He handed the dog his sandwich: “Take it, doggy. Eat it. You need it more, but I don’t anymore…” Then he lay down on the bench and closed his eyes. The dog finished the sandwich and, curling up next to him, began to whine softly. And then…

    

He handed the dog his sandwich: “Take it, doggy. Eat it. You need it more, but I don’t anymore…” Then he lay down on the bench and closed his eyes. The dog finished the sandwich and, curling up next to him, began to whine softly. And then…

They say that once in heaven a real schism almost broke out; so sharp was the dispute among the angels. The world almost trembled, because never before had their opinions diverged so irrevocably.

You might think, “Stupid, insignificant.” Maybe. But let me tell you…

The man we’re talking about ran the largest investment firm. They invested in promising projects, but they made most of their money by rescuing failing companies. Although it’s a stretch to call it a bailout.

In essence, it was a ruse: first, “aid,” then, control, division, and piecemeal sale. Everything was legal, everything was clean. But behind the fine words were ruined lives.

Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of people lost everything. And they cursed the man who, with his impeccable tie and smile, considered himself simply a good strategist.

He had become nearly a billion richer, and his employees considered him nothing less than a market prophet. Banks lined up to entrust him with their capital.

But nothing lasts forever. Eighty years, and his body had had enough. He retired and settled into a luxurious villa by the sea, surrounded by family, silence, and luxury.

Until the hurricane hit. It swept everything away. The house, like a house of cards, collapsed under the gusts of wind and the pounding waves. He was the only survivor. The others…

The others couldn’t get out. It had been raining for days, the ground was soaked, and the power hadn’t been cut off. And the downed wires became a trap. He sat next to the wreckage, wrapped in a blanket, holding a sandwich, and waited. For the rescuers. Or finally.

He looked at the ruins of his greatness and realized there was no point in building anything new. There was no one to do it. Everything he had lived for was gone. His children, his grandchildren, his home—everything was gone. The company that had brought him fabulous profits now seemed like a meaningless symbol.

He tried to pray, but the words wouldn’t come. He tried to ask, “Why not me? Why everyone?” But the sky was silent. And only the pain in his chest reminded him that he was still alive.

Suddenly, a dog jumped onto the bench. Red, skinny, homeless. He looked into its eyes, and they reflected everything: loneliness, confusion, guilt.

“There’s only one left,” he whispered. “And it’s my fault. I brought them here, I was sure I could handle anything… And now, nothing.”

Tears or raindrops, he no longer knew. But the sky seemed to weep with him. He handed the dog his last sandwich: “Eat it, darling. Eat it. I don’t need it anymore…”

He lay down and closed his eyes. The dog finished eating and curled up next to him. Only a soft squeal escaped his chest. And then…

A bolt of lightning struck the earth with such force that the world glowed white for an instant. A clap of thunder shook the earth. The man opened his eyes and found himself in a different place. In front of him was a table. On the table, a huge book. And behind the table, a winged being shone from within. An angel.

He remained silent, looking at the recordings. The man also remained silent.

“It says here,” the angel began, “that you donated large sums to help the needy. That you confessed. You went to church. You helped raise funds.”

The angel looked up.

“Did you really think this would change anything? That donations would make up for years of greed? That the pleadings of mothers and the desperation of the ruined would be offset by a couple of checks and a visit to the cathedral?”

Did you know that after your dealings, people committed suicide? That children ended up in orphanages, elderly people on the streets? You did this for six decades. And now you expect forgiveness?

The man lowered his gaze. There was nothing to object to. Only pain, bitter and heavy.

The angel raised his hand:

Oblivion. Eternal emptiness. You are unworthy…

He turned the page to finish the sentence and read the last lines. Without expecting anything. But suddenly his face changed. He raised his eyebrows. His eyes opened wide, shining like lightning.

“What is this? Is it true?” the angel’s voice trembled.

“Really?” the man asked again, not understanding what the angel was talking about.

“Wait! And be quiet!” the heavenly judge said briefly, and disappeared…

Some time passed, and a group of angels gathered around the Book of Life. They carefully reread the lines, looked at each other, and argued; their voices grew louder and louder. The man didn’t understand a word; only a buzzing and an incomprehensible noise.

