Somewhere in the darkness, outside of life, the dead sat and talked. Each spoke mostly about himself, but all the others listened attentively. In the end, after discussing their situation, the dead decided on an action.
One of those who sat in darkness was indignant at the living; he considered them too arrogant. Living imagine that everything exists only on them and rests. But life counts several billion dead people! And it is the dead that have been tormented by spiritual struggles for many millennia.
Another from the darkness objected to him: the living also mean something. Of course, they shamelessly speculate on what was created by the dead, and too exalted themselves. But we must pay tribute to the living.
The first of the darkness continued: he was very significant during his lifetime. So significant that it was as if created in order to die! In general, only the remaining after death is significant.
No, the opponent who was already speaking out objected to him, for example, he, too, was a wonderful person, but he was created just the opposite in order to live. There are few people endowed with a talent for life - those about whom we can say that they really lived.
At this, it seemed, the conversation of the dead ended. But the third, squat fat man intervened with small eyes and short legs - such is usually imagined by traders. This was a merchant, and his name was Petterson, and in that other life he loved his shop, goods, the smell of coffee, cheese, soap and margarine. Petterson was dying hard. It is difficult to count on immortality that has wrapped its whole life. In addition, Petgerson did not believe in life after death. But here he is sitting here in the dark. He is grateful. He lived. He died. And still alive. He is very grateful for all this.
Then the others spoke. Those whose life and death were full of meaning and even philosophical, and others, with ordinary fates, rustic, sometimes touching in their naivety. Even the most primitive dead who lived in time immemorial made sounds. The savage did not know who he was, he did not even remember that he had once lived. He only remembered the halls of a large forest, tar and wet moss - and yearned for them.
And the dead sat in darkness, suffering in life from their own characteristics. One, for example, lacked a thumb on his right hand. He lived a normal life, talked with other people and still felt lonely. Another had its own peculiarity: he suffered from the presence of a black spot on the nail of the middle toe of his left foot. He was born with a speck, passed his whole age with him, and died with him. Everyone thought that this man was like everyone else, and no one understood his loneliness, but all his life he had been looking for his own kind and left her, never understood.
A man and a woman spoke in darkness, and here they were drawn to each other. A woman has always been happy already because she was with her lover. But she did not understand him, he repeated. All his life he fought and suffered, and built, and destroyed, but she did not understand him. Yes, but she believed in him, the woman objected to him. He struggled with life, and she lived. So they bickered in. darkness, united and irreconcilable.
And one of those sitting in the darkness did not say anything. He could not tell others about his fate. To them, she might seem insignificant or even funny. He himself worked all his life as a minister under an earthly public toilet: he charged a fee from incoming people and handed out paper. In natural human needs, he did not see anything humiliating and considered his work necessary, although not very important.
Apart from the others sat two - a young man and a gray-haired old man. The young man spoke to himself: he promised his beloved to sail to her shore, fragrant with lotus flowers. The old man admonished the young man, he told him: his beloved died long ago, and he, the old man, held her hand when she was dying, because he is her son, he knows: his mother lived a long and happy life with his father, the young man he recognized only by a faded photograph, his mother never remembered him: after all, love is not everything, but life is everything ... But the young man continued to whisper, turning to his beloved, and he said to the old man that his whole life was love, he does not know another life.
Voices sounded darker and darker. One of the dead lived on an island within which fire was enclosed. He loved a girl named Judith, and she also loved him. Once they went into the mountains and met a one-eyed old woman there - with this eye the old woman saw only the true. The old woman predicted to Judith that she would die childbirth. And although the narrator decided not to touch his beloved so that she would live, she made him take control of herself and married him, she was a very earthly woman. When Juditta gave birth to a child and died and the narrator left the hut with a newborn in his arms, he saw his tribe singing a hymn in honor of the fertility symbol - the phallus, and just at that moment a fire burst from the ground in the mountains, and everyone stood and waited him, not trying to be saved, because it was impossible to be saved, and they sang a hymn in honor of the fertility of life. At this moment, the narrator understood the meaning of being. Life is important only life in general. She, of course, needs trees, people, and flowers, but they are not dear to her individually - having manifested herself in them, life easily destroys them.
Then another voice spoke - slow, clear and infinitely soft. The speaker claimed: he is the savior of the people. He declared them suffering and death, freeing from earthly joy and earthly torment. He was a temporary guest on earth and taught: everything is only an appearance, an expectation of the true essence. He called God his father, and death his best friend, for she had to unite him with God, who sent him to live among people and take upon himself the grief of all living things. And then people crucified the speaker, and the Father hid him in the darkness to hide from human eyes. Now he is here in the dark, but he did not find the Father here and realized: he is just a man, and the grief of life is not bitter, but sweet, she is not what he wanted to take upon himself with his death.
