Reveal by Anne-Rae Vasquez

Author:Anne-Rae Vasquez [Vasquez, Anne-Rae]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-9921458-5-9
Publisher: Anne-Rae Vasquez

Chapter 26

Purgatory

Cristal realized the lessons on Purgatory she picked up from her Catechism classes were more fairy tale than reality. Instead of lakes of brimstone and fire, Purgatory was a cold and sterile place similar to a hospital except the corridors were walls of cloud towering around them in a maze-like fashion. Above them, an incredible white light rained down, sending continuous static electric shocks on her skin. The pain reminded her of the one time Joanna had convinced her to go for an electrolysis hair removal session. She told her ‘no decent guy is going to be turned on by your ape fur’ after seeing her unshaven legs during weight training. What followed was thirty minutes of merciless agony while the clinician methodically zapped each strand of hair, pausing only to pat her hand and mumble, “it’ll be over soon.”

The zaps from the ‘electric shocks’ in Purgatory were as unpleasant, but her higher threshold for pain made it tolerable.

Raffe moved ahead of her, picking up his pace. She followed a short distance behind. After some time, he turned the corner, entering an open space where there were rows of thousands upon thousands of what looked like cylinders of concentrated light. Raffe led her between one of the rows. Inside the first cylinder, stood a middle-aged woman who looked past them as if watching something far into the distance. The woman called out, her hands motioning wildly.

Raffe continued forward in silence. Inside the next cylinder of light, stood a middle-aged man who also was gazing out into the distance.

As she looked further down, she realized all the cylinders of light were filled with human souls. Men and women of different races, sizes, cultures, all wearing the same woeful expression on their faces and uttering similar sounds of anguish and pain from their lips.

“What are they looking at causing them so much grief?” she asked.

Raffe did not pause or turn to address her. “Their sins,” he said with a grunt.

Just then, a small dark man stepped out of one of the cylinders. She noticed outside the cylinder his body had become silvery and translucent.

“Help me, angel of God,” he cried out.

To her surprise, Raffe stopped, stared into the man’s eyes and placed his hand on top of his head.

“Trust in the Lord God Almighty,” he said in a solemn tone. “Understand those here cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven until they have purged themselves of all their mortal sins. Embrace this moment like your brothers and sisters around you. Now is the time to cleanse yourself for relief will soon be here.”

The man looked up at him, a small glimmer of hope in his eyes. “Yes, I understand,” he said as he stepped back into the stream of light. Once back in his spot, he shifted his gaze to the vision ahead of him. The tiny smile on his face faded and was replaced by a troubled look of sorrow.

Cristal was torn between the compassion Raffe had shown and the torment the souls were experiencing.

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