Chapter 1 Line Up in Heaven A "Welcome to another world" Everyone thinks that after finishing the journey of life, everything in the world is settled. After death, they will either sleep forever in the ground to rest in peace, or enter the kingdom of heaven to enjoy peace of mind and happiness.In fact, it is far from the same thing, at least not for children at all. thing. 1 As soon as you enter the kingdom of heaven, a group of adult "people" surround you. "Oh, brat!". "Little one, are you here to see your mother?" "No", when you tell them, "My mother is still alive!" They will make a fuss: "Tsk tsk! This is too shameful!" Listening to that tone, it seems that I should not die at such a young age, as if I committed a crime. What a mistake.They looked like they were accusing me of taking someone else's place in the Kingdom of Heaven.

"People over there always judge who can do what and who can't do what according to age and experience!" It seems that what Arthur (I'll talk about Arthur in a moment) is really right, the "over there" in the kingdom of heaven People are the same as people in "hometown". Arthur called what I called "home" "this side" and where the dead people stayed "over there," but I didn't like to call it that. 2 In normal storybooks, you think you're going to live a long life, and when you get really old, your body frails like a withered straw, and then dies, not at all weird.

Arthur told me it was better to die in your bed with your boots on, but I don't see it that way.I can't think of any valid reason for lying in bed with boots on - unless you're too sick to have the strength to take them off, in which case someone will do it for you anyway.Things aren't always as they appear in the storybooks, or even quite differently. Because people can die at all ages - people as young as me, people as old as my grandpa, and many more people between me and grandpa, all die. When you come to the "clerk's desk" (I'll tell you about the "clerk's desk" in a moment), you'll know that you're really dead and in another world. (But to be honest, there's really no other world, I haven't seen it anyway. The whole thing of dying seems to me like a cumbersome day-to-day paperwork.)

3 As soon as you die, you find yourself in a queue, and you have to wait a long time for the old elders before it's your turn to register.A "person" sits upright behind a large desk, looking you up and down through thick glasses. "Can I help you?" he asked. "What can a child like you do? You are too young to have a full life. What do you do? You shouldn't be here!—You You're riding a bike or something, you should get off the bike!" "Yes sir, I am riding a bicycle". The "person" looked at you again through thick glasses and said, "You should watch the road carefully before riding!"

You explained to him that you rode after looking after the road, and you were also very careful. Your death was not your fault at all, it was entirely due to the drunk driver. However, no matter what you say, you will not win the slightest sympathy from that "person". The "person" still insisted: "You shouldn't come here at all, you have to live another 72 years! You will use computer viruses to cause big troubles in the future, you came here too early! I just met And the computer! It used to be pens and ink and ledgers here--it was a hell of a time! I kind of want to send you back."

At this point, you think you have a lot of unwritten homework to do at home, so you say, "Okay! I don't mind going back, if you can keep that truck from hitting me." But as soon as he heard this, he immediately said: "Unfortunately, I can't do this, I just think so. I'm sorry, you can't go back! You see, there has never been such a precedent." So he starts filling out forms, typing your name into the computer.He then gives you a printed message that says "Welcome to another world". B No one knows what to do when they die. ——Just like people don't know what they should do in life

4 "Another world" is what people often call "heaven". There is also an arrow on the note, pointing to a small circle, which means "your current location"; another arrow points to another small circle, which means "the other side of the sky blue". It's so simple, I didn't even tell you how to get there! What a strange place the "other" world is!It's a bit like saying, "It's neither this world nor that world." But which world is it?If you point your hand at any place, this place is "here" instead of "another" world; if you randomly find a place on the map, that place is "there" instead of "another" world. "The world is gone.

