The GHOST and Charlie Dusenberry

PG. 29 TGACD R. ZEIS

It was another spectacular morning.

“Isn’t every morning spectacular?” Gus Dusenberry said quietly to himself.

Not wanting to wake his wife, Gus had climbed carefully out of bed and now stood staring out his bedroom window. The Sun was slowly rising from behind the mountains and the colors being splashed across the clouds were breathtaking. It was beautiful.

Shaking his head in wonder, Gus crept out of the bedroom and carefully closed the door. He padded down the hallway to the kitchen and found the coffee maker had again faithfully brewed his favorite morning beverage. Taking a steaming mug with him, Gus opened the front door to his home and found the morning paper were it always was on his welcome mat.

“Let’s see what the world has in store for today.” Gus always said that every morning. He still wasn’t used to the way things were done “up” here. The paper’s stories didn’t inform you about what happened yesterday…it let you know what was GOING to happen today. If you wanted to be surprised about the day’s happenings, you did not read the paper or watch the TV. Gus preferred to read the news, but not the baseball scores. He liked to watch the games to see who won.

Gus had no idea how long he had been here. At times it seemed like he had been reunited with his wife a long time ago. Yet, there were times when it seemed like he had just arrived last week. Weird. Norma admitted she felt the same way. His wife was already here when Gus showed up. She told him she was expecting him but had no idea when the exact time would be.

After reading the paper, Gus decided to go to his bathroom. Another strange thing about being “here,” was that you went to the bathroom only when you wanted to go. No terrible urges and no emergencies. Again, weird. After Gus had relieved himself he stood washing his hands and staring at himself in the mirror. He saw a very fit man who stood over six-foot-three with brown hair and brown eyes. Norma said he looked just like when they first met in the 1930s. Gus smiled at that. He told her the same thing. She was beautiful and he considered himself a lucky man.

Gus still had memories of his previous life. They were mostly good memories. Sure, there were some bad times, some hard times, but he mostly remembered the good in his life.

PG. 30 TGACD R. ZEIS

Talking with friends and relatives that seemed to live close by, it was the way things were here in his new life. Only the good things were remembered well.

Gus had adjusted to his “new” life quickly. When he first arrived he was confused about the way things were. His wife, relatives, and close friends all helped him make the transition from “down” there to where he now was. In fact, it wasn’t long before he was helping other friends and relatives make the transition. It was good to be here.

Now, however, there was something new to consider. Just a couple of days ago a young angel had stopped by his home. Like all the angels she was beautiful and full of life. Her arrival surprised Gus since angels didn’t just drop by all the time. They were there if you needed to talk with one, but mostly they were kept busy helping other people. Gus offered her a chair and he sat down facing her.

“Gus,” she said, “you have something He needs you to do.” This surprised Gus since there was never anything you needed to do here. You basically did whatever you wanted to do whenever you wanted to do it. “He wants you to help someone.”

Gus knew who He was, so this was big. “What could I do that you can’t do? Aren’t you the guys who handled the big stuff?”

The angel smiled. “Gus, there are things that we sometimes ask of people who have special tasks that need to be done. You have a special task.”

“You mean like helping to greet a new arrival?”

Another smile from the angel. “Not like that. This task is special because it means sending you back ‘down’ and helping someone you know. It will take a few visits before you get used to being back ‘down.’ However, He thinks you will do just fine.”

Gus was shocked. He had never heard of anyone being sent back “down” there before. “Am I being punished? I don’t remember doing anything wrong!”

“Calm down, Gus,” the angel had said. “You are not in trouble, In fact, you are being given a special gift. Your task is the answer to a prayer. It may not be an easy task. You have to listen and learn.”

Listen and learn? Gus wondered what that meant. “When do I go? And, who do I help?”

The angel stood up and walked to the front door. Gus took this as a way of saying this meeting was coming to an end. “You will leave soon. And you will find out the who, AND why of this task all by yourself.” With that the angel walked out the front door and disappeared.

PG. 31 TGACD R. ZEIS

For the first time since his arrival here, Gus felt uneasy. Why him? Why now? Who could possibly need Gus Dusenberry to help? These were questions that raced through his mind as he walked to the living room window. There were no answers to his questions. All he could do was once again stare at the spectacular sunrise that he witnessed every morning.