DIALOGUE WITH A FUTURE

There are three major milestones in people’s earthly lives: birth, marriage and death. They are accompanied by a special state of body and mind. Upon reaching these milestones, people are transferred to previously unknown spheres of existence, that they PERSONALLY are absolutely unfamiliar with, despite the fact that all people witness them during their lives.

These milestones are particularly different from other events that we go through during our lives, since it’s impossible to transfer such experience to others. No matter how well you try to explain it, no matter what tutorials and manuals you write and how talented a teacher you might be – nothing will work. People have to go through these events themselves.

We know little about the first milestone, which is birth. We can’t remember the moment of our birth or our state before it. Did we exist at all? In the second chapter of the Book of Genesis we read that God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life and he became a living being. The Book of Ecclesiastes says: “…the spirit returns to God Who gave it…” So, we can see that the process of a person’s life on earth starts and finishes with God, and the spirit of life, with which God gives life to all flesh, in the end returns to Him.

The Book of Genesis details the creation of man, which consists of three stages. Here is the first one: “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground…” – this is our flesh. The second stage: “…and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…” – this is the spirit of life from God. The merging of the first two stages gives rise to the third stage: “…and the man became a living being.” – this is a person, a completely new individual, that never existed before.

We see that a person is born from the merging of two of the most important elements of existence – flesh and the spirit of life, which can be given only by God.

Christians are familiar with the process of birth due to their spiritual birth from above, when the Holy Spirit revives a dead and barren soul to a new life in Christ. The fact of being born from above, the same as the fact of physical birth, can’t be retold. It must be experienced. Once Christ told the old Jewish teacher Nicodemus about it. Nicodemus didn’t understand Him, and he couldn’t understand, until he himself experienced this state.

The second milestone is marriage – a crucial threshold in people’s lives. A person is destined to cross it only once in their life. If a marriage takes place the way the Lord established, in love and chastity, the exciting moment when two loving hearts merge into one flesh can’t be conveyed in words. Every person is meant to experience it themselves.

Even if the most talented author writes a thousand books about it, no living soul will be satisfied with just reading these works, but they will only strive more and more for their beloved. The most exquisite wines and other drinks, as well as all means of pleasure known to us, cannot be compared to the ocean of ecstatic bliss that the Creator bestows on two lovers as a reward for chastity and faithfulness to His commandments.

People who prematurely and recklessly squander their innocence in immoral volcanoes of sinful voluptuousness miss out on a lot. They rob themselves, since it’s much more difficult for them to create personal love harmony with the person who will later become their spouse.

A pure and honest marriage for love is a prototype of the coming marriage of Christ and the Church. The Holy Scripture repeatedly draws this parallel: the Church is compared to the bride and Christ with the groom.

Just as it is impossible to describe in writing and imagine the feelings that getting and being married bring, it is also impossible to describe that glorious day when the loving redeemed human hearts of the Church of Christ will merge with the loving heart of our Lord and Savior in eternity.

The third milestone of existence is death.

Like the first two, this milestone defies sensory experience, it’s impossible to learn or imagine it by listening to somebody’s story. Moreover, as a rule, there’s no one who can tell you this story: such people as Lazarus from the Gospel of John are extremely rare. And the dead are silent.

A person is cognizant of death only when experiencing its embrace first-hand. This milestone is the most mysterious one and at the same time the most exciting and frightening of the three. Especially when the time allotted to us is running out, and a person, as if blindfolded, stands on the edge of the abyss of the unknown, waiting for the end.

Philosophers of all times, in their countless works, have been trying to find an answer to the main question of being, asked by the long-suffering Job, when his life unexpectedly and tragically approached the milestone of death: “ If someone dies, will they live again?” (Job 14:14)

Whole philosophical systems throughout all time and generations were built and collapsed, refuting one another, because the question of death has always been the most burning of them all. Not a single person on earth would probably refuse to take a quick look behind the impenetrable curtain of death.

What awaits me there? And who? And is there anything at all? Is it good or bad there? Better or worse than here? And how will I die? What will I feel? An endless list of similar questions would take a lot of pages, since death is one of the most important milestones in our lives.

Someone said it well: “It’s not scary to be dead, it’s scary to be dying.” It’s really true. When you are young and healthy, life is easy, especially when you try not to think about your inevitable death, carelessly and light-heartedly chasing such thoughts away. Which, in fact, most people do. It’s so easy to say: “Yes, we’ll all die… Nobody lives forever.”

But when the Grim Reaper comes for real, it’s a completely different story. It’s scary to be dying. Even if a person puts on a brave face, death is scary, especially if one has no hope in God.

PART 1

 SERGEY ALEXANDROVICH

Chapter 1

This story took place in the city of West Sacramento, California in the second half of the year 2000. The events described will interest you first of all, because in them you will find an answer to the questions troubling the hearts of all generations. They have acquired special importance today in the light of the signs of the end-times, which the Eternal Bible and current events tell us.

Sergey Alexandrovich died in one second. It happened on August 11 at about one in the afternoon. He had been unwell starting from the early morning. Abdominal pain that started a day before didn’t stop over a sleepless night and crept higher, encompassing his chest, so that it was difficult to understand what exactly hurt, chest or stomach.

For the first time in a long time, several stray cats from the surrounding yards, which he always found a tasty treat for, remained hungry. In the morning, he couldn’t go outside to feed them.

A few days before he noticed that it had become difficult to walk, which was quite unusual, since Sergey Alexandrovich had walked plenty and eagerly all his life. People he knew, seeing him on his way to somewhere, told each other with surprise and a hint of white envy: “Look, where the old man has wandered!”

Despite being already well over eighty, he kept walking to the nursing home, which was no less than three miles away from his place. There he visited old people, who had long been bedridden. Many of them were younger than him.

Clinic receptionists used to playfully make fun of him: “What a strange old man! He calls, complains about something, makes an appointment, and then walks one and a half miles to the clinic. And after the examination he never takes the free shuttle bus for patients.”

You could see Sergey Alexandrovich in the most unexpected places. Many people stopped and offered him a ride, but he hardly ever accepted such offers. Thus, in the memory of our immigrant community he remained a symbol of movement and freedom, which every senior citizen of the earth dreams about.

From the Bryte church times, we still remember grandpa Timofey, one of the older immigrants in our community. At a mature age he was drafted into the army, leaving several young children to the care of his wife. Wounded, grandpa Timofey was captured by the Nazis. When the war ended, Americans set him free, but as was with thousands of other soldiers, he had to flee to a foreign country, saving his life from the Bolsheviks’ “gratitude” to all prisoners of war. He died in the mid-90s.

