Life-After by J. A. Laraque Read Free Book Online

“A part of me wants to take the scientific route and believe that when we die that’s it. On the other hand, if everything we are ends when we die, it just seems like a waste.”
    Clara reached over tightly grabbing hold of my hand. I knew she was looking for something to believe in to bring her comfort. After the death and destruction left from the war, there were many people looking for something higher than themselves. For some, like Luis, it was the Trinity and their belief systems, for others, like myself, it was the love of those that to me, gave you purpose and kept you going.
    “ My uncle believed in the Trinity.” Clara began. “I remember one day at a family BBQ he was telling my mother about his beliefs. He spoke about how he could feel his life energy within him and found peace because it could never be destroyed. I didn’t really pay him much mind, but he looked so content. Even though there was a war going on all around us he knew the no matter what the core of who he was would live on forever. Who would not want that?”
    “ I think that’s the point?” I said with a noticeable hint of sarcasm.
    Clara looked at me slightly saddened by what I said. She remembered the story I told her about Luis but there was more to it. The global war was a war of resources and military power but there was a strong religious context behind it. Many countries denied help to their neighbors due to their belief system or lack of thereof.
    The war did not start on a global scale. In the beginning there were small conflicts over energy that spread into battles over land and soon even the basic minerals. By the time the Alliance and Federation were formed it was the Alliance that took a more secular view while the Federation were staunch fundamentalists. Many believe the war was prolonged because of religious factions stirring the flames and refusing to concede.
    Religion was a very small part of my childhood. Patriotism and service to our faction were paramount. The first I heard of true organized religion was from the Trinity. Later during my time in the service I learned that the Trinity gained power and influence over the Alliance government, but as the war drew to a close and the treaty was signed many from the Trinity turned their back on the Alliances views to separate government decisions and religious beliefs.
    During the closing days of the war we discovered some members of the Trinity were staging attacks on civilian aid stations near the Federation’s eastern border. When we engaged them Luis recognized some of the members and begged them to stand down. They opened fired and we were forced to return in kind. I personally killed six Trinity members. After that, my relationship with Luis was never the same.
    In the end the Trinity disavowed the members who were staging the attacks stating they were not sanctioned by anyone in their leadership council. I was called to testify before a government inquiry panel and told them everything I witnessed during the encounter. After my testimony a man approached me. He told me humanity would be punished because we had turned our backs on God. I asked if it would be God or men like him and his ilk who would carry out the punishment. He just gnarled his teeth and walked away.
    I understood Clara’s need to find something to believe in. Regardless of my experience with the Trinity council, I still believed in a force greater than our own, however, for me, that force came from within not from above. For Clara that was not enough, she could look to me for strength, but I guess that was not enough either.
    Standing there in what my mind could only perceive as heaven I wondered what truths were out there for me to find. Having Clara again was all I ever wanted but I had to admit to myself that I did not plan on what would happen next. Perhaps that is why she stood there staring at me. She could see that I was lost even though I had found exactly what I had been looking for.
    “ So