heaven

I was with two old friends and we had been looking for something for a long time. We had searched the flat plains of the landscape, and now we were climbing a seemingly immeasurable ladder, stretching up into the sky. The ladder was of an unusual structure in that it had three sides, much like the legs of a stool, so that the three of us could climb the ladder, roughly on the same height rung, at the same time. We had been climbing for such a long time - I cannot say how long ... days, weeks, even years. We were determinedly climbing, working as hard as we could, trying to reach the top. At the top, we imagined heaven. A wonderful place. Suddenly, one of us - I cannot recall who - stopped and asked just when we were going to reach the top. Hadn't we been climbing and searching forever? The knowledge came to us - perhaps one, perhaps all - that all we needed to do was to let go of the ladder. To be, not do. To have faith. We could see an endless drop below and the top seemed not so far away, and, yet, we let go. Immediately we rose quickly through the air - effortlessly. We reached the top without struggle and we climbed through the hole into the space beyond. We seemed to be in a vast office block of some sort. Old walls, filing cabinets and heavy metal doors. I ventured into a room where two people were working, dusting the furniture, their faces lined and mapped by their lives. Where is it, I asked them. Where is heaven? We thought it was here. Heaven is all around you, they answered, and at that moment, I saw the view from the window. A magnificent blue sky day. Sweeping green fields surrounded by voluptuous, undulating darker green hills. A body of water - perhaps a river, perhaps a sea - bright blue and shining. An orange tree bearing giant oranges bent over the water, its fruit ripe and ready to be eaten. Flowers blooming in pockets of the surrounds and animals playing. Some people were already out there and we went outside to join them and to explore. Upon stepping outside, the beauty of the landscape was magnified. The air buzzed with life, the gentle warmth of the summer sun kissed my skin, and the scents of earth, water, flowers and animals filled my nostrils. I wanted to go to the orange tree, so I headed out to the water. I stepped into the water, washing off the past, immersing myself in the wonderful cool. I looked around and could see the tree further down, around the bend. I climbed out of the water and walked along the damp sand. Thousands of ants crawled along one part of the sand and into the water making hundreds of tiny tracks. A fleeting thought crossed my mind: were there imperfections in heaven? But I brushed it away, walked carefully around the ants, and found the orange tree. There it was, an ancient tree, its trunk and limbs gnarled, reaching over the water. Huge, bright orange oranges hung heavy on the tree above the clear blue shallows of the water. I imagined how juicy, how delectable the fruit would be. I wanted to stay here forever. A big, happy dog bounded over, splashing in the water, tongue hanging out and hair flying, rushing to greet me.