A Soldier Comes into the Recovery Area in the Afterlife

Anyway, to cut a long story short, we got to this place, you know, and well, went in and there was all sorts of people there. All kinds. But what struck me as odd…they were dressed much the same as, well, many people that I’d known and what I used to dress like meself in civvie street. Suits and you know, that sort of thing. And it all seemed to be very natural and the funny thing was, that the outside of this place looked like a sort of temple place or something, I suppose you’d call it, but inside it all looked very natural. Most peculiar. It was not exactly like an ‘ospital but at the same time it had an atmosphere of peace and tran-tranquility and all that.

And there seemed to be many rooms, apart from the big entrance there, there seemed to be lots of different rooms. But, lots of light was coming in. That’s another thing – I never remember seeing the sun, yet there seemed to be plenty of light. And big windows. And people sitting around talking. There were tables and chairs. I didn’t see any beds, and I thought, “Well this is a funny sort of an ‘ospital, yet it ain’t a ‘ospital, I suppose.”

Everyone seemed to be quite bright and cheerful and happy, all very natural. Some were talking, and others were eating – and that’s what struck me. I thought, “Well, I’ve got him one here. He says as how’s this is some sort of part of heaven. I’m sure they wouldn’t eat.” So I said, “Ah, look! They’re eating over there.”

So he said, “Why shouldn’t they?”

And I thought, “Well, seems odd. If you’re dead you don’t need to eat.”

So he says, “Ah, what you don’t realize is, that when you come here, if you feel it’s essential to do certain things and you feel it’s essential to eat and drink, then you can.”

Then it dawned on me that sounded pretty sensible, after all. ‘Cause if you’ve put someone in a place where they’re out of harmony and things don’t go on in the way they would like them to go on, then they feel uncomfortable. So it struck me there was something in that.  

Well…sat down around a table with several other blokes and they said, “Hello. Just arrived?”

I said, “Yes.”

So one of them said to me, “Only just come, ay? Only a few hours innit?”

I said, “What?”

He says, “Only a few hours.”

I said, “Is it? I didn’t know.”

He said, “We heard as how as you were coming.”

I said, “What do you mean heard as how I was coming? You don’t even know me.”

He says, “Oh well, that’s what you think.”

I said, “Well, how could you know me anyway. I never knew you, not down there, as you call it.”

He said, “Ah, well, we know. We have our scouts out, we have our gangs out, you know. Helpers. I was helped in the same way. I’ve only been here a very short time meself. Couple of days, I believe.”

I said, “Oh, settling in?”

He says, “Oh yes. Very nice. Much better than what they used to tell us down there innit?”

I said, “How do you mean?”

He says, “Well, you know what they used to tell us down there, about ‘eaven and ‘ell, and the last trumpet and all that? Yeah. They’ve got it all wrong.”

I said, “Well, it seems like it, doesn’t it?”

He says, “Yeah. All that business about, if you’re very good, you go up to the top stall and if you’re not so good, you’d go down in the old cellar. Ha ! They’ve got all that wrong, mate. Here we’re just the same as we was, only better. Quite happy. Tomorrow, I’m going from here.”

I said, ‘What? Where are you going?’

“Well,” he says, “I’m going to see my grandparents.”

Of course all this struck me as a bit crackers, but I thought, “Well, I’d better sort of keep in with them, and talk the same sort of language. After all, if I’ve got to be here, as they say I have, I might as well fit in.” I felt in the most peculiar sort of, state, really, when I come to think about it now.

He says, “Yeah, I’m visiting my grandparents.”

I said, “Well, where are they?”

He says, “Well, I’ve been told that they’re on this plane, as they call it here, but further out.”

I said, “What, many miles away?”

He says, “Miles? They say you don’t have miles here. You don’t have distance in the same way as you do on Earth. I ain’t got meself adjusted to that yet, but I shall no doubt be alright. I’m being taken there.”

I said, “Oh, very nice. Who’s taking you?’

He says, “My guide.”

I said, “Guide?”

He says, “Yes. I didn’t even know there were such things as guides, you know. That’s something that I’ve only just recently learnt. But there’s a very nice fellow here. He’s like one of the stewards, I suppose you’d call them. And he’s found out a little bit about my background and my people and he’s been given the job of sort of, escorting me. By the way, did you notice when you came here how odd it was? How light you felt?”

I said, “Yes, I did notice that.”

He says, “Wasn’t it funny, that sort of floating feeling you had, you know?”

I said, “Yes that was rather remarkable. I felt a bit peculiar, you know, sort of floating around. It did seem strange.”

He says, “Well, that’s the way we’re going, I believe. We’re not going to walk. We’re sort of going to…I suppose some people would call it flying. I don’t know whether you call it that here, but it seems like it. Anyway, I’m going there tomorrow to see my grandparents. It’s funny, I remember the old girl – grandma. She was about, oh, 76 when she pegged out, you know, and I often wonder if they’ll really know me, you know. Another funny thing is, you’d have thought they’d have met me if they knew I was coming over, wouldn’t you?”

I said, “Well perhaps they didn’t know. Perhaps it’s only these higher up ones that have the knowledge beforehand.”

He says, “It may be that. Anyway that’s what’s happened and where I’m going. Some of these people have been here for a long time, I believe. You know, and they’re only, sort of beginning to sort of, settle down now. Some are a bit difficult to deal with when they first come. You seem to have taken it all right.”

I said, “What else can you do? You’re told you’re dead. The best thing to do when you’re dead, I should think, is to follow out the instructions and behave yourself. After all, you never know who’s going to be judging on you and all that. According to what the old Bible says and what I understood, you got judged.” 

