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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Fairy Tales & Fantasy
- Subject: Miracles / Wonders
- Published: 04/23/2019
The Life Checker.
Born 1951, M, from Wilmington NC, United States.jpeg)
The Life Checker opened the next file. It only took a moment to read through it. It was a reasonably short life- sixty three years. Not much remarkable in it…couple of bands of kindness…oh, that is interesting…a True love was marked in the plus column. The Life Checker flipped over the flimsy to see if the True Love was returned. It was. That made the Life Checker smile broadly.
He leaned over and hit the small blue button his desk:
“Melba, please send in Mr. Richey.”
“Yes, Sir.”
*****
Brian Richey. Age sixty three years, four months, eighteen days, eleven hours, thirteen minutes and twelve seconds. Father of two. Husband of one. Cause of death: Stroke. (Smokers- bah) Degree in Engineering. Doctorate in Systems Structures. One True Love- his wife.
It wasn’t a huge summary. It was good enough. The Life Checker looked up at Mr. Richey as he finished reading the summary out to him. Mr. Richey looked shocked. The Life Checker laughed silently to himself- of course he looks shocked- they all do. One minute you're dead. The next you are in my Office getting a Cliff Notes version of your Life read out to you without a clue as to why, or what, is happening.
“Congratulations Mr. Richey. You have earned another chance at life.”
“Waaa…err…uhh…what?”
“Life, dear boy, you know; cake, ice cream, the occasional beer, a chance to swim again, play poker, make friends. You know…LIFE.”
Mr. Brian Richey had a look on his face that would have won the Pulitzer Prize for Photography- if anyone had taken a picture of it. Every hackneyed word used by a Tenth Grade English Student trying to impress a teacher who has read it all - was in that look. Dumbfounded. Flummoxed. Flabbergasted. Exasperated. Witless. Clueless. Even the old tried and true: "Shocked into silence” phrase…they all were locked into that look.
“But…but…but…I am dead. Aren’t I?”
The Life Checker smiled.
“Oh, yes. Most certainly, my dear man. Dead as a doornail. Deader than a parrot in a Monty Python sketch. You are beyond the Vail. You have breached the wall of the Heavenly Choir. The Pearly Gates are behind you now.“
The Life Checker stopped his litany. The Newly Dead never seem to understand his humor. He sighed.
“You Died a few moments ago. You should have listened to your wife and stopped smoking twenty years ago. See that in your next Life, you don’t pick up the habit.“
The Life Checker smiled at Mr. Richey. He liked this part. The part where he gets to tell a good man he is going back. Back with a chance to be a better man. He also liked the fact that someone who had a True Love gets to have another. Love really does make it all worthwhile.
For a moment, the Life Checker almost let himself drift back to the four True Loves he had in his many returns to Life- before he earned the right to stay dead. But he had a job to do, and the blue light on his desk was blinking. There was another folder to be read. No time for chewing his cud today.
“I don’t understand. Am I going back? Why? What did I do wrong?”
“Nothing, my dear man, quite the opposite- you lived a rather good life. Let me tell you, not many your age can say they had a True love, and it was returned to you too. You stayed within your comfort zone most of your Life. That you get a chance to fix. Oh, and you could work a bit on your tolerance too. There at the end you tended to become a bit provincial. Here’s a hint. Live your life, don’t waste it on the minutia of some celebrity, pop-culture, or swamped by News and sound bites. Just a hint.“
“But you haven’t answered my questions. I don’t understand why I am going back. Why can’t I stay here?" (Mr. Richey looked around, but there wasn’t much to see: a gray metallic desk, the Life Checker in his very conservative suit complete with vest and watch pocket, and a prominent blue button on the desk.)
“Oh, my dear, dear, man. You don’t get to stay “here”, until you have become the best you that you could possibly be. You are far from that. You need to be kinder, gentler, more caring. You also need to use that intellect of yours to contribute more to the world than just using it to gather a decent paycheck. Oh, and you have to eat a bit better. I mean really, Pizza three times a week?”
A whole list of adjectives flooded Mr. Richey’s mind. Most of them colorful declarations or variations on the theme of where the Life Checker can place his comments- a place where the sun does not shine.
“Whoa there my dear man. Patience. Kindness. Remember? You need to work on those two. Although I have to say that some of your vocative phraseology was quite inventive.“
Mr. Richey was almost in tears. The Life Checker relented just a bit, sliding a tissue over his immaculate desk - which was taken with a grace that surprised the Life Checker. A quiet and sincere “thank-you” uttered by Mr. Richie moved the Life Checker to offer some reassurance.
