‘This is a lovely place,’ Jane said. ‘I feel I have been here before,’ Jane continued. ‘I have dreamt about this place, Jane mused. ‘I was in the hospital and was not recovering from surgery…mom and dad were worried, and dad was crying,’ Jane recalled. ‘I was here with Chet and Billy B and Neva J,’ Jane smiled. ‘We were playing musical instruments…I, the cello, and Billy B, the saxophone,’ Jane laughed. ‘Chet was playing the piano,’ Jane noted. ‘Neva J sat listening with great interest and sipped a glass of Merlot,’ Jane laughed. ‘I tripped climbing the stairs ascending to the Concert Hall and was overjoyed to not be hurt or feel pain,’ Jane explained. ‘Outside the large windows, I could see storm clouds gathering in the direction we had walked to arrive for the performance,’ Jane said. ‘As I entered the great hall, I noticed two gargoyles on each side of the massive doors, and they nodded and spoke to me, greeting me by name, Jane said with wonder. ‘As I looked at the storm clouds, I heard a weak, small voice that sounded like Dad,’ Jane said. ‘He was saying something to me, but I could not hear the words clearly,’ Jane continued. ‘We concluded our musical performance, and Chet said we will sit with Neva J in a glass of Merlot before the next set,’ Jane grinned.

‘Neva J asked if I was enjoying the majestic Concert Hall,’ Jane remembered. ‘She looked like she did in her twenties and was full of life,’ Jane noted. ‘Neva J told me that soon I would have a decision to make,’ Jane explained. ‘Did I want to stay in this wonderful place or did I miss my parents and my classmates and want to return to them?’ Jane said with tears in her eyes. ‘Chet told me that it was time to return to my seat and resume the concert,’ Jane noted.

‘So shall we visit the land beyond the Veil?’ Billy B asked. ‘Neva J has pulled the curtain back and beckoned us to come in, ‘Billy B noted. ‘There is another chapter to our story that we have only imagined,’ Billy B said. ‘Are we participating in the main event or just the warm-up before the big race?’ Billy B continued. ‘The beautiful black singer on Royal Street told me that the best is yet to come,’ Billy B commented. ‘I got a glimpse of the hidden future when the band played in the Hotel Monteleone, and it was almost more than I could imagine,’ Billy B proclaimed. ‘Before me was a panoply of love and acceptance,’ Billy B whispered. ‘My little dogs were there, Bruiser and Abigail Brody and Wallace with Parker alongside,’ Billy B wiped tears from his eyes. ‘People enjoying the music had a faraway look in their eyes as if they were seeing what I was seeing,’ Billy B said softly. ‘What are we here for and where are we going?’ Billy B said.

It was quiet in the French Quarter. The hateful rhetoric had ceased. No one spoke of celebrities of either politics or religion. The formerly busy streets of the metropolises of man were eerily silent. Love watched as the skys lit up with fire. Caring tended to the grievous wounds. A lovely black singer sang of suffering and loss, hope and a better life. Her face was wounded by radiation as her spirit soared…