The deep serenity of His eyes soothed him.

In a gesture of complete obeisance, Scott prostrated himself before the Most High.

He started to speak, but a raised hand silenced him.

"Scott Reid, are you ready to answer for your deeds?" a heavenly voice asked.

Numbly, Scott nodded his head in assent.

"Your record states that you are one of the minority of human beings who are categorized as homosexuals."

"Please, let me explain," Scott said, his knuckles turning white under the terrible strain.

"You may speak now," the Judges said in unison.

"Oh, Lord, it yas You who created people that suffer such as I. Many of us try to live a normal life, but have found our instincts turned in another direction. We have been hounded, and persecuted for hundreds of years, and we never have really found contentment or happiness."

"We live in shadows, afraid to admit even to ourselves that what we do may be considered evil and perverse."

"Do you think for one moment, Oh, Lord, that I relish the punishment that I know must be awaiting me? For all the time that you have permitted me to remain on Earth it has been torture, for I know I was disobeying Your very tenets. It has not been easy for me. There were times I felt all was lost, for lack of understanding and warmth of compassion."

"My own father denied me for the sake of this affliction. My defense matters not, for I have none, nor could I even begin to think of one. Thou art my Judge, and my soul rests with You."

"Before You decide, Oh, Lord, may I ask but one simple question?"

The nod permitted him to do so.

"Oh, Lord, why?"

In answer, the voice was soft, and full of love, that Scott's inner self seemed to fill with contentment.

"Rise, and face me, My son. Do not fear Me. I am that I am. I am thy Lord. You are not come here before Me to be further hurt."

Scott arose, he being aglow, and his nerve steady.

All of the fear was now gone.

"In answer to your question, I say, suffer the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth. Those that suffer in My name shall never die."

In that sublime moment Scott understood.

In the blessed moment of truth, it had at last dawned upon him, and filled him with utter joy.

Each and every person has his own affliction, be it physical or mental. In his case, his soul was cleansed in the purgatory he knew as earth. He need not have feared God, for Heaven awaited him now. A Heaven that was anxious to reward one in kind.

The steady shriek of the alarm clock awoke him immediately.

"It was a dream. Only a blasted dream," Scott muttered over and over. His disappointment was keen.

But, as he realized, he now had a strange awareness. Although it was only a dream, perhaps...

15