There Is Life Beyond Death's Door Part Iii

away like she did, made him ask what was going on. That yielded no response. The silence hung heavily in the kitchen. Finally, he asked, “Is Brian in his room?” He looked at my oldest sister, Winnie who sat next to Papa. She didn’t respond. Instead, she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Thomas was as tall as Brian. At 14years old, they were 6’ tall. Winnie bowed her head to hide her tears. She looked down at her plate before her. Thomas turned halfway around and was about to head towards the door leading towards Brian’s room, when Papa let out a deep, long sigh and motioned to Thomas to come sit next to him. Winnie got up to give Thomas her chair and Papa, with his voice low and cracked, told Thomas that his best friend had passed away. The humming of the fridge seemed much louder then. Looking back now, seeing Thomas’s face, I knew he wanted to laugh but he stopped just short of that, and his countenance changed in an instant! A painful grimace appeared on his face. His voice became shaky as he tried to mumble something. He looked at each of us as if checking each face to see if someone would soon break into laughter, at this absurd joke. After a while, he took a deep breath, convinced now, that he was reading everyone’s face correctly. Brian’s Dad wouldn’t joke about something like this. He thought to himself. Then all the reactions he had seen as he entered the kitchen, finally registered, confirming that this was not a joke. He nearly fell out of the chair, as it toppled over to the floor. He began retreating slowly towards the kitchen door; his whole body still visibly shaking, he said loudly, shaking his head in disagreement, that it wasn’t possible. “It is just not possible!” He shouted. Yet, there was no response. Winnie was sobbing, tears rolling down her face. He then asked if Brian had run away or something. Still the room was as quiet as a tomb. Not a sound from anyone, only the constant humming and the hymns being played on the local Christian radio station softly wafted across the room. He then blurted out, “Because,” he