Mother, father is here and is singing for you

When the cherry tree of Our Lord suddenly drops its fruit and you are sitting right underneath the tree, you are buried under all those delicious things, and life is good once more, life smiles upon you, for you have received food and drink again, and you definitely know, this is how good Our Lord is.
He never forgets anybody!
And then the gates of true paradise are also open to your life.
If you now have the strength within you to go on, the strength which represents human understanding, humiliation, justice and willingness, friendship also, but especially ‘love’, then you will stand looking like a small happy child, and you will know ...
HE was never different, but you did not know Him!
Tall Hendrik experienced that!
They laid him under that tree, and when he awoke, the tree of life shook itself until it was completely bare, and he could start on his very first breakfast, but without coffee, in the Parvis of Our Lord.
You will not believe it, but Hendrik heard singing and he even thought he could hear his own voice.
Is that the case?
He thought that he heard Peter, his own boys and the men of his quartet.
Hendrik fell asleep again, because it had taken him by surprise for a moment and he didn’t know anything anymore.
But this first contact with reality gave him inspiring strength, because Hendrik understood that behind the coffin everything is still the same, nothing will be lost of what you did with good intentions, and all of that lives, and was now food and drink for him!
Could things be more just than that?
No!
Because this is rightfully yours!
And then you stand on your own two feet or you fall asleep.
This meant sleep for Hendrik.
For Jeus, when he awoke in the morning, it was a happy feeling, also the inspiration to take care of Crisje, and he was immediately out of bed.
“Mother, I have a message for you.
Father is not dead, he is alive.”
Now that Jeus sees the woman who drinks like a fish, he remembers what happened.
He was sitting under a cherry tree, the same one from which Hendrik also ate.
All those words, all those phenomena are cherries from the tree of life and belong to Our Lord.
It is cold and wintry outside, yonder it is summer and spring, eternal spring, which never comes to an end.
Then he quickly goes to Crisje.
“Now you must listen carefully to me, mother.
I have something to tell you.
Father is not dead.
Father will come back, mother, but you must be patient for a while.
Will you keep strong, mother?
Father has to work for Our Lord, mother.
And I am here as well.
I must take care of you.”
Understood, Crisje?
What a fellow!
Now you can go on, can’t you?
Can’t mother give a little smile?
Great, today he does not have to go to school.
He doesn’t want to go either; he must stay with mother and look after her.
He does not leave Crisje’s side for a second.
Aunt Trui, he sees, is nice to mother.
What sullen faces the boys are pulling.
Father is not dead.
What do those children want?
Must he also pull a long face?
They would want that, but he will not do it.
Those whippersnappers do not understand all of that, anyway.
In the course of the afternoon people in black come to visit.
What do they want?
There is one who wants to talk to mother.
What does that man in black want to talk to mother about?
And this evening people will come to pray for father.
He laughs, because he feels that father will also laugh.
After all, father is kidding them.
Will those people also bring a coffin?
That is enough to drive you mad.
Is father not going a little too far in this game?
Will those men put father in the coffin?
“Father, come back, they want to put you in the coffin.
Do not stay away too long.”
“But mother, father will not accept that.”
Jeus does not understand that his father must be put in the ground.
Father will re-enter his body, if he can do that, and he will then live here again.
He cannot think.
Something inside refuses, he sees only this possibility, but still?
Jeus could know this, because dead is not dead.
Yes, the body; the spirit as a personality goes on.
However, he does not see that.
He holds onto the word, that is everything for him and there is nothing else to experience.
It becomes evening, the people are already coming to pray for father.
He is also kneeling in the kitchen and is following everything.
He cannot understand it, he does not understand it, and you don’t need to pray for a living person, do you?
Just look at those faces.
There are hypocrites and people who swear like troopers here.
Can they pray for father?
Will father accept that?
Just look at that dry sexton.
Just look at that brat, that one there, who is possessed by a real devil now and again.
Now does that man wish to pray for father?
‘Tower of David, pray for us.’
This is where father and Peter sang, and Gerrit Noesthede always made a lot of fun here.
Gerrit is sitting there now; do you not have to laugh?
‘Ark of the Covenant, pray for us.’
Good gracious, how they laughed when Chang and Carlo were here.
Next door they swear, next door at Mrs De Man’s house, she is not here now, he is sleeping.