When we arrived in Bryte, grandpa Timofey was rather old. He lived alone. The war, that had greatly damaged many people’s lives, had affected grandpa Timofey as well. His wife, children and other relatives were in the Soviet Union, and like other “lucky men” that managed to escape Stalin’s camps, he couldn’t find any information about his family. Later, he somehow got in touch with them, but for the rest of his life he remained alone in the crowded and well-fed USA.

Members of the Bryte church still remember grandpa Timofey’s unique prayers, in which he never forgot to thank God for the ability to walk with his own feet in spite of his advanced age and because he didn’t need to be taken care of. This issue was grandpa Timofey’s life necessity, simply because he didn’t have anyone to look after him. Approaching old age, people begin to truly understand and appreciate the happiness of not being a burden on anyone till the end of their days, a blessing that only God can grant.

Like grandpa Timofey, Sergey Alexandrovich was on his feet till the last day of his life. Moreover, ten days before his death Sergey Alexandrovich and a group of his relatives went to the mountains, where they walked a total of about 10 miles.

Right before the day of his death, he attended an evening service in the church and came home after dark. Everything was the same as always, except his wife Lida threw up her hands, saying:

-      Why are your holiday pants so dirty?

-      I got tired on the way back and sat a little. I guess I didn’t see that the curb was covered with oil.

It didn’t sound like grandpa Sergey. He couldn’t walk as little as half a mile from the church and get tired. Especially so tired that he would sit down to get some rest.

On that day he felt an unfamiliar heaviness and weakness. Not wanting to have dinner, he had some herbal tea, sat in the kitchen for a while and went to bed.

Having closed the door behind him, which was the sign for everyone else that he was praying, Sergey Alexandrovich bowed in prayer. Worries of the passing day arose in his mind and poured out in the words of prayer before the Lord, filling his soul with the usual peace. And it must be noted that Sergey Alexandrovich’s worries were quite numerous.

Despite his respectable age (in two months he would turn eighty-six), he always found time and energy to visit sick and elderly people from our neighborhood.

He received many letters that he always answered. He brought a lot of needs before God by taking part in several prayer groups. All these things were facets of his spiritual life and service, imperceptible for others, but very important for him.

His children and grandchildren held a special place in his prayers. The trial of his grandson Valery, that had lasted exactly a month, had just ended. Sergey Alexandrovich didn’t miss a single court session, constantly praying to the Lord for a successful outcome. Valery was wrongly accused of premeditated murder, and the prosecutor insisted on a life sentence for a case Valery had nothing to do with.

The investigation dragged on for a year and a half and finally the court found Valery innocent. Sergey Alexandrovich and all other relatives were immensely happy about it.

The Lord saved his grandson from the lion’s jaws of the devil, who took the form of the prosecutor and slandered Valery in court as the genuine father of lies. But it made the victory even more joyful. After fifteen months of imprisonment, Valery was released.

However, the joy of relatives and friends was short-lived. A few days before his death Sergey Alexandrovich was told that the prosecutor demanded another trial for Valery. The news greatly upset him and apparently became one of the reasons for his sudden demise.

It was Friday, August 11. In the morning, grandma Lida was busy in the kitchen, preparing breakfast and doing housework, that might not be noticed by visitors, but is plenty for a housewife in every home.

No one could have guessed that Sergey Alexandrovich’s hours were numbered. Time was quickly bringing him closer to the invisible fatal line, beyond which there is no return. While other people in our city were preparing to have a break for lunch, the Lord had already planned to invite Sergey Alexandrovich to his first meal in heaven.

At night, the pain in Sergey Alexandrovich’s abdomen and chest got worse. The medicine he used to take when it happened failed to help that time. The pain didn’t subside. It was probably the reason why he didn’t sleep a wink almost the entire night, meditating and reading the Word of God. Apparently, the Lord was preparing him for an imminent transition to the abodes of heaven.

 Chapter 2

        On the following morning, we found a sheet of paper from a notebook on his desk with around a dozen Scriptures written on it. The last few verses were marked with a date: August 10, three in the morning.

Despite the late hour, he was wide awake… In the silence of the night, the pictures of the past days, purified by reading the Word of God, came back to his memory with particular clarity. The feeling of concern for Valery was burning inside him.

“Lord, - his lips whispered, - why don’t You stop this wicked prosecutor, who demands a new trial for Valery?.. Lord, protect us, have mercy on us. We are so tired… Valery’s father is dead on his feet… We have written letters and sent them everywhere, asked everybody to help… Volodya has flown to Washington three times already to see the authorities, but all in vain. As if the government consists of deaf and blind people. Apparently, it’s next to impossible to achieve the truth and justice here if you are an immigrant.

However, we all know that our Lord, the sinless, was also persecuted. It must have hurt Him so much that He was wronged so unfairly… But our Lord endured everything and wrote to us: “If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” It’s true. In Russia they persecuted us for being believers, and there are people in the US, who persecute us for being Russians. What can you do about it? The only thing left is to trust in the Lord. It’s only in Him that our deliverance will come.

But the thing is during the fifteen months that Valery was in jail, four people repented due to his sermons. Three of them were there for murder. And the fourth was, in fact, a Satanist, but has now renounced Satan and believes in the Lord. And this is great joy.

And Valery himself has strengthened spiritually there, his eyes completely changed. They became sort of kinder and more gentle… The Lord has brought forth the precious from the vile. Even though Valery was in jail, which means locks, guards, prison clothes, a tiny cell, what could be viler? But the Lord, through Valery, acquired four souls for eternity. Not every presbyter or missionary can brag about such sheaves, despite being free from these chains.

It turns out that the Lord is watching over His Word and never leaves those who trust in Him ... So, we shouldn’t complain, but must humble ourselves and thank God that He awarded Valery with an opportunity to suffer for the good of these human souls, so dear to the Lord.

It’s amazing how time flies! It’s already two in the morning, but sleep is still not coming… “No, the Lord won’t leave Valery to be mocked by the wicked, but He will deliver Him with His arm. The Lord won’t let those who trust in Him be put to shame… Here, in the Psalm we can read soulful words, that like a guidebook, tell you what to do: “I lift up my eyes to You, to You Who sit enthroned in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till He shows us His mercy. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured no end of contempt. We have endured no end of ridicule from the arrogant, of contempt from the proud.”

