Two guys lived in the same village. They were great friends and loved each other so deeply that they took an oath: whoever of them gets married first should invite his friend to his wedding as a groomsman, even if he were at the end of the world. A short time later, one of them died. Another was getting ready to get married and went to his confessor for advice.
“It’s a bad thing,” says the priest, “you have to keep your word.” Go to the grave and invite a friend, even though he is dead. Whether he shows up or not is his business.
The guy came to the grave and said:
- The time has come. Come to my wedding as a friend.
The ground parted and his friend jumped out.
“I’m going, I’m going,” he says, “I have to keep my word.” Otherwise I’ll have to spend who knows how long in purgatory.
They went home, and from there to church, for the wedding. Then there was a wedding dinner, and the deceased friend told all sorts of stories, but did not utter a word about the next world. The groom's tongue was itching to ask him a question, but he never dared. After dinner, the deceased friend stood up and spoke.
- So, my friend, I gave you pleasure - I came. Won't you accompany me now?
- How then? But only close. You understand, today is the first night, and my wife...
- Well, of course, not far! The newlywed kissed his wife and said:
“I’ll go away for a minute and will be back soon,” and he left with the dead man.
Chatting about this and that, they reached the grave.
We hugged. Here he was alive and thought: “If I don’t ask now, there won’t be another such case.” He plucked up courage and said:
“Listen, you’re a dead man, won’t you tell me how it is with you in the other world?”
“What can I tell you,” the deceased answers, “come with me, you’ll see for yourself.”
The grave opened, and the living followed the dead straight to heaven. The deceased took his friend to a beautiful crystal palace with golden doors. Blessed souls danced in the palace, angels played lutes, and Saint Peter played the double bass. The living one looked with his mouth open, and who knows how long he would have stood here, but everything else had to be looked at.
“Let’s go further,” said the dead man and led his friend into the garden; there, instead of leaves, colorful birds sat on the trees and sang sweetly at the top of their voices.
“Come on, let’s go, why are you standing here enchanted!” — The friends went out onto the lawn, where the angels were having fun, gentle and cheerful, like lovers.
- Now let's look at the stars!
Oh, what stars, you can’t take your eyes off them! And the rivers! Instead of water, wine flowed in them, and the banks were made of cheese.
Finally the living one realized:
- Godfather, godfather, I’ve been here for a long time, it’s time to go home: my wife is probably worried.
-Are you tired?
- Tired of it?! What are you talking about? Be it my will...
- Stay, you’ll see this again...
- I believe it, but it’s time for me to go.
- Well, as you know. The deceased accompanied his friend to the grave and disappeared. He came out of the grave alive and did not recognize the cemetery: there were monuments, statues, and tall trees everywhere. He left the cemetery and instead of the old houses made of rough stone, he saw huge buildings, trams, cars, airplanes...
“What the hell is this, where have I ended up? Did you make a mistake, dear? How strangely dressed all these people are!” He asks the old man:
“Most Honorable One, is this village such and such?”
- Yes, yes, only this is a city, not a village. “God knows where I ended up.”
– Could you tell me where the house of the one who got married yesterday is?
- Yesterday? I am the local sexton and I can assure you that no one got married yesterday.
- How? But I got married myself.” And he told the sexton how he went to heaven with his dead friend.
“You’re crazy,” the old man laughed. “This story has been told for a long time: the newlywed went with his godfather to the grave and did not return, and the young wife died of grief.”
- Yes, I am that same husband!
- Listen, you need to talk to our bishop.
- With the bishop? Yes, in this village there is only a parish priest!
- What a priest! We've had a bishop here for how many years.
And he took him to the bishop.
When the guy told the bishop what happened to him, he remembered that he had heard this story as a child. He took out church books and began leafing through them. Thirty years ago – nothing; fifty years - nothing, a hundred - no, two hundred - no. The bishop rummaged through the papers for a long time and finally found the names of the guy and his bride on one old and faded piece of paper.
- It was three hundred years ago! The young husband really disappeared in the cemetery, and his wife died of grief. Read it if you don't believe me!
- Yes, it’s me! I am that same person!
- So you returned from the other world? Why are you silent? Tell me, tell me quickly!
But the guy turned pale as death, fell to the ground and died immediately. He never had time to talk about what he saw.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru