Merk

By Valerie St. John

As an earthling, Merk thought that life after death would be endless peace and relaxation on Cloud 9.
Surprise!
He found himself on Cloud 3, the physical fitness cloud, spending all his precious time training fat angels to slim down. Hed been a fitness nut on earth; how fair is that?
Besides, no matter what Merk does, calamity ensues: a simple fitness walk under the stars leads to a war between angels and pirates and, since romance isnt a part of life after death, why is he so attracted to Quiggy?
Follow Merk and his companions other-worldly adventures through the cloud-world of the afterlife in Merk.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 11, 2010
• ISBN: 9781453519714

Valerie St. John

Valerie St. John retired from the United States Army Chaplain Corps in August, 2009, as a lieutenant colonel. She is a veteran of Desert Storm, and found herself spending much of her time during our nation’s recent conflicts notifying families that they’d just lost a Soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan. She is a native of the Southwest, born and raised in Tulsa Oklahoma. Her undergraduate degree is from Loretto Heights College in Denver, Colorado, and received her Master of Divinity degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary. Valerie and her husband, Larry DeLong, reside in Green Valley, Arizona, with their children Sadie and Seth, three dogs, and Lovey, the cat.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

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NO MATTER WHAT . . . calamity followed Merk around like a cloud of mosquitoes!

Today was no different. Merk was always, well . . . just Merk. He loved people, he loved being an angel and he loved his airmobile! One could only smile as he slowly walked around his sleek-looking mobile, savoring every detail; rubbing his hands along the smooth bright dark red surface. This handsome, friendly, unpretentious, and funny angel displayed masculine joy in his toy. Naturally, since he was alone, he began to talk to it.

What a magnificent machine you are! he said with pride, ruffling his wings and kicking up his heels plopping himself down onto the front seat. He felt good today. He especially liked to drive with the top down on beautiful days, and today certainly promised to be that. Let’s see . . . he said to himself as he turned on the ignition and the mobile effortlessly rose up off the cloud floor about six inches.

Vahroom . . . vahroom . . . he pumped the accelerator to get the air running through the engine. Out of his driveway he backed to the air path in front of his hut just in time to see Lily coming around the corner from the other direction.

Lily! Lily! he shouted, with flailing arms, as if she could miss seeing him or his bright shiny mobile, especially since she was pulling up in front of his place. He could feel his childlike grin stretching across his face as he lay back against the seat resting his elbow on the windowsill of the mobile with his head in his hand. Lily was a great friend. The two of them shared so much of their lives together on Cloud 3. They liked the same music, they enjoyed the same kinds of food, and together they despised Carl, their overly confident but hardly competent boss. They seemed to see life in a very similar way.

Hello! she smiled, pulling up alongside him, shifting her mobile into neutral. There he was . . . her favorite friend—always filled with so much fun and personality. Although Merk was fervently professional, scrupulous to a fault, any well-meaning activity of his could turn into a fiasco in no time at all. A sense of adventure and near catastrophe seemed to follow him around at the same time!

Hi, he said casually, as if seeing her was no big deal. He’d always thought Lily was gorgeous with her thick auburn hair hanging down around her shoulders, carelessly messed up by the wind. Her teeth were white, framed by a powerful smile, and silky dark skin. Typically, he wore a more determined expression on his face. They were both young at heart and had known each other several years.

Not much ever changed between them. They respected each other. She was black, he was white, but race didn’t matter on the city-clouds. In fact, it was never an issue with anyone. There you go, staring at me again! she protested.

Uh . . . sorry, Merk stumbled, feeling himself blush. They’d had never-ending conversations about their mutual infatuation. You know . . . you deserve to drive something other than that indescribable beat up piece of salvage! It’s not blue, it’s not black, and it’s not gray or silver. It’s disgustingly ugly! She was always being teased about her choice of mobiles, and just about everybody had offered to paint or fix hers up, but she emphatically declined. Lily didn’t care what she drove. In fact, she’d always explain it away as, retro.

Where are you off to? she asked, ignoring the latest slam about her mobile.

I’m taking a drive out on the perimeter, he reported helpfully, as if she didn’t know. The two of them knew well each other’s habits and conventions. Want to join me? He hoped so.