O Lord, watch over us in need, destroy, O Lord, the wicked, protect Your children from trouble…“Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.” The Lord gave us an incredible treasure – His Word. It can cheer up, and instruct, and soothe, and warm with hope, and fill with joy, expose and comfort like a warm sun. Like a wise man it will teach you the wisdom of life, like the eternal light, it will show you the way in the dark”…

Wondrous is the Lord! Great and incomprehensible, patient and merciful, His wisdom is unexaminable, inexhaustible. One Psalm is more beautiful than another… The Word of the Lord is a great consolation for us. He is great protection for all the poor, offended and unfairly oppressed, for all who trust in Him…

Meanwhile, time flies so fast… It’s nearly four in the morning, the dawn will break soon… Time flew by as if it never existed. It feels like the pain in my chest has gotten a little better…

Whether you like it or not, years take their toll. I’ll be eighty-six in October, if the Lord allows me to live that long. It seems that just yesterday I ran barefoot to watch my mom and dad working in the field, and now I’m turning eighty-six. It all has been like a dream.

When after the revolution we moved to Moscow, my father couldn’t support me any longer, and since I was twelve, I had to earn my living and learn at a factory training school.  But it was okay, the Lord saved me, I managed to survive and continue my studies. When I grew up, the romance of the sky attracted me as well as many other young people. I entered the flight school in Irkutsk and studied to be a pilot. We flew over Siberian expanses, breathed in the Siberian air, jumped with parachutes… Two years later I came back to Moscow with a pilot’s degree.

At that time, young people were especially driven to study. We all lived in poverty, had to watch every penny, planned in advance our tiny allowances with mathematical precision, what exactly we would spend it on, so that we could keep studying…

           When I entered the Moscow Institute of Chemistry, I immediately promised myself: "I will be a straight A student." And so I did. I received my diploma with honors. However, sometimes I had to live with five other people in a tiny room, often from hand to mouth, but everybody studied well. There was no time to think about theatres and cinemas. We spent entire days in libraries.

        Then the war started. Right after the exams, all my classmates and I came to the military registration and enlistment office and volunteered for the army. Oh, how many guys were killed back then… Young, strong and handsome ones… At that time we were just planning to start our lives. And some of us didn’t get to live them…

        My only brother Volodya also passed away due to complications caused by the war. He served all his term without a scratch, but returned home with tuberculosis. Doctors couldn’t do anything and he died…

           So many lives were destroyed by the war, so many sorrows and tears I have seen, so much human suffering. God only knows what people had to go through. He allowed great trials for all people, for our sins ...

        It was then that I began to reflect deeply about the Lord. Our mother, Anna Semenovna, while we were in the army, believed in the Lord and incessantly prayed for me and Volodya, testifying to all of us, and especially to Volodya. At that time many people turned to God. You don’t feel like joking when death looks you in the eye. The ideals of the party won’t get you very far, such matters require some solid hope…

        Apparently, that was God’s plan: to take Volodya and to awaken me to repentance through his death. I believed that the Lord calmed him in His abodes. He passed quietly, as if having received some lightness before his death… His face kind of brightened, there was no fear in his eyes, he smiled a little and fell silent forever…

        I guess, at my age, I don’t have that much time myself. Soon the Lord our Savior will call me to His eternal Kingdom. I will meet Volodya, and mother, and many others there… God willing, all my children and grandchildren will some day gather there with the Lord, and we’ll live with the Lord, never parting again, without grief, troubles, or sorrows…

        Well, now my eyelids got a little heavier. Maybe, God willing, I’ll fall asleep before dawn. And here I thought that the Lord took all the sleep away from me tonight… Thank God…

Chapter 3

        On that memorable August morning, Sergey Alexandrovich woke up later than usual. Even he himself couldn’t tell whether he had slept or was spending time in suffocating oblivion caused by weakness, pain and fatigue.

        Having opened his eyes, he saw the sun was higher than he was used to seeing it. The greenery wall, pierced by the rays of the morning sun, was, as usual, rustling behind the window that overlooked the backyard overgrown with shade trees, that were the same age as Sergey Alexandrovich.

        The nearby river with a sublime and poetic name “Sacramento” abundantly supplied all the trees in the area with underground water throughout the year, and they gratefully spread their luxurious branches along its winding banks. In the fertile Californian climate, they grow pretty impressive in size.

        A couple of such trees grew in the garden behind Sergey Alexandrovich’s family’s rental house of a few years. Sergey Alexandrovich lived with his wife Lidia Grigoryevna and their eldest daughter Maria, who had recently become a grandmother. His other children lived nearby with their families. Only their youngest daughter, Elena, after her wedding moved to Oklahoma with her husband and daughter.

        “Thank God, the Lord by His grace gave us another day. Glory to Him… It’s almost nine. I should have gotten up a long time ago. But for some reason I’m still ill, and I don’t feel like getting up… No, I shouldn’t let myself fall apart. I must go wash my face, make some mint tea and take something for the pain in my stomach, that won’t go away… And then, who knows, I might feel better…”

        Sergey Alexandrovich sat on the bed a little longer, and then, fighting weakness and slight dizziness, went to the kitchen. When he was putting the kettle on the stove, Lidia Grigoryevna came in:

-      Sergey, what do you want for breakfast?

-      I’ve been unwell since yesterday evening, - he answered, - I suffered through the whole night without sleep. Mint tea would be good. I’ll go lie down again while you’re making it…

He never left his room again. Lidia Grigoryevna made him mint tea and gave him a pill, but no improvement followed. The pain didn’t subside, but rose even higher in his chest.

-      Lidia, I feel really bad. Maybe, we should call an ambulance, they could give me a shot… My chest is burning and the nausea isn’t getting better… Have mercy on me, Lord.

Chapter 4

        Natalia Sergeevna, the sixth daughter of Sergey Alexandrovich, started her day early as usual. She had a lot of things planned and everything was scheduled to the minute. First, she would take the kids to school, and then finish packing parcels that were going to be sent to Tashkent. College classes were supposed to start the following week, and then she wouldn’t have time for anything.

        After two hours of work, the packages were almost done. It was time to think about lunch, then pick up the kids from school, feed them and help them with homework. That’s how the day would fly by.

        “I’ll make pumpkin dumplings for lunch, - Natalia thought, - mom and dad will come over. Andrey might come too. They’ll enjoy the dumplings, nice and steaming, right off the stove. Dad just loves them. I need to call mom and tell her we are having lunch at our place.”

-      Hi, mom, how are you? Don’t cook anything for lunch today. I’ll put pumpkin dumplings on the stove in ten minutes. So take dad and come to us. Andrey might stop by, he’s at the auction… What? You can’t? Is dad unwell? But he visited us yesterday and was walking fine. He’s been moaning all morning, but doesn’t want to go to the hospital?

