Over the Rainbow - Book One - 'The Gathering Place' (40 page)

The man spoke, “Hey! Aloha, man! I was wondering
when you finally gonna show up.”

Walter called up to him in
consternation and a hint of confusion, “What?! What are you talking
about? Who in the hell are
you?”

The giant man rose, dusted off his
generous backside and slowly sauntered down the sand to Walter.
“
Whoa, dude, easy there...” He placed his
hands on his hips and scrutinized Walter with his head tilted
curiously. “Man, they was right- You got some serious anger issues
to deal with.” And then he smiled broadly and extended a beefy
hand. “We never got a chance to meet. I'm Buddy.”

Walter placed his hand in the giant’s paw and gave
it a perfunctory shake, releasing it just as quickly. “Walter.
Walter Matthews. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go, I need
to find my wife.” He hastily turned and continued his journey down
the lonely beach, and the man who had introduced himself as Buddy
called gently after him.

“
You're not gonna find her down
there, man.”

Walter stopped, whirled and glared in annoyance at
the behemoth and said tersely, “What the hell are you talking
about? Of course I will...”He gestured vaguely up the beach, “She's
just up there at the hotel.” And with that he turned and continued
walking.

Buddy turned his head to the sky
and addressed the heavens, “Oh, man... You didn't tell me it gonna
be
this
tough.”
Cupping his hands to his mouth, he yelled to the now distant Walter
as he waved a massive arm in beckoning, “Yo, dude! Walter! Come
'ere.”

Walter stopped, and with a baleful
glance skyward, stalked back to the annoyingly insistent Buddy, who
had re-planted himself on the palm-tree bench. Buddy smiled
engagingly and patted the tree beside him. “Sit down, bro. Take a
load off.” Walter looked to the sandy perch, and then sat wearily
with a sigh of resignation. “Okay, you have my attention. Now what?
Would you mind explaining to me how you
know
I'm not going to find my
wife?”

Buddy stated, matter-of-fact, with
a slight shrug of shoulders, “'Cause she not
there
bro...”

“
And you know
this
how
?”

Buddy rolled his eyes and blew
through his lips in mild exasperation. “Tell you da truth, I not
really sure- I just
do
, okay?” He took a quick, short breath and continued,
“Okay... Here goes. Dude, Walter, take a look around. Anything look
strange, kinda-
different?
”

Walter paused, and for the first
time truly looked about and appraised his world.
“
Nooo... not really, it's... quiet. And I
must admit, more beautiful than I remember.”

“
Look again, you
see
anybody
else?”

“
I- no, no, I
don't. That's odd... Where
is
everyone?”

Buddy gestured vaguely with one hand, “Dey...
elsewhere.”

Walter’s brows creased in
suspicion, “What do you mean,
elsewhere
...?” And then he stood up
abruptly and asked Buddy accusingly, “Hey- what's going on? Where
the hell
am
I?!”

Buddy held up his hands in a
placating gesture, “Whoa, whoa, hold on there, easy dude... Take a
minute, okay? Think back, what's da
last
thing you remember before
showin' up here on dis beach?”

Walter hesitated, scratching his head through the
open top of the visor. “What? I... I was at the golf course. I had
just nailed an ace on that par three, the seventeenth, and then- I
remember the lightning, and then the wave, and then…” Walter’s face
fell with the memory and subsequent dawn of realization, “Oh...
my... God... Oh, no, NONONONO- OOOOH- SHI...!” A wave crashed,
cutting off the expletive, and Walter glared silently down at
Buddy.

Buddy smiled up at Walter
apologetically, almost- painfully, and said to himself, “Oh,
boy,
here
it
comes...”

“
Am I... am
I...
dead
?”

Buddy replied simply, “Yup.” He
looked heavenward with a tilted grin and said, “Hey! That wasn't
so…” And then he paused as a blood-curdling scream interrupted him,
“...
bad
.”

Walter was now standing with his back to Buddy,
facing outward to the sea with his hands reaching imploringly to
the sky as he cried beseechingly, “Aaaaaaauuuuugh! Noooooooo!
Nononononoooo! Please, God, tell me I'm dreaming... not now, not
yet, I'm not ready- Oh please, please tell me it's not true...
please?” Walter waited briefly for a response, got none, and
inquired hopefully, “Hello? God?”

Buddy shook his head slowly in a gesture of
inevitability, cracked his knuckles and gusted out a sigh of breath
as he ticked off fingers. ”Okey-dokey, here we go- we got anger,
denial... What's next?”

Walter looked feverishly about the
sky for a reply, asking, “Please, God, tell me it's not true,
please... I'll do anything,
any
thing...”

Buddy smiled to himself and ticked
off another finger. “Oh, yeah, yeah, right-
bargaining
...”

Walter whirled on Buddy and asked, “You there,
Buddy, hey! Are you- are you...”

Buddy completed Walter’s unfinished inquiry, “Dead?”
And then he sighed slightly and added, “Yeah.”

“
Then is this...” Walter turned
and gestured vaguely toward the glowing sea, “Is this-
Heaven?”

“
Nope. It's pretty close, though.
Don't you think?”

Walter turned from side to side, pleading his case
to an unresponsive Universe, “But... I can't be dead, not now, not
yet. I still have too much to do...”

Buddy shook his head in resignation. “Whoops, right
back to denial.” He then addressed the back of Walter. “Yo. Walter.
Dude.”

Walter whirled on Buddy and
replied tersely, “What?!” And then he stalked back over to Buddy
and said mockingly, “I suppose you can explain
this
too?”

Buddy smiled brightly and nodded,
“Actually, I
can
...”

“
Oh- and how's that...? Are
you...? Are you an- an Angel?”

“
I guess you
could call me that, in a way... but not
exactly
, you know?” Buddy rolled his
eyes again and blew in vexation, “Man- How do I start? Dude,
Walter- sit
down
,
bro- it's gonna be a whole lot easier if I don't have to keep
lookin' up at you, it's givin' me a crick in the
neck.”

Walter sat with an air of expectant
resignation, and Buddy smiled and ticked off a final finger,
“Acceptance.”

Over the Rainbow – Book Two – ‘Ho’oponopono’
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