What+is+Real?+(Ben+Yee-Paulson)

//What is Real?//

“There are two doors. The door to your right leads you to an eternal afterlife of bliss and harmony: the place that you call Heaven. The door to your left leads you to the eternal afterlife that you call Hell, where you will live in pure agony and torture forever. As you have derived by your current situation, there is no other way out of The Room.”

Katie felt a shock go down her spine. All of her life, she had been told a lie. Her mind was frozen in so much fear and confusion that she could not even break out into tears. She could not even look at The Man’s dark eyes when he gave this astonishing speech. She felt like throwing up, but she did not even have the will power to do such an action. She suddenly no longer had control of her self. Katie quickly collapsed underneath The Man’s shiny black shoes. Tears started to cascade out of her violet eyes, and her arms felt weak as if they were just overused after her daily workout. She muttered the words “help,” but no such words could come out of her mouth; they were distorted by her cries and moans.

“I realize that this is a lot to take in,” The Man sympathetically said. “I’m sorry that I must tell you this Katie. But I swear to you, it’s the truth. As is the next bit of information I’m about to tell you.”

Katie looked up at The Man, who kneeled down and straightened his black tie. “When you leave this room, you will not remember that The Room nor this experience entirely had ever happened. Whichever door you choose, your mind will erase whatever happened within the last few minutes. However, if I were you, I would know what door to choose.”

He looked at the door labeled //Heaven.// “You know what Heaven is like: you may do nearly whatever you want and live in eternal happiness. And you rightfully deserve it. In your past life, you were a good Christian who took care of your family and helped others. You obeyed the Ten Commandments, and always believed in The Lord. There is no reason why you should not choose that door. Let me help you up.” Katie put her shaking hand in The Man’s cold, muscular hand. The Man lifted her up and helped her walk to the door labeled //Heaven.// Katie put her hand on the metal doorknob and looked at The Man for a final time. “Just remember, when you open that door, you will remember nothing. Nothing.” “Thanks,” she said.

Smiling, Katie opened the door. The door suddenly turned into light, and Katie slowly felt her body being transformed. She started to say something, but was quickly silenced for a reason she did not know. She no longer was like a physical entity of matter but rather as energy. She felt like a jet fighter going at Mach 6, but her body was going faster than that. Her body moved faster than what seemed to be the speed of light. Spiraling out of control, Katie again could not control herself. Faster, faster, faster she went until everything…just…slowed…down.

Suddenly, Katie returned to her physical state, and found herself at the base of a large, spiral staircase. The staircase was made of white marble and gold railings, and was decorated with the shapes of cherubs and angels. She looked around herself at saw an infinite continuum of stars and space. The lights from the stars dotted the sky of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. She even saw entire galaxies, containing billions and billions of stars in each of them. Nebulas brushed across the sky and gave it even more color and awe. She then looked up and saw that the spiral staircase would go up for a great, long distance. An immense white light suddenly shined down on Katie, and she saw clouds being formed around the white light. She finally realized where she where this staircase would take her.

She began ascending up. She heard a faint choir in the distance, singing harmoniously and peacefully. As she walked up, she remembered what a good life she had. She was the wife to a caring and loveable man, and had two children who she loved very much. She loved her old job as a corperate lawyer, and the friends she met in her adventurous life. If only she could go back to Earth and see them for just one more day, there would be no hesitation to do so. But she figured that she would soon see many of her friends and family. She could also see another adventure and life ahead of her. One that would last for all of eternity and be of great bliss and peace. She felt so excited that she could not keep hold of a single thought in her head. It was the excitement that she could not control, but she did not mind that.

She finally approached the top of the staircase. Katie was well aware that she had entered Heaven. She began to walk again, but quickly found out she was walking on clouds. She began looking around at her surroundings, but there were no surroundings! There was nothing except endless deserts of clouds, sky and sun, that continued to go on for great distances and distances. She continued to hear the faint choir, but in a more focused direction behind her. Their voiced flowed through her and relaxed her, but she was still compelled to find the source of such gorgeous music. She turned around, and did not see a choir. She saw massive, awe-inspiring golden gates brightened with white light. Not once in her life had she been so full of rapture and emotion. Katie opened her mouth, and whispered these three words:

//“Bless the Lord.”//

** __Part I__ ** I had a good life.

My name is Ethan Goodspeed, and I was 104 years old in my past life. I think. Good God, I'm not even sure what my real age is; I suppose that I've never known. In my past life, I had a wife and two children, Addie and Eshka. Both were very bright children: they maintained an average of a 3.8 throughout their high school years, and were still able to handle 3 or 4 AP classes without utterly destroying their minds. Addie went to Columbia University for undergraduate school, and then MIT for graduate school. Eshka went to Brown University for undergraduate and then Harvard for graduate school. Addie had a masters degree in Applied Sciences and works at Cornell University. Eshka was a successful businesswoman, working for various companies in Europe and North America.

Children are truly amazing. But in a way, it’s a dangerous quest with children. Sometimes it’s hard to know what path your children should go on so that they can be successful adults in the future. I wanted them to become musicians like I had, but as it clearly turned out, they became something entirely different. Addie became a scientist and Eshka went into business. They were quite safe financially, had many friends, and in general, were satisfied with their lives. Sometimes there isn’t anything that you can do when you’re raising children, because they’re simply following their self-interest. I thought God would take care of what they would become in the future, and they turned out alright. I thought He really did set them on the right path.

In my past life, I was born on January 1st, 1948, in London. However, I moved to America in 1956 because my parents got a job in the Big Apple. I admit that it wasn’t as good as Yorkshire. The Yorkshire countryside was called God’s Own County, and is a memory that I will carry for the rest of my life. I remember the never-ending hills of grass and trees. The colors of these hills varied between deep forest green and bright flaxen yellow. I remember that sensational scent of the Yorkshire air, and that when you tasted it, a thousand good foods rushed into your body. Yorkshire always was filled with the music of birds and animals, singing so beautifully that you could feel nothing but bliss. In the afternoons on the best of days, the sky was like the Claude Monet painting //Red Poppies at Argenteuill// ; it was as if the sky was brushed with white and blue, with a fine yellow tint. I remember that when I got tired after playing football with my friends, I would take a nap, with my back on the ground, in the soothing and peaceful hills. But for some reason, while I was sleeping I often felt like I entered another world. A darker world. I don’t remember much, but these dreams were sometimes of the apocalypse, fire, destruction...even death. I felt so part of these places that for a time, I couldn’t tell the difference between the dream world and the real world. But I often came to a realization. How could I my life suddenly change into these calamities? It made no logical sense. I eventually realized the truth: I’m in a dream. Eventually, I would find a way to snap out of these nightmares and return to Yorkshire.

