Shoko's Smile by Choi Eunyoung

Author:Choi Eunyoung [Eunyoung, Choi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

I didn’t get to talk to Hanji in private for some time after that.

I saw him three times a day at the church, but we only exchanged nods since we sat so far apart. Hanji had become close with the male volunteers and always hung out with them. Hi, Hanji. When I greeted him, the people invariably by his side started up a conversation with me.

I moved tents and bedsheets by car or cleaned the guesthouses where the brothers’ families were staying, while Hanji usually worked in the big kitchen. He made mashed potatoes, mixed cocoa or black tea powder into a large pot full of water, and carried them to the distribution station. From a distance, I’d watch him deliver the food. I began to take lingering walks near the warehouse once I discovered I could see him there before morning prayers.

He worked hard without ever slacking off. He carried gunnysacks, he sprayed water on the floor and scrubbed it with a brush, and he tidied the distribution station. When he was doing something, he seemed completely engrossed in it. I liked to watch him work, but it occurs to me now as I write this that he probably knew I was hovering around him. I made a roof with my hands to block the sun, squinting to see his face.

We had Bible study twice a week.

It took place in an area usually open only to the brothers, in a small house next to the main church. The front of the house was densely lined with dahlia and lavender flowers.

Bible study consisted of an internal analysis on the Bible text itself and an external one using the historical context in which the text was written. A brother explained how the writing of the Bible was influenced by the beliefs or culture of the authors’ times, then the volunteers asked him questions as they read the text critically.

“It is interesting that the Bible gives no detailed account of life after death. But what we know for certain is that the soul does not die, and continues to exist in a different state. After death, the soul is no longer affected by the restriction of the body, so it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that we, who have yet to die, know nothing of life after death,” said the brother.

“But doesn’t the Bible mention Heaven and Hell?” asked Caro.

“The Bible mentions Heaven but does not describe it in detail. Frankly, it is a place that we, as we are now, cannot perceive or imagine,” the brother replied.

“I agree that human perception is limited. But I don’t know if we can’t imagine it. Is there anything humans can’t imagine? Does imagination have a limit?” Caro asked again.

“I cannot say for sure. But whatever we imagine, I believe that Heaven will be beyond that. As neither time nor space would exist there, you could say Heaven is the soul’s state of being,” said the brother.

The bell rang, signaling the start of evening prayer, so the class wrapped up there.

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