Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-35711173-20190725084302

I haven't decided on a title yet. "In My Father's House" or "Many Mansions" or "Our Father" or something semi-Biblical most likely.

Categories: Mental illness, Dismemberment, God/Angels all seem pretty good to start with.

She woke up in her mansion in Heaven, as she had so many days before. Fleeting memories of dreams of her life in the world of sin below came into her mind. Working, her boyfriend Tony and her apartment. She shoved those sinful thoughts aside.

She wanted to become a worthy angel, but she still needed to repent of all her sins. That included forsaking any thoughts of living as a mortal. Her Lord had taken her up. What could be better than being in Heaven itself?

She felt the comfortable, cold walls as she listened to the constant rushing wind of the Holy Spirit. Everything in Heaven was bright and white. Her mansion shined so brightly that it still hurt her to look at it. God's brightness never ceased day or night.

The gnawing, painful feeling in her stomach told her what prayer to say. She stood and faced the door of her mansion to pray. "Lord God and Master, please give this worthless slave food her daily bread. Forgive me of my trespasses against you, for you are the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen."

"Your prayer has been heard."

Unseen hands opened a slot in the door. They slipped in a tray with a white Styrofoam bowl of God's manna, white plastic spoon, and a white paper napkin. Just like everything else in Heaven, her food was white. Even the toilet and sink in her mansion shined in the light from the ceiling.

She managed to get a few spoonfuls of mana down. It seemed like too much trouble to eat. Thoughts of blackness and emptiness filled her.

"Worthless slave, why do you not finish your manna? Don't you know it is a sin to waste food?"

She looked at it, trying to come up with a good reason, but struggled in vain to find a reason. "Lord God and Master, this worthless slave begs forgiveness."

As soon as she had finished her food, the ceiling boomed "Worthless slave, put your bowl and spoon on the tray."

She stood with the bowl and spoon. "Yes, Lord God and Master. This worthless slave will obey."

After she put her bowl in the tray, she squirmed and rocked herself, sobbing as she felt so evil and horrible. God prepares her manna, and she won't eat it. She had failed, like all the other times she had failed. God should punish her.

"Why are you not singing with Joy to the Lord," He said unto her. "You will never join the Angel Chorus if you don't sing."

She bowed her head in contrition. "Please forgive this worthless slave." She started with five repetitions of Our Father.

"Our Father, Lord God and Master, this worthless slave thanks you for my place in your Kingdom.  I am unworthy and a slothful servant and give humble thanks for your tender mercies to me.  This worthless slave thanks her Lord God and Master for the creation of this, the true Heaven.  This worthless slave lives only to sing hymns of praise and to give joy to the Lord, forever and ever, Amen."

She used to love to pray and to sing, but she had lost all interest in righteous deeds. Over the centuries, the Lord had been pleased with her and lengthened her prayer list. Each time a new sacred prayer scroll would accompany her meal, she would rejoice. Now, she struggled to remember the words.

As she sang her prayers, God sent a zebra from the Garden of Eden to visit her. Looking at it made her feel better. She looked forward to her visitors. Having one warmed her heart, and she sang with renewed strength.

When the Lord God would join with her for the Highest Order of Prayer, anger flashed through her mind. Her highest duty was to bring joy to her Lord, but she hated doing it. God's sacred touch on her body made her cringe. She got onto her hands and knees and pulled her robe up around her waist. Then she silently prayed for forgiveness.

Her muscles locked painfully as the divine scepter entered her. She silently hoped that the water of life would flow quickly. Uncounted times, she would hear the steel door close even before she finished her hymns. God knew her thoughts and the sins within her heart. That was why her Lord kept her away from the other angels.

God always left her mansion before she had finished singing the Hallelujah Chorus. This time was different. Instead of experiencing the Rapture, God coughed and groaned. "My chest, my chest. Help.  I can't breathe."

When she couldn't sing anymore, she decided that God must have left. She turned and saw something strange. The door to her mansion was open. Even more amazingly, something was lying there. It was big, much bigger than she was, and its clothes were many different colors. Had a devil come up from Hell, or was it just a mortal from the fallen world below? Very carefully, she got close to it and kicked it. The thing didn't move.

She stood and faced the doorway to pray as she always had. "Lord God and Master, there is something in this worthless slave's mansion. I don't know what to do with it.  Please help this worthless slave.  It's left my door open.  I don't like my door open."

Nothing changed. God would clean it up in His own time, she finally decided. Still, it distracted her so much that she couldn't complete her prayers.

Eventually, her body told her that she needed to eat. She stood and prayed as she had thousands of times, quite sure that God would close her door and put her meal through the slot. Nothing happened.

Perhaps this was God's sign that she was now fit to join the other angels. It was a bold thought, but that hope and hunger drew her out of her mansion. The corridor outside seemed dark and strange. The walls did not glow with the same Heavenly brilliance. There were two other mansions like unto hers there. Inside one, she could hear banging and something screaming to be let out. God must have caged a demon, she thought.

A screen showed inside her mansion and the mansion of the demon. At the far end of the hallway was a door with a large handle on it. Her hunger convinced her to try the handle. It didn't budge.

A toy soldier walked through the wall and blew a trumpet. "The keys of the kingdom.  You are in God's kingdom, so there must be keys." The soldier was right. But what would heavenly keys look like, and where could they be?

She searched the body of the creature in her mansion and found keys. Some had strange words like Hyundai on them. One had the phrase "DO NOT DUPLICATE," but there was no keyhole in the door. Besides the handle, all the door had was a big knob with little numbers and the words "Sargent & Greenleaf" written on it.

"You're not worthy," said a voice that jolted her with pain. It kept telling her that she had failed because of her sins. Her heart raced so hard her chest hurt, and she felt nauseated but had nothing in her to throw up. She held her hands to her ears and screamed, but those words wouldn't stop. All she could do was retreat to her cot and cry.

When she finally stirred herself, a grinning man with a long beard greeted her. He was sitting on the creature in her mansion. "Partake, and eat," he said. She didn't want to, but her hunger drove her to desperation. She bit into the creature in her mansion. Its flesh had become so hard that it seemed hopeless. "Partake of the fruit of knowledge," the man said, so she smashed its head against the floor until it shattered. Inside was food, and she did partake. "Use the imp's keys." The one marked "DO NOT DUPLICATE" made a decent knife. She found the food disgusting but gave prayers of thanksgiving.

The demon's foul cries became quieter and quieter. When the devil stopped moving and was silent, she rejoiced and thanked the Lord God. She had learned that she could unlock the cells with one of the keys. It was good. The demon had long blonde hair and had been very pretty, trying to fool God's very elect. Brains were her favorite part, so she went after them first.

All was well until Heaven stopped being bright and delightsome. Without warning, her mansion became dark. The rushing winds of the Holy Spirit stopped. A few tiny lights stayed on so she could find her way around, but it frightened her. "You are in Hell," said the skull of the demon, now glowing in an unnatural red. "You have sinned beyond redemption."

"Please, no," she gasped as God's anger choked the very breath of life out of her. Her heart pounded, and she felt numb. Her whole body shook as sweat-soaked her now filthy robe.

"You have eaten all my sins. They dwell within you, and there will be no forgiveness.  Torments such as you have never known shall befall you."

She closed her eyes and crawled back to her mansion, hugging herself. Despite all her prayers to be returned to Heaven, nothing happened. The demon spoke the truth. She soon ran out of food and suffered the torment of hunger. As devils and imps taunted her, she feebly panted in Hell's heat until she could breathe no more. 