Can Gerrit not laugh now?
Does Jan Maandag have nothing to say then?
Father is kidding them all ... he bursts out laughing.
‘Gilt House, pray for us.’
The laughter resounds through the kitchen, the sexton looks round wildly.
They are just like Lady Bountiful, they are praying for nothing, they are only kidding themselves and do not mean it anyway.
Good heavens, how they laughed here then.
Bernard told him everything.
Gerrit told them about Manus Runsel.
Anneke had been at Manus’ house.
She had a toothache and then Manus played a trick on her.
Good heavens, how he has to laugh.
Aunt Trui comes to him with a bottle, which he must sniff.
His nerves have got him.
Does that cost much, mother?
Are those people expecting to be paid for these prayers?
Just look at that sexton looking nasty.
But listen, mother, father is singing.
Father is here ...
Father is singing and he hears prayers.
That is happening here, he is experiencing it and he sees it, he can no longer follow the prayers.
Suddenly he screams at Crisje:
“Mother, father is here and is singing for you!”
The sexton is silent, the people look, they find the boy strange; but nerves are nerves and that is understandable as well.
The sexton puts an end to it, the people leave.
He is sleeping at Mrs De Man’s house again.
And he sleeps well, his sleep is deep.
His father is not there now.
At about eleven o’clock the men in black come back to talk to mother.
He has seen a coffin, does father have to go in that coffin?
The doors are locked.
And Aunt Trui has the key, no one is allowed in the house.
Why not?
Is that not strange?
What do those people want to do to father?
He knows very well how he can get inside.
In a moment he is standing next to the pigsty and is walking through the hallway.
He will first look in the room to see whether father is still there.
It is quiet in the house.
He is standing in the kitchen; it is completely silent.
He goes step by step.
What is that?
Father has gone.
What have they done with father?
Have they taken him out the door, and he did not see it?
Back to the front room.
He will also take a look there.
He opens the door carefully.
My God, father is standing there.
They have put father in the coffin and that must not happen.
He wants to run to his father, he wants to kiss father.
He wants to help father, but there is something, a strong force which holds him back!
He cannot move an inch.
Now he has decided not to kiss father – because why could he not continue?
– now he can take a step and approaches the coffin.
He stands at the foot of the coffin and looks at his father’s face.
He thinks.
It is quiet here, but that is going too far, does father mind?
Good gracious father, is this really necessary?
He continues to look at his father.
He already has marks on his face.
His nose is rigid, and his lips are pressed together.
Can father not say anything?
“Can you not talk to me, father?
I am here!”
Father is strange, that other one looks like him, this is nothing.
“Can’t you hear me, father?
I am here.
You do want to come back, don’t you?
Do not make it too long, father.
They have already put you in a coffin; that is going too far!
Come back, father!
Come back!
Or the men will get you.”
He looks into the closed eyes of Tall Hendrik.
But he sees lights in those eyes.
And those lights are now everywhere.
It is father.
“Father?”
“So, Jeus, you have come to pay me a little visit as well?”
“Yes, father.
But why have you let yourself be put in the coffin?”
“But that is part of it, Jeus.”
“What are you saying to me, father?
You can no longer come back?”
“Yes, Jeus, you will still experience that.”
“Are you kidding people then, father?”
“No, not really, Jeus, but wait, then you will understand.”
“If I were you, father, then I would not continue with it.
You already have marks on your face now.
And how do you want to get rid of them, father?”
“That will happen of its own accord, Jeus.
We people do not need to do anything for it.”
“If people know this, father, then they do not have to be afraid to die, do they?
They are alive, anyway, father.”
“They have known it for a long time, Jeus, but they do not wish to understand it yet.
They are afraid of it.”
“I can understand that, father.
They are scaredy cats.
But how beautifully you sang, father.
That was nicer than in the quartet, father.
Mother should have heard that, shouldn’t she?
And those other people, then they could have believed me, father.”
“Yes, Jeus, but those people are not that far yet.”
“Does Gerrit Noesthede already know that you are kidding him, father?”
“No, Gerrit is still sleeping like all those other people, just like I myself, Jeus, when I was still there.”
“But you are still there, father, aren’t you?”
“Of course, Jeus, but not for those people, they cannot believe that yet, and that is all.”
“And what about Peter, father?”
“Now you must listen carefully to me, Jeus.