Thanks, but no. I’m off to the grocery. I’ve been short of food all weekend because I didn’t want to go shopping. Now I’m starved and have to do something about it. She smiled, but Merk knew that Lily and the domestic side of life really didn’t go together. In fact, it wasn’t just grocery shopping, Lily hated any kind of shopping. Cloud 3 had terrific artsy shops but she rarely went into any of them. Restaurants and entertainment . . . yes, mundane shopping . . . no.

Okay then . . . see you tomorrow! He shifted gears, pushed down on the accelerator, and was off in a flash . . . flying evenly about one-half foot above the air path. Merk relished his drives along the perimeter’s cloud line on Sunday afternoons. Presto . . . the city appeared in his rear-view mirror in no time at all.

He was free to go anywhere on the cloud he wanted, for as long as he wanted, because he wasn’t responsible to anyone for a whole day. Somehow, it made him feel as if he was at-large, free from the pressures of work, work he enjoyed but was shaded by the environment created by Carl; a pompous and cocky know it all. Merk was the cloud’s physical fitness instructor for the males, and Lily was the instructor for the females. Unfortunately, Carl was the senior instructor, in place to support him and Lily. And, unfortunately, Carl’s dour form of support was to micro-manage their daily activities, create unnecessary busy work, and make their lives as miserable as possible by telling them that no matter what they did, it wasn’t good enough.

Merk flinched as he caught himself thinking about Carl. He and Lily agreed a long time ago that they wouldn’t ruin weekends by thinking or talking about Carl unless they had to. He glanced over at the horizon for a moment as he sped along through the fluffy white clouds. There was simply more to think about than Carl.

The sky was a nice azure, contrasting vividly with the billowing clouds. There might even be a storm brewing. That would be delightful . . . an ominous storm. He sighed in relief as the wind blew through his thick dark layered hair. Finally, he relaxed, laying his head back on the headrest. He’d better be careful or he might fall asleep . . .

Zoom! Suddenly, alert from head to toe, his attention was drawn back to the air path as another airmobile streaked past his, but traveling in the other direction. How can this be? No one has as fast a mobile on Cloud 3! Disgruntled, he jerked the steering wheel around and put his foot to the floor in pursuit of the other mobile. Who was in it? Where were they going?

Typically, he was one of only a few drivers along this route on Sundays—a few drivers who were not in a hurry. That’s why he chose it, he loved to drive along and daydream about being on one of the other clouds. He slowed his mobile down some, and it didn’t take long for his thoughts to drift off again . . . He’d always thought that when he died he’d go to Cloud 9 but he didn’t. He was assigned to Cloud 3 and its mission. He sighed in exasperation, Well . . . wherever that speeder went, he’s out of sight now. He reversed his direction, drooped into the seat again, and daydreamed:

Cloud Nine! The best of all the clouds . . . Everywhere on Cloud Nine angels were trying to relax, he just knew it. He had a gut feeling that their whole existence was to try and enjoy themselves because during their earthly life they never knew rest and relaxation. They’d never known the pleasure of leisure time and the need for it. On Cloud Nine, angels had to learn how to appreciate taking it easy before going on to Heaven. At least that’s what he imagined . . .

Reality struck him for a moment. He shot up in his seat again, swiftly stroking the hair on his head. He’d always relaxed on earth and had taken every opportunity to do so! He’d had fun and he also took time to relieve tension. He was always putting his feet up! Did that mean he could never be transferred to Cloud 9? He’d put in for a transfer, but it kept getting rejected without a reason. Was that why, because his earthly existence was so tranquil?

Voohm . . . ! His thinking was interrupted again as that other mobile rushed by him once more. This time, since it came up from behind him, passing on the left, going in the same direction, he was able to see something of the angel driving it. It must have been a female because she seemed to have very long red hair flowing behind her as her mobile flashed by.

Well . . . I don’t know who she is or where she’s going, but I’m not going to chase her this time. If she wants to get my attention she’ll have to slow down the next time she goes by. Sure enough, here she came again, moving toward him . . . he pulled off to the right because she appeared to be hogging the whole road! Zoom! He looked in his rear view mirror . . . but she raced by, out of sight again . . . disgusting.

