[ WP ] That secret you said you 'd take to your grave ? Now you 've met your maker , and they are asking you to explain yourself

`` Why?'' He asked. He stood before me. His facade remained as still as the corpse that flashed before my eyes when he spoke that word. A minute passed, then several. Not a muscle tensed or flinched. God was waiting for me to speak. 
 
 When I stepped forward to see Him, the frail shell that I walked in for the last decade of my life eroded away into the prime of my youth. He glared me down with eyes that demanded judgement. 
 
 
 `` You already know,'' I began, but His voice echoed throughout the empty landscape, quieting mine like a parent hushes his child. `` I still want to hear you.'' 
 
 
 I paused to find words. A lot happened in seventy years. My whole life happened, but here the day rang clear in my mind like the church bells of a royal wedding. `` I... I was lonely.'' 
 
 `` All of us are lonely, Richard.'' He said. 
 
 `` Is she here?'' I asked. 
 
 `` No.'' 
 
 `` Is he?'' 
 
 `` Yes.'' 
 
 I fell to my knees at the sound of that.