“Ah” he says, “get away with that ! No one judges you, from what I can make out on it. You judge yourself. You sort of. Since I’ve been here, I’ve been sort of reflecting, you know.

Going back a bit on the old past and wondering and thinking about things. I realize now, like many people of course, I made many mistakes. I was a bit of a fool, you know, to meself and other people. But, I’m gradually beginning to see now. Even though I’ve only been here a little while. There is no such thing as judgment, not in the old fashioned idea that the old church teaches. You judge yourself. After all, it’s your conscience. I’ve got one, and so have you, I bet. We all have.”

So I said, “Well, I’ve got a bit of a conscience alright but, of course, I haven’t lived all that long to have done all that much bad, as far as I know. As far as I can remember, the only thing I ever did really wrong was, was drowning a cat. I can’t think of anything else…oh, once I had a pint of bitter and never paid for it because there was a crowd in there, and he forgot about it and I never offered it. I didn’t see anything really terribly wicked about that. As far as I can remember. I haven’t done anything really bad. I mean, I ain’t like some of these people. The only thing I can think of doing anything bad, if it is bad at all, and it’s not altogether my fault because I was forced into it, is killed a few Germans. Now you come to think about it, I put them in the same boat as meself. I’m not very happy about that idea, although I realize already that it’s not so bad being dead, but after all, perhaps they had a life to fulfil on Earth and for that matter so did I. But what I feel about at the moment, is the fact that I’m placed in this position. Not that I don’t mind it, in a sense. But other people who really, when you come to think about it, don’t risk their lives at all. They sit back and more or less in comfort and smoke their cigars and what have you. We’re the ninnies aren’t we?”

So he says, “You’re telling me boy. You don’t want to worry about those financiers and all the rest of it, they’re alright. They’ll come through alright, but what good will it do ’em? What will they have to answer when they get here? You think that one out. You’ve got nothing on your conscience, mate, but by Christ, they’ve got a hell of a lot on theirs and the others who are responsible for putting us in this position.”  

I said, “Well, I suppose we shouldn’t have any bitter feelings.”

”No,” he says, “I ain’t got no bitter feelings but what annoys me and upsets me, is that these people who are the cause of all this, the mere handful, you might say, compared to the untold millions who have to suffer for it. They’re the ones who are really the ones who have got something on their conscience. When they get here, I wouldn’t like to be in their darn shoes,” he says.

I said, “I’m inclined to agree with you there, mate. We’re rather like the poor old sheep aren’t we?’

He says, “You’re telling me. But never mind. It’s going to be nice here, I can feel that. Since I’ve been here everyone’s been kind and pleasant and helpful. I really feel at home already. You’ll be all right. Don’t worry.”

So I said, “Well, you know, I don’t really get all this. I…I’ll have to accept the fact that I’m dead. But, I still find it difficult to believe.”

He says, “Well, it’ll be alright. It’ll pass. You’ll get used to the idea. Getting used to the idea of being dead becomes a bit much at first, but you soon sort of, cotton on to it. And it’s not bad at all. I can tell you. You’ll really, really have everything here that you want that’s essential.”

Oh, he went on telling me a lot of things and the other blokes sitting round there didn’t say very much and I thought, “Well, they’re a bit of a dumb lot.”

But he says, “Of course, my friends here, they’re only just sort of settling in like you. They’ve only been here a very short time. Only just before you arrived, as a matter of fact. They’re thinking it all out and they’ve been worrying, I think. One or two of them anyway,” he says. 

And he looked at them and they looked at him and me and everyone’s staring at each other, you know, and he says, “They’re a bit concerned about the people on the other side.”

Cor! And I remembered at that moment, I said, “Good gawd, I forgot all about them. Isn’t that terrible to think that, you know, with all this happening, I completely forgot about ’em?”

He says, “Well, they will begin to realize one day. But erm, you know, they tell me you can go back and see ’em if you want to.”

So I said, “Go back and see ’em?”

He says, “Yes.”

And I said, “Does that mean you become a ghost then? Course, that’d frighten my old woman out of her life, you know.”

He says, “Well, people say that but we can go back, you know.”

So I said, “Well, I’d like to go back and see my people and see how they’re getting on. Cor,’ I wonder if they’ve heard about my being dead, you know.”

He says, “Well, they may not have heard yet. You know how slow they are letting things…you know, telling your relations and that. Besides, if you want to go back, it can be arranged. One of those fellows who’s in charge here. He can probably arrange it and take you back. Course, it’ll only make you miserable, I should think, ’cause you go back, but they don’t take a blind bit of notice of you – and then what?”

I said, “That’s funny, you talking about not taking any notice. I remember at the time when…when I went over the top, I was racing with the rest of the boys towards the Germans. The Germans came running past me like mad, but didn’t even see me.”

He says, “That’s right. That’s exactly what’ll happen when you go back to Earth. No one’ll see you. No one’ll take any notice. You can go bang on the wife’s door, if you’ve got a wife, or you can go and bang on the old Parson’s door and he won’t take a bloody bit of notice of you – because he’s as blind as a bat, like the rest of them.”

So I said, “‘cor, dear ! That’s a bit much innit? Not much point in going if they don’t take any notice of you.”

He says, “Well, you wait and see. Take things calmly, mate. You’ll be alright.”

So I thought, “Well, I suppose I’d better do as I’m told. It’s the best way innit? In any case, if you’ve been in the army for any length of time, you learn to do as you’re told, otherwise you’re in for it.”