He reached the perimeter of the cloud where the path began making its way back around to the city, so once again he rested his head on his headrest, stretched out the best he could; slowing down. The scene driving back into the city from the perimeter was spectacular, scintillating, in fact. The skyline was low and snuggled into the never-changing cloud basin because the huts were only one and two levels high. So, in full view was the city-skyline resting against a brilliant colored sunset.

Life on Cloud 3 was exciting, but different from what he could remember from being on earth, which wasn’t much. As an earthling, he’d dreamed about a Polynesian vacation but never made it to the South Pacific Islands. So even though he didn’t know what Polynesia really looked like, he imagined it like one of the city clouds. Even though the huts were different than the pictures he’d seen of Polynesian huts, the oceans surrounding the clouds were the same—gorgeous. So were all the dazzling white sand beaches and lush greenery.

As he thought about life on Cloud 3, he wanted to spend more time than usual on his trip today. Hum . . . he thought out loud, as he noticed the clouds growing larger to the east. His earlier hunch was right. There was a storm brewing. The fleecy puffs of cotton were being replaced by hostile roiling billows with yellow centers and black linings. Well, he wasn’t going to let a rainstorm stop him, so what if he had to put up the top!

He’d been stressed out teaching the latest group of new angels the basics about physical fitness. Sometimes his mission seemed endless with the cloud’s new arrivals. Just last week, Lily checked in Sally, a former bookworm and librarian who’d never exercised a day in her life, and then he checked in Michael . . . boy, he really needed help. He might even have to visit Cloud 4 after he left 3 because his business ethics were lacking big time! Michael was an unscrupulous, physically out of shape ex-accountant who needed a lot of guidance. When Merk thought about people like Sally and Michael, he realized why he’d been assigned to Cloud 3 as an instructor. He’d been a physical education teacher on earth and God was using his athletic ability to help these poor souls become well rounded. Or, as in the case of Michael and his friend Sally . . . less rounded since they both weighed in at about three hundred pounds! Fat angels are . . . well . . . I won’t say it, he railed out loud, and meant it!

He was so engrossed in thought he almost jumped out of his seat at the ringing of his mobile phone. It was Lily.

Something’s happened! Merk heard the panic in her voice. She never bothered him during one of his drives. And, getting her to trouble anybody with problems was usually a struggle.

Is something wrong? He knew it was, or she wouldn’t call; why did he ask?

Yes . . . it’s just . . .

I’ll be right there! He didn’t let her finish, he may have overreacted, but he never took chances with Lily. He reached down to hang up the phone when . . .

Wham! Bang! He felt a severe punch in the side of his mobile, jerking his body forward against the restraints of the seatbelt. His head was thrown against the back of the seat, the vehicle was spinning in circles and his body was jammed to one side, like being in a Tilt-A-Whirl. Then something snapped and over and over the mobile rolled, crunching its way down a hill. Would it ever come to a stop?

At least he could still think, he was alive or at least he thought he was . . . he felt an abrupt wham! What did I hit? he wailed, noticing that his loud cry was raspier than usual. Motionless, he sat surveying the damage: cracked dashboard, broken window glass . . . he shook his head to clear his thoughts. He tried pulling himself up out of the wreck but something kept tugging on his wings. They were partially caught under the steering wheel, so painstakingly he pried them loose. Over the door and out of the rubble he leaped, beginning a trek back up towards the air path where he thought he might have been brutally struck by another mobile.

The air path he’d been on was higher up in the cloud, and so when his mobile rolled, it went downwards to a cloudbank that, thankfully, had stopped it from rolling further. His breathing deepened as he climbed. There, at the top, was the mobile that passed him earlier. The driver slowed a little to assess what had happened. Another mobile was sitting there on the side of the air path, crunched. Hey! Merk yelled, flailing his arms madly. Hey, stop! He could see her clearly. She was a she, and he was right about her having long red hair.

Whoever she was glanced quickly in his direction and then sped off again. He couldn’t believe his eyes, she’d only slowed down, she didn’t get out of her mobile to help . . . it was as if she didn’t care. Great! he muttered, With angels like her . . . he didn’t allow himself to finish his thought since he knew God would be tuned in right now. He kept on walking until he reached the mobile that had hit his or his had hit. Now, he was more worried about Lily, it was going to take a while to get to her. He hoped her problem could wait . . . but then, she did call . . . oh . . .