The "other" world, which world is it?This is really nerve-wracking!There is simply no way to explain this kind of predicament, unless you try it yourself, you will know how powerful it is. 5 It is densely covered with trees, and there are many small dirt roads, long mountain paths, corners and endless fields everywhere.From time to time, road signs appear one by one, "This road leads to the other side of the sky blue".These road signs all point in the direction of the setting sun, and the sun keeps setting, but it never goes down. It stands to reason that the sun should have disappeared below the horizon long ago, but it still hangs in the sky, as if time has stood still.There are sunset colors everywhere, yellow, red and gold are intertwined, and there is a long sunset back, as if summer and autumn have come to spring together!

Although the scenery here is not bad, you still don't know where to go.There are only road signs directing you to some "blue shore", but no one to lead you there-it's not like you go to school on your first day, and your parents drive you. You're not completely without company, though, because every "person" you meet here is friendly and treats you well.Arthur said it was because everyone had gone the same way—to die. 6 If you stay in this place for a long time, you will definitely feel very depressed. In fact, "everyone" is uncomfortable.No one knows what to do when they are dead--just as no one knows what to do when they are alive.

Therefore, here, some people ask when they meet people: "What does this mean? What is the meaning of death?" I asked my dad about his death before, but he didn't take it seriously. He shrugged and said, "Don't worry about it, little one! We'll know the answer when we die." But he was wrong.Because after you die, you still don't know the answer.Like me, I'm completely out of breath, but I still don't understand how I got here or what happened.If you are like me, you really want to know what it means to be alive after you die, then you will be disappointed.