“My dear man, you will leave my Office in just a minute. (The Life Checker hit a small switch under his desk- immediately Mr. Richey started to fade.) What will happen is you will be born into slightly better circumstances than your last life. You will have slightly better parents- with the means to help you explore your potential. Also, you will find your True Love sooner than last time.
It is up to you to take advantage of these advantages. You lived a good, but unremarkable life - with the exception of finding and maintaining a True Love. This time live a more remarkable life. Impress me next time you come up here. Now…go!”
The Chair was empty. In a small town in upstate New York, a young couple held their first child.
“What should we call him?”
All the names they had thought they might use faded away. One name stuck out in the young Mother’s mind.
She smiled as she looked at her husband, then down at her new baby boy.
“Richey. I think we shall call him Richey.”
Her husband smiled.
“Richey? I like that. Welcome to the world Richey. Welcome.”
******
The Life Checker picked up the next folder. He whistled a long slow soft whistle. This next folder was anything but brief. This woman (he checked the title on the folder one more time), Candice Montgomery…well, she may very well be staying here.
He whistled again. He would take his time reading this folder. Really? She was an Olympic Horse Rider Champion (Dressage), played piano at the Concert level, was Den Mother for ten years, climbed four of the highest peaks in the world, did Little Theater with remarkable reviews. Has degrees in both Math and the Humanities, raised seven children (who all adore and strive to be like their Mom), and has had four True Loves in her long life. Oh, yes, this one is a keeper.
The Life Checker hit the Blue button:
“Melba, send in Ms. Candice Montgomery, Please.”
He smiled as she entered the room.
Of course she was nonplussed, unflappable, unfazed, and a host of other hackneyed adjectives from a Tenth Grade English student trying for a better grade. She was in a word: elegant.
The Life Checker rose to greet her, his hand as warm as the smile on his face. He may have found his replacement.
“Welcome my dear lady. Welcome.”
The Life Checker.(Kevin Hughes)
The Life Checker opened the next file. It only took a moment to read through it. It was a reasonably short life- sixty three years. Not much remarkable in it…couple of bands of kindness…oh, that is interesting…a True love was marked in the plus column. The Life Checker flipped over the flimsy to see if the True Love was returned. It was. That made the Life Checker smile broadly.
He leaned over and hit the small blue button his desk:
“Melba, please send in Mr. Richey.”
“Yes, Sir.”
*****
Brian Richey. Age sixty three years, four months, eighteen days, eleven hours, thirteen minutes and twelve seconds. Father of two. Husband of one. Cause of death: Stroke. (Smokers- bah) Degree in Engineering. Doctorate in Systems Structures. One True Love- his wife.
It wasn’t a huge summary. It was good enough. The Life Checker looked up at Mr. Richey as he finished reading the summary out to him. Mr. Richey looked shocked. The Life Checker laughed silently to himself- of course he looks shocked- they all do. One minute you're dead. The next you are in my Office getting a Cliff Notes version of your Life read out to you without a clue as to why, or what, is happening.
“Congratulations Mr. Richey. You have earned another chance at life.”
“Waaa…err…uhh…what?”
“Life, dear boy, you know; cake, ice cream, the occasional beer, a chance to swim again, play poker, make friends. You know…LIFE.”
Mr. Brian Richey had a look on his face that would have won the Pulitzer Prize for Photography- if anyone had taken a picture of it. Every hackneyed word used by a Tenth Grade English Student trying to impress a teacher who has read it all - was in that look. Dumbfounded. Flummoxed. Flabbergasted. Exasperated. Witless. Clueless. Even the old tried and true: "Shocked into silence” phrase…they all were locked into that look.
“But…but…but…I am dead. Aren’t I?”
The Life Checker smiled.
“Oh, yes. Most certainly, my dear man. Dead as a doornail. Deader than a parrot in a Monty Python sketch. You are beyond the Vail. You have breached the wall of the Heavenly Choir. The Pearly Gates are behind you now.“
The Life Checker stopped his litany. The Newly Dead never seem to understand his humor. He sighed.
“You Died a few moments ago. You should have listened to your wife and stopped smoking twenty years ago. See that in your next Life, you don’t pick up the habit.“
The Life Checker smiled at Mr. Richey. He liked this part. The part where he gets to tell a good man he is going back. Back with a chance to be a better man. He also liked the fact that someone who had a True Love gets to have another. Love really does make it all worthwhile.