And then, I just relaxed. For the 8 years that I spent in Yorkshire, I knew my life was off to a good start. It wasn’t easy leaving Yorkshire in 1956. I thought that this memory would be erased from my mind forever. Then I discovered Vaughn Williams. He was an English composer who has written many sensational symphonies, chamber pieces, and choral pieces. Williams was often said to be characteristically English, just as Gustav Holst was also characteristically English. Therefore, his music was perfect when I felt nostalgic. Every time I heard the evocative piece //Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus//, the image of Yorkshire became as vivid as it was in 1948. The warm and soothing cello strings reflected the seeming endless fields of deep green and yellow. The violins in that high register sounded like the birds singing throughout the county. And as the violins would continue to play for long periods of time, the birds also continued to glide into the wonderland of Yorkshire. When the piece modulated to the mysterious F minor section, I could remember gazing up at the endless night sky, illuminated by starlight and moonlight.

I kept the piece //Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus// close to me as I lived to New York. I liked New York and there were many friends that I had, but sometimes it was just to busy. Too much going on at once. Even when I spent my summers with my cousins in lower Manhattan, I grew tired of seeing numerous amounts of people on the streets, all some place to go to. I grew tired of the endless amount of cars, trucks and cabs on the roads, again with someplace to go to. I often wished that I could take a deep breath from New York, and visit Yorkshire. I think that in my heart, I’m still in love with Yorkshire. But being the main conductor to the New York Philharmonic, there’s only so much vacation time.

When I do have vacation time, however, I go home and return to Yorkshire. Every time I visit, I am somehow, someway, re-immersed in its awe and splendor. I can see Yorkshire in my mind when I hear //Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus//, but the music was never as vivid as it naturally was when I walked on the deep green grass, gazed at the solid-colored sky, and trekked across the never-ending plains of trees, hay and plants. It was nice to return to the paradise that I have always had a connection with; sometimes I needed a deep breath from my life in New York. A vacation here and there was what I got, however. Most of these were very much the same, which I still enjoyed and hold true to myself. But one of these vacations was special. One of these vacations shall stay in my heart until the end of all things.

It was 1972. I was touring the countryside of England and I decided to visit Stonehenge in the county of Wiltshire. When I was a boy I asked these questions several times. How is it that this monument has no purpose or meaning? When was this place erected? Who created Stonehenge? It perplexed my mind as I thought of a myriad of different theories. However, I grew frustrated as I asked these questions and received no answer. No one's really knew what Stonehenge is. I eventually found more important and intriguing things to think about when I was a kid, and so these questions were lost. So when I visited Stonehenge, I parked my BMW 3.0 CSL in the parking lot neighboring the prehistoric monument. The sky was pale grey as water constantly cascaded out of the clouds onto the grass-covered plain. Terrific. I got out of the car, shut my door, and took my navy blue umbrella, only to realize that the switch to open it had been jammed. I felt as angry as the dissonant, fiery strings in Stravinsky's opening to //The Rite of Spring.// I put my umbrella down and tried to open the front door to my BMW, but I left all of my keys on the front left side seat of the car. The window was ajar, so I asked other people if they had something long to get my car keys. They all said no. Crestfallen, I dawdled to the prehistoric site with little care for stupid stones and rocks. I was shivering and I hoped that somehow, someway I would see someone I knew or recognized. But ultimately, I wasn't expecting anything but a disgusting and disappointing afternoon in my only vacation of the year.

That's when I met Katie.

I made my way up the hill to the Stonehenge. Constant, heavy rain pourred on my head. At this point, I wasn't even sure why I was taking this time out of my hands. But I still wished to unlock the mystery of Stonehenge. I looked down and discovered my new leather shoes were completely caked with mud. My navy blue jeans had splatters of dark brown grass and dirt, and were almost totally saturated with water. However, I continued to walk towards the entrance of Stonehenge. From a distance, the monument looked relatively deserted. There was a handful of people there, yes, but no more than a handful. I approached the Heel Stone, which was placed at the entrance of Stonehenge called The Avenue. The white rock was massive, being over three times the size of a normal human being. It was awe-inspiring at first, but it lost my attention within a minute or so. I walked down The Avenue and approached The Slaughter Stone. The white stone was daubed with mud and water. Only one face of the stone laid out from the ground, which had spots of ruby red stone. I analyzed at the stone for, perhaps, 1 or 2 minutes. Although it has different from most stones at Stonehenge, I was dissatisfied. I continued to dawdle to the inner circle.

I won't get into many more details of Stonehenge-it just did not seem to interest me. Although the cluster of stones in the middle was unique, I once again grew frustrated as to the "who", the "when", and the "why" of Stonehenge. It was some puzzle that could not be solved with the facts that I had; a conundrum of sorts. I sat down on one of the massive rocks near the Altar Stone-the biggest, heaviest of all the stones located at the center of Stonehenge. I couldn't see if there were any cars in the parking lot; my vision was distorted by the heavy rain. I didn't see any lights on the roads nor any signs of any kind. The sky darkened into a deep ocean blue. Because the sun was far enough from Wiltshire, Wiltshire became illuminated in blue light. There was not a soul in sight of me. I was shivering. My car didn't work, my lower body was covered in mud, I was frustrated and confused by Stonehenge, and all in all, I felt melancholic like the slow, deep violins in Barber's //Adagio for Strings//.

