First there was blackness.
Then he heard voices, the witnesses. “‘Alleluia: for the LORD GOD omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
“‘And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints…. Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.’”
He heard them but he could not see them. In the distance he heard drums, then singing, “‘Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of GOD and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.’”
He saw a glow in the distance and walked toward it. A green field stretched before him. The sky was rose, gold, violet, turquoise—a rainbow. He heard a voice speaking, “‘I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.’”
Waist-high green grass dotted with wildflowers covered the hills. Leopards and elephants sauntered past, and overhead ruby- and emerald-colored birds of paradise spread their wings in flight. The drums were closer now, the rhythms of a place he knew but had never been.
Each step he took released the flowers’ sweetness. Breezes blew the tall grass so that it swayed, beckoning him.
Beyond the field was a golden throne. A tawny lion, flicking its tail, lay down in front of the throne; seated above him on the throne was a speckled lamb.
There was a great tree near them. Its branches, heavy with leaves, reached high into the sky and spread wide enough to give them shade. Beside the throne, kneeling down, was a brown-skinned woman. She waved to welcome him. He thought he heard his name. Negasi!
Though he was still far away and he could not be certain, he thought she mouthed a word. Welcome! The sweet scent of the moonflowers burst beneath his feet and drifted up filling his lungs. His mother had told him about the tall grass, but he had not expected the wildflowers.
Even from the distance, he thought he recognized her. She smiled at him across the field of wildflowers, beckoning to him. Come! He breathed in the clean air, familiar air, and in the distance he heard a roaring, like a great falls.
He was Nat, Nathan Turner, Negasi, and at last he was home.
Alive.