Ray of hope

There is a fine moral in this short story. There lived a wicked man who went to hell on his death. He found himself in pitch dark bottomless pit deep down. He could hear many voices of people around him screaming, sobbing, cursing and some even laughing. It was an eerie atmosphere. Even this heartless and ruthless man became afraid of the utter darkness enveloping the place. He did not know how long he would be condemned to this pit. Time passed interminably with no rays of light or hope of deliverance. It was then that he thought of god for the first time in his life. He had not entered the portals of a temple even to protect himself when rains lashed.

Daunted by the plight he was in, he prayed from his heart”Oh God, won’t you please save me from this frightening hell if you are real” and started crying.

As is His wont, God responded to the non-believer promptly. The bad man heard the voice of god saying” yes, child, you sought my help in this difficult situation. I can help you if you can narrate a few incidents in your life where you have done well to another human.”

The man could not recollect however much he tried any such acts of kindness. Only the pictures of his cruelty appeared magnified several fold.

God prompted him in His kind voice” Even one incident would do and it can be even towards the lower species like animals, birds or insects. I want to help you to turn into a good person. Tell me quickly”.

The man after a long time replied” I can think of only one instance .I do not know whether it was kindness on my part. As I was walking I was about to put my foot on a spider that was crawling on my way. I held my foot for a fraction of second for it to move away and save its life.”
"That is splendid and an act of kindness deserving some reward. You will soon see for yourself. But remember to show the same kindness to all in future “

The voice was gone and it was all silent. Soon the man found a very thin shining strand of web passing near him. He put his hand on it and gently pulled it towards afraid it may snap. Surprisingly it did not. He pulled it strongly and the strand was strong. Slowly he started climbing up and up and could see the rays of sunlight. The bright opening of the deep pit was close by and he moved up swiftly.
There was a sudden fear whether others also would have seen this ray of web and climbing up along with him. He was afraid the strand may not withstand the weight and break. He looked down and found many climbing up behind him from the dim light of the ray. He stopped climbing and shouted “This is my strand of web given me by god for the many good things I have done .You cannot come up on my strand. Leave it immediately”
The moment he uttered these words, the ray snapped and all went down to the dark abysmal depths.
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