Sans Ransom

Three Universes

Arnold smoothed out the slightly crumpled invitation and put it on his dresser as he got home and got undressed and ready for bed.

He'd enjoyed joining for the Passover Memorial with the New Israelites that evening. 

He'd found what he was looking for. In fact, he already knew he wanted to become a New Israelite.

He walked over, looked out the window and up toward the full moon shining bright in the purple sky.

For a moment, he dreamt of a universe with different dimensions. He dreamt of a dimension where Adam never sinned, and another, less ideal universe, where Adam sinned and mankind was plagued with sickness, but Michael did indeed decide to come down and set things right.

But then he stopped dreaming and sat down on the hard, metal springs of his bed. 

He didn't think that the New Israelites were all saints like Aunt Chelsea, and they didn't have sayings of everlasting life (how could they without lying to themselves), but they did have something that his workmates, family and the world around him didn't seem to have.

Gratitude.

They had gratitude for what they could have even if it was very little. Really, what could he say in complaint? He was born into this universe. It's not an ideal universe, but he didn't have to pay a cent or do anything for his seventy or eighty years of life.

He went to sleep that night with a smile and woke up alive again the next morning. The next evening he went to sleep with a smile and woke up alive the next morning again.

Of course, this happened for some time until some sixty years came to pass and he found himself on his hospital deathbed surrounded by his family.

His grandson looked like Arnold's sister more than either of his parents. The ten-year-old grasped his grandfather's withered pock-marked hand and a tear trickled down his cheek.

"Grandpa? Are you..."

Arnold smiled.

"Yes, I'm dying. It's ok. I didn't expect to live this long!"

The family chuckled through their tears at his last exclamation, happy he had his humor intact even now.

"Dad?"

Arnold strained to turn his head over to face his son.

"I'm sorry for never becoming the New Israelite that you were. You helped so many people find gratitude for the situation they were in." He broke down into tears as he spoke. The family wept as well. Arnold kept a smile on his face.

"Son, you've helped so many. I couldn't be more proud of you."

After the family held hands and wept for a moment, Arnold's grandson wanted to ask Grandpa if he would ever see him again on earth or even if Grandpa would go to heaven. He didn't get the chance to ask.

That night, Arnold went to sleep with a smile yet again, but unlike every other morning of his life until then, he didn't wake up the next morning.

The nurse and assistants escorted the body out of the room and the family took another tearful look the smiling man's body. 

He was peacefully sleeping, without the hope of ever waking up,

Ever.