JPF Home Page Forums Creative Arts Forums Creative Writing Forum GOD@Heaven.com

CHAPTER 1


PAGE 1

Hey Roz, I just got an e-mail from some crackpot who says he got in touch with me because he needs my help. The e-mail address is God@Heaven.com.

So what does he need your help for and who is this nut?

Come in here please, you have to take a look at this.

Jim, why don't you go and listen to one of your talk shows, I have to go shopping or we’ll never have dinner tonight.

You HAVE to come in here and check this out...

Look at who this e-mail is from.

This is some nut so don't answer that e-mail or we’ll get a virus on the computer. This sounds like a scam. I'm warning you that we’ll be in BIG trouble if you reply to that e-mail.

OK, OK I won't answer him. Roz left to go shopping and I just sat there looking at the screen with the message from God. I was sure it was either a mistake or a joke, BUT I was so curious that I was bursting at the seams. A virus be damned...I just had to reply to the message for help. After all, if God has to ask for my help it must be important. At least that was my rationalization for hitting the reply button. If this computer got screwed up with some kind of virus I'd be living on the street somewhere. Roz would kill me!

OK GOD...here it goes.

I held my breath, hit reply with my mouse and typed in. OK GOD....Before I decide to help you, I need some proof that you are who you say you are. I have to be sure this isn’t some idiotic prank. You must realize, You Being God, that I should be a little sceptical, right? So I need some proof. I held my breath, and clicked on reply and just waited.

It only took about 3 seconds and I got this reply.

In 5 minutes I want you to go to Borders Book Store in Sebring where you live. In front of the store there will be a man wearing a black sweat suit and a red baseball cap. He will be expecting you. Tell him you came to pick up the letter. That was it, nothing more. I shut off the computer, got in my car, and headed down to the Book Store. I figured that even if this were staged, he couldn't set a scam up so fast.

As I pulled up to the store there was the guy in a black sweat suit wearing a red baseball cap. My heart started pounding and I thought I was going to faint. I parked the car and just watched the guy for a few minutes. He seemed like he was waiting for
Page 2

Somebody... could it really be me? He had a white envelope in his hand. I got out of the car and slowly walked over to the guy. He had a very calm expression on his face. He was just standing there as if he didn't have a care in the world. I approached him and before I had a chance to say anything he said "Hi Jim, I've been waiting for you. I was told that I had instructions for you that were of the utmost importance. I was sent here for this one mission and was told not to leave until that mission was done. You must be a very important person for me to have come so far to deliver this message."

Who are you and how did you know my name I asked? Who told you to come here to wait for me? Is this some kind of a cruel joke?

Your Mom’s maiden name was Shapiro. You were the captain of your high school basketball team in 1963. Your wonderful mother died in 1966. Your sisters’ name is Barbara. You write stories. You had a dog named Penny as a child. You have a chipped tooth in the front of your mouth on the lower left side. It happened when you were six years old, when a kid from across the street threw a rock at you. Your best friend was named Larry. Should I go on? We have been watching you for a long time Jim. You have had the best trained Guardian Angels with you, and it is Now Time.

Now time...Time for what?

I'm not sure. I don’t have a need to know, but your instructions as to what to do next are in this white envelope.

How do I know that this whole ridiculous thing isn’t some hoax? Why Me? This is ridiculous. Do you really expect me to believe any of this?

YES.............Here, take this envelope so I can head on home. I've been away from home for a long time and I’m anxious to get back.

My mouth was dry as a bone and I was completely blown away to say the least, BUT I reached out my hand and took the plain white envelope in my shaking hands. All at once I felt what at the time felt like a bolt of ecstasy got through my Soul. It was a bolt of pure white light, a dramatic Explosion. I KNEW...I had no doubt who this guy was and what was happening. I wasn't sure what was coming next, but I knew that this man who just handed me this envelope was NO Ordinary person, and that I was about to embark on some Wild Adventure. I said goodbye, wished the man a good trip and turned to walk away. As I took a few steps towards my car, I turned back to ask one more question. But I was too late as the guy was gone. He just disappeared into thin air. It was only about two seconds before I turned back to him. He was obviously gone. Puff...just like that.....GONE.

I slowly walked back to my car, stunned at what just happened. I know that I felt something spectacular when I first grabbed that envelope, but that feeling was now starting to fade. It was like an injection of TRUTH. It let me know that this amazing set of circumstances that had just occurred in the past half hour, were about to change the events in my life in a dramatic way. I could never have imagined that this was also going to change events on Planet Earth.
Page 3

I slowly drove around the neighbourhood for about an hour before heading home. I still hadn’t read what was in the blank white envelope. I guess I was scared to. Or maybe I was just hoping there was nothing in it. Maybe it would say “Just Kidding” or something stupid like that. Maybe I was just hallucinating. Although I was a teacher for many years I never considered myself anything special. I WAS socially and politically engaged at times and always took up for the underdog. I usually railed against the wrongs I saw in society and had a strong feeling about good and evil. Never had much religion but always had a general sense of a Higher Power. I had good common sense. Money itself never had much meaning to me, as I’ve never been interested in THINGS. I usually cried at the sad parts of movies and never laughed at crude comedy that made fun of people. Actually I probably feel too much. So If this was all true, why was I picked...a common man of the people? Well, maybe that was what HE was looking for. I opened the envelope, looked inside, and saw a little blue card in. I took it out and read what it said. HAVE I GOT YOUR ATTENTION YET?? I headed home with a million thoughts running through my feeble brain. I decided then and there that this was all probably really happening. I would take the next step and see what He wanted me to do. I pulled up in my driveway and was relieved to see that Roz wasn't home yet...lots of sales at the Mall I guess. To me, if you've seen one mall you've seen them all, BUT she just loves the action of finding a good sale. Sounds like my addiction to betting on football games. I went inside and fired up the Apple and checked to see if I received any new mail. Yep...there was only one and it was from the guy who says he was GOD. OYE... SO...I hit the inbox and there was a short message. I went over and got my reading glasses and sat down and started to read.