Fifteen minutes later, Natalia was already at her parents’.

-      Dad, what’s wrong with you? I’ve made an appointment in the clinic on Harbor. The doctor will see you. Just don’t worry, everything will be all right.

-      Natalia, I won’t be able to get to the doctor. Everything hurts inside…

-      Dad, you really are very weak. Maybe, I should call an ambulance? Wait a minute, I’ll call Volodya… Dad, Volodya too says we should call an ambulance. There in the hospital they’ll find out what the problem is. And Galina is on her way here.

Chapter 5

Galina Sergeevna’s morning work finished at 11. Fifteen minutes later she was home. Even though August days are still summer holidays, her younger son Sergey was already at school. The school in their neighborhood was so overcrowded with students that classes continued all year round without summer holidays. Only her eldest son Alyosha was at home.

Upon arriving home, Galina found that Alyosha had just woken up.

-      Here we go! I knew it, - Galina said in a deliberately angry voice, seeing Alyosha’s disheveled head in the bedroom doorway. He was trying to tell her something with a guilty smile. – Mom and dad are working, - she continued, - Sergey is at school, while Alyosha is lounging around sleeping to his heart’s content. So? What is this supposed to mean? Listen here. This instant, wash your face, make your bed, and I’ll make something for breakfast. Understood?

Alyosha eagerly nodded his head and glad that he got away so easily, darted to the shower. Soon they were sitting at the table, each pleased in their own way. Alyosha – because everything worked out well, Galina – because everything at home was in order. And then the phone rang.

-      Mom, it’s aunt Natalia calling. She says it’s urgent. – Alyosha said, handing her the receiver.

-      Natalia, hi! What? Dad is sick? Okay, I’ll be right there.

Galina came up to the sink and was about to do the dishes, when all of a sudden she heard a distinct voice inside her say: “Galina, hurry up. You’ll never see your father again.” It sounded so shockingly clear and real, that having ordered Alyosha to clean up in the kitchen, Galina grabbed her purse and rushed to her parents’. Luckily, they were just a couple of minute drive away.

 Chapter 6

After drinking tea with honey, Sergey Alexandrovich, fully dressed, laid down on the bed. Having found a more or less comfortable position, in which the pain felt less acute, he started to gradually doze off, warmed by the hot tea. Fatigue after the sleepless night also added up.

Some time later, Natalia came in and said that she had made an appointment with the doctor… and they needed to go… she said something else, but he didn’t want to do anything… Natalia left and he started falling into oblivion similar to restless and fitful sleep. People who have been in such a state can’t tell if they were really sleeping, or simply laying with their eyes closed trying to fall asleep and not to think about anything.

It happens that after a particularly rough day at work, people, feeling absolutely exhausted and overworked, suddenly discover, that when they finally reach their bed, surprisingly, they can’t fall asleep. Apparently, their bodies, while engaged in a relentless pace of work, or any exciting activities, are sometimes unable to stop and relax immediately, as if still continuing their internal run.

That’s what was going on with Sergey Alexandrovich. In spite of a particularly difficult night, and even though he felt very tired due to the pain and insomnia, and various thoughts, - he couldn’t sleep.

After a while, Galina and Lidia Grigoryevna entered the room and brought some clean clothes. Galina started chirping right away:

-      Good afternoon, daddy! Natalia called me and said that you weren’t feeling well. We thought we should call an ambulance, they will look at you and decide what to do next. Okay? Mom and I will help you change, and meanwhile, tell me where it hurts so that when the ambulance comes, I can explain everything to them.

Having finished changing his clothes, Galina went to the phone and dialed the combination of numbers everybody in the US knows by heart – 911.

The immigrants that came in our wave are still surprised by the fact that when you call an ambulance in the US, all the three services – the police, an ambulance and a fire truck show up. In the overwhelming majority of cases, firefighters come first, moreover, they are trained and equipped with everything necessary to help in a medical emergency no less than any ambulance.

This was also the case here. Having entered the room, without further ado, they opened two big bags with a first aid kit. That specific smell of medications, which greets you when you enter a pharmacy or the doctor’s office, started slowly filling the room.

The next minute they put an oxygen mask on Sergey Alexandrovich, attached electrodes of an EKG machine to his chest and started taking his pulse and blood pressure. Meanwhile, a medical team arrived. Sergey Alexandrovich’s small room became very crowded: two doctors, two firefighters, Galina, a few big bags with medical equipment. Lidia Grigoryevna was standing in the doorway, silently watching how the doctors worked, surprised that her old man had caused such a stir.

Sergey Alexandrovich didn’t understand English, and looking at their troubled faces, he was trying to figure out what they were going to do with him. He didn’t want to go to the hospital at all. He remembered very well that a year and a half before Lidia Grigoryevna had been taken there and wasn’t let go for several days.

“Just wait till you get there… They’ll keep you there until you are completely fed up with it. … Just give me some shot… I will sleep long and well, and it will go away…” – Sergey Alexandrovich thought.

Contrary to expectations, the cardiogram didn’t show anything unusual, his blood pressure was normal as well. The doctor silently pondered something and then finally said:

-      I think we need to take your father to the hospital. The cardiogram is actually not bad, but there’s something unusual about the whole situation…

The doctors began to pack their bags. “Well, I guess I dodged a bullet, - Sergey Alexandrovich thought, - apparently, the doctors didn’t see any serious problems… That’s good. I’ll stay in bed for a little longer and everything will be fine…”

He was already going to ask Galina if they could give him a shot, when she told him:

-      Dad, they say you need to go to the hospital with them. The doctor is asking you if you can walk to the ambulance by yourself.

“No, didn’t work”- Sergey Alexandrovich thought and said:

-      Well, I’ll try.

He prepared to stand up, waiting for the room to clear out a little.

-      Everybody out, then! – the doctor commanded, lifted her bag, and walked out of the room.

Sergey Alexandrovich tried to sit up. Two firemen from the fire brigade grabbed him under the arms, started helping him and promptly made him sit on the edge of the bed with his feet on the floor.

From then on, the events flashed, rapidly replacing one another like pictures in a kaleidoscope. Suddenly Sergey Alexandrovich felt a violent attack of nausea that seized his throat as a result of an unexpected and extreme dizziness.

-      Galina, I’m sick, very sick – Sergey Alexandrovich managed to say. His head helplessly fell on his chest, and he was sitting, supported on both sides by firefighters, who didn’t yet understand what had happened.

-      Mom, dad is dying! – Galina shrilled, interrupting the momentary confusion, seeing that her father’s lowered face gradually showed a look of indifference and his eyes froze, staring at one point.