Peter must come quickly.
Along with uncle Gradus.
They must work for Our Lord just like me.
Then we will all sing together again.
Here, where I am now, you know that.”
“Of course, I know, father.”
“When Peter is with me, Jeus, you must just listen well, then you will be able to hear us and all the other angels;
You must tell mother that.
Now just say to mother, Jeus, that I have at least twenty violins, very expensive ones, and I will do my best.
I will play for mother.
And just tell her that I need all those violins.
You won’t forget, Jeus, will you?”
“No, father, of course not.
You know that, father, don’t you?”
“Of course, Jeus, I know.
You do not forget anything.
Now just listen for a moment Jeus.
You must say nothing to Aunt Trui.
But mother may know about uncle Gradus.
And mother must know.”
“Do you mean, father, that I must tell mother that uncle Gradus and Peter will come to you?”
“Yes, that is all.
As long as you remember.
Because I was given this task, Jeus.”
“Did Our Lord himself say that to you, father?”
“I believe so, Jeus.”
“Do you know, father, that I have talked to Our Lord?”
“I know now, Jeus.
Now I can understand everything better, can’t I?”
“Of course, father, I know that.
I have already known that for such a long time, father.”
“You know all about me and Our Lord, don’t you?”
“Yes, father, and I will tell mother.
May I kiss you now, father?”
“No, you may not do that, Jeus.”
“But you will be back, won’t you, father?”
“Yes, I will come and visit you.
And now you must go, Jeus, I have to rest.”
“Of course, father, I can understand that.
Goodbye, father.”
“Goodbye, Jeus.
Take good care of mother.”
The door opens.
Trui enters the room, and pulls Jeus away from Tall Hendrik.
“Get out of here, what do you want here?”
“I had to talk to father for a moment, aunt Trui.”
“How did you get in?”
“Through the pigsty, aunt Trui.”
“Then we will just lock it, won’t we?
You have no reason to be here.”
He thinks: just you wait, and soon you can have uncle Gradus put in the coffin.
And then you can cry, then you will have no more talk, and you will be cut down to size; aunt Trui, I know something.
“Mother, I talked to father.
He will play his violins for you until they break.
Father has been given really beautiful violins, mother.
And father will do his best, mother.”
And now, so that Trui cannot hear, he whispers in her ear what his father told him.
“Yes, mother, father said that uncle Gradus will be with him soon.
But aunt Trui may not know yet.
Peter as well, mother.
Will you not say anything to aunt Trui, mother?”
“Of course not, Jeus.”
Crisje presses him to her heart.
If he weren’t there, she would not know what to do.
He gives her the initial strength to be able to deal with all of this.
And from this moment onwards his dream comes back to him.
Now he can still only think of one thing: father will come back, and then father will show them that he is alive.
He does not think about that corpse there, but it must not take too long.
He gets to experience exactly what his Tall one wants him to experience and think.
Jeus is universal, also a child, he only holds onto what is given to him, and now everything is going well, the proof of Our Lord flows to the earth and her children.
It is those cherries!
Crisje also gets to hear:
“When father plays soon, mother, father will play so that you can hear it.”
“Of course, Jeus ...”, Crisje answers him, but the blow is terrible, the blow is enormous, her life is destroyed!
They are lying in the kitchen again in order to pray for Hendrik.
He has gone to sleep again; he will need his strength tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the day for his eternal life and consciousness.
Tomorrow, Tall Hendrik, you will bury yourself and you can support your pure love.
That is only granted to people who really love and is, of course, a gift from Our Lord.
“Tower of David ... pray for us.”
But how stupid the people are.
Did they think now that they could pray for father?
He is already laughing.
There follows:
“But hush ..., Jeus.”
“Gilt House ...” ,but what is that?
Do you not have to laugh about that now?
“But hush!”
The bald one is sitting there as well.
That man once stood at a grave and became so angry that he fell in and wanted to kick the coffin to pieces.
His own nephew had cheated him in his life.
And he now says: ‘pray for us.’
You have to laugh at that whether you like it or not.
“But hush, Jeus.”
Aunt Trui lets him sniff at her bottle again.
That person who swears like a trooper is there again as well.
The quartet is not singing now, the quartet is praying for father.
‘Peter?
Father said ...!
Peter ... father said ...?
He would so much have liked to tell Peter, but then Peter would be shocked to death.