Katie got out of her car, took her keys //with// her, and opened her 1 meter long umbrella. She was supposed to meet the rest of her family at 5:30 PM, but where were they all? Actually, where was anybody? The only car she saw was this beat down BMW 3.0 CSL, being pelted down with rain. At least, that what she said was happening to my car. Katie grew a little high-strung. Maybe she did something wrong...was her family supposed to meet here at a different time? Maybe they already came here! Being objective, Katie decided to stay here just in case her family did show up. She locked her car. Katie sauntered to Stonehenge on the muddy wet hills, with hope that her family would show up. She figured if they did, they would see her empty car and deduce that she was at the monument and meet her there. This was the first time she visited Stonehenge out of the many years she lived in England. So she was curious to see what in the world this place was.

She took more time than I did at the Heel Stone, perhaps a total of 4 minutes even. She admired its mass and awe, but somehow when I saw it I just couldn't give a good God damn. Hahah. I suppose it doesn't matter that I said that. Katie walked down The Avenue as if she had no worry in her mind, despite the gloomy weather. She was very much an optimistic woman in general. With some time, she was a klick away from The Altar Stone. Then she saw a man, sitting down on a misshaped rock looking at his dirty, muddy shoes. There was no one else present in the monument except for this mysterious man. Judging by my facial expression and body language, she decided to investigate me, while my mind continued to ponder in melancholy.

"Excuse me sir, are you alright?" she asked.

I had always thought Katie was gorgeous from the moment I saw her. When I met her at Stonehenge, she was a 23 year old woman living in London. She just happened to be on her own vacation as we first met on Stonehenge in 1972. She had these captivating violet eyes that caused no distraction, but only amazement. She wore jet black eyeliner that brought out her long unbending eyelashes. Her dark, goldenrod hair was as smooth as silk, and as straight as grass; it extended down to the middle of her hairless back. Her lips were ruby red with a thick layer of lipstick. And she had this smile that brought out her straight, paper white teeth, shining like white sunlight. It somehow, someway made me feel content and joyful. The color of her teeth was the same white as the pearls on her necklace. The clothing she wore were quite exquisite. Katie's violet eyes totally matched the solid purple maxi dress that she wore, reaching down to her smooth tan ankles. Underneath the dress was her light-colored skin, not too dark nor too white. The nails on both her teeny little toes and her long piano fingers were painted with red nail polish. And her right hand held the handle to a pearl white umbrella, 2 meters in diameter. How was I supposed to respond to a vision like Katie? After sitting on a rock for 15 minutes with nothing much to think about, she caught me off guard. Filled with ecstasy, I suddenly remember what it was like to be near a woman that I had strong feelings towards. I was compelled to stare into those violet eyes, which were eyes so unique and vivid that they were like no other. I now saw the purpose of Stonehenge, at least the purpose for me. I thought God had put an angel on Earth just for me. Gently placing her arm on my left shoulder, she repeated her words once again:

"Sir? Are you okay?"

I chuckled. "I'm just surviving."

"Would you like to talk about it? As supposed to sitting out here in the rain with no umbrella?" she said. Her British voice was as beautiful as the melodious violin solo from Vaughn Williams' //The Lark Ascending.

"Well you see, I left my keys in my car out on the parking lot. My umbrella's broken, leaving me in this conundrum of sorts. I didn't think that anyone would come to this place."

"Oh, I'm sorry! Would you like to have a ride in my car? Fortunately I still have my keys in my purse, so perhaps when my family and I are done here at Stonehenge we could depart?"

"You're a very kind woman. Thank you, erhm..."

"Katie. Katie Wilkinson." I shook her hand as she calmly offered it.

"Charmed," I said. "Ethan Goodspeed. I live in the Big Apple. However I was raised in Yorkshire for a time. God's Own County, they say; a magnificent countryside, if you have ever been there."

"I have yet to see Yorkshire. I have heard many things about it, from many of my friends and family. We're visiting Yorkshire in our vacation; we're actually touring the countrysides of England and France for 2 weeks. It's been a very pleasing vacation, so far."

"I'm very sure. I have a proposition for you and your family. How would you like a tour of //God's Own County//? I'm very knowledgeable in the history and geography."

"You would do that for my family? Well, this is certainly not what I would have expected in a place like this! Thank you very much!"

"You're very welcome. I would be more than happy to do so."

"It's a plan then. Goodspeed, you said then? Aren't you're the famous conductor for the New York Philharmonic!" she said smiling.

"I certainly am!" I said smiling back. "It's a rigorous job, requiring much time and effort. However, it's a very rewarding one, as I meet many terrific people and work with some of the greatest instrumentalists in the world."

"I couldn't agree any more. It's an honor, sir."

"The honor is mine," I said. "I haven't seen such a lovely woman in many years."

Katie smiled. "Thank you very much Ethan. I went to one of your concerts over a year ago; that was the first time I heard Beethoven's 6th!"

"Ah yes, I remember that concert. That was our 'outdoors' concert, which meant that Beethoven's 6th works blends perfectly with the program. Actually, Beethoven wrote his 6th symphony with the working title "Recollections of Country Life." However, even though he was depicting the country sides of Germany, many people consider Beethoven's 6th to universally portray all nature-related marvels. He was very much a nature lover."

"I must say, you made that piece become one of my favorite pieces of classical music. From what I remember, that piece had a very interesting interpretation, so to speak."

"Well, being a conductor to an orchestra...it gives you some freedom to interpret the music as you best set fit. I, too, love that piece."

"That makes two of us."

I looked out into the distance. It continued to endlessly rain for miles and miles. It was growing dark; it must have been around 6:00 in the afternoon.

"So then, this is the famous Stonehenge..."

"Quite so. I bloody hate it."

Katie giggled. "You make me laugh, Ethan. What's wrong with this place?" she said showing her cute smile.

"There's no meaning nor purpose of this place. No origin story, no clear date of existance. It's like trying to figure the origins of crop circles. It's difficult to do."

"Hmm...I see," Katie plainly said. She calmly approached the Altar Stone. I got up-my pants still drenched in water-and followed Katie.

