Just Like Heaven (26 page)

Mei Lee
looked somber at his pessimism.

But Nick
couldn’t stop himself:
“
If you’ve always been curious what it’s like to be an alcoholic or suffer from cancer, look no further than this blue planet.
Here you can live out your dreams of homelessness or live a lonely existence without friends or family.” Only after making that last remark about living without his family did he become energized with animosity. “You’re telling me that I wanted my parents to die? That I hoped my brother would leave me? Why? Am I just really twisted?”

“
Your parents and brother had their own reasons for cutting their lives short.”

“
They wouldn’t have wanted to die.”

“How do you know? Hav
e you checked out their chart
s? Have you discussed this with them?”

“This is crazy.
You’re
crazy.”

“You talked about all of the horrible atrocities that occur on
e
arth
. People always ask why God would let that happen. What kind of God would want
H
is children to suffer that way? You see, we are the ones who
need
these catastrophes to happen. It helps us learn. It helps us empathize. It helps us perfect our souls. So I ask you, what was learned from Hitler’s dictatorship? That an entire nation
might follow the ranting of a madman. And how do we, as people, learn from the consequences of his reign? He slaughtered millions of people. Have we had an
o
ther World War since then? Political
leaders created NATO to encourage countries to cooperate and help ensure that similar events are not repeated.

“Yet look at what happened with Osama Bin Laden
.
He arranged for thousands of people to die on September 11
th
in the name of religion. What could humanity learn
from this tragedy? That
people nee
d to reconsider
what religion mean
s
to each of us
and the role that it plays in our lives
.
After all,
a loving God would never condone these attacks.  Because that event shattered so many lives, countries have stepped up their defense against terrorism, which will unfortunately always exist, but
perhaps now
to a lesser degree than in the past.”

“But you’re still saying that those people who died in World War II and on 9/11 volunteered to die. Why would someone do that? That makes no sense.”

“
It’s not as clear-cut as you make it seem.
But each of those people made that decision for reasons that you may never know. One person may have sacrificed herself to help a friend or family member understand how fragile life is when it’s lost. Another may have done so to show
someone else
not to take life for granted.
A third may
have done so to help a colleague know what real loss feels like. When any person dies, they do so for the benefit of others: to help those they
we
re close with
to
grow. After all, when they p
ass away, they return to heaven
. Death does not really exist if you can continue to
incarnate
.”

“I don’t get it. It makes no sense that someone would want to get raped or tortured.”

“When you’re creating your chart, you don’t
add specific
tragedies. That’s why we call it a chart. It’s not a narrative, where you list event after event. That’s not possible. Each of us on
e
arth
has free will. A chart is an outline. We mark events that will happen during certain
periods of our lives. No one
would wa
nt to be tortured. How
many people would have volunteered to enter a gas chamber during World War II? How many people would have visited the World Trade Center on September 11
th
– if they knew what would happen on that day? Whether good or bad, our charts provide an outline for what will happen during our lives.”

“So you’re saying my parents and my brother opted to die to help me learn something?”

“Not necessarily. Their deaths may have touched many other lives in ways you couldn’t conceive. But most often, when family members do die, their loss affects their relatives the
most
. And after grieving, those who are left behind should examine what could be learned from the departed
: how we
treat each other; what’s important in life; how to live. There are countless lessons to consider.”

Nick had never known why God would allow people to suffer or die, but
Mei Lee
’s
statement that people had chose
n this outcome, with the intent of helping others better themselves,
seemed plausible
. But if that was the case, what did he learn from his parents’ and brother’s death? In the years since those tragedies, Nick had
avoided close relationships. T
heir deaths had convinced him that building strong bonds, only to have them torn asunder,
should be avoided at all costs. But now,
upon
contemplating
Mei Lee
’s statements, Nick wondered what to take away from t
he losses he’d
endur
ed.

H
e didn’t need
more than a minute
to realize that he’d taken
the wrong path in the yea
rs since his family
members died
. Just like every family, there were misinterpretations and some occasional bitterness, but ove
rall, Nick now understood that
he should have spent
more time with them,
so
that instead of regretting
what he no longer had, he c
ould forge ahead knowing what he could once more have if he encourage
d
people into his life, rather than keeping others at a
rm’s
length
.

It made him question what he could have learned from catching his father cheat on his mother. Perhaps instead of fearing that he’d become like his father, he should have been more determined to avoid that fate. It seemed simple enough. But then,
introspection often
seemed clearer
with en
ough time and distance.