For a moment, the Life Checker almost let himself drift back to the four True Loves he had in his many returns to Life- before he earned the right to stay dead. But he had a job to do, and the blue light on his desk was blinking. There was another folder to be read. No time for chewing his cud today.
“I don’t understand. Am I going back? Why? What did I do wrong?”
“Nothing, my dear man, quite the opposite- you lived a rather good life. Let me tell you, not many your age can say they had a True love, and it was returned to you too. You stayed within your comfort zone most of your Life. That you get a chance to fix. Oh, and you could work a bit on your tolerance too. There at the end you tended to become a bit provincial. Here’s a hint. Live your life, don’t waste it on the minutia of some celebrity, pop-culture, or swamped by News and sound bites. Just a hint.“
“But you haven’t answered my questions. I don’t understand why I am going back. Why can’t I stay here?" (Mr. Richey looked around, but there wasn’t much to see: a gray metallic desk, the Life Checker in his very conservative suit complete with vest and watch pocket, and a prominent blue button on the desk.)
“Oh, my dear, dear, man. You don’t get to stay “here”, until you have become the best you that you could possibly be. You are far from that. You need to be kinder, gentler, more caring. You also need to use that intellect of yours to contribute more to the world than just using it to gather a decent paycheck. Oh, and you have to eat a bit better. I mean really, Pizza three times a week?”
A whole list of adjectives flooded Mr. Richey’s mind. Most of them colorful declarations or variations on the theme of where the Life Checker can place his comments- a place where the sun does not shine.
“Whoa there my dear man. Patience. Kindness. Remember? You need to work on those two. Although I have to say that some of your vocative phraseology was quite inventive.“
Mr. Richey was almost in tears. The Life Checker relented just a bit, sliding a tissue over his immaculate desk - which was taken with a grace that surprised the Life Checker. A quiet and sincere “thank-you” uttered by Mr. Richie moved the Life Checker to offer some reassurance.
“My dear man, you will leave my Office in just a minute. (The Life Checker hit a small switch under his desk- immediately Mr. Richey started to fade.) What will happen is you will be born into slightly better circumstances than your last life. You will have slightly better parents- with the means to help you explore your potential. Also, you will find your True Love sooner than last time.
It is up to you to take advantage of these advantages. You lived a good, but unremarkable life - with the exception of finding and maintaining a True Love. This time live a more remarkable life. Impress me next time you come up here. Now…go!”
The Chair was empty. In a small town in upstate New York, a young couple held their first child.
“What should we call him?”
All the names they had thought they might use faded away. One name stuck out in the young Mother’s mind.
She smiled as she looked at her husband, then down at her new baby boy.
“Richey. I think we shall call him Richey.”
Her husband smiled.
“Richey? I like that. Welcome to the world Richey. Welcome.”
******
The Life Checker picked up the next folder. He whistled a long slow soft whistle. This next folder was anything but brief. This woman (he checked the title on the folder one more time), Candice Montgomery…well, she may very well be staying here.
He whistled again. He would take his time reading this folder. Really? She was an Olympic Horse Rider Champion (Dressage), played piano at the Concert level, was Den Mother for ten years, climbed four of the highest peaks in the world, did Little Theater with remarkable reviews. Has degrees in both Math and the Humanities, raised seven children (who all adore and strive to be like their Mom), and has had four True Loves in her long life. Oh, yes, this one is a keeper.
The Life Checker hit the Blue button:
“Melba, send in Ms. Candice Montgomery, Please.”
He smiled as she entered the room.
Of course she was nonplussed, unflappable, unfazed, and a host of other hackneyed adjectives from a Tenth Grade English student trying for a better grade. She was in a word: elegant.
The Life Checker rose to greet her, his hand as warm as the smile on his face. He may have found his replacement.
“Welcome my dear lady. Welcome.”
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Aziz
04/24/2019What a splendid idea! It can be workable if we wonder well and try to renew our way of living. Every day seems to be a gift for a new life. Thank you Sir for making us travel with you through this exciting journey
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
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Kevin Hughes
04/25/2019Aziz,
I love that phrase: " ...renew our way of living." Exactly! What was, does not have to be what is. We can change, grow, learn...and those don't stop until we die. Maybe not even then!
Smiles, Kevin
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