"This is the Altar Stone," I said. "Supposedly it's the biggest and heaviest stone in Stonehenge, nearly 6 tons in weight." //

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"I have this philosophy to enjoy life to its fullest extent. And if you don't enjoy it to its fullest extent, then, well, what's the point of living? Besides, we can talk about what this place actually is later."======

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As I tried to think of something that would engage her in a conversation, I once again realized the beautiful sight that was in front of me. She seemed so optimistic towards what happened in her life; so calm and content. Her violet eyes were as enthralling as the fields of Yorkshire itself. Her eyes just had this power to captivate and intrigue others. And when you saw them, you somehow knew that this was a special woman that you will never meet in your lifetime. After I saw enough of Katie, I looked around and saw 3 more cars approach the parking lot. Perhaps this was Katie's family.======

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"Well you see, my family had always discussed whether or not to come here for our vacation. Some said that it was purposeless and silly, whereas others argued that it's a place that you only need to see once. As it turned out, well, we decided to visit this monument. And I must say, it's quite intriguing. How could such a famous place have no history nor meaning? It's inspires much creativity and thought, if you were to think about it."======

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Katie had a point. "I know what you mean. When I was a very young lad, I thought this place was constructed by extraterrestrials who eventually became the ancestors of humans like you and me. I even thought that this place could have been made by God as a gift to humanity."======

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"Oh, such stories are those that only a boy would make," she gaily said. I chuckled, looking down at the Altar Stone. "When I was a young girl, I thought this place was the center of an animal kingdom, for horses and rabbits and dogs and other such adorable creatures. It was a kingdom of love and bliss and peace, never with a moment of sadness. This was, until, the kingdom was invaded by large, scary monsters. And so the animals had to expand to different parts of the world, but they were still spreading their love to the far corners of the Earth."======

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Eventually, Katie regained conscience. She seemed to like my personality, but I couldn't pinpoint what exactly she liked. Katie looked outwards at The Avenue. She noticed a 50 year old man and woman trekking through the muddy Wiltshire grounds. "Speaking of large, scary monsters..." she said with a sudden change in her tone.======

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I placed my hand in her's. "Thank you, Carolyn. If it's not too much trouble, may I hitchhike a ride with your family back home? You see, my keys were left in my car and I don't have something long to get them-"======

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"Well then, fair is fair. Let us help you get your keys out of your car, and then you can simply follow us to dinner. It should be happening around 7:00," Thomas explained. Perhaps this day wasn't all that horrible. I did not think that I would spend another moment with Katie, but I supposed God had different ideas in mind.======

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With my BMW being fully operational, I followed Thomas's car to the dinner at their house. I remembered seeing the countrysides of England in a very different perspective. The storm covered entire plains and fields that stretched for miles and miles. A darkness covered the hills. Blue lights of the evening shined down onto the countryside and the rain blurred the sharpness and vividness of the land. Yet, I was exuberant for my vacation to take a sharp turn, for the better or worse. I could only think about Katie and the memories I had of parties and family get-togethers.======

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Around 7:15 PM, we arrived at the large, capacious mansion in Northern Wiltshire. There was a large, open field of deep green grass that surrounded the house. However, due to the rain, it was completely turned into a mix of mud and grass. A 2 meter, red brick walkway showed us the way to the mansion. Although it was dark and I couldn't see many details of the mansion, I do remember seeing windows here and there lit up. There were silhouettes of people drinking and eating. I parked my car next to the adjacent side walk, took my keys //with// me, and locked my car up. It seemed like a relatively quiet neighborhood: all the houses were not lit up with their lights, there were little cars parked on the sidewalks, and no one populated the sidewalks next to the houses. The roads and sidewalks were covered in orange and green leaves. Excited, I began walking to the mansion, sharing Katie's white umbrella that she so kindly offered to me.======

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Thomas opened the brown, wooden doors to the interior of the mansion, which was a sight that I had never seen before. A massive chandelier hung from the white ceiling of the mansion, glittering from the yellow and white lights that shined through it. A large white marble staircase laid at the center of the mansion, connecting a total of 3 floors all made up of white marble. A crimson red rug covered the majority of the staircase, going from the base to the tip of the staircase. The rails of the staircase were of brown, shiny wood, with a crystal clear orb at the base of the rails. It spread on to cover the grounds of the first floor, the second floor and the third floor. The flat walls were of beige and ivory color, and there were no doors leading to the adjacent rooms but only the marble white decorations at the entrances of the room. Despite the capacity of the opening ballroom, it was packed with endless amounts of people, dressed so...formally. It was almost a little too much for me. Young and old women wore all different types of dresses, ranging from solid colored evening gowns to multi-colored sun dresses. However, all the men wore some type of good-looking suit, two or three buttoned. So this was no party for middle class folk like me, but for rich, upper-class men and women. I tried to blend in, but I was wearing nothing close to formal wear. My muddy jeans and my muddy shoes interestingly matched my brown vest and solid blue t-shirt. I was still very wet and very cold, and my hands were vibrating like a washing machine.======

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But the food was certainly delicious! This made me feel very joyful. Thomas stood on top of a wooden stool and began to introduce me to the family. I was a little flattered, but in way, I've become use to my name being introduced to large masses of people.======

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"Everyone! Everybody!" Thomas shouted. He tapped the rim of his glass of red wine, sounding very much like a triangle tap. All the people in the ballroom turned towards the direction of Thomas and quieted down.======

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"We have a special guest tonight, so please treat him with your utmost respect and courtesy. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ethan Goodspeed, conductor of the New York Philharmonic!" The ballroom was filled with applause and smiles. I let out a very big smile to the people in the room. After some time, the applause died out as they returned to their dinner discussions.======

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I must admit, I had a surprisingly good time at the party, despite the fact that I wasn't part of the family. It turned out that much of Katie's family is musically savvy, although no where near the amount of knowledge of music that I knew. I even engaged someone in an argument on what Wagner's greatest and most memorable opera was. Even though I still thought this was too much, I remember seeing a string quartet perform a Mozart Divertimento. But all of this was the apex of my music fun, however. I still enjoyed the excitement, the mood, and the laughter at the party. Thomas introduced me to some very nice people, many of which were aunts or uncles to Katie. Though many of these family members clearly had too much beer, particularly the men I might add, they irrevocably remained nice people.======

