond redemption, and they will spend eons in there until the Son of Man appears. When that time comes, Judgment will be passed for them to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire.”

We stood before Judge D. Ringtrue; he was one of the four judges. Windoline whispered to me that the D. stood or Discerning. The other three, Judge Always Rullbad, Judge Haveto Banishem and Judge Sorryforyou Goodfolk had books stacked high on their desks from which hung a four foot long metal gavel. All but Judge D. Ringtrue had their head down, muttering to themselves as they perused their books.

“What are those three judges doing?” I asked.

          “They are studying for Judgment Day, the day when people, dead or alive who reject The Son of Man will stand before God. Their souls will be sent to the Lake of Fire to burn forever.”

“When will that be?” I asked.

“Only God knows. Not even his Son or his angels know.”

Then I heard Judge D. Ringtrue call my name, “Trevor Bartlett, step to the bench please.”

I trembled and lowered my head, waiting for whatever curse I deserved. “You have found and embraced The Son of Man, therefore your sins are forgiven. Now we are sending you to the Naja Haje Abyss. We will watch over you from above and remember, do not call upon your angel for help. Angels only do the bidding of God; call upon The Son of Man. He will protect you with his angels, who will guard you as He asks. Do you have any questions?”

“Yes, your honor. Am I dead?”

“No, Mr. Bartlett.”

“Why did Windoline choose me, and will she go with me to the abyss?”

“Good Angels cannot go below,” Judge D. Ringtrue declared. “Only humans may dare it and return. You have The Son of Man with you now. He is all you need. Windoline will tell you why you are going and about being chosen.” 

He looked at me kindly, nodded his head and waved me on with, “God bless you.”

Part 9 -Naja Haje Abyss

From here on, I will call these Parts rather than teasers

“I’m Miss Zzmani Vengeance, and you had better get out of my way before I slash you into little bite size pieces.”

The strange, tiny woman glared at me for a moment and then picked up a razor sharp axe with a three-foot head on it. As she heaved the weapon over her shoulder preparing to use it on me, I ran. Like a rocket engine was strapped to my back, I headed straight for a grove of trees and right into a family of nasty gorillas.

One of them dove at me, grabbed me by my ankles and twirled me overhead several times. I was about to throw up when, rather than put me down, the hairy ape tossed me like a basketball to one of his buddies. When the other gorilla caught me, it climbed a very tall tree and hung me by my heels from a branch. Terrified by the beasts as I dangled from the tree, I thought I would surely die and cried out to Windoline for help. There was no answer. Then I whispered a prayer, though I am not certain what made me think to do so.

“Please God; I’m sorry for all my wrong doings, for robbing my customers and purposely giving back the incorrect change, for lying to my friends when I don’t want to see them, and for cheating on my girlfriend, Sally. Please Lord, help me, before I die from all the blood running to my head, or before I am eaten alive by these brutes.”

Then I heard the leaves on the tree whispering to me. “The Son of Man is Jesus our Lord. The Son of Man is Jesus our Lord and Savior.”

It came to me ─“Jesus Loves Me, this I know.” It was the song we used to sing in Sunday school. I tried to sing it while hanging upside down, and I saw my tears, shaped like perfect miniature pears, falling to the ground. My tears reminded me of the weeping tree where Windoline and I first sat. Then I remembered the River of Life.

“That’s it, that’s my answer,” I said out loud, “salvation─eternal life.”

I prayed to God again and called out the name of Jesus as I wept, truly repentant. The beasts danced around me, pointing and laughing. All at once, I felt myself tumbling through the air to the ground. I landed on my knees and looked up to see that the gorillas had been transformed into angry men and women. They began shouting and waving weapons in the air with one hand and clenched fists in the other. As much as they reached out to me, they could not draw near, because a protective glass cylinder surrounded me. The mad crowd pressed their faces up to the glass and gnashed their teeth. I lifted my head and raised my hands in thanks to God for saving me from the maniacs. Then all became still, and I closed my eyes and bowed my head.

8 Teaser, Naja Haje Abyss

“What are you staring at? Don’t you know me? My name is Ida B. Belligerent,” she snorted loudly. I moved down the bunker on hands and knees and heard her shout, “Go away and mind your business, Mr.”

Just as Ida finished jeering at me, a long spear zoomed overhead, and Ida let out a curse that was as shrill as the wind on the heels of the spear. I peeked over the edge of the bunker only to see a very tall, very thin young woman dressed in a black see-through, gown that was tied at the shoulder, like a toga.