Then the firefighters realized what was going on. They raised Sergey Alexandrovich’s head with their hands and seeing that he showed no sign of life, they grabbed his limp body from both sides and with quick steps almost ran into the yard.

There they put him on the ambulance stretcher, that was left by the door in front of the steps and immediately performed CPR.

After several attempts the doctor managed to insert a tube for pulmonary ventilation into his throat, while one sturdy firefighter, having put one hand on top of the other, was doing rhythmical compressions on the left side of Sergey Alexandrovich’s chest.

Lidia Grigoryevna, who once studied at a medical institute, understood well what such procedures meant. She came up to the stretcher, on the side across from the fireman and carefully took Sergey Alexandrovich’s weak hand, that in all those years together had become so beloved and familiar, trying to feel his pulse… But in vain. The pulse was gone.

It lasted several minutes. Then the firefighters ran the stretcher across the yard and deftly pushed it into the ambulance. The rear doors slammed shut and the next second the truck, piercing the air with the sound of the siren, shot forward and rushed in the direction of the hospital, for the last time driving Sergey Alexandrovich along his street.

The fire brigade followed it with an interval of several seconds. Having hastily slammed the door of her Taurus, Galina drove after them with her hazard lights on, trying to keep up.

Only Lidia Grigoryevna, not yet fully realizing what had happened, remained standing in a suddenly deserted alley. They had lived side by side, the two of them… For forty-nine years… And there you go. Her old man had been taken away… Her heart refused to accept the fact that it happened to OUR FAMILY.

"Lord, what will happen to him?" - she sighed, and tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.

She was standing there, not noticing the midday heat, looking at the road the trucks had rushed down, as if hoping that they were just about to return. Her husband would get out of the red and white ambulance and tell her: “See, I told you I didn’t need to go to the hospital!” And the doctor would happily smile at him as if saying goodbye and say: “Don’t get sick anymore, Sir!”

But everything remained the same. This sudden silence, that had fallen after the whirlwind of events, seemed unnatural and strange to Lidia Grigoryevna.

All of a sudden Lydia Grigorievna noticed that some neighbors were standing nearby with anxious faces. Not waiting for the question, she told them herself: “Our grandpa has probably died” – inside she was surprised at the strange sound of these words, to which she was not yet accustomed.

They stood together in silence for a little longer, and then she quietly entered the empty house…

 Chapter 7

Having put his feet on the floor and trying to find his shoes, Sergey Alexandrovich suddenly felt a strange and powerful wave rising inside him and pushing all his insides up. At first he thought it was a severe attack of dizziness and nausea. Like a passenger, travelling on winding mountain roads, exhausted by serpentine turns, suddenly realizes there’s another turn ahead and an attack of vomiting is inevitable, the feeling inside Sergey Alexandrovich was incredibly rapid and strong. He felt that a powerful current was carrying him along, every moment increasing its speed.

Then he understood that this wave wouldn’t stop any time soon, but on the contrary, just started its impetuous run.

Remembering last night’s attacks of vomiting, he shouted: “Galina, I’m sick, I’m sick.” In the background of these increasing sensations, the pain, that acutely burned in his chest when he was put on the edge of the bed, receded. And then it completely disappeared, absorbed by this powerful accelerating current.

This is how the turbines of an airplane ready for take off, start turning and fill the cabin of the aircraft with a special sound. The engine whine gets louder and louder, its overtones rise higher and higher, until the sound finally reaches its limit.

Having taken their seats, passengers subconsciously feel that from now on they become a part of this plane and their lives for the several hours of the flight will depend on the right sound of these turbines. Like it or not, now every ear is attentively listening to any changes in the sound of the turbines of the flying aircraft.

Similarly, Sergey Alexandrovich understood: it was more than just an attack of nausea and dizziness. Something much more powerful was imperiously drawing his whole being into some space he was not yet familiar with.

A few moments later, he crossed a kind of border inside himself and forgot that he had just been sick, while the inner speed continued its dramatically increasing run, filling Sergey Alexandrovich’s inner world with new unprecedented colors and sensations.

Feeling that this flight had gone far beyond the limits of his experience, Sergey Alexandrovich closed his eyes, trying to take control of his sensations. Suddenly it seemed that he was making progress and a pleasant wave of relief ran through his body. He felt that the sensation of the flight and dizziness had disappeared, and his entire being became filled with extraordinary lightness and vigor.

A thought flashed through his mind: “No way! I definitely won’t go to the hospital now…” At that very moment he opened his eyes and saw a person, he had never seen before, standing against the far wall of his room, next to the windows overlooking the garden. Looking directly at Sergey Alexandrovich, he smiled broadly and openly, and his eyes radiated so much sincere warmth and sympathy that Sergey Alexandrovich thought : it was because of this look that he felt better.

The amazing stranger was dressed in loose pure white clothes as if he was about to be baptized. At first, Sergey Alexandrovich assumed that it was another doctor, to whom he immediately felt some kind of special disposition.

Unable to take his eyes off him, Sergey Alexandrovich felt how a wave of peace and warmth started to fill his every cell with an outstanding tranquility and clarity, making his recent worries and concerns seem small and insignificant. The fire truck and ambulance with doctors, and even his own recent suffering seemed to him minor and distant.

All parts of his body felt light and strong. That’s how a young man wakes up in the morning after a deep and healthy sleep. Rested and vigorous, he has enough energy and cheerfulness to fly to the end of the world.

Experiencing all these emotions, Sergey Alexandrovich was unable to hold back the increasing feeling of strength and optimism. He got up from the bed and stepped forward as easily and confidently as he had done only in the years of his youth.

The joy, shining on this man’s face, was involuntarily passed on to Sergey Alexandrovich, causing a surge of inexpressible peace and delight in his soul. Stretching out his hand to him, the man said: “Sergey Alexandrovich, let’s go home…” And then he hugged him, so heartily and warmly that against his will, tears of joy and gratitude came to Sergey Alexandrovich’s eyes.

Breaking the hug, Sergey Alexandrovich looked back and saw that… Sergey Alexandrovich was still sitting on his bed, with his head lifelessly lying on his chest, supported on both sides by the men from the fire brigade…

And then he realized: his earthly duties were over, and now he was standing next to the Heavenly Messenger, who gave him such a wonderful state of mind, relieving him from his suffering.

At that moment he heard Galina cry: “Mom, dad is dying!” He heard the woman from the ambulance shout: “Carry him to the car right now!” – and saw her promptly put an oxygen mask on him.

