Afterlife – Sunday Photo Fiction

Sunday Photo Fiction is a weekly challenge presented by my old friend Al Forbes.
The idea is to write a short story (200 word max) inspired by what you see in his picture (below).
This week’s photo provokes thoughts on religion, and its many impacts on our lives.
This is my view.
Click on this link to enter your tale, and see what others have written.

GEDSC DIGITAL CAMERA

Copyright Al Forbes

Afterlife

So this is heaven.
A nice lady shows us onto a bus and we get the grand tour.
It is lovely.
Parks and gardens, flowers and trees, rivers and streams, and, in the distance, snow-peaked mountains.
This looks pretty much the way I expected when I volunteered.
You see, I am, or rather I was, a suicide bomber.
I joined the fight for my beliefs, as I was taught.
And Paradise looks to be pretty much as promised.
I haven’t seen any virgins yet.
Well, that is maybe a bit unfair, I can’t really judge the ladies here, can I?
At the end of the tour we are separated, allocated different queues for our eventual destinations.
I am the only one in this queue.
It has a signpost.
Underworld.
It seems God is, after all, a Catholic.
And suicide is a mortal sin.

This entry was posted in Sound Bite Fiction and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

31 Responses to Afterlife – Sunday Photo Fiction

  1. Indira says:

    What fun a soul without body can have? How suicide bombers are tricked to believe in that, I wonder.Nice twist and great story.

    Like

  2. Sally says:

    Thought provoking, great stuff.

    Like

  3. athling2001 says:

    Well written and great twist.

    Like

  4. rosemawrites says:

    Ooooohhh! Wow! The sixth sentence made my jaw drop and I like reading fictions that make my jaw drop. 🙂

    Also, I have told a story too through the perspective of a bomber. 🙂

    Great tale! Eloquently done. 🙂

    Like

  5. Dave says:

    Oopsie. Here’s a penny for the ferryman, it’s a long trip down to the ninth circle.
    Assuming your bombing was successful, suicide may be the least-mortal of your sins.

    Like

  6. Wow! Not a bad idea to give a tour in heaven to make those who are going to hell regret for life. Great story! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Oops — that’s propaganda for ya. Falls short at the very end — no virgins AND god’s a catholic — he’s in hell already!

    Like

  8. EagleAye says:

    Whoopsie! Note to suicide bombers. It ain’t going to work out like you thought. Loved this one, CE.

    Like

  9. mandibelle16 says:

    Haha. If the God is Catholic, I too am in trouble. Lutheran’s or any evangelicals or heritics then. We haven’t been praying to Marry or any other Saints and we haven’t been doing enough good deeds, purely for the sake of getting into heaven. We’re not to keen on the Pope either as the head of the Church. Great write, pretty funny.

    Like

  10. He got that wrong then. As God is clearly a Catholic I’d better start brushing up on my latin!

    Like

  11. He got that wrong then. As God’s clearly a Catholic I’d better start brushing up my latin!

    Visit Keith’s Ramblings!

    Like

  12. Joy Pixley says:

    If God is really a Catholic, I’m surprised he didn’t have more company in that line! But how nice for them to give a tour ahead of time, either way.

    Like

  13. luckyjc007 says:

    He may be the only one in that queue…now, but there are more buses arriving every day! Great story!

    Like

  14. The Voice says:

    Suicide bomber, huh? I’m guessing suicide may not be the worst of his sins. At least he got a look at what he’ll be missing. Not so sure he’ll find any virgins in Hell. Fun story. (Well, for me. Not so much for him.)

    Like

  15. Think he s going to be there for a hell of a long time. That’s what happens when you don’t read the small print. Great story Ceayr.

    Like

  16. Reblogged this on anelephantcant and commented:
    AnElephantCant go to church on a Sunday
    He is not a big fan of organised religion
    He is not sugar and spice
    But he thinks it is nice to be nice
    He loves all creatures even Al’s sodding pigeon!

    Liked by 1 person

Leave your Sound Bite here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.