More angels joined the group, and then more, until there were so many they seemed to fill the entire space. One by one, they passed the book around, argued, disagreed, shouted. The argument became so intense that the world seemed to shake.

Even the demons, usually indifferent, watched with interest, ready to exploit any weakness. The angels were also nervous, their wings tense and their hands trembling. They were ready to rush into battle and prove their worth.

But just as everything was about to explode, the Archangel, the one who participated in the Creation of the Universe, appeared in the very center of the noisy crowd. His presence instantly silenced the crowd. He listened to both sides, approached the Book, read the lines, and, looking at the man, said:

“Your crimes are countless. And you deserve no forgiveness… Silence!” His voice shook the celestial dome, and everything fell silent. He slammed his palm on the table, and billions of creatures vanished instantly.

“I told you to be quiet!” the Archangel repeated in a lower voice, but with such force that no one dared to move.

He turned the page, scanned the words, fixed his gaze on the man and asked:

—Answer, but remember: if you lie, you’ll be held accountable for everything. Tell me, why did you, a man who lived his life in sin and destruction, give your last sandwich to a homeless dog? Tell the truth.

But the man did not hesitate.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I just gave it to him. Just like that. He wanted to eat, but I didn’t care anymore.”

“You don’t know?” the Archangel was surprised. “You mean, just?”

“Simple,” the man repeated. “I saw her, realized what she needed most, and gave it to her. For no reason at all.”

The Archangel sank into a chair in front of the judge’s table.

“We do not judge according to human justice, but according to the Laws of Higher Justice,” he addressed the silent angels. “And you know these laws. I know them too. So… stay still and wait. I will reflect.”

And he thought for three days and three nights. Although, according to the celestial reckoning of time, not even a fraction of a second had passed.

Then he raised his left palm, placed it on the table, and the vanished entities returned to life. Everything was back as it had been, as if no one had disappeared.

“Listen to me, man,” he said. “I’m passing a sentence on you: atonement. Not because you’ve ever done good. But because you did it not for yourself, not out of repentance, not for reward, but because for the first time in your life you listened to the voice of your heart…”

A puppy lay in a puddle on the cold autumn asphalt. The rain poured down, soaking everything, and his tiny body seemed about to stop breathing… when suddenly, a child’s voice echoed above him:

—Dad, please… Let’s save him. I’ll study hard, I really will. He’ll die…

“I wouldn’t even dream of spending a cent on this dog,” the father muttered. “You’ll have to share your own plate with him!”

But the boy had already picked up the puppy and hugged it close, despite his father’s wet clothes and heavy gaze.

From then on, the dog became his salvation. She comforted him when he hid after punishments. She warmed him up when the house was out of heat. She cheered him up when the adults were silent or shouted.

And then, years later, when the boy grew up, graduated from college, and became a lawyer, this dog fell asleep peacefully in his arms, smiling, knowing that his man would definitely make it. And he headed for the Rainbow Bridge…

In the next split second, the man stood before the Archangel again. He was reading verses from the Book. Behind him stood the angels. They stood silent, waiting.

“Listen to my sentence,” said the Archangel. “Your soul is condemned to redemption.”

He slammed the table with the palm of his left hand.

The man woke up on the operating table. The doctors observing him were stunned.

— He came to… This is impossible!

But he arrived. He recovered. He stood up. And he left, not for his former life, but for an orphanage. The same one where the children who had lost their parents as a result of the destruction he had participated in ended up.

There, he became a support. A mentor. A warmth. The kind they no longer had.

And when he died, hundreds of people attended his funeral. And prayers for him spread throughout the country.

The Archangel opened the Book of Life again:

“There are ten thousand years left,” he said. “To embrace, comfort, and console every abandoned soul, every forgotten animal. And when all this is over, come back. We’ll talk.”

He turned to the angels and said:

—We don’t judge as people. We judge according to the supreme justice. And we don’t forget even the smallest good deed, if it’s done sincerely and from the heart.

And the heavens were filled with light.

In this way the Third Heavenly War was avoided…

Or maybe none of this happened. Maybe I made it up. And the angels didn’t argue, and there’s no Book, and no one was judged. Who knows?

But you decide. Because it’s not a human court, but a Supreme Court… that judges us.