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There were two very memorable things about this evening that made it so terrific, the first one being the food. It also turned out that much of Katie's family were into seafood trading. Many of the family members were part of a powerful company called World Seafood Direct, Thomas being the C.E.O. of the company. This explains how the family can afford such an enormous house, and have such interesting and varied seafood. And thus it was: Never in my life had I had such well-cooked seafood! This was the first time that I tasted delicious, fresh, grilled swordfish. It was marinated in a way that brought out the saltness of the food, and was cooked in a way that brought out its scrumptious tenderness. The swordfish had a unique barbecue zing to it, and finally was topped with mild spicy-hot powder. However, the swordfish was just the beginning. In addition to the swordfish, Katie's family prepared delicious smoked salmon, Bretagne-styled clams, grilled lobster, deep-fried calamari, oven-roasted oysters/scallops, barbecued octopus, exotic red shrimp, vinegar-flavored trout, and much much more (did I mention the swordfish?). This was, perhaps, half of the varied food that Katie's family prepared. I must say, the food at this party was as endlessly satisfying as Beethoven's 9th symphony. For me, it redefined the possibilities of seafood and how it can be made.======

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Katie approached the beverage table, hoping to find a vodka martini - shaken, not stirred, of course (yes, I just made a James Bond reference) - with lots of olives. She told me that she actually couldn't find her preferred drink, but instead found this French white wine dating back in 1922 - exactly 50 years ago. Apparently, it was the sweetest and quenching drink she had in her entire life. So after finishing off my 6th plate of seafood, I approached the beverage table looking for something to drink. I had no trouble distinguishing Katie from the rest of the crowd. Her goldenrod hair, her solid purple maxi dress, her pearl necklace...the myriad of beautiful characteristics that Katie had could not make her a normal young woman. Teasing her, Katie felt someone tap her on the right shoulder and thus looked behind her right shoulder. Seeing how there was nobody there, she looked in the other direction and saw the person that she just met at Stonehenge. She giggled and I smiled back at her.======

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"I'm a cooperate lawyer that often does business with my father's company; I make sure that all of the transactions and contracts made by World Seafood Direct are legal and beneficial. And I also help other companies make good transactions."======

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"Katie, I think I know how you feel. Being a conductor to the New York Philharmonic requires much time and effort, and you're often worried what will be the best decisions for your orchestra. You might also worry about what are the best decisions for the deals made for World Seafood Direct."======

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"Much of the time, I am. You see, we've had a partnership a Japanese fishing industry named the Fukui Fishing Corperation. Many companies who make transactions with Fukui constantly repeat the same story: their fishing equipment is incredibly well-manufactured, but incredibly overpriced! Therefore, they haven't had as many transactions as they should have had, therefore, they were slowly approaching bankruptcy...and so I had to set up this elaborate deal with the board of directors of Fukui. Basically, as long as World Seafood Direct gets to use some of the Fukui fishing equipment for a lowered price, we would share a small percentage of our profits with Fukui to revitalize their company. It's a win-win situation: because their fishing equipment is so unbelievably well-made, our profits have boomed for the past few months. Plus, our company is exceptionally successful even without the Fukui fishing equipment, so a very small percentage would not affect us that much."======

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"We figured that the equipment is of more importance. And the amount of money that we give to the Fukui company...it's nothing that we can't afford. It'll be more beneficial to the Fukui company; hopefully they will lower their prices on their equipment."======

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She made an adorable little smile. "Thank you, Ethan. It's a very mind-boggling job, and can be stressful at times...especially when some people at work play around with you at the absolute worst times..."======

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"You see, for the longest time, I was in love with this very wealthy man, and we traveled to many places in and out of England.and Everywhere we went was a moment I cherished and treasured...until I discovered his other partner. We were in Paris and I was getting food for John - yes, that was his name - and my peaceful days wondering the streets of Paris came to an end when I saw John flirting and kissing with another woman."======

"Good God, Katie. I am sorry." We stopped in this small, compressed hallway near the men's bathroom. Katie leaned against one wall as I leaned against the parallel wall.
"Afterwards, I confronted John and our relationship quickly fell to ruin. This actually was very recent; almost two weeks ago."

"Katie, what I advise you to do, although difficult, is to get your mind off of this man John. If you have heard of the phrase 'ignorance is bliss,' then now is the time to embrace that philosophy. Perhaps you should do the things that you enjoy the most. Or maybe you need another vacation to make up for the one that John destroyed."

"It's been very difficult to let go of my feelings-but I know what you mean. I think I may need another vacation," Katie said solemnly. "Thank you, Ethan."

"I'm only here to help," I said, smiling.

"You know," Katie said, taking a few steps toward me. "I never expected to meet a person like you at a monument like Stonehenge."

"That makes two of us, Katie," I said.

"It's not fair...most of the men that I've met are so callous when it comes to women...so uncaring. I just wished I could escape with someone who cared for the women they were with."

Katie was a couple of feet away from me. "Not all men are like John," I said.

"Not all of them."

"There's a whole world of different people and personalities. You should explore this world, Katie."

"I think I'm ready to explore this world," Katie said. She was so close to me that I could smell the perfume she had on.

"I think I'm ready, too."

"I'm so busy nowadays...but I think I can afford a few days away from reality."

"I think you need a vacation, Katie." Katie lips were inches away from mine.

"Starting now, Ethan?" She closed her eyes.

"Starting now, Katie. Starting now."

"Eshka Goodspeed," The Man said. "You are in The Room because you had to have been told the truth. I apologize, but this has to be done. As shocking and incredible as truth may be, it changes the lives of many, whether for the better or worse. I have deduced that ignorance is the best cure for this truth, which brings us back to the purpose of this place."

Eshka felt like she was about to collapse. All of her life, she believed a lie! A horrible, twisted lie!

"What...is this purpose?" she muttered.

“There are two doors. The door to your right leads you to an eternal afterlife of bliss and harmony: the place that you call Heaven. The door to your left leads you to the eternal afterlife that you call Hell, where you will live in pure agony and torture forever. As you have derived by your current situation, there is no other way out of The Room,” The Man said in his cold, low voice.

