In the glow of the harvest moon, I’m joined on my walk by all the members of my family—connected not by blood, which is arbitrary, but by belief, which is the most tenacious bond there is.
I stop to inhale, filling my lungs with brisk autumn air; the mingled scents of the various flora please me. I turn to Claudia. The unmistakable sincerity of her smile touches me.
“Lovelies,” I say, resuming my step, “There is, perhaps, no more contentious disagreement than that over what happens when one dies. For as long as man has appreciated the impermanence of his life on Earth, he has found incompatibility in his and his neighbor’s understanding of the afterlife.” I furrow my brow. “A growing number even believe that nonexistence is all that awaits us upon death!”
“Lies!” the lovelies exclaim.
“Yes, yes,” I say, nodding. “You,” I motion to the group with an open hand, “have accepted the Truth that no one else will know.”
“Elijah,” someone from behind me calls out. I recognize the voice as Joel’s.
“Yes, Joel?”
“Please tell us again how you came to the Truth.”
“Alright,” I say. “Years ago, as I contemplated the most important of questions—what happens when we die—I enjoyed what I thought for some time was a profound, radical insight. I realized that while living existence is one wherein the will of the individual is restricted by the laws of nature, existence after death is not hindered in this way, and that whatever a soul imagines manifests as reality.”
“You can’t just will the destruction of your enemy! You need to make it happen!” Thaddeus blurts out.
“That’s correct, Thaddeus. That much, anyway. As you all know, considerable further thought not only allowed me to realize that I was mistaken about the afterlife but also carried me to the indisputable Truth.”
“Were you ashamed for being wrong?!” Thaddeus and Esther holler in singsong.
“No, I was not,” I affirm. “Most people would suffer great shame upon realizing that their most deeply held belief was incorrect, but this was not at all how I felt in that moment. I immediately understood that my erroneous belief was a necessary step on the path to divine revelation.”
We arrive at our destination, and I turn to face my family.
“Ours is the one true religion, my lovelies.”
As I look upon them, I recognize that no one else will ever know our Truth and that ignorance will reign for as long as the wretched continue to reproduce. The sad fact that most “people” would be denied entry into paradise plagued me for the longest time, but finally, finally, I’m able to let it go; we—the blessed, the chosen, those with eyes wide open—will show the world, not in cruelty but unavoidable necessity, its utmost mistake in rejecting the Truth.
I approach Claudia and gently place my hand on her cheek. In her eyes, I see that she is ready. I take her hands and, with love—I’m bursting with pure joy—lower her down to the ground. I take a moment to admire her blue eyes, which contrast so strikingly with her heavily freckled face.
I turn to Jonah, and we grin at each other like loving brothers reunited after a lengthy separation. I bring my hand to his cheek and see that he, too, is ready. Easing him down next to Claudia, I have to suppress the desire to shout in excitement; despite being more blissful than ever before, I realize that such an uncontrolled expression would be unbefitting this moment of most consequence.
Fulfilling my duty as the shepherd of my flock, I tenderly place the remainder—Lydia, Tabitha, Thaddeus, Abigail, Joel, and Esther—in their places, shoulder to shoulder, backs to the ground. I then confidently, eagerly take my own place at the end next to Claudia, where I will be able to, ever so briefly, appreciate the ascension to paradise of each of my kindred.
I close my eyes and smile, pleased by the timely whistle of the coming train.
Fantastic.
Thank you!
Haunting story for being so short. I absolutely was not expecting that last line. I was expecting a laser beam from a space ship to hover over them. Even the names you gave the characters were creepy.
Thanks so much! 🙂
I was not expecting this sort of ending. At first I almost thought they were ghosts, when he was talking about his “family” and the afterlife. I, like everyone else, was not expecting this last line of them committing suicide willfully to get into paradise.
Thanks, Emma!
Caught me off guard! Short but captivating 🙂 Looking forward to more.
Thanks so much, Aunt Connie!
This was exceptionally written and I enojoyed it very much. Good job Mr. Alexander!
Thanks, Gabby!
I love this short story because there is a lot of detail and description about so much. This is also very dark and has a lot of twists that are tied into it.
Thanks, Whispin!
I love the vocabulary used throughout the story, it is thought provoking and takes the reader into depth about those specific details in the story. You can tell this story was created with patience and thoughtfulness. Overall, the story is beautiful with astounding meaning.
Thank you, Kaitlyn!
The ending of the story was very unexpected and over all I was sitting on the edge of my seat.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Madison. Thank you.
It was written really well. Looking through these comments, i realize how much it gets to the readers and how powerful it is.
Thanks, Cooper!
This story made my skin crawl! I love the use of descriptive vocabulary and the overall tone of the story. I also love the feeling of this story because it provides a calm, yet creepy feeling to it.
Thanks, Brandon! I love that it made your skin crawl. 🙂
This is one of the best short stories. There is very great detail in the story and tat is what makes it special.
Thanks so much, Chase!
I really enjoyed this story it had so many twists i did not expect!
Thanks, Shayla!
I wasn’t expecting the ending, I was thinking it was going to be something religiously profound, not an entirely different twist to a religion. But when I stopped and thought about it, they’re were hints throughout the beginning, that this isn’t a story of typical newfound religion. It’s an extremely well done story.
Thank you, Avery! I’m so pleased you were surprised by the ending.
This is a really good little story and I enjoyed it immensely. This also reminds me of something from H.P. Lovecraft minus the gods.
Thank you so much, Chris! Glad you enjoyed it!
I just feel bad everyone got to say it before me 🙂 Your story is awesome! Good job.
Thanks so much, Mfena!