Hi, I’m Merk, he introduced himself to a couple of older angels who were standing next to their vehicle summing up the damage. Although he was in a hurry, he was civil. And, as luck would have it, the time for a downpour was now!

Hi, they responded. One angel was hanging her head and the other was trying to comfort her, Oh don’t worry about it, Bertha, the male said soothingly, almost under his breath. He reached over to pull her collar up over her hair to keep her dry, but it wasn’t floppy enough. It was too stiff and too short to function as rain gear.

Worry about what? Merk asked. Was she shouldering the blame? He’d been daydreaming half the day; he’d just received a phone call; it might have been his fault. The heavy rain changed to heavier rain, and the wind started blowing and howling.

Bertha spoke up, I . . . she sniffled. I’m sorry . . . she sniffled again, trying to be heard over the pounding rain. She crouched closer to her partner; he put his arm around her. I sort of weave in and out of the lanes, I’m glad you were driving slowly or we’d have been in a horrible accident.

Merk wanted to tell her she shouldn’t be driving, she was too old, but he was trying to be nice and hold his tongue. He hadn’t seen this couple before, since the older angels were assigned to an elder fitness instructor. He had all the ones in their twenties through forties and a few who were ready to leave the cloud since they’d practically formed themselves into super jocks.

Here, I’ll help you shove your mobile over to the side of the path, Merk shouted above the increasing wind, assuming the vehicle couldn’t go anywhere. One, two, three . . . shove . . . the three of them managed to push the dented up machine to the side of the path so it wouldn’t get hit again. Let’s put the top up," he offered so they could have a dry place to sit and figure this all out. They put the top up, and assisted Bertha at slowly getting back inside.

Thanks, I’m Jack. The man stuck out his hand to shake Merk’s. Jack didn’t seem affected by the fact that they were exchanging introductions and niceties in a downpour. I run one of the restaurants in town. How about me helping you with yours now? he offered motioning Merk toward his wrecked pride and joy. They sidestepped down the cloudbank in the pouring rain and wind to where Merk’s mobile was sitting.

It’s pretty banged up, Jack shouted. Thunder was rolling in concert with the howling wind.

Yeah! Merk stood there staring in disbelief at his perfectly wonderful mobile lying on its side with dents and scrapes all over it. Looks like Bertha side-swiped me.

Just then he thought about the red-haired angel who drove past the accident scene right after it happened. She’d been traveling in the same direction as he was, so if this older couple had veered out of their lane and into her lane, like Bertha had said, she’d have hit them hard and the accident could have been tragic. You know, that other mobile that passed a few minutes ago was speeding. There could have been a re-death here. We’re lucky, Merk summarized as he pulled out on his jacket to empty the rainwater.

It was very rare when an angel died, but re-deaths were terribly unfortunate. No matter how long anyone had been an angel, even if it had been two hundred years, they’d have to start all over again on another cloud. Going back in time made the journey to Heaven exceptionally long.

Somehow, the timing of my Sunday drive and my slowing down to enjoy the rest of my drive into the city worked together to save a life or two, he speculated to Jack.

Thankfully, we hit you instead of that hot-rod. Jack frowned, thinking of the speeder. He understood the situation all too well.

The two angels struggled to turn the mobile over, but even together they weren’t strong enough. It’s too heavy! We’re going to have to call a wrecking service, Merk inferred as the two of them once again strained to get the mobile over on its side. He reached over to see if his phone worked . . . no dial tone. "Uh . . . it seems to be out of commission too. So, up they went, back to the top of the hill, the smashed-up mobile and Bertha.

Hop in, Jack invited. Let’s see if we can get this thing going, and I’ll give you a lift back to the city.

Good deal, Totally drenched, Merk hopped in to the back seat. Thankfully, the mobile started right up.

You can borrow our mobile while you’re taking care of things, Jack offered. He wasn’t worried about Merk taking the mobile since theft was not a problem on the fitness cloud.

But Merk’s concern about Lily’s problem was in the forefront of his mind again. Uh . . . no, actually . . . could you drop me off someplace? He was surprised at himself—running over to Lily’s before taking care of his plaything that lay helplessly wounded on its side. Lily verses his mobile was a true test of his will.