7 After a person dies for a period of time, the original memory will fade.I bet it was true, because I met old Mrs. Gramley, an old neighbor of ours, who doesn't know me at all now. "Hi! I'm Harry." I took the initiative to go up to greet her, "We used to live on the same street. Don't you remember? You picked me up from the stroller! I cried at that time, and you said it was the wind Made me cry when there was no wind at all. Don't you remember? I grew up a bit and you gave me chocolate chips! -Harry, don't you remember? I had a sister, I My dad works for a TV station, and my mom often works on the community committee." She looked at me for a long time, but still couldn't remember, "Honey, I really don't remember you." After she finished speaking, she left with her hands behind her back, as if she was pulling a trolley in a supermarket, but in fact, except for her fantasy, Nothing was pulled behind her. This could be a trolley from a Paradise supermarket filled with imaginary discounted items, many of which must be half-price. After she left, I remembered that she had been dead for 5 years.Anyone can change a lot in 5 years.I'm sure she looked a lot different the last time I saw her.But no matter what, I'm still a little disappointed, after all, it's an uncomfortable thing to be forgotten. I also met a few acquaintances I could think of: Mrs. Barnes, Mr. and Mrs. Gutt, Leslie Brigg, and Marby. Marby was surprised to see me, "Why are you here too? Where are your parents? Didn't they come first? What did you do?" "I was hit while riding." "Oh, how pitiful!" he said, "you are not hurt." He was very interesting, and I wasn't hurt at all.I was riding my bike across the road, very carefully and not too fast, but out of nowhere came a truck. The next thing I knew, I was here.But I'm not hurt at all.It's like pressing a button, and one second you were there, and a second later you're gone.It's like flipping a switch. Weird enough, weird enough!Disappeared like a prank. 8 After talking for a long time, you may still worry: what if the baby dies.As for me, if you see me, you probably think: "How old is this guy? He must be 10 or 12 years old. If he is 9 years old, he will be too tall. If he is 13 years old, he will be too tall." He's too short. But anyway, he can sort of take care of himself, but what about those new babies in that place?" In fact, you don’t have to worry too much, everyone will help each other here, unless you insist on refusing help from other “people”, otherwise there will be kind “people” who will help you solve your difficulties.No "person" is left behind here. Really, it's hard to say, unless you're dead yourself to fully understand what's going on.Anyway, that's all I can say, and it's up to you whether you understand it or not.Besides, no matter what, you wouldn't come to me in a hurry, would you?You still have plenty of time, and in the future you don't need to ask, you will understand everything. C "Excuse me, sir!" I asked him, "do I have to die long enough?" 9 If you say a thousand things and ten thousand things, I'm just dead.He was still jumping and dancing one minute, and completely lost his breath the next minute. How long do I have to die?I mean how do I pass the time?Is there anything interesting here?Is there football to play?Or is there something else interesting to do? So I went back to the big "clerk desk" and asked the guy sitting behind the computer. "Excuse me, sir!" I asked him, "do I have to die long enough?" "What?" he said. "Why do you ask such a strange question? Do you have an urgent appointment? Or do you have somewhere else to go and have to get out of here at once?" "Our family was going to Long Island for vacation." "It's unlucky for you to die at this hour," he answered me. "Are you dead, too?" I asked him. "Are you Mr. Grim Ripple? Is that you, Mr. Ripple?" He looked at me, muttered something, and said loudly, "Yes, I'm dead too! And dead people don't want to answer your stupid questions! Stop messing around here, I'm busy!" He can't just blame him for being so angry, there is still a queue in front of him, many "people" are waiting to register.This time I also saw dogs and cats in the procession.I figured they were as dead as their masters.Maybe other animals, like sheep and cows, have their own "other world", and it may still be a "blea-moo-quack-chirp-hum" world. But in any case, I was not very happy that I did not get a satisfactory answer. "Could you tell me how long I'm going to be dead?" I asked him again. "I can't hang around like this all the time. And it doesn't look like it's well managed. It's all messed up." "Whatever you want," he said with a shrug, "even if you're right, it's always been like this here!" He turned back to his computer and got busy.Look at him like that, as if he thinks he is some great big man, but I dare say that he is no different from us other dead people. D. Maybe we "people" In fact, they are all just memories, illusions or something? 10 I get it, no matter how long I stay here, he's not going to give me any useful answers.So I decided to leave, and as I walked I wondered what I should do.Then I heard a voice calling me, "Hey! Come here, maybe I can help you a little." This is Arthur. Arthur and I were not of the same age, he wore out-of-date clothes.I once heard my mother read a story by Charles Dickens about a little boy named Oliver who was born in an orphanage.Later he was apprenticed in a coffin shop, but Oliver himself escaped from there and went to London.But he is caught by a gang of bad guys again and forced to steal things.Finally, he was rescued by kind people, and people discovered that Oliver was actually the son of a rich man, so he inherited a fortune. I feel like Arthur is like a kid coming out of this story.If you don't know, I can tell you that Dickens who wrote this story lived in the 19th century. 