Before he could finish, a different voice nearby said: but he, speaking now, was a head waiter in earthly life, he served in the largest and most visited restaurant. The head waiter is the most difficult and respected profession, it requires a subtle ability to guess human desires. What could be higher! And now he is afraid that they, on earth, have not yet found a worthy replacement for him. He is worried about this. He is suffering.
The dead stirred, no one understood anything, each kept repeating his own, but then another rose - in life he was a shoemaker - and made a fiery speech. What is the truth? He asked. Earthly life is sheer confusion. Everyone knows only himself, although everyone is looking for something else. Everyone is alone in infinite space. You need to find one thing, one for all! Need to find God! To recover from him the answer for a life that confuses everyone!
Someone said deeply wounded the dead. And everyone realized what terrible confusion life represents, and agreed that there was no peace, no soil, no firm foundation in it. Although some thought: is there a God? But they were convinced to go look for him - after all, very many wanted to find him.
And the long journey began. More and more new groups joined the dead, and in the end they merged into a huge sea of people, which was seething and bubbling, but gradually, oddly enough, became streamlined. In fact, united by a common idea, the dead quickly searched for their own kind: the very unfortunate found the most unhappy, the generally happy - the generally happy, the rebels - the rebels, the magnanimous - the magnanimous, the brooms knitters - the broom knitters ... And here suddenly opened: the diversity of life is not so great! One group of the dead called out to another. Who are you? - asked one. We, the Petterson shopkeepers, answered them. Who are you? And they were answered: we are those who have a black spot on the nail of their left leg.
But when everyone finally figured out and peace and quiet came, people felt emptied. The confusion is gone. Everything was streamlined. And the feeling of loneliness disappeared - the lonely united with the millions of lonely. All problems were resolved by themselves. And there was no need to seek God.
And then a plain-looking man stepped forward and said: “What is it! Everything is so simple that, it turns out, it’s not worth living! There is nothing mysterious in life. And everything in it is just a simple repetition of the essentially uncomplicated departures. It turns out that there is nothing to fight and fight for? The only thing that remains of a person, whoever he is, is a pile of manure for the grass of next year. Not! One must certainly find God! That he would answer for the worthlessness of the life that he created! ”
And everyone moved on. Thousands of years passed, and they were all delirious and wandered and already began to despair. Then, after consulting, they chose the wisest and most noble and put them in front. And those, in fact, after another thousand years pointed to a bright spot flickering in front. It seemed to him - hundreds of years of travel, but a speck of light suddenly appeared nearby. Light poured from an iron lantern with dusty glass; it fell on an old man who sawed firewood. The dead were surprised. You are a god? They asked. The old man nodded bewilderedly in response. “And we are the life you created.” We fought, suffered, worried and believed, we wondered and hoped ... For what purpose did you create us? - The old man was embarrassed. Frightening, he looked at the crowds surrounding him, looked downcast and said: “I am a worker.” “This is visible,” the chosen elders noted, and behind them were heard exclamations of indignation. “When I made life, I didn’t want anything like that,” the old man continued to apologize.
But he threw them into the abyss of despair, condemned to torment, fear and anxiety, he inspired them with unjustified hopes! So the elders shouted. “I did my best,” the old man answered.
And he gave them the sun and joy, allowed to enjoy the delights of life, morning and happiness! So the elders shouted. And the old man answered them the same. He did as he could. He told them the same thing. And his answer confused those who asked. But passions burst out. Why did he start all this? After all, was there any purpose? For what purpose did he launch the diabolical machine of life? People crave harmony and are full of denial; they want diversity and unity, complexity and simplicity - all at once! Why did he make them like that?
The old man listened calmly, In appearance he was still embarrassed, but his humility diminished. He answered them. He is just a worker. And he worked tirelessly. And did not strive for anything too complicated. Neither to joy, nor to sorrow, nor to faith, nor to doubt. He just wanted people to have something and not to be content with emptiness.
The elders felt something prickle in their heart. The old man grew before their eyes. And their hearts were filled with warmth. But the people behind did not see what was happening ahead. And in order to prevent any attempt to cheat, thousands of children were put forward, who followed with everyone. Why did God create these innocent little ones? They are dead! What was he thinking then?
The children did not know what they wanted from them, they liked the old grandfather, they reached for him, and he crouched among them and hugged him. He then did not think anything, - said God, caressing the children.
Crowds of the dead stood looking at God with their children, and something melted in everyone’s chest. All of them suddenly felt a mysterious connection with Him and realized that He is the same as them, only deeper and larger than them.
It was difficult for them to leave God, and the children were the most difficult to part with him. But the old man told them to obey adults. And the children obeyed!
The crowds of the dead set off again. People calmly and peacefully, like brothers, talked to each other. And the meaning of all their very different words came down to what one elderly man said. And he said a simple thing - he accepts life as it is. After all, no other life is still impossible to imagine!
Having reached the realm of darkness, where they all came from, and having said all that they wanted to say, the dead parted. Each headed to the place that is destined for him in the future.
