Heaven Sent

Exerpt

“St. Peter, you have a call – on the Red Phone. He said it's urgent.” St. Colleen's voice cut off as the connection was terminated.

St. Peter looked up from his book. The Book, the list of names of all who has passed this way, through the Gates of Heaven. He had been its guardian for as long as he could remember, and probably longer than that. His white beard traveled past his knees, and his hair was ivory, but he still had a spring in his step and a smile on his lips. The Red Phone belonged to only one, and He never liked to be kept waiting.

Peter patiently called to his assistant, -”Tell Him I'll be right there.”- then he called down the hall to two passing saints.

St. Brendan and St. James came over, discussing the better parts of Numerology. St. Brendan thought there was some merit in it, but St. James called it a bunch of nonsense.

Brendan and James looked at each other, and then at the big white desk (everything here was white) which stood high - with a lofty perch for the guardian. The desk overlooked the great entranceway, and the floor was obscured by swirling white clouds. The entranceway itself was impressive and grand, not for its appearance, but for what lay beyond it. Its glow acted like a beacon and drew all things towards it.

Brendan and James knew their job was not to judge who came before them but to record the person's name and send him to the appropriate place. There were many levels and many doors at the gates. First time angels were sent to 'Angels in Waiting' where St. Bonaventure would give them their first wings. He would instruct them on the use of spiritual imagery and how to keep their robes from getting wet when they talked to whales – an advanced lesson not really taught till they reached 'Advanced Aquatics 302'. Graduates of the initial class could take a variety of instructional courses designed to better equip them to assist mankind and the animal kingdom. After many years of training, an angel was assigned guardian duties for a new baby born on earth whose life he would follow. Sometimes it was a long assignment, and sometimes a short one, but it was always challenging and rewarding.

Graduate angels could instead choose to volunteer for the highest level of instruction - St. Patrick's 'Angels in Crisis Training' or ACT, as it was more commonly known. Here the Irish benefactor took students through real-time situations in which they would use their training to blend in with the surroundings and assist those in crisis. Angels were quick to learn that these situations crossed time and space and they were treated independently. St. Patrick would oversee but not interfere. This was real life – the big time for angels. If they passed these steps and learned from them, they would be sent back to the real world again as humans to help mankind and teach them as only children can.

Brendan and James looked at the book and looked at each other. Their grins split their face from ear to ear. This was the first time in several millennia that they had been entrusted by Peter with his Book, and they wanted to show him they had learned their lesson from the last time. The sounds of Peter chewing them out still rang in their ears – all because they had left the freezer door opened and started the Ice Age. Brendan had thought frozen pop-tarts sounded good at the time.

Brendan sat on the high stool with James to his left. They looked purposeful and tried counting the number of entries that morning. They stopped at about 200 when they heard a soft "Hello" from in front of the desk. They look over and saw two children.

"My name is Sean and this is my sister Elizabeth" said the sandy-haired youth, who looked all of about 11. "Is this Heaven?"

Brendan looked at James and smiled. "Our first one!" said James.

Following Peter's instructions, Brendan took his long pen and carefully recorded their names and ages - Sean, age 11, Elizabeth age 10.

"You have reached the Gates of Heaven, but your journey is far from over.", said Brendan. He was reading out of the book 'Guide to Heaven" by St. Barnabus, published by Angels, Inc., in 43 million BC. Brendan explained the bylaws of the celestial house and how He liked to run things.

"If you are an angel, you won't have any trouble." quipped James.

"Ok, now you go down the long hall, make a left, then a right, then a left and the Saint will give you your instructions", said Brendan.

"Left, right, left, – ok, got it", said the girl. She had bright blue eyes and fair hair. They set off on their journey.