No, he may not do that, father would be angry.
Peter could not bear it, of course.
People cannot take it.
They do not want to go in the coffin but still, father is alive.
That coffin means nothing, Peter?
Peter? ...’
“Hush ... Jeus!”
However, Peter heard him saying his name; he looks at Jeus.
Peter gives him a nod, that he must not interrupt the prayers.
Trui stands up calmly and takes him outside.
He says nothing; he would only laugh.
“Right, Jeus, that is better.
Have a sniff, that is good for you.”
He sniffs at the bottle and feels ridiculous.
Trui closes the door behind her and follows the prayers.
Crisje asks him a while later:
“But why did you have to laugh like that, Jeus?”
“That’s a good one, mother.
Father has got all of them.
And I had to think of the bald one and then I had to laugh, mother.”
They are ready to take Tall Hendrik away.
Jeus keeps watch; father must come.
If they are over there with father, father will come back.
The coffin is raised onto the shoulders, his singers, friends carry him to the church.
Crisje walks with Trui behind the coffin, then Johan and Bernard follow, and he along with Gerrit.
Behind them are friends and acquaintances, from all around.
The procession sets off; step by step they go.
Now father should arrive.
Suddenly he sees his father.
He is walking between him and Gerrit.
He wants to keep up with father and now takes large steps.
Gerrit sees it and gives him a nudge.
“Father is there, Gerrit.”
Gerrit thinks that he is mad.
“Are you not ashamed imitating father?”
Jeus looks him in the eye.
His father says to him:
“Just leave him, Jeus, he knows nothing about this and he cannot understand you either.
Now walk nicely, okay?”
“Yes, father.”
“It is good like that, Jeus, or people will speak wrongly about it.”
“Of course, father.”
Gerrit knows nothing about it; Jeus sees and feels that.
No one sees father.
But still, father has come back.
Father is walking behind his own coffin.
Mother doesn’t know.
Neither do aunt Trui and uncle Gradus.
No one sees it, but still, father is here.
Have the people gone completely mad then?
But is father not going too far?
Good gracious, that is going as far as the graveyard.
They will put father in the ground there.
Jeus looks at him, but he is actually walking with his eyes closed.
He can understand that.
As long as it’s not too late yet.
He now notices that the people neither know, nor understand anything about his things.
Then they enter the church.
He sees that father descends into mother and disappears before his eyes.
But father is inside mother.
Father is helping mother, because that’s what it is.
The mass is read for father, they have invited a wonderful singer to sing for father, it is beautiful what he hears, but it is not nearly as nice as the singing yonder.
There are candles around father, and the priest blesses him, and he is there inside mother.
It is ridiculous.
Why doesn’t the priest bless the real father instead of that dead one there?
But of course, father still has to do with that.
Father will soon crawl back in there.
But this is ridiculous, isn’t it?
His head is spinning, he can no longer think, he could go mad.
Suddenly he feels strong again and he can think again.
Is that not José?
Where is his Tall One now?
The church service ends;
Now to the graveyard, slowly but surely.
It is heaving with people, Tall Hendrik is leaving.
The great singer has gone; Crisje is left behind with seven children and not a cent in the house.
However, she will work.
And the boys are also already earning something.
Crisje drinks her very last drop for this scene.
She does not know, but there is already another chalice standing ready, and it is full to the brim again.
Another wine is standing waiting for her life.
Just a moment ago that chalice was brought, but no one knows who it was.
This one is completely empty!
It is the one belonging to her and Hendrik.
These are now the last drops for her.
Father is mad, Jeus thinks, he is really letting himself be buried.
He can keep upright, but his thoughts are like a snowstorm, he just doesn’t know and has nothing to cling to any more.
Everything is strange!
Father is completely mad!
He lets himself be buried, and soon sand will be thrown on the coffin!
That is enough to drive you mad!
Can you approve of that now, father?
There is mother.
He sees that father is there.
No, they will not get any sand on father; they would like that.
Father is with mother.
Father helps mother.
But why has father let it come so far?
Must he make mother unhappy then?
They put father in the ground anyway, and he does not understand that any longer.
His head is bursting from all that thinking and from this tension.
You would go mad if father were not there.
Father is inside mother.
Mother would collapse, but father is keeping mother strong.
Yes, that’s it!
Then they lower father to the ground.