//I can't take this anymore. s//he thought. "Stop! I want out! I WANT OUT!!!" Eshka screamed. She darted towards the door labeled Heaven.

"Wait, Eshka!! There's something-"

It was too late. The door suddenly turned into light, and Eshka slowly felt her body being transformed. She started to say something, but was quickly silenced for a reason she did not know. She no longer was like a physical entity of matter but rather as energy. She felt like a jet fighter going at Mach 6, but her body was going faster than that. Her body moved faster than what seemed to be the speed of light. Spiraling out of control, Eshka again could not control herself. Faster, faster, faster she went until everything…just…slowed…down.

Eshka returned to her physical state and found herself at the bottom of a large, spiral staircase. //Jacob's Ladder...// she said in her haid. It was made of white marble and gold railings, decorated with the figures of cherubs and angels. It seemed like she was in space: stars glittered across the sky, with an assortment of different colors. She could even see entire galaxies, containing millions upon millions of star systems. She looked up and saw that the staircase went into a collection of clouds. Suddenly, a bright white light shined down through the clouds on Eshka, and she could not feel anything but gratefulness and exuberance. Without further ado, she began ascending up the massive staircase.

Eshka heard a faint choir in the distance. It sounded like a medieval song that was played at her church. Eshka was so excited about going to Heaven that she almost had no control over what she thought. She could only imagine a new life of bliss and rapture ahead of her. She had been told of the stories of Heaven, and how one can do almost anything they wanted. Eshka beamed with delight, and quickened her pace up the staircase. She suddenly remembered the song the choir was singing! //Spem in Alium// by Thomas Tallis. Her father explained that it talked about the greatness of the Lord and one's loyality towards Him. Speaking of her father, Eshka hoped that her father would be okay. She hoped to see him in Heaven as well, and not see him in polar opposite. He was as good of a Christian as she was, which reassured her worries for her dad. She thought that this was all happening so suddenly...first her father was shot by a deranged murderer, then herself...and now she was walking up Jacob's Ladder into the Heaven. Eshka subconsciously wished she had more time on Earth. But she was simply too excited to realize it.

After some time, she found herself standing on some clouds. //This is a dream//... she thought. The sky was a bright light blue, just like Yorkshire in the broad daylight. She looked around and saw massive, awe-inspiring golden gates, shining with white light. A big, joyful smile stretched across her face. She couldn't believe the sight that stood in front of her; she couldn't imagine another terrific life of bliss and happiness. Unable to control her elation, she darted towards the gates. She just couldn't stop smiling.

It's interesting; Katie and I got married in exactly 4 years after that night in 1976, and both Katie and I have said that both us had our first kiss on that night. I must say, it was quite a night. Never in my life had I met anyone as interesting, as gorgeous, or as enjoyable in my entire life. It was truly as if God put an angel on Earth just for me. I held true to my promise, and gave members of Katie's family a tour of Yorkshire in that same year of 1972. They were dazzled by Yorkshire's beauty just as I was every time I visited there. Katie and I took some time out of the tour and continued to get to know each other, and for some reason, are personalities just matched together. We both shared the same morals: the importance of good grades, being nice to everyone, etc. Both of us found something attractive on each other's appearance, and eventually, we loved each other's families and friends. In 1973, Katie and I took a vacation to Paris, the city of light. We did hundreds of memorable things in Paris, despite the fact that I could not speak a word of French. The seafood in France was almost as good as the seafood made by Katie's family, and the eiffel tower was as incredible and awe-inspiring as told by my friends and family. It was in Paris where Katie and I first made love. Katie moved to the United States with me in 1975, and we married in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 1976, the biggest cathedral in the world. She may have liked New York more than I did, but she agreed that it was not the same as Yorkshire (Wiltshire in her case). We loved each other very much, and even to this day, I still remember her in my heart.

Addie, our first chlid, was born in September 1980. Addie was a beautiful child growing up: she made these cute giggling noises that some babies make, she had these big brown eyes, and she was one of those babies that always put his/her thumb in her mouth. She also had blonde hair like Katie, though lighter than Katie's, and she eventually portrayed unusually high amounts of intelligence. It was this plus her incredibly hard work that got her into Columbia University. It's amazing what people you create with the woman that you love so dearly and so deeply. LIke I said, Addie became a scientist and now works at Cornell University. She did not dislike Cornell University, but she admitted that Cornell is too out of the world, so to speak. It was literally in the middle of nowhere and there were no family members nearly. She was considering a different job at the time.

Eshka, our second child, was born two years after Addie in December 1982. She looked more like me in a way: she had dark brown hair, and had a long, straight nose. Her hair was a deep, sepia color and she also shared jade green eyes. However, she was more like Katie in personality. Although she had the mind of a lawyer, being able to formulate legitimate and logical arguments, she became a business woman graduating from Harvard graduate school, the classic, top-notch university in the United States. Katie and I are very proud that she got into Harvard University. She most often worked with Katie's company World Seafood Direct, being an administrator at only the age of 28. Eshka was a special child, also keeping close to her family and her work at the same time.

I have taken Addie and Eshka to Yorkshire many times, though neither of them have such an emotional attachment to it as I do. They still admired the beauty of the land: the hills, the lakes, the trees and the softness in the wind. It was just that they grew up in New York and are thus "city girls." When Katie and I took them to London, they wished to stay there for as long as they could. They loved the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. In a way, London was similar to New York, despite the fact that the pound is approximately 2 times the amount of a U.S. dollar and that everyone has a British accent. They were both shopping districts and had a wide variety of restaurants, though not as big as a variety as New York. They have also both seen the London Symphony Orchestra, and are enormous fans of it ever since I took them in 1998. Sometimes they're even bigger fans of the London Symphony Orchestra than they are of the New York Philharmonic...I wonder if that's because they heard Holst's //The Planets// suite the first time they heard the London Symphony Orchestra. Katie and I feel as though we did a good job raising Addie and Eshka, but I continue to wish that I got to know them better. I had little time to do things with my children: my concerts often went into the evenings and if I was not performing with the New York Philharmonic, I was rehearsing difficult but incredibly mellifluous songs. But they grew out of me, sadly...they took different paths in life and are quite content and satisfied people now. It's just that now that I know the truth about how the world works, I wish that I had even more memories of Addie and Eshka.

