Heaven Can't Wait

the bright light faded, his eyes opened and immediately he knew  where he was. He had heard stories of this place as a child and in church.  He was at the pearly gates of Heaven. The realization hit him. He had finally died and left that miserable place behind. The years on earth had  not been kind to him. The wrinkles of age took a toll on his face and his  long disheveled hair lost all color and was now a pasty white. He hadn't  shaved his beard since his wife died which gave him the look of a wise  old wizard.    He looked around and saw the edges of the cloud he stood on. He  looked down at the world he left behind. Life didn't seem to stop. It didn't  even notice his absence. His own funeral was only attended by three people, the priest, his lawyer and the guy who would bury him. He scoffed at  this and turned to head to the gates to face his judgment. Before he could  reach his destination he caught sight of a young man sitting on the edge  with a bright expression on his face.  Curious, he walked over to the  young man.  "Why are you just sitting here and not trying to get into heaven?”  The old man asks.  The young man turns to look with a smile on his face. He has  short, thick, chestnut colored hair and bright blue eyes. He looked as if  he should just be starting life, not up here where it ends.  "I'm waiting  for someone,” he responds.  Confused, the old man looks around, "Waiting for who?" The  smile on the young man's face broadens as he points down to Earth. "I'm  waiting for her," he says gleefully.  The old man looks down to see whom the young lad is talking  about. After scanning the area a bit he finally spots her. She was a young  woman with hair as black as night. A brown eyed girl and she had a very  kind face. He couldn't help but admire her beauty.  "Who is she?" He asks.  The young man responds, his smile unwavering, "She’s my wife."  The old man could see the young lad's eyes glow as he said it. He  looked back down at the girl and noticed she was a bit older than the man  sitting next to him. Biting his tongue from asking if the guy liked older  chicks, a thought dawned on him. "How long have you been up here  for?"  "It'll be five years next week since I had to leave her side. Of  course it doesn't seem like it’s been that long."  "May I ask what caused your sudden departure?"  “I lost a battle to leukemia." If the young one felt any sorrow he  didn't show it. He just kept smiling and watching his love.  "Oh, I'm sorry." The old man said not really sure what to say next.  The young man turned his attention back on the old man. "Don't  be, it's not your fault and honestly, I lived longer than I was supposed to.  The doctors said I wouldn’t make it past sixteen, but thanks to her I lived  a wonderful fulfilling life. Nobody should ever be sorry for that.”  Giving a satisfied grunt the old man became curious of this  intriguing man before him and wanted to know more of his short yet  satisfying life.  “How did you meet her?”  The young man’s face brightened and his eyes started glowing  with jubilation. It was as if he had been waiting ages for the chance to tell  someone the greatest memories of his life.  “We met in preschool, just thought she was an icky girl at the  time, but we finally became friends in the second grade. A bunch of kids  were picking on her since she was the smart one in the class. I wasn’t  smart but I was tough and watching her cry made me feel terrible. I had this awful knot in my stomach just tearing me apart. I needed to make it  stop. I remembered my dad always told me to respect a girl and protect  her when she needs to be, so I walked up to one of the kids and punched  him in the face. He fell to ground crying and I looked at the others and  told them to knock it off or they’ll get a knuckle sandwich for lunch.” He  bunched his hand into a fist and waved it, threatening to no one.  The old man chuckled, picturing a little kid standing up to a  bunch of bullies as he listened to the story.  “After they all ran away I turned to her only to see her sitting on  the floor with her head on her knees as tears streamed down her face. I  stood there for a little bit not sure what to do. Eventually I knelt down be-  side her, pat her on the back and told her to stop crying. I wasn’t going to  let them bother her anymore. She looked at me with tears still in her eyes  and gave me a small smile. She asked me if I would look out for her. I  said yes, and then she asked me if I would protect her forever. Should  have known that was a trap, but I still said yes. She had me until the end  with that simple yes.”  "So the body guard became the lover. Sounds like a movie plot."  The old man chimed in.  The young man laughed at the analogy. "Something like that, but  it wasn't ‘til later that I fell for her. For years we just hung out and played  together, but as we got older feelings started to develop."  "Did she know you had leukemia?" The old man inquired.  "She found out around the same time I did." The young man answered. "It was shortly after Christmas of my fifteenth year when I was  diagnosed. The doctors said I could fight it with treatment, but they  guessed it would only give me a couple more years to live. If it weren't for  her I don't think I could have coped with it. I went straight to her house  to tell her.  "When I finally got there and started telling her, I just broke down in her front yard. I fell to my knees crying because I didn't want to leave  her alone." Tears started to form in his eyes, but his smile never wavered.   "She knelt down next to me, put her arms around me and said she was  going to be there by my side just as I was for her. We'll never be alone be-  cause we had each other. I knew at that moment I loved her but it wasn’t  until later that I told her.  “The next six months were terrible for me. I had to go through  chemo therapy once a week. I could barely eat anything and I lost all my  hair. Kids in school started to avoid talking to me and I couldn’t partic-  ipate in anything. I almost gave up. I didn’t want to live like that any-  more. I went to one of the local parks and found a deserted area with a  high cliff. I was just about to jump when I felt a hand clasp on to mine  and a sweet voice told me not to do it. I turned around to see her crying  holding on to me, refusing to let go. Somehow she just knew what I was  going to do and followed me. She said that she wouldn’t let me go, I  couldn’t leave her alone. If I jumped I would have to take her with me.  There was no way I was going to do it then. While crying, I whispered in  her ear that I wasn’t going anywhere. I’ll stay for her. Doctors told me I  was free of cancer two months later, but as you can see that wasn’t the  end.  "I finally told her how I felt at her sweet sixteen party, at the end of  the celebration, after her dad gave her a brand new car. I pulled her aside  to give her my gift.  Nothing grand just a silver necklace with a heart  shaped pendant and a Celtic knot in the middle of it. I was so nervous I  was barely able to get the words out. I was actually shaking with fear that  she might not feel the same way. Before I could say the words she put her  arms around me and kissed me. My legs actually buckled and I fell to my  knees. She let me fall and looked into my eyes. Told me she felt the same  way and I was an idiot for taking so long.”  The old man nodded, knowing that most men were idiots. After that we spent every moment we could together. We would  go on vacation together and spent every holiday with each other’s fami-  lies. The summer before our senior year, I proposed to her in the hills of  Ireland. After graduation we got married. No point in waiting when you  know it’s what you want. Found out a couple weeks after the honeymoon  she was pregnant. We were going to have a son." He beamed with pride  as he mentioned his son. “I never thought I would live long enough to be  a father.”  The old man gazed out over the land and asked solemnly, “When  did it all turn for the worse?”  The young man sighed, “Oh, not too long after the wedding, bare-  ly even made it to the next Christmas. I had just finished my first semes-  ter of college and I was suddenly getting ill. I was weak and tired all the  time. Bruises were showing up from practically nothing. We decided to  go to the hospital to be safe, especially given my history. That’s when the  dreaded news came. The disease had come back and it came back with a  vengeance.  “I started all the treatments and took all the medications you could  possibly think of to fight. However, within two months I was bed ridden.  I could barely move and was put on a machine to help me breathe.” At  that moment something triggered the man. He started sobbing uncon-  trollably. “She was seven months pregnant with my boy when all this  happened. I took every bit and every inch to keep fighting. I knew I  wasn’t going to survive this time. I knew it wouldn’t be much longer, but  I was not going to go before I laid eyes on my son. I wanted to at least see  the child I brought into the world. The only legacy I would actually have.”  “For two months I struggled. I held on to a losing battle. I almost  didn't make it.  As I got ready to close my eyes for the last time a friend of  mine came in and shook me awake.  Said I wasn't allowed to go just yet.  She had gone into labor and my son was about to arrive any moment.  He stayed with me to make sure I didn't die too soon.  He had been one of  my greatest friends. We grew up together, played hockey and caused all  kinds of trouble. Now here he was watching a brother die, but couldn't let  him go in peace just yet. He knew how much it meant to me and since I  wasn't going to be there anymore I asked if he could look after my family.   