This new
outlook left him stunned and humbled.

“You look shell-shocked. It’s not the right time to look at Nina’s chart.
How would
you feel about
go
ing
to a concert?

“A concert? In heaven?”

“Michael Jackson is playing with Jimi Hendrix on guitar, John Bonham from Led Zeppelin on drums, and Cliff Burton from Metallica on the bass.
”

That broke
his stupor.
“Wait a minute. All of those musicians are playing together? That’s an all-star line-up.” Hearing that
Michael Jackson would lead
some of the greatest rock musicians
in history caught his attention
in a way that nothing had for quite some time
. “That’s insane. I have to go.”

“Well, there is one more element to the group that I haven’t mentioned. He rounds out the group in a way that hasn’
t ever been conceived of.
”

Mei Lee looked impressed.
“
Randy Rhodes from Ozzy Osbourne’s group is
in the mix to back up Jimi on guitar
?
”

“
Apparently, Mr. Hendrix had been jamming with Bonham, but he wanted to concentrate on the guitar, so he reached out to Michael Jackson to join them. Since Mr. Jackson had a penchant for using hard rock guitarists in his own work, he wanted to give it a try.”

“Okay, you calling the King of Pop...Mr. Jackson. That’s just too weird. And Jimi Hendrix? Call him Jimi. Give them a little respect!”

Mei Lee
said,
“It seems Randy Rhodes was trained as a classical guitarist. And Cliff Burton was quite fond of classical music as well. These two men approached Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with the idea of playing to his symphonic compositions. When Mr. Hendrix,” she said, pausing to smile, “heard about the idea, he wanted Mr. Jackson and Mr. Bonham to join in.”

“
Y
ou’re saying
Mozart will lead the King of Pop
and a badass group of
musicians in
concert
? H
oly shit!” He glanced up. “Y
ou c
an forgive me this once, right?”

“It gets even better than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

In the Hall of Wisdom, after having finished reading Nick’s chart at a
mahogany, rectangular table, Nina
looked up to find Roland standing opposite her. “I knew there was something special about me and Nick.” But the idea that they were soul mates astounded her. In the best possible way imaginable. That’s when she realized the reason she, and probably everyone else on
e
arth
, were always looking for their soul mates: because the
y knew their other half existed.
They just didn’t know how to find them.
“But why did you say it was not a good idea to meet your soul mate on
e
arth
?”

“
Because living on
e
arth
batters
your spirit and threatens to rip your soul to shreds.”

“Isn’t that even more reason to have your soul mate beside you? So both of you could get through all of the difficult times together?
”

“That’s quite the romantic notion. And I can understand why you’d feel that way. Who wouldn’t wa
nt to rely on the one person that
knows
you best? But just because you a
re soul mates doesn’t mean you both want to
incarnate
at the same time.
And most often, soul mates will want to work on perfecting different aspects of their souls. In these instances, what may be necessary for one of you may not be something your other half needs
, or even wants, to experience
.

Nina understood the logic behind that statement. But she felt that she’d always want
ed
her soul mate to stand with her against whatever the future might
hold
. Perhaps that was why she and Nick decided to visit
e
arth
at the same time.

Since she couldn’t read her own chart, Nina had to assume that what she’d read in Nick’s chart
somehow
mirrored her own. Or a
t least touch
ed on similar aspects. Although Nick had found familial love, he
’d
lost it, whereas she never had it to begin with.
Nick’s fear of losing love resulted in a
reluctance to
co
mmit, while Nina felt
starved for affection. She could now see why both of them needed each other on
e
arth
– to make each other believe in love and how it can
transform
their souls.

But since life, like love, never ran smoothly, she
and Nick would need
each other to make it through whatever life
had in store for them
. Which would be a difficult task because, based on their experiences, Nick might pull away, and she would keep trying to draw him toward her. And that type
of relationship could
prove combustible, leaving both of them dispirited and angry – if they didn’t remain close and communicate to the best of their ability.

“So why does the book just g
o blank at this point?” Nina asked
, pointing to the blank pages after the accident on the street that Nick had tried to save her from. “
Right here, it
specifically
stated
that Nick would try to save me
from getting hit by a truck.
But something tells me this isn’t ordinary. That we don’t normally
stipulate how we die.”

“There are some things I can’t disclose to you.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“In this instance, I won’t tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because you and Nicholas asked
Mei Lee
and I not to disclose
the reasons why you both wanted
to read each other’s charts as well as why you and Nicholas get hit by that vehicle.”