He saw how the firemen grabbed his body and quickly carried it to the stretcher in the yard…

He saw how the pale and frightened face of his wife Lidia Grigoryevna appeared for a moment in the doorway… From a bird’s eye view he saw how he was put on the stretcher sitting in their small yard… How doctors started running around his body…

Rising higher, he saw his daughter Natalia’s house … Further across the street, nearby were houses of his eldest grandson Nikolay and his son Sasha. He caught a glimpse of the familiar building of the Bryte church… the big road behind it… And then, carried along by some unknown, but so natural force, Sergey Alexandrovich and his Heavenly Messenger went up, heading for the eternal abode of Heaven…

 Chapter 8

This day will always remain in the memory of Sergey Alexandrovich’s numerous relatives as a day of sadness and parting with the patriarch of the family. We lost a zealous prayer, who constantly stood before the Lord asking Him to help with all the family’s many needs. He was also our pioneer, who together with Lidia Grigoryevna, his eldest son Volodya and his family, and two younger children was the first “to discover America” for the other relatives.

In the evening of this sad day almost all our close relatives gathered in a humble house, where Sergey Alexandrovich and Lidia Grigoryevna had lived for several years.

The sudden loss of a loved one weighed on our minds: “Oh, God! Our grandpa died… So unexpectedly, in just one little second. He sat up on his bed and died…”

We talked a lot about the past, again and again reminiscing over episodes of Sergey Alexandrovich’s life. Suddenly, we were all struck by a thought: none of us could remember a single situation, in which dad had deceived someone. No one could convict him of lying, slyness, or hypocrisy. It was a great testimony to all of us.

The news about Sergey Alexandrovich’s death quickly spread throughout our immigrant community. He was known and loved in many churches. He eagerly visited both, “the separated” and “the registered”, participated in two or three praying groups. He lived in West Sacramento for nearly eleven years, and almost all immigrants of the new wave had met Sergey Alexandrovich upon arrival.

Therefore, his funeral was crowded, which in itself is quite unusual for an eighty-five year old man. The tables at the reception that were meant to serve three hundred people barely fit all those present. That’s how he left us for eternity, having quietly and righteously lived the time God gave him. He showed us a good example of imperceptible and meek service to God, an example of constant prayer and care for the people around him, both close and distant.

His life wasn’t a burden to anyone, as wasn’t his death, which can’t be easily called death as we usually imagine it: for the Lord just brought Sergey Alexandrovich up from this earth, moving him to eternity in one second.

“Everything has its time” – the wise King Solomon once said. So Sergey Alexandrovich had the time of his life, then the time for his death came, and now the time of his funeral was over…

A month and a half flew by. All the children, grandchildren and Lidia Grigoryevna agreed to organize an evening in memory of Sergey Alexandrovich for all the relatives.

Volodya ordered a tombstone, and everybody was supposed to gather and choose a quote from Scripture for it, as well as remember our life with grandpa, sing psalms, read the Word of God, talk and pray. When loving relatives get together, they always have something to talk about, they are never bored. The choice fell on Friday, September 22^nd, and Galina’s house was selected as the location. In conversations, time was passing quickly. Lidia Grigoryevna, children and grandchildren recalled different situations from Sergey Alexandrovich’s life and episodes from our childhood.

The pain of parting was gradually replaced by acceptance of the inevitable: after all, every person’s life will end. Of course, we grieved over our loss, but we also thanked God that grandpa lived for eighty-five years. Not every inhabitant of the earth reaches this age.

We were happy for grandpa, to whom the Lord granted such grace of literally moving him to His Kingdom. He didn’t experience the anguish of death, didn’t lie in bed for years, didn’t gradually dry up from some illness, but the Lord lifted him up in an instant.

Is this not God’s mercy to His righteous? Therefore, we unanimously decided to take a quote from the Book of Isaiah: “The righteous perish… Those who walk uprightly enter into peace…” (Isaiah 57: 1-2)

We also recalled funny incidents from our childhood. At the age of about forty-five, Sergey Alexandrovich had a peculiar hobby. Working as a chemical engineer, he had to go on a lot of business trips. So, returning from another business trip, he loved to gather the whole gang of his children and take them to the park. Needless to say, how happy and delighted we were, when the whole crowd of us was walking with dad to the bus stop.

But the real fun began later. It must be noted that Sergey Alexandrovich had always been in great physical shape. He went running and swimming, did gymnastics. At fifty, he could easily do pull-up bar rollovers.

At the bus stop, he put us on a bus and we, knowing beforehand what was going to happen, lined up in the back of the bus, trying to stand closer to the window. The bus started to move and dad would run next to it for two stops, before he eventually joined us.

Just imagine what joy it was for our little hearts and how uniquely happy those moments were. We squealed and screamed, jumped up and down, holding on the handrails, and clapped our hands. It was a time of indescribable delight and exultation. When dad finally got on the bus, we were on cloud nine, so happy and proud of him.

And it had always been like that. Our dad had never fallen behind or missed the bus. On the contrary, he usually got to the stop faster than the bus.

But then one day, for some reason, dad came too late. Maybe the bus didn’t stop at the first stop, or something else prevented our dad from running fast enough, we didn’t remember, but the fact remained: the bus with the kids drove off, and dad was left behind.

The following events reminded us of an adventure novel. It was not funny anymore, and we, confused and not knowing what to do, got off the bus several stops later. Looking around, we decided that the best solution would be to sit in clear view and wait for our dad to come running. We naively believed that he would just keep running after the bus. Then he would surely see us and we would be saved.

In the meantime, dad, by some miracle, found a motorcyclist friend, with whom they rushed at full speed after the unfortunate bus. Somewhere halfway to the city center they caught up with it. Dad jumped on, but there was already no trace of us. The driver didn’t see anything. Some passengers remembered that there had been children, but didn’t know what stop they had gotten off at.

Dad and the motorcyclist flat out raced back, looking at sidewalks, curbs and down alleyways along the way. Luckily for everyone, the ending of this story was happy, just like in a Bollywood movie. Thank God, dad managed to find us. But that was a real hair-raiser for everyone.

That memorable night was spent simply; we shared warm memories and thanked God for our dad and grandpa. The family offered Sergey Alexandrovich’s eldest son Volodya, who had recently become a grandfather, to make the closing speech.

In simple words of prayer, he spoke to God and thanked Him for the opportunity to live with our dad for such a long time. For so many good and kind examples that dad had left us, being a truly righteous man. Volodya thanked God that He accepted and rested dad’s soul in His abodes of heaven.

