2: Blessed by God

Yuna’s eyes fluttered open to a piercing light that caused her eyes to water. She slowly began walking towards the light. The light flowed out through the elegant doors that led to somewhere mysterious. Are these the doors to heaven? Where was this?

She pondered for a moment, before trusting her instincts. Her instincts told her that the light usually meant good things. So, she followed her instincts and went through the door. While walking for a while she noticed clouds under her feet that were so thick that they were no where close to transparent as she thought it would be.

She was so focused on the clouds that she didn’t notice an enormous pedestal in front of her. She stumbled into the pedestal that was attached to giant marble white stairs. The stairs were enormous to the point that Yuna looked like a tiny ant.

Before she could figure out how to get up those stairs, a tiny bit of cloud detached from the floor and flew towards her. The cloud lifted her up into the air and began rapidly flying towards the top of the stairs. She couldn’t help but stare in wonder at herself flying across the giant sky.  

At the very top of the stairs, sat a man as enormous as a giant. He sat on a chair that was meant for kings. He was extraordinarily beautiful even though he had long white hair. Not that white hair is a bad thing. He resembled god so much that it almost felt like hearing a choir of angels singing in the background.

The cloud slowed down and began to expand beneath her feet. It was sort of weird floating in the air like that, but it was an interesting experience.  Yuna observed the man that resembled god and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you perhaps, God?” The man’s attention landed on Yuna, causing him to flash an ethereal smile at her. His white garbs that covered his body swayed gracefully. It looked very unnatural because there was no wind. The wind must be coming from him.

There was also a golden glow that surrounded him. He embodied this warm atmosphere that brought a sense of calmness and peace. His reply came a bit late, but it was because he was admiring her like she was his daughter. “You are correct. I’ve been waiting for you. How was your journey here?”

Yuna didn’t feel like she went through much of a journey to get to him. “I didn’t really do much. The cloud did most of the work.” God laughed, “Not the journey after death. I meant the journey called life. How was your last life, my dear?” Yuna scrunched her eyebrows together trying to remember her last life. After a bit, she recalled everything that happened and how she died.

Yuna frowned, “It wasn’t that fun, seeing how I had to go in such a gruesome way. My head was chopped off and that was a horrifying experience. I can’t forget how my two most trusted companions betrayed me in such a terrible way (Minho and Haemi).” God observed my expression curiously. “Do you seek revenge for how they treated you?” I nodded, “In honesty, I’m not that sort of person, but yes I do want to get revenge. I’m not usually violent, but I just feel like I didn’t deserve any of this. The ones who deserve this is them.”

God said, “You’ve got a point there, but please give me a second, while I transform so that it’ll be easier to communicate.” His body soon became transparent and it looked to be shrinking to her size. He cleared his throat suddenly and the air beside her changed. He was standing right next to her on the cloud that had expanded.

God spoke beside her, “I wanted to praise you for living a good and moral life. I commend you for your efforts. Although it seems that you did experience a tragedy towards the end. I’m deeply sorry for the pain you had to endure. I hope that this doesn’t deter you from your righteous path.”

Yuna had suffered greatly before arriving here and that didn’t stop her from letting God know how unfair it all was, “God, why did I have to experience this? I feel that I can no longer continue living a moral lifestyle. I feel so angry and I want to harm the people that harmed me. An eye for an eye.”

Yuna felt the resentment and fury twist her guts as she remembered the painful memories. Her heart had been broken to the point of no repair. There was a darkness that lingered in her heart. She had always put in great efforts to help others. The betrayal had caused darkness to settle in the corners of her heart. God could clearly see that her past life had affected her in a detrimental way. She no longer had a heart full of purity and love. It was filled with hatred and resentment towards Minho and Haemi.

God gently patted Yuna’s back reassuringly, “My dear child, you must not fall into the darkness. You are meant for great things. Every man has their own journey, and this is a test of your will.” Yuna clenched her hands into fists. She couldn’t forgive them so easily even if the person in front of her was god. Yuna admitted, “I just can’t forgive them. The pain they have caused me, seems irreversible. What am I supposed to do?”

God frowned, “I know that its hard to forgive and let go, but eventually time will heal all wounds. Remember that the pain from a previous life is not meant to last forever.” Yuna nodded in agreement, “I guess you’re right, but where do I go from here? Do I just watch over them in heaven?” God shook his head, “No, you will be given another chance at life, but it will have to be a new life in a different world.”

It didn’t come as a shock to find out that she couldn’t go back and get revenge. Maybe it was better this way. She couldn’t do anything even if she were given another chance. Yuna finally concluded that she would just have to move on, but it was still unfair, “I know that it was supposed to be a test, but don’t you think it was a little too cruel? I don’t think that I deserved any of it.” God pondered for a moment, “Now that you mention it, I do think that I was being a bit unfair by sending you to a world that has failed to achieve a certain standard. That’s why this world was graded as ‘F’.”

Yuna grimaced at the grade, “Why would you send me there in the first place?” He chuckled, “It’s all a part of the plan, so don’t bother about it too much.” Yuna could not force herself to comply. She felt like her life was a joke and regardless of whatever she thought, she’d still end up with a cruel fate. “I don’t think that any of this is fair.”

God agreed, “You’re right. I may have been too focused on the testing that I didn’t realize you would end up in such a tragic death. How about I give you a gift?” Yuna wondered, “What kind of gift?”

God grinned in response, “Now listen, Yuna. This ability is amazing, but it also has its bad traits. I am giving you picture perfect memory. You will be able to remember everything from your past lifetime to everything you have learned within mere seconds. I know that it’ll be harder to forgive once you do have this ability, but it will also serve as a test to how you will overcome the darkness that has already settled in your heart. It is truly an amazing ability, but it can also be a burden. Living life with this ability can make the world so mundane. It will be quite taxing to remember every little detail. I hope that you’ll like my gift to you as compensating for how unfair the last lifetime was.”

Hopefully, this next lifetime will go peacefully without a dramatic ending.  Yuna probably wouldn’t want to continue if she got stuck with the same fate of being betrayed. Not that she would trust anyone anymore after experiencing betrayal. She lost all hope in making friends or finding a lifelong lover.

God placed his hand on Yuna’s forehead, and a majestic light shined down from the sky and onto her figure. She felt God’s power in the air surrounding her. “It won’t be long until you arrive in your next lifetime. I’m sorry that I had to send you so soon, but I want you to find out for yourself where you go and what type of life you’ll be leading. It is not my place to force you to live a certain type of life, so it will be better for you to find out all the details when you get there. Goodbye, my dear. I hope that you will learn to forgive and forget those that have betrayed you and caused you harm.”

Yuna felt the molecules that made up her body slowly disintegrate. Her hands and body had turned transparent. She could feel her body vanishing. “Wait! I still have so many questions. Don’t send me away yet!” Yuna was ignored and the last thing she saw was of herself disappearing into thin air