"YOU HAVE DONE WELL JIM. I WAS TOLD THAT EVERYTHING WENT WELL. I SEE THAT YOU RECEIVED THE WHITE ENVELOPE. I'M ASSUMING YOUARE NOT TOTALLY CONVINCED THAT I AM WHO I SAY I AM, SO I WILL GIVE YOU DEFINITIVE PROOF. AT 8AM TOMORROW MORNING PUT ON CNN. THEY WILL BE TALKING ABOUT AN EARTHQUAKE IN INDONESIA. ALSO, A FAMOUS POLITICIAN WILL HAVE DIED IN HIS SLEEP. AND IF THAT ISN'T ENOUGH PROOF, GO AND BUY A PICK 4 LOTTO TONIGHT AND BET 1111. AFTER YOU CASH IN THE MONEY THAT YOU WIN, GET BACK TO ME AND WE CAN DISCUSS YOUR MISSION IN MORE DETAIL."

That was it. I sat there stunned and couldn't get up if I tried. I'll have to tell Roz, but she'll think I'm going bonkers. I'll have to tell her about CNN and the cash 4. If all of this comes true she'll have no choice but to believe. Why me? Why now? What could I possibly do that God can't. It must have something to do with free will. We are put here and left to our own devices but we are doing a piss poor job of it. He can't just change things because of free will, BUT he could give a Human Being as assignment with some special abilities. We have had Saints that have done miraculous things. People have had near death experiences and Mystics throughout history have had other worldly experiences. There have always been a few people throughout our history that have been given special talents and ideas.
SO I was ready for whatever comes next. I set my alarm for 7:45am the next morning and waited to see what happened. But I already knew the Truth. I just KNEW.
Page 4

I wished it wasn't, but it was. Now I had a responsibility to the Big Guy Upstairs who gave me MY life. I would do my best and try not to let him down. I was pretty sure that he would give me everything I needed to accomplish my mission. So, I decided to just relax and put my life in the hands of GOD!

The alarm startled me out of a deep sleep. I was having some weird dream about some e-mail from God. I was shocked when I got up and realized it wasn't a dream. I had told Roz about the whole thing last night and we were both waiting for 8:00 am and CNN. She went and made us some coffee and brought it back to the bedroom. We got back into bed and were ready for CNN Morning News.

Good morning everybody. We have a special bulletin that Senator David Smith the Senior Senator from New Mexico passed away in his sleep last night. The cause of his death is unknown at this time. He was not sick and was at work yesterday.
His wife found him dead early this morning. They were married for 36 years and of course our condolences go out to her and the rest of the family.

Also, .there was an earthquake in the Phillipines at 2 am with a 7.8 on the Richter scale. Damages are not known, and there is no tsunami warning at this time.

We were dumbstruck to say the least. We just started to laugh and couldn't stop.
Well, Roz said....What do you want to do with the cash 4 money? Hey, we better go
buy a few tickets. No... HE said buy A ticket. I don't want to take advantage of Heavenly Insider Trading. Yeah...maybe you're right.

We stayed in bed awhile longer just holding on to each other. Neither of us had a clue what was ahead for us, BUT we were ready for whatever that was. We were both scared but honoured, to be a part of God’s Plan. He must know that we can handle whatever is coming. So....Whatever lingering doubts we still had were instantly gone after listening to the 11pm news. We went out earlier and purchased one cash 4 lotto ticket putting $5 on 1111.

Good evening everybody...The cash 4 for today is 1111.
BUT the most amazing thing was yet to happen. When I opened the Highlands Newspaper the next day I saw a small article at the bottom of the first page.

FIRST TIME IN THE LOTTOS HISTORY WE ONLY HAD ONE WINNER .THIS IS VERY UNUSUAL. WE DON'T KNOW WHO THE WINNER IS. WE
WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT THEY ARE VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE.


We shut the TV off and just laid there for about an hour lost our own thoughts. I asked Roz what she thought I should do next. Maybe you should go and see if you have any more messages. I guess I could but I was too exhausted. I think I’ll wait till the morning.

Are you 100% sure this is on the level Jim?

Page 5

Yeah...I'm sure.

Let's go to sleep. Tomorrow will be here soon enough.

We shut off the lights and held each other tight. I could feel a shiver run through Roz’ body...or maybe it was coming from me. I laid there for about an hour with no sleep coming. I could hear Roz breathing easily, lost in a deep sleep. But sleep was not to come to me that night. After about another hour I decided to get up and get a glass of milk. Maybe it would help me get to sleep. But I knew where I was going...right to my computer. I was drawn there like a moth to a flame. I sat down in my chair and pressed the button on the computer. I could feel the butterflies pulsating in my stomach. Would there be another message? Would I ever hear anything again? Was I just in some kind of dream? The light on the computer came on.
There it was.
You have mail.
I hit the inbox and there it was.

HE WAS THERE

(END OF CHAPTER 1)

Barry, it looks like you've started a novel. God and computer viruses make strange bedfellows, but perhaps not in the modern world.

Jim

I have about 12 chapters. I was wondering IF God wanted to contact somebody TODAY HOW would he do it....Just figured it would be E Mail...lol HE is being tasked with an assignment...
Thanks for stopping by...How are YOU Doing?
Barry

Doing ok. Writing lyrics like crazy. Good luck with your book. I hope you find a publisher.
Jim