In conclusion, Volodya uttered words that absolutely everyone remembered. According to the unanimous opinion of all those present, these words played a crucial role in the events of the coming night. That’s the outline of Volodya’s prayer: “Now, Lord, on behalf of all of us, say hello to our dad. Tell him, Lord, that we love him no less and look forward to meeting him at Your feet, Lord ... Amen. "

That’s how this pleasant family evening ended. In our minds we talked to our grandpa, recalling the old days, and then, serene and grateful, we went home.

No one could have imagined that on that night the Lord prepared for us a wonderful gift of His revelation, that He gave to Alyosha, Galina’s eldest son.

The second part of the story is written from Alyosha’s words. We tried to convey what happened the way the boy told us about it.

 PART TWO

A CONVERSATION WITH THE FUTURE

           After the evening in memory of Sergey Alexandrovich, Galina’s entire family sank into a deep sleep. Fourteen-year-old Alyosha suddenly woke up at around four in the morning. Having looked at the clock at the head of his bed, he closed his eyes, intending to get some more sleep. At that moment, the room was suddenly flooded with a huge beam of light, which made its way even through his closed eyelids. Alyosha tried to open his eyes and saw such a bright and powerful light that he thought he was about to go blind. Then Alyosha saw an angel standing in the center of this light. It made him so frightened, he screamed.

        “But God prevented anyone in the house from hearing my scream” – the boy said afterwards.

        The Angel immediately told him: “Alyosha, don’t be afraid. Come with me, I’ll show you something wonderful.”

        Then the Angel took his hand and they started climbing right through the ceiling towards the sky. At this moment, Alyosha turned around, looked back at his bed and saw; his body was still lying on it.

At the very beginning of their journey, they met a lot of demons. Alyosha said that they varied widely in size: from tiny to huge. Some of them grimaced and stuck out their tongues at him, some tried to touch him, but fearing the Angel, none of them dared to come close.

Having arrived in the sky, they stopped at a big golden gate. To his surprise, Alyosha noticed that all his relatives were following him up. Each of them was accompanied by their Angel. Among them Alyosha noticed his grandma Lidia Grigoryevna, all Sergey Alexandrovich’s children and grandchildren – his cousins.

As soon as everyone got together, the gate opened and Sergey Alexandrovich ran out. He was incredibly young, happy and very-very cheerful. He looked about twenty-five. He started hugging everyone right away. The first one he hugged was our grandma Lidia Grigoryevna, he also hugged her longer than the others. Then he hugged Galina, Natalia, greeted all his children and grandchildren in turn. Sergey Alexandrovich said that he missed us a lot and was looking forward to our meeting there.

Following him, great-grandmother walked out of the gate. She hugged my mom tightly and cried out: “Galina!” She was also very young. This fact left us greatly astonished. Indeed, when we lived in Tashkent, our great-grandmother, the mother of our grandpa Grigory Dmitrievich had lived with us for a long time. God gave her a long life and she died in the late 60s at the age of ninety-four.

It’s interesting that we used to call our mother’s mother “grandma” (she died in 2005), as it should be, while our great-grandmother was referred to as “granny”. Nobody remembers anymore who started calling her that and when. As children, we just took it for granted. The most curious thing is that out of all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren it was Galina who she particularly loved and was attached to.

Alyosha, who was born in 1986, had never seen granny and didn’t even know about her existence. And the fact that she loved Galina very much had long been forgotten.

Alyosha’s story made us remember that our granny in fact did love Galina a lot. We even recalled this episode. Every year granny knitted a pair of woolen socks for all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren to wear in winter. Each got one pair, whereas Galina got two, and not simple ones, but decorated with a colorful thread woven at the ankle.

Galina asked Alyosha: “How did you know it was our granny?”

To this he replied: “Mom, in heaven a person knows everything. In the sky, we use one hundred percent of our brain.”

Then Alyosha said that there was another grandfather who knew all of us. Apparently, it was our grandfather Grigory Dmitrievich. He died in 1986, the year when Alyosha was born. Therefore, Alyosha had never seen him on earth and didn’t know him.

Then we all entered the golden gate. Walking in, Alyosha saw a lot of Angels. They were flying, walking, rising up and singing beautifully. Alyosha asked one Angel where he was flying to. The Angel told him that he was flying to earth to help and protect someone.

“But there were two outstanding people there. – Alyosha said. – They met us right at the entrance as soon as we walked in the gate. They were very different from the Angels.”

One of Them, according to Alyosha's description, was very similar to the image of Christ from the Shroud of Turin, painted by an American artist. Alyosha couldn’t see the Second Man’s face, just the light from His face and a precious crown on His head. Alyosha was absolutely sure that it was God Himself.

We asked Alyosha:

-      And what were the Angels wearing?

He answered:

-      They all were dressed in a kind of long white cloaks.

We also asked:

-      How tall were the Angels?

In response, he showed with his hands that the Angels were about twelve or sixteen inches taller than him. Thus, we determined that the Angels were a little over 6’5 tall.

Behind the golden gate, an amazingly beautiful panorama of a large fragrant garden opened before Alyosha’s eyes. Everywhere the eyes could see were various beautiful trees of all kinds and shapes, emerald green shrubs of the most bizarre outlines, colors and tints were all around.

This colorful picture of contrasts was complemented by the exceptionally beautiful and even grass that filled all the space between the trees. The edges of the paths were adorned with smooth lines of bright diamonds that highlighted lines where the grass started.

Alyosha did not see any buildings, houses, palaces, or streets there, only this large garden of amazing beauty that stretched as far as he could see. Even though the light was very bright, Alyosha couldn’t see the sun. He couldn’t remember the source of this light. It’s interesting that God called Alyosha a new name and said that he would be called differently. But this name also slipped Alyosha’s memory.

God spoke to Alyosha and ordered him to tell everyone else about this event when he came back to earth, because none of those present would be able to remember it. Then God started to tell His wishes to everyone present. Unfortunately, Alyosha remembered only some of them.

First, God spoke to Artur, the eldest son of Elizaveta, Sergey Alexandrovich’s daughter. God told him:

-      Artur, you need to change your ways.

Then God turned to Yegor, Elizaveta’s second son, and told him to stop teasing his little brothers.

Elizaveta said that, as a matter of fact, Yegor could easily make his little brothers cry with his jokes and pranks.

God greatly praised Valery, one of Sergey Alexandrovich's grandsons, for the fact that when he was in jail, four people repented due to his sermon. God promised Valery a big reward for these saved souls. God also told aunt Vera, Sergey Alexandrovich’s daughter, that she was very good and kind and that she was doing well…

Moreover, God told Galina to stop getting angry and shouting at her kids. Galina shook her head and agreed that it was true. Sometimes she was overly upset and took the kids’ mischievous deeds too personally.