11 Another interesting thing to tell you is that after you die, you will always wear the clothes you wore when you died, and they will not get dirty .I don't know if it's actually clothes or if I'm holding onto memories of previous clothes and thinking I'm wearing clothes.I even began to wonder if I still have my own body, my own hands and feet, whether it is just my illusion, or my memory of the past.Maybe, we "people" are actually just memories, illusions or something! Arthur's clothes were sloppy and buttonless.Clothes are still hung with various outdated decorations.The strangest thing for a child was that he was still wearing a hat, the kind you wear to funerals.That was the impression Arthur had been, had been, and still was.Among us, the words "was," "had," and "still" make no difference to the dead. Anyway, I guess Arthur must be over 150 years old, but he doesn't seem to be that old at all.He was still quick and could do somersaults and do a handstand with his hat on.He's like the kind of Santa who can come down a chimney.I once told him my opinion, but he asked me, "Who is Santa Claus?" as if he had never heard of it. It seems that Arthur was about my age when he died, many, many years ago.But since then, he hasn't grown any longer. Time in "Another World" isn't quite the same as it is in "Hometown"—it doesn't allow people to age.You were as old as you were when you died. 12 I asked Arthur if you were killed by a truck too, and he said no, he died of a fever.He told me that in his day, many kids his age would get a fever and die.So here, you can see a lot of boys and girls in outdated clothes, who, like Arthur, died of fever. I asked Arthur if it was hard for him to die.He told me that the fever is a bit of a pain at first, but when it gets really bad, you get a little chilly, and then you find yourself dead.Get here after that and you'll never have a fever again. I asked him again, why is he still wearing a hat when he comes here?If I'm sick and lying in bed, I don't know how to wear a hat. He said he wasn't in bed, he was sleeping with the horses in the stable. I then asked him, what horse? He said it was the kind of horse used for riding. I wonder why he doesn't wear pajamas to sleep? He told me that in his day horses didn't wear pajamas. I immediately corrected and said, no, I didn't ask this, I asked, Arthur, why don't you wear pajamas. He also told that he, like a horse, had no pajamas.He now wore the only clothes he had, and he had to wear a hat when he slept to keep out the wind, which was necessary in the stables. 13 He's getting annoyed with me asking so many questions, we almost got into a fight over it.But soon, it was all over, and I must admit, it was kind of silly to argue with a dead man.So I decided not to quarrel with Arthur in the future. I also asked him why he slept in the stable. In those days, he said, the stable was the best place many children could find to sleep.I thought that must be very uncomfortable.Because when I was alive, our family went on vacation once and I had to share a bed with my sister and that would be bad enough, let alone share a bed with a horse, needless to ask, it must have been worse!But if I had to choose, whether to sleep with my sister or a horse for a night, I would probably rather choose the horse.Because I can't imagine a horse snoring like my sister. Although the horse sometimes barks a few times, at least the horse doesn't have the weird smell like my sister.At least that's how I see it! I also told Arthur these thoughts and asked him what he thought.But he said he hadn't met my sister, so he couldn't judge, and he felt that if he couldn't say good things about a person, it was best not to say this person. I said to Arthur, I'll see my sister anyway, if you'll have the patience to wait a while, and she's just like everybody else, and she's going to die sooner or later.You'll see her then, and then you'll be able to judge.But he said that by then my sister would be an old woman.Arthur's words startled me. I had never imagined my sister turned into an old woman.She is an old woman, but I am still a little boy. It must be very awkward to meet at that time. I can't even imagine what it will be like to meet at that time. E. Where should you go when you die?Isn't death the end? 14 Speaking of dead people, I asked Arthur where his parents were.He said that although he had been looking for it for many years, he had not found it yet.The biggest difficulty is that his mother died when he was born, and he never knows what she looks like.He told me that in the time he lived, many mothers died while giving birth. I asked Arthur about his dad again and he said he didn't really meet his dad either, he was raised in an orphanage.This reminds me of the story written by Dickens again, and the Oliver in it is exactly like him.He died when he was an apprentice, and the experience was not different from Oliver's.In fact, I have come to suspect that Arthur is Oliver, or at least that Dickens is making up a story based on Arthur's experience.But Arthur has never heard of "Oliver", nor does he know Dickens. I think the difference is that Oliver grew up later, and he belonged to the kind of person who comes through all hardships, and finally lived a happy life again.But Arthur didn't.Arthur lay beside the horses in his battered hat, without pajamas, and with a fever, and died in the stable.This reminds me again of little Jesus, who was born in a stable.And Arthur, he too died in the stable.I feel like it's a bit of a coincidence. 