I thought that a large part of what made Addie and Eshka successful was not just their brightness or their work habits, but also Katie. Katie was always there to provide support to Addie and Eshka. Although she could not always help Addie and Eshka in, say, mathematics or science, she could provide over-arching guidelines to get good grades. One of these were to take breaks when you most desperately needed it. Despite how hard Addie and Eshka worked, they were both on the brink of depression and insomnia. Sometimes, one needs to take a deep breath from the world, and for Addie and Eshka, that meant having fun with their friends. Katie also was their to edit their papers, being a lawyer herself. Finally, Katie always provided our family the most promising, delectable seafood that made everyone feel joyful. I just wish I had a company that provided me with seafood when I was a kid.

Katie and I were both Roman Catholic, which is another reason why I thought we got along so well. In fact, it turns out that both my family and Katie's family have long been loyal to the Catholic Church. After all, it is the longest lasting and largest part of Christianity, with over one billion members in the Catholic Church. Addie and Eshka were both baptized into the Catholic Church at a very young age: Addie was baptized in 1985 and Eshka was baptized in 1987. At the time, Katie and I did not look forward to seeing Addie and Eshka in an eternity of Hell. And they wouldn't go there, anyway, they were good Christians. They respected people and their opinions, the went to church every Sunday, they were very careful when they used the word God, and they obviously did not steal anything from anyone. They were good people. I just wished that I got to know them better.

But my views about religion changed dramatically after I was killed in that grocery store. It all happened so quickly...and it wasn't so much my life changing: it was the entire world that changed.

Mr. Fischer has read up to here. **__Part II__**

In 2009, my family, Thomas, and Katie's nephew, Vincent, had a get-together in New York City for the New York Philharmonic's annual Fourth of July concert. Actually, it was an event that always brings together the entire family, although this time in 2009 was a smaller event. At least, I thought it would have been. One time in 1999, 20 people from Katie's family flew into New York just to see this concert! It was quite enjoyable, though chaotic at times. Anyhow, on July 1st, 2009, Katie and I drove to the John F. Kennedy airport to pick Thomas and Vincent up. It was a relatively grim morning in New York City: the sky looked like a black and white water color painting; one with almost too much water. A light, summer rain showered out of the gray clouds, and the sun, covered by a thin layer of mist and cloud, illuminated New York City in white light. Despite the unfavorable weather, Katie and I were still excited to pick up Thomas and Vincent.

After parking our forest green BMW in the massive, almost byzantine, parking lot, Katie and I entered Terminal 7, looking for a 10:34 AM flight. It has been a very long time since I visited the JFK Airport; I had forgotten it's awe over the long years. Terminal 7 was a two-layered construction of steel and silver glass. The white sunlight shined down into the interior through a arched, glass ceiling, illuminating certain objects in the terminal. Hundreds of people walked in and out of various stores, bathrooms and luggage checkers on the gray floor, with an assortment of different colored suitcases. There were two floors in Terminal 7: one of them was for baggage claims and check-ins, and the other was for restaurants and shops. The terminal so was complex and artistic that it felt like an art museum. Katie pointed out a large TV screen that laid on the front, paper-white wall, telling viewers a list of the times and flights coming in from British Airways. On the 4th row of the list, it said "Flight 20, 10:34 AM, On Time, Gate 2." //What luck!// I thought. Fortunately, we did not have to cover much distance to Gate 2, but it did involve a lot of walking. Without further ado, we trekked to Gate 2. It's interesting, being in an airport. I could see how it's a place of many emotions: joy and grief, nostalgia and awe, anticipation and boredom. I remember first landing here in the JFK airport in 1970, when I first moved here from England. It was almost as if one had entered a new world, or //the// new world as the pilgrims said it when they first came to America. Even now, I often might get lost in the airport; there was simply too much to see and examine. But I remember that I came to this airport for a reason, to see Thomas and Vincent. Perhaps, one could say that I came here in joy and nostalgia. I was happy to see good friends of mine.

It turned out that this flight was delayed by 5 minutes, thus forcing Katie and I to wait next to the doors of Gate 2. We sat down on two black leather chairs next to the windows. The airport seemed to go on for miles and miles, layered with gray roads and yellow grass. Airplanes from British Airways departed and flew onto the roads. It looked like there were workers dressed in dark blue uniforms yelling at each other about flight coordinations or conformations about luggage. Many trucks carrying luggage and oil drove across the plains of the airport, and lights decorated the edges of the roads. A light mist clouded the airport, making the white sunlight fade and distort. At last, we saw an large airliner docking into Gate 2. Katie and I were ecstatic that the plane had finally arrived. Smiling, I looked at Katie. Even for a woman of 60 years, she looked very good for her age. Some of her hair was irrevocably grey, but still maintained that solid goldenrod color. Her face, once smooth and clean, was now wrinkled and cold. But her violet eyes were as vivid as they were in 1972 when I first met her.

"We should get back as soon as we can," Katie said. "We're running out of a lot of food. I don't exactly want to end up ordering food from Ray's again, I have a salmon to cook."

I chuckled. I tried to remember the last time I had pizza from Ray's. "Hmm, I've always like their anchovy special..." I said.

Katie slapped me on my leg. "No, No, No! We are having salmon! I've spent the last few days preparing it for tonight! This will not be a repeat of last Christmas! Hey, what are you-"

I gave Katie a big hug. "I love you, sweet heart."

"Let's stop by the grocery store when we drop of Thomas and Vincent at the house, okay?"

"It's a plan. You know, if there's one thing that hasn't changed about you, Katie, it's your desire to get tasks done. That and your eyes, of course."