God asked the Angels to bring the souls of Alyosha’s two cousins from his father’s side before Him. He gave them a special instruction not to listen to rock music if they wanted to go to heaven.

After that the Angels offered us to eat and we all ate incredibly tasty and sweet grapes. The size of one bunch of these grapes was bigger than a human’s height.

After the meal, we all went wandering around this wonderful garden and Christ asked Alyosha what else he would like to see there. Then Alyosha asked Jesus to show him the Leviathan. He heard about him when Galina was reading the Book of Job to them, and was very surprised that such a big beast existed. And Christ showed him this monster.

 Alyosha saw how a part of the earth, as if in something similar to a ray of light, suddenly came close to them, and then, right in the ocean, Alyosha could see this beast at a distance of only tens of yards from him.

The boy was terrified, but Christ comforted him, saying:

-      Don’t be afraid, Alyosha. It won’t do you any harm.

This monster looked like a giant snake-like eel. Just one eye of this fantastic creature, according to Alyosha, was as big as an average room.

We asked what kind of skin this monster had. Alyosha said that the Leviathan’s skin looked like it was made of tiles. Apparently, the monster was covered with a shell that given the enormous size looked exactly like tiles upon close examination. Then Alyosha wanted to see dinosaurs, which he knew a lot about from books and movies. And again a particular piece of earth started moving closer to him as if in a kind of ray of light and he saw that place on earth as if he himself had been there. The dinosaurs were very big. There were also medium-sized and small ones.

Then Alyosha wanted to see the life of Moses. He and his mother had very recently watched a cartoon about Moses and he was very impressed by it.

He saw Moses in a basket floating in the river, how he was taken to the palace, how he grew up there and became rich, how he ran away and later returned to the Pharaoh, bearded and gray-haired. But Alyosha didn’t see how Moses led people out of Egypt. Describing slaves, he said they were dark-skinned and resembled Mexicans.

Then Alyosha wanted to see his grandfather during the war. No one had ever told him about it in detail, so about grandpa’s injury the boy knew only from hearsay.

He saw people around shooting different kinds of weapons, countless planes were dropping bombs and there were an awful lot of explosions. People were trying to hide from the bombing and shooting. A bomb from one plane landed where grandpa was standing. If he hadn’t run aside, the explosion would have blown his leg off.

Grandpa ran to the side and fell into the brush, unconscious. Russians passed by and thought that he was dead, so no one approached him.

Then Alyosha asked Christ to show him his mother’s childhood.

He saw Galina when she was about six years old. He saw how she and Elizaveta (there’s just one-year age gap between them) were admitted to the hospital twice. Nobody remembered this. Only Lidia Grigoryevna could recall how her daughters were twice driven to the hospital by an ambulance. Christ was very sad that the girls had lived so poorly. Their father was very often away from home. He left, then came back and left again for a long time. Only grandma was always at home. She constantly cooked something and was busy all the time.

Galina asked Alyosha:

-      And where was the kitchen in our old house? Was it like here, in ours?

Alyosha said that the kitchen was in a separate building. His mom played the violin all the time, so the house was always filled with music. Then he was silent for a while. Suddenly he shuddered, as if still looking back in the past, and said:

-      Mom, there were tons of cockroaches in the kitchen…

This phrase really put us in the state of shock. Back in Tashkent we lived in a house, and our kitchen, in fact, was in a separate building, which is very typical in Uzbekistan, but absolutely not typical in the US or Europe. They usually don’t even build garages detached from the house, let alone kitchens. There were several Uzbek yards with cattle around our house. One of the yards was situated right behind the wall of our summer kitchen and no matter how hard we tried to get rid of the cockroaches, new hordes of them crawled back into our kitchen to replace the old ones.

We were at an incessant war with cockroaches, in which we constantly had to devise, test and apply most diverse “weapons of mass destruction” – chemical, biological and what have you. All known cockroach repellents and recipes from any sources available had been used. It seems that over the years of this battle, we gave rise to a special breed of cockroaches, that had developed a resistance to any type of chemicals. They are probably resistant to anything in the world and would easily survive an apocalypse. Like in an old funny song about an old man, a cricket and four cockroaches.

But here is a curious fact: Alyosha had never lived in Tashkent. When Galina got married, they moved to Moscow and lived there until leaving for the US, where Alyosha arrived at the age of three and a half.

During all that time, Galina brought Alyosha to Tashkent only once. He was not yet two years old then. Naturally, it’s impossible to remember something at this age. Especially the arrangement of buildings in our yard, which, as I said, was very atypical for the US, or Moscow, where everyone lives in big apartment buildings.

The last thing Alyosha wanted to see was the time of the Great Tribulation. He saw the Antichrist that would come from Russia and would be a Russian person. Galina asked him:

-      Alyosha, how do you know he will be Russian?

He answered briefly, as if it was something that should go without saying:

-      Mom, you know everything when you are there. I saw him. He had blue eyes and dark hair.

Furthermore, Alyosha saw many persecutions, special machines for exterminating people, he saw people rushing about the earth, in an attempt to save their lives. He saw it on the scale of the whole earth, in different countries and with different people. He saw his cousins already grown-up, they looked approximately ten years older.

He saw the great holiday when the entire earth celebrated the Antichrist’s victory. But according to Alyosha, after that, the persecutions would become even more terrible.

Finally, Christ said:

- Alyosha, it's time for you to return to earth.

        Alyosha really hated the idea of leaving this beautiful place, and he asked Christ if he could stay there. But Christ said that he would need to go back to earth and be there until the rise of the Antichrist…

        The Angel took Alyosha’s hand again and everyone who was there flew back to earth. All together.

        On the way back, Alyosha was mentally tormented by the question: what happened to his body? What if it started to rot? The Angel calmed him down, saying that everything would be all right.

Galina asked Alyosha:

-      How did you get back into your body?

He responded:

-      The Angel just put me back inside my body.

Galina clarified:

-      He put you on top of your body, and then you went inside?

-      No, - was the answer, - the Angel just put me right inside my body.

        Having opened his eyes, Alyosha looked at the clock and saw that it was six in the morning. His journey lasted for two hours. The last thing he remembered was that his body was cold as ice and he couldn’t get warm for another hour.

        That was the end of Alyosha’s wonderful vision, that the Lord, according to His providence, granted for our encouragement. It reminded us once again, that our home is in heaven, where the Lord and all our relatives and close people who have already rested at Jesus’ feet await us.