The Next Door (2/3)

“There’s another door?” David asked, his voice a mere whisper. “I didn’t see another door.”

“Oh there will be. It’ll show up when the time comes, when I’m finished and you’re ready. But you’ll know more about that door in a bit,” the man said. “Let me begin,” he cleared his throat and continued, “First off, I can’t answer every question you have. Let me apologize for that. You’re going to have to figure some stuff out on your own.

“I can’t tell you why you ended up here after you died. I can’t tell you where here is or even what this place is. I can’t tell you because I don’t know. I wish I did. It’d make everything a whole lot easier for me, and a whole lot easier for you to understand. I’d like to know who made this room. And where the doors come from. And why I’m the one doing this. But I’m afraid some things just don’t have answers or explanations.

“Kinda makes my job more difficult, don’t you think?” he asked, smiling wryly. “Anyway, what I do know is that when people die, they’re supposed to come through my door and talk to me and then I show them their door. Everyone has his or her own door. Yours will be right across from this one. But it’s not here yet. It’ll only be there when you’re ready to go through it. Do you understand everything so far?”

“No. No I don’t,” David said, having regained some of his composure. “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m the man in the room,” the man answered simply.

“And that’s it?” David asked, angrily. “What does that mean?”

“I told you. Everyone who dies has to see me before they can go open the door to their room,” the man explained calmly.

“And what is this death bullshit? I’m seriously dead?”

“Yes,” the man said simply.

“Deceased.”

“Yes.”

“Gone to meet my maker. Breathed my last breath. Kicked the bucket. Dead as a doornail.”

“Or a doorknob,” the man replied. “You are most certainly dead.”

 “Oh,” David said, feigning relief, “well thank goodness. You know, for a moment there I was really afraid I was still alive.” Sarcasm coated David’s every word.

“I can see this is going to be rather difficult,” the man said with a forced smile.

“Really?” David asked sarcastically. “‘Rather difficult.’ And what gives you that impression?” The man did no respond, choosing simply to let David continue. “Because I didn’t feel anything. I don’t remember a car crash or a bright light or the cold hands of death or anything.” Frustration began to build in David’s voice.

“Well then how did you get here?” the man asked rhetorically. “If you didn’t die, then perhaps you can explain how you got from your car to this room.”

“What the fuck kind of game are you playing here?” David said, his voiced heated.

“This is no game. I can assure you that you’re quite dead. This is always a problem,” the man paused. ”A person can never truly experience the sensation of death. One may, while still alive, come to understand that their life is rapidly ending, but not the ending itself. That’s why it’s always a surprise to everyone.

“You’re alive one moment and dead the next. There’s nothing between life and death. You go from one to the other instantly, without having the chance to acknowledge that it actually happened until after you’re dead. Which comes when you’re here, afterwards. And there are also doors. They lead to rooms, rooms that open up to a new place meant specifically for each person and for them alone to spend eternity in. ”

“Eternity,” David repeated.

“Indeed. There are two stages of existence: life and death. Life is the first stage, and thus must end at some point. Death is the second, and continues on and on and on. Like a day that never ends.”

“Then this place is like some sort of afterlife or that purgatory place.” David said, still not entirely sure what to believe about his surroundings.

“A lot of people ask about that or say things like that, about this place. People are always wondering if this is even real, or if it’s Heaven and I’m God.”

“Are you?” David said, sarcastically.

“I told you who I am. I’m the man in the room.  Are you religious, Mister Harris?”

“Sometimes.”

The man chuckled. “When it’s convenient? Or when you don’t know where to turn in times of hardship?”

“Something like that,” David answered, shrugging. “Looking for answers and stuff.”

“And did you ever find any?”

“Not really, but never did look that hard. But I suppose I will now, right?” David asked.

“All this is,” the man said, motioning to the room, “is simply taking the next step; a waiting room, if you will. Some people view it as a religious experience. Some don’t. Some see me as God. Others don’t. To me, this god appears to have a thousand different faces. Like a character in the same story a lot of people have read different versions of.”

“They say a picture is worth a thousand words,” David answered. “You could say the same about God.”

“I could describe a picture in five words: it’s only a fucking picture,” the man said, laughing. “That’s all it is. That’s all anything is. But if it takes a thousand different ways to see something, there’s probably nothing to look at. You ‘d think people would come to a consensus onto who their almighty is, but I digress.”

“So you’re saying there is no God?”

“Well there isn’t one here.” The man proceeded to look under his desk comically and peeked into a few drawers. “But who knows what you’ll find on the other side of your door.”

“And what does that mean?” David asked.

“I don’t know. I told you I only know what’s behind my door. And God’s not in my room.” The man continued to search around the room comically.

“But that doesn’t negate the possibility of His existence,” David pointed out. “Where did all this come from? Where did life and death come from?”

“Now sure someone might have made all that,” the man responded, “but that wouldn’t necessarily make that person God. And it’s entirely possible no one made that. It could’ve just always existed just as things have existed since the beginning of time. There’s also no mention of God in my instructions. And you and I being here came as a complete surprise to you. Were you expecting me to have a long white beard and pass judgment over you?”