I knew he cared for her because of the way she took care of me and he  was going to do a good job raising my kid. He didn't say anything  though; he just smiled and nodded his head. Don't think he would have  gotten the words out anyways.  "Then the moment came. The doctors brought her to me in a  wheel chair with our boy in her arms. I had the biggest smile when I saw  them. The bed was moved so I could sit up and get a better look. He  looked like his mother, thankfully, but had my eyes.  He was beautiful  and I was just so proud. I was too weak to hold him, but she got to her  feet and brought the baby closer so it could grab on to my hand. The boy  was so young, but with that one little grip, I knew he was going to be  strong. I turned to my wife for the last time, told her I loved her and that  I would wait for her at the gates to heaven. The last things I heard before  I closed my eyes were the sounds of my newborn son and my wife telling  me she loved me. I was so happy in those last moments."  The old man sat perplexed at the fact that someone so young could  have suffered so much. He had died before his time and lost an incred-  ible amount, but wasn’t angry in the least. In fact he was grateful he was  able to experience what he did. He couldn't help but feel admiration for  this newly acquainted stranger.  He looked back down at the boys family and spotted another man  appear and take his wife into his arms, kiss her and then pick up the son  in his arms. "Who is that with your wife?" He asked half knowing the an-  swer.  "That's my friend, the one that was with me in the end." The young man replied while wiping the tears from his eyes.  "She's dating him now?"  "Yeah, in fact they are married. They even have a child together. A  little girl, she's six months as of yesterday."  "Doesn't it bother you that they're together? That your best friend  is with your wife? Don't you feel like he betrayed you?"  The young man smiled. "No not at all. I'm thrilled for them. He  makes her happy and that's all that matters. It would be selfish of me to  not want her to be with someone; to be alone and unhappy. I figure if  anybody was going to be with her, it should be him. "  "Aren't you scared she'll forget about you?"  "I have nothing to fear, let alone that.  Even to this day they still  celebrate my birthday. They get together with my family and tell stories  and share photos. She makes sure my son knows who his father is. They  make it a joyous occasion, but every month she makes a trip to my grave  just so she can talk to me alone. I can't reply to her, but I've heard every  word she's ever said.”  Silence overtakes them for a bit as the old man contemplates the  mystery of the young man blissfully watching over the world and his love.  Never has he ever met anyone like him before.  "I'm sorry if I've kept you." The young man said breaking the si-  lence. "I know you must really want to go and see your loved ones. You're  actually the first person to say anything to me and it's meant the world to  be able to share my story. Thank you so much for sitting and talking to  me."  The old man looks back at the gates. It was a plain golden gate,  which seemed spectacular when it had no reason to be. A glowing light  shown behind it beckoned to viewers promising tranquility. As he was  transfixed by the sight, he couldn't help but think about his wife. The  woman he loved so dearly and doted on happily. How he has longed to    see her face again, but then a thought occurred to him. He would never  walk through the gates. Not after the life he led.  He ruined more lives  than he could think of for self gain and became even bitterer towards the  world in the end.  No he would not go through the gates to his love. He  would fall to the pits to be alone.  "Heaven can wait," the old man said turning to the young man  with a smile on his face, "I'd like to stay here and wait with you."  The young man's face lit up, his eyes glowed, and his smile  shined at the news he just heard. He looked back down to Earth and be-  gan talking to the one he waited for, "Do you hear that? I've made a new  friend today and he's going to keep me company until you get here. It's  all because of you and I can't wait for you to meet him. Thank you,  Amanda."  Looking down to hide his face the old man began to cry, tears  draining from his eyes. He closed them tightly, hoping to stop. It had  been a long time since anyone called him a friend. He figured he never  needed any, but with one chance encounter his entire outlook changed  forever. He opened his eyes to look upon the beautiful wife of his new  friend and whispered to himself.  "Thank you, Amanda."