He is screaming inside.
Are you mad, stay away from my father!
Johan, kick those men away, they are burying your father!
What a pity that Bernard has lost his leg, he would teach them a lesson.
Dirty rotters, stay away from my father.
He is standing next to Crisje.
There is father as well.
Now he becomes calm inside and he can breathe for a moment.
It is a terrible drama.
Is father not doing anything?
No, he even allows the priest to talk about him.
He listens, but he has to laugh.
Father is here.
Again, he has to sniff aunt Trui’s bottle.
Stronger, Jeus.
It is good like that!
Will you now stay calm for a while?
When the priest has finished talking, others follow.
Peter, Gerrit, Jan Maandag and others have something to say about father.
And father is standing there himself, listening.
It is enough to die laughing.
He is laughing as well, so that they can hear him on the Grintweg.
Finally it is finished.
They go back and on the way home, he sees his father and hears:
“Be quiet now, Jeus.”
“Why did you let yourself be put in the ground, father?”
“But that is part of it, Jeus, isn’t it?”
He wants to say something, but there is the Tall One.
“Jeus, now listen for a moment.
Father will be back, but that will take a while.
You must not worry.
Now listen carefully, that will take a while ... and you will now take care of mother.
Have you understood me, Jeus?”
“Of course, that is a good one.
I will take care of mother.
Now I know.”
“Then see you soon, Jeus.”
“See you soon, father.”
“Goodbye, Jeus.”
“Goodbye, father.”
When they come home and Jeus sees that the people get food and drink, then start to talk about father, he takes off with Fanny into the woods.
He goes a long way from home, near to the Hunzeleberg, where he once found the money, and he lies down there.
Fanny needs to know all about it now.
He holds a funeral oration for Fanny.
First, he starts to bless Fanny.
Fanny is lying on its back and has to close its eyes.
However, that does not work, so Fanny just has to listen.
“Oh, Fanny, what a good lad you are.
How good you are for people and for your Cris.”
No, that is not working.
Fanny has nothing to do with mother.
Yet, it did.
So he can continue.
“What a good person you are Fanny.
My God, Fanny, how well you could sing, and how many people didn’t enjoy your voice!
There were thousands.
My Fanny, how I will miss you in the choir.
You are irreplaceable, Fanny.
Crisje, Fanny ... I mean ...
Our Lord gives you the strength to bear all of this.”
Fanny jumps up.
“No, Fanny, I have something else to say.
I am now Peter.
But you won’t understand that anyway.
Peter spoke Germany’s, Fanny, and not a bit of dialect.
But I understood him.
My God, how I will miss you, Fanny.
I have nothing to say to you, Fanny.
I have nothing to say to you, Fanny, and you can understand that anyway, Fanny?
How bothersome that is, how annoyingly Peter talks, Fanny.
Do you not want to have a little bark now?”
Fanny barks out of gratitude.
Jeus wanders about the woods until late, but he will sleep in the attic again tonight.
It stinks in that house of Mrs De Man.
When he comes home, mother is sitting behind the stove alone.
It is quiet!
Mother is sorrowful, but father will be back.
What is it, mother?
Do you still have to cry?
The boys go to bed; he is alone with Crisje.
He talks to her and feels as though he is Tall Hendrik.
Has mother gone completely mad then?
Do you have to hang your head now, mother?
You say that you can accept everything; but what is this?
What are you doing now?
You are staring into an empty space, Crisje.
And that mustn’t happen, you must complete your task.
“Yes ...” says Crisje ...
“now we have to prove what we can do, Jeus.
That is true!”
Crisje, Hendrik did not leave one second too soon or too late.
It was exactly his time!
I wish you strength!
And more so, an awful lot of strength for your task!
We will talk to each other again.
Crisje takes Jeus in her arms and goes to sleep!
That same night they were back in the Parvis of Our Lord.
They found the first living, snow-white ‘orchid’ from Hendrik, the father of Jeus, for Crisje!
This was already a good piece of work and that just after being released from the material body.
However, this really meant something.
True or not, this is the work of Our Lord, Tall Hendrik!
The world will still get to know you.
You will live on into eternity, Tall Hendrik!
Now just rest a while, soon we will fetch you for something else.
Your new leader will be waiting for you then.
I also wish you strength and a lot of courage.
See you soon, Tall Hendrik!