Sure, anything, but if you need help later . . .

Oh, yeah, thanks, but I’ll get help, he just wished Jack would drive a little faster, but that wasn’t going to be in the cards in the blinding rain. He fidgeted in his seat, worrying about how he was going to get everything done. If only his friends could see him now . . . they’d see an entirely different side of him. He was tormented from the wreck, and had entirely too much to do in very little time. Carl wouldn’t care about a wreck, he’d just tell him he shouldn’t have been out driving. He had to put together a two-day physical fitness program for a few visiting angels from cloud 2. He tried to assemble the trip in his mind as Jack traversed through the city-streets. Part of his proposed program was to include a hike through the northern end of the main part of Cloud 3 under a galaxy of nearby stars that were unique to the Cloud. And, all the planning had to be done before tomorrow morning.

As the three of them drove in silence, Merk thought more about tomorrow’s hike. It probably wouldn’t be rained out, at least he hoped not. He loved hiking on the northern perimeter. The stars were brilliant, you had the feeling that you could reach up and pluck one for yourself. They were varying colors under the northern sky that was such a deep blue it seemed black at any time of day. In addition, there was a white sandy beach there where they could swim or drink the water because it stayed pure no matter who decided to swim in it. It would be a great trip, and he knew the angels from 2 would enjoy themselves immensely.

Finally, they pulled up in front of Lily’s, and Merk was out of the mobile and on his way up the air path to her front door in no time. He was so preoccupied that he’d forgotten any form of graciousness towards Jack and Bertha, who sat waiting to see that there would be someone home at Lily’s. They were ready to receive their new young friend back again.

When Lily opened the door, the sight before him caused his whole body to jolt as if he’d seen a ghost. He strained his eyes to make sure it wasn’t an illusion since the storm made it dark outside and even more so inside Lily’s house. The wind was roaring, thunder was crashing, and lightning bolts illuminated the sky and the faces standing before him. Lily stood halfway smiling, and motioning him to come in out of the rain, but Merk stood there paralyzed as everything around him seemed to move in slow motion.

What Lily didn’t notice, since Merk was so wet and it was so dark, was the piercing exchange of stares between him and the female standing next to her. Merk felt a rush of adrenaline shoot through his body and pierce his heart . . . it was as if he’d met this female before. He didn’t know when or how, but instantly, he knew there had been another time and place for them. He’d been an angel for three years and on Cloud 3 all of that time, so he knew any contact with her was long before that; something that he shouldn’t remember.

CHAPTER TWO

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THERE’S MERK! MERK could hear the students shouting to each other as he turned into the parking lot. Today, he felt every eye on him as he drove up to the gym in a drab looking rental. Usually, he was a delectable spectacle, cruising around in his mobile. He reflected on how sporty it had been . . . and the whole summer vacation making it even sportier! His friends at the body shop helped him streamline the back fenders and add a spoiler, and put on a white convertible top that added a crisp contrast to the dark red body. One of his friends revved up the engine, so he created a lot of attention on the cloud.

Where’s your mobile? Michael quizzed as Merk slowly twisted himself out of the rental, like it was a chore. Somehow, he didn’t think that this plain hardtop suited Merk’s image. A clunker just didn’t cut it.

Bad accident yesterday, Merk muttered under his breath, making his way to the gym with angels strolling along at his side. I don’t want to talk about it! he scowled. I’ll get mine back in a couple of weeks. Obviously they were curious.

What happened? he heard them asking each other.

Why does everybody always have to be following me around! Despite what Merk thought of himself, he made an indelible mark on others, being brusque with them would not erase it, so they rarely left him alone. He was a born leader because no matter what he did, people just followed him. Nothing further to say he entered the locker room, set his wings aside and started getting into his fitness gear. He put on royal blue silky shorts with a purple stripe down the sides and a fancy purple sports top made of a material that whisks away moisture from the body.

The temperature outside is perfect today, he announced as he tied up his laces, seventy-five degrees with almost no humidity! He stood up with a bound, patted his stomach contentedly, with both hands, and then stretched his arms toward the ceiling. He could feel his silky shorts and top draping his skin, and it always felt good to be in such good shape. His fitness shoes were a silky canvas and were white