“You rotten, good-for-nothing, miserable rat,” the woman yelled.

I looked around to see if she was talking to me, and she was. I ducked back for cover in the bunker and a second later another spear flew over me.

“What are you hiding from Mr. Havmyway? Are you afraid of Willameana Angry? You better run, cause I’m coming after you, now!”

       With the threat of Ms. Angry and her spears, and more bullets flying overhead, I spotted a sewer pipe and quickly crawled into it for shelter. I had gotten about twenty feet from the entrance when without warning a grate dropped behind me blocking any change of mind I might have had. Then suddenly there appeared four additional sewer pipes in front of me. Each pipe had a sign above the entrance that read, “Danger, Do Not Enter”.
        Without time to deliberate, I was suddenly faced with rushing water coming from behind—I had no choice but to go against the warning signs. I plunged into a pipe on my right and had no sooner pulled my feet in than the water surged past like a jet stream. There was no turning around. As I watched the torrent of sewer water go by, something kept it from flowing into the channel I’d chosen. I sat still for a few minutes wondering where my angel was.
       “Windoline,” I whispered, but there was no answer. Then I realized I could speak.

        I had never said prayers before, but I certainly had watched a plethora of movies, which called out the Lord’s name in rude and unholy ways. I wasn’t a religious man, as I said, but my deceased parents were devout Christians. As I sat there, I remembered some of my early Sunday school lessons. I’d stopped attending by the third grade and never went back, not even to church. My folks were killed in a car accident, and I went to live with my aunt, who despised the church, though she never said why.

Suddenly it came to me. Mr. Chew Smackum from the first hall continually searched for the Son of Man. Even though his reasons for doing so were wrong, I now knew the distinction. Before I had time to finish my contemplations, the water from the first pipe turned into mine. I immediately headed away from the gushing, smelly low, hoping with all my heart that I could reach the exit before the deluge caught up with me. I was almost immersed in it before I saw daylight. As soon as I reached the exit, the dirty water stopped. I stood up and stretched, hoping to see Windoline and wishing I were back at my bistro serving coffee. But no such good fortune awaited me.

7th Teaser The Naja Haje Abyss©

“Berthabode and Meanrake cheat and steal from all who come near them. In addition their sexual promiscuity outside of their relationship knows no bounds, despite that they are common-law husband and wife. As for Dirty Bob, though I dislike expounding on his affairs, you need to know the particulars─he is just one example of many who live against the laws of God and what nature intends.”
(Caution x rated paragraph)Windoline frowned as she continued, “You see, Dirty Bob’s outward filth is representative of his inward thoughts, his secret actions and his lustful desires. He commits fornication with his brother’s wife, his mother’s sister, and his father’s nieces, and a particular nephew that he favors above all. In addition, he does unnatural things with the neighbor’s dog.” 

“I am astonished.”

       Windoline signed and wiped her brow. “As for Ms. Fibbergiver and Ms. Whitelies, their practice of lying developed over the years. At first it was by thinking to save themselves from many inconvenient situations, but then telling a lie became second nature to them.”

I was grateful for Windoline’s explanation, and had only to reflect on the way everyone I knew, including me, often accepts right or wrong as suitable behavior depending on what the situation calls for. I had no more questions, except to ask myself where I fit into this picture. I did not like what I saw.

“Remember,” she said, leaning towards me, “When we enter this next place, you are still not to speak or answer questions from anyone. Do you understand?”

I nodded my head and once again, two foreboding angels waved us in at the Hall of Revenge and Rebellion. This arena was completely landscaped with brown trees, hills, rocks and boulders, trenches and dusty open space. When I turned to be reassured of Windoline’s presence, she disappeared before my eyes. In utter dismay I tried to call out to her but could not make a sound. As I looked around searching for her, I heard a gunshot and a bullet whipped past my ear. This was followed by a loud, angry voice.

“I’ll kill you if it’s the last thing I do, or my name isn’t Buckgeteven.”  

A beast like man came running towards me brandishing an oversized pistol. Again, I couldn’t speak to defend myself; hence, I saw a bunker up ahead and dove into it. There I found a strange dirty old woman who had burrowed under a rocky overhang. She puffed away on a huge cigar as she cursed and uttered ugly grunting and groaning sounds.

“What are you staring at? Don’t you know me? My name is Ida B. Belligerent,” she snorted loudly.