[ WP ] A device has been invented that allows the user to gaze upon Heaven or Hell . Hell is terrifying , and those who see it often need counselling . But their terror pales compared to those who witness God 's domain .

When the cold splash of water hit my face, I felt as if I just returned from a distant place. My eyes opened to see Pastor Roland holding an empty tray that should have had holy water in it. I saw a look of grave concern on his face moments before it turned into cautious relief. The pastor dropped the empty tray and took off his jacket. He stepped over to me and quickly wrapped me in it. I was shaking. I remember now, I was terrified. The pastor wrapped his arms around me and held me. 
 
 “ Oh thank you Lord for sparing this child! He knows not what he did. ” 
 
 The pastor picked me up and placed me on the nearby pew before letting me go. 
 
 “ David, are you alright? Can you speak boy? ” 
 
 “ Yes, ” I muttered under my breath. “ Maybe. I ’ m not sure. ” 
 
 The pastor sighed with relief. 
 
 “ You are lucky David. Many who gaze beyond the Pearly Gates become shattered beyond repair. Their minds are lost to the image. ” 
 
 I looked over his shoulder to beyond the podium where the device rested. A light was still coming from the eye holes, but it was too distant to make anything out. 
 
 “ I ’ m sorry Pastor. I hid after choir and waited for everyone to leave and I was going to just... just… ” 
 
 I couldn ’ t hold back the tears anymore. The pastor held me once again so that I could cry into his shoulder. 
 
 “ It ’ s okay David, no one is mad at you. ” 
 
 “ I just wanted to see my mom again ” I said through the sobbing and sharp breaths. 
 
 “ David, I know you wanted to see her. No one blames you child. Everything ’ s okay. ” 
 
 I began to calm down. The pastor let me go and took a seat next to me on the pew. 
 
 “ Pastor Roland, what did I see? What happened? ” 
 
 “ Well David, you saw Heaven. It couldn ’ t have been for more than a couple seconds before I pulled you away from the viewer. Thank the good Lord I decided to check for my notes before heading home or else I ’ d have never seen you start looking into the device. Going into shock would have been the least of your worries if you looked any longer. ” 
 
 The tears were finally stopping. I felt like I could think straight again. 
 
 “ Pastor, why are we forbidden to look at Heaven? I know that all priests and pastors must look at…. ” 
 
 “ Don ’ t worry, you can say Hell. It ’ s not a swear if you ’ re speaking with me. ” 
 
 “ They have to look into... Hell as the last test before they get their collars, but absolutely no one is able to look at Heaven, even for a second. Wouldn ’ t you rather look at Heaven instead? ” 
 
 The pastor took a look at me before looking forward, resting his head on his hands. I ’ ve only seen him look that serious when he speaks about Hell. 
 
 “ You ’ re probably too young to understand this, but since you ’ ve gazed into God ’ s domain, I guess there ’ s no reason to speak down to you. I ’ m going to talk to you like an adult, so please let me know if I lose you. ” 
 
 I sat up as straight as I could and crossed my legs like my dad. It was the most adult way to sit that I knew of. 
 
 “ Okay. ” 
 
 “ We spend a lot of our spiritual training preparing ourselves for the moment we look into Hell. It is a place that only knows suffering and cruelty. It takes years to prepare your mind to look at something so pure as the absence of hope. It is the most intense image that any human being can ever see. Do you know how we train to see something like that, David? ” 
 
 I shook my head no while trying to mimic my father ’ s thoughtful face. 
 
 “ We train for it by going through a trial of suffering ourselves, to push us to the very limit. It allows us to understand the nature of suffering so that when we gaze upon it, we are not completely overwhelmed by it. Suffering, you see, is our natural state. We all suffer, though some suffer more than others. You know better than most of the other children of suffering, David. It ’ s what drove you to look into the viewer. ” 
 
 I thought about mom for a second. I could feel the tears beginning to come, but I was able to fight it back. Adults don ’ t cry. 
 
 “ We can gaze into Hell because we can understand the nature of suffering. We can comprehend the concept of Hell, even though we can not fathom the true depths of that horrible place. Heaven, however, is another story. Because we all feel suffering to some degree, we can not comprehend a land that is without suffering, without strife. To gaze upon it is to see a place so separate from our existence that it shatters our mind. To see Heaven is to know true peace, which is incomprehensible. To gaze upon the Pearly Gates is to see untarnished radiance, which is impossible. We are too close to Hell to gaze upon Heaven. ” 
 
 He stopped talking for a few seconds, staring at the device. He suddenly blinked and shook his head, finally turning it to look at me. 
 
 “ I ’ m sorry David, I didn ’ t mean to ramble on like that. Did you understand any of that? ” 
 
 I looked him square in the eye, making sure to keep my back straight. 
 
 “ Nope. ” 
 
 Pastor Roland smiled and let out a thunderous laugh. 
 
 “ Oh, you children are truly our greatest gift! Come with me David. Lets go call your father, he must be worried. ” 
 
 We both hopped off of the pew. I took his hand as we began to walk out of the church. 
 
 “ Pastor, do you think my mom has a device too? So she can look down at us? ” 
 
 “ Yes she does David. I can guarantee you she ’ s using it to look at you right now. ” 
 
 I looked back at the device one last time, thinking of my mom using it. I felt warm inside.