Katie smiled. She turned her head left and saw the doors to Gate 2 open. The first person we saw was Thomas, holding his beige, wooden cane. He had many of the fundamental characteristics of an old man. His head was bald, with a few puffs of white hair on his sides. His face was even more wrinkled than Katie's, and the skin on his eyelids were creased. His hands looked exhausted and old, and his once-brown arm hair turned into a paper white hair. He held on to his beige cane with all of his might, if he had much might in his body left. Next to Thomas was Vincent, a 30-year old man, placing his hand on Thomas's curved back. He was an unusually tall, but skinny, man for his age. He wore a top-notch jet black blazer and a crimson red tie on his white shirt. His suit matched his black pants and shoes, which seemed to have a nice shine to it. His buzz cut was longer than most times we've seen him, with his auburn hair near an inch in length. He had a unique hazel brown eye color.

"You see, great uncle Thomas? Our plane landed safely in Gate 2, just as I said it would," Vincent said to Thomas in a heavy British accent. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Christ, if I go on another bloody plane again, I swear, I'm going to attack someone," yelled Thomas.

"Now, now, great uncle, we know that you would never do that, you're too old for those stunts," Vincent said. Thomas proceeded to mumble and growl. Vincent looked up and saw Katie and I looking at the two gentlemen.

"Aunt Katie!" Vincent shouted.

"Hey, you! Good Lord, look at you, you're all grown up!" Katie said smiling. They embraced each other. "We were worried that your plane would take even longer!"

"Well, with that rainstorm that happened a few hours, many things could've happened. Fortunately, it all turned out alright."

"Father! Look at you! You're such an old man!"

"That," Thomas said. "Was the scariest plane I've ever been on."

"You must be joking! We hardly had any turbulence whatsoever!" Vincent said.

"I can take your belongings, Thomas," I said, offering my hand to him.

"Ah, Ethan," Thomas said. "It's good to see you here. Good to see you." We gave each other a hug.

"Good to see you to." He gave me his white cloth bag. It had a collection of water and books-not what I called a good combination. "Our car is in the parking lot. Do you know where you're luggage is being held?"

"Yes, baggage claim 4," Vincent said.

"I hate airports," Thomas exclaimed.

"Oh, stop complaining, Father," Katie said. "Okay, you two will be home soon! Addie and Eshka are waiting at the house!"

We ventured to the baggage claim and received the three bags Thomas and Vincent had. Because the baggage claim only took a matter of ten minutes, we were out of the John F. Kennedy airport by 11:00 AM. Vincent, the new C.E.O. of World Seafood Direct, described the company's plan to go public. He and the board of directors thought that their capital would augment greatly by releasing the company to the stock market. With the increasing awareness of the goodness of World Seafood, investors and clients will buy more stocks and more funds will be received by the company. This way, World Seafood will be able to expand their business, hire more workers, etc. It seemed like a bold plan. Although I may not be anything close to a businessman, Vincent's plan seemed logical. For a person of such little experience, he's on par with Bill Gates. With seafood, that is, as supposed to technology. As it turned out, my family had received more seafood than I had ever dreamed of receiving. That combined with Katie's cooking made our lunches and dinners rich and delectable. I had never stopped thanking Vincent for his incredible plan. We also talked about the Fourth of July concert. I told him that we'll be play several well known pieces. The program went as the following: Jupiter (from the planets), Copland's Appalachian Spring, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, a short intermission, and the grand finale: Beethoven's 9th Symphony in D Minor "Ode to Joy". Both Thomas and Vincent have long been fans of Beethoven, and were quite eager to hear Beethoven's 9th. I, too, was eager to perform it. We drove through downtown Manhattan on our way to our house on 5th Avenue. New York City in the morning always offers something new to everyone. It's the most awe-inspiring, dense, and busy city in the entire world. Giant metal skyscrapers and several small shops lined the big streets of New York City, being several stories high. The 3 meter wide sidewalks were populated with people of all different ages and ethnicities. And the streets have never contained the loudest, diverse amounts of cars and trucks in any city.

We finally arrived at our apartment near the intersection of 42nd street and 5th Avenue. After parking the car and removing the luggage from the trunk, we entered the main hall of the building. It was a rather small main hall, being made of white and black marble. A red rug covered the grounds of the main hall and wooden, padded chairs were placed throughout the room. We approached the elevators, but due to the amount of people and luggage we had in our group, we had to make two separate trips in two different elevators. Therefore, Vincent and I went in the left elevator.

I pressed the button labeled //31//. "Good God, there are 40 floors to this apartment," Vincent exclaimed.

"You should visit some of the other buildings in New York," I said.

"Like the empire state building...102 floors. Yikes."

"Addie should be back from her fundraiser for her church." I looked at my watch. It was 11:35 AM.

"Oh? That's nice of Addie. What exactly was this fundraiser?"

"They were selling homemade gifts to people near the public library, which is not far from here. Most people sold used books and belongs they didn't need; Addie made bracelets."

"Interesting. Perhaps we should take a visit."

"I think the only place you will be visiting is a nice, soft bed, Vincent."

He chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm used to staying up late."

"So you will be staying here until July 6th, is that correct?"

Vincent nodded. "Like I've said, I have a meeting in Wall Street that some of the directors and I apparently must be present for. We're closing our last negotiations."

"Negotiations about the plan to go public?"

"Yes. A considerable amount of time will be for that. You know, the last time we were at New York City, we brought a good handful of people. This time its just me and Thomas."

"Yeah, well, everyone has their reasons. It really isn't a huge deal. At least Christmas will be a little more packed."

The doors opened and made a "ding" noise. "I wouldn't know," Vincent said.

The four of us eventually arrived at the door at our apartment. Thomas and Vincent's time zones were still boggled up, being on London times. They were very exhausted and only wanted to rest. Vincent especially seemed uneasy, constantly thinking about the company. I wondered if this is what being a C.E.O. does to your mind. I unlocked the door with my small, silver key; it was time for them to take some rest.

Our house was a rather small apartment, but it was still a classy and comfortable one. When one opens the door, the first thing they see are these soft red sofas pushed against the wall. The entire floor was a white carpet, with no stains whatsoever. We've been very careful about the floor. There was a red T-cushion chair adjacent to the sofa and a coffee table in between them, for foot resting. Across from the sofas was a black wooden table, with 8 black wooden chairs pushed in. The kitchen was around the corner. But the best part of all of our apartment was the view.