15 I suggested that Arthur should call out so his mother could be found.I also suggested that he go to the guy behind the "clerk's desk" and maybe he could help by asking him to look it up on his computer.But Arthur said that didn't work at all, because the guy behind the "clerk's desk" had never filled out the forms correctly, and his computer skills were nothing short of an idiot.And he is the only one here, but there are countless people waiting to check their former relatives and friends. It is impossible to be busy, and it will only make things more and more chaotic! 16 Although in this "other world", there are countless people looking for their former relatives and friends everywhere, but I think Arthur is the worst one, because he doesn't even know what his mother looks like.How to find this, it is really what people often say: Find a needle in a haystack! "Arthur, I've got to tell you," I told him of my own opinion, "you see you're having a really hard time finding your mother. You don't even have a picture or anything. You really don't even have a little portrait." None?" He pointed it out to me: "I really don't have anything, not even a little headshot. All I have is this." What he showed me was a small button that he told me he had had since he was a baby and that it probably fell off his mother's top.But he didn't know if it was true, but the people in the orphanage said so. What else could you possibly know?Maybe the grown-ups in the orphanage made it up, they didn't want Arthur to ask any more questions, they pitied Arthur, so they gave him a souvenir, even though it wasn't real. He handed me the button to look at.It's one of those shell-like buttons you use on coats, and I think they're called pearls.It was a fine clasp anyway, almost a piece of jewelry. When I had finished admiring the button, I gave it back to Arthur, who put it away carefully.Arthur said to me again solemnly: "I tell you, I won't go until I find my mother." I was taken aback by his words, "Where are you going? Aren't we dead people? Where else can dead people go?" Arthur stared at me strangely, "Harry, how long have you been dead?" "Well, I must have just died," I answered him. "I'm not sure. I just came to this place." "Oh, I see then, you don't know that yet." "Do not know what is this?" "I mean, they won't tell you yet." "tell me what?" Arthur replied, "You should have been given a detailed instruction manual instead of that useless note. But really, Harry, you should have figured it out yourself." "But I still don't understand, where should I go? Where should you go after you die? Isn't death the end?" I asked him hastily. "That's not the case at all," said Arthur. "We should go to the next stop--the sky-blue shore." "What is the sky blue?" I asked him, I seem to have heard this strange name somewhere. "The other side," he answered me, "is the other side." As he spoke, he pointed his finger at the distant horizon, where the sun was about to set but couldn't.Behind that red and gold, you can see a faint blue color.At this time, I remembered that it was printed out there On the information strip, there is the name "The Other Side of Sky Blue". "Where is that?" I asked him curiously. "You know," he answered me patiently, "you can go there when you're ready. By the way, do you know the name of the place you're going to?" "I don't know, I'm still a newcomer here. Where the hell are I going?" "If you are ready, you will go next step. By the way, what is the name of that place? This name is in me, me..." "On my lips!" I wished I could help him get the words out quickly. "I remember!" he exclaimed happily. "Reincarnation! Yes, that's what people call it now. Reincarnation!" I looked at him blankly, "Reincarnation? What does reincarnation mean?" "I'll tell you later," said Arthur, "I think I saw my mother." He ran over. "There's one more thing I want to tell you," Arthur yelled back at me as he ran. "tell me what?" "That's what you asked, how long will you be dead." "How long?" "That depends on the situation." "What's the situation?" "It depends on how long you want to die. It all depends on your willingness. I will tell you later, don't go far, I will come back to you later, see you later!" 17 Arthur hurried to a lady he saw, wearing old-fashioned clothes, and carrying an out-of-date umbrella.That umbrella is not a real umbrella, it seems to be able to block the sun at most, and it is hopeless to use it to keep out the rain.I suppose it should be called a parasol, and besides, she wears a hat with a tie at the forehead.In this way, no matter it is windy or sunny, she can handle it. Arthur ran after the lady, clutching his mother's pearl button, and kept yelling, "Wait, wait!". The lady stopped and turned to see who was calling her.Now you can see clearly that she is not missing a single button!Therefore, she must not be Arthur's mother.But that lady is so beautiful!If given the choice, no one would object to having her as their own mother! When Arthur saw that her buttons were complete, his face grew ugly. "Oh, I'm sorry," explained Arthur, "I'm sorry to bother you. I got the wrong person." The lady smiled kindly, and passed her finger on Arthur's forehead, which was the finger of the spirit!There are elegant white gloves on the extremely white fingers. "What a pity!" she replied, "I'm looking for someone myself." She smiled sweetly again, and disappeared into the crowd. I find Arthur very disappointed.It seems that he will not be at ease if he can't find his mother.It might sound odd to be restless after death.After Arthur's death, he has been busy for more than a hundred years, and he still can't stop.Where there are many people, he will go there, looking for ladies wearing clothes more than a hundred years ago, to see if they are missing buttons. I watched him walk away, and I thought I might be as restless as he was, maybe I had something to do.