Short Stories

"You are not alone"

Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31
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It is then as she lays there in her bed, she whispers to herself through the tears that streak her face, "I can't do this anymore."
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I look around in confusion. Everywhere I look, I see gold and white. The colors are so bright that I have to cover my eyes. Something touches my shoulder causing me to jump high in the air. I spin around to see a man, but I can't see his face. I look up at him with confusion clearly written on my face. "Where am I?" I ask the stranger.
"You are in the kingdom of God," the stranger replies. The man holds his hand for me to take. I look down at his hand and gasp in realization when I see a hole in His hand. I take His hand knowing I could trust where He would lead me. The stranger, who I now know is Jesus, led me down the golden streets to a building that resembles a courthouse. Jesus leads me into the building and tells me to sit down. Confusion crosses my face again. Why am I here?
"You are here to help me with a special task," Jesus replies to my mental question with a smile on His face. He looks down at me and begins to explain how I will be looking through three famous figures' memories to decide whether the individual should be allowed into Heaven or be sent to Hell.
"The first person should be fairly easy to decide for you," Jesus says as He touches my head. I close my eyes and open them to see that I'm in a totally different place. I look down to see that I'm wearing a grey dress that ends just above my knees and black polished dress shoes; completely different from the red shirt and blue jeans I had been wearing. I look up from my attire to see that I'm in a room filled with people as they cower away. I turn to the man standing next to me.
"Excuse me. Where am I?" I ask quietly. The man ignores me and continues to look straight ahead. "What's going on?"
A voice whispers into my ear, startling me. "No one is able to hear you. You are in a memory," the voice whispers. I shut my mouth and watch what happens. A man with a combover and a short mustache walks into the room, striking fear into the people around me. The man started yelling loudly in a foreign language causing me to flinch back in shock and fear. I look closer to see that the man was Adolf Hitler himself.
"What do you notice about this man?" the voice whispers in my ear once again.
"Well, I know that he killed millions of innocent people, including Jews and even children," I whispered in reply.
"Other than that, what do you notice about him?"
"He loses his temper very easily and yells at anyone who defies him. He seems determined in whatever he is going on about and he seems to be filled with anger and hatred," I observe.
"Good," the voice says before the scene in front of me fades to black. Another scene appears of a laboratory with an elegant looking woman working diligently. I look down to see that I have a lab coat over my normal clothes instead of the grey dress from before. I look back to the scene to see the woman working hard as she rushes around the lab gathering items and mumbling about different chemistry formulas. A man walks in and helps the woman around the lab. The woman mixes different substances and watches them bubble. She scrunches up her face in defeat and slaps her hand against the table.
"It's okay," the man comforts the woman. "We'll figure it out, Marie." The woman nods and gets back to work on the substances in front of her. The scene fades and returns with a whole different era. I look down to see I was wearing dressy clothes. The room was full of people and cameras. I look around in confusion before looking at the wall in front of me. The Oprah Winfrey Show was painted in gold, letting me know exactly where I was.
I watch as people cheer when Oprah walks out onto the stage. She sits down in the tan chairs along with a young girl. The two start talking passionately about a topic I couldn't catch. Oprah looks like she is so passionate about whatever she is talking about. The two hug each other as tears run down the girl's face. A smile creeps its way onto my face at the sight. The scene changes once again, and I'm back in the building. I look around to see Jesus smiling at me.
"Why did you bring me here?" I whisper.
"Why don't we take a look at your own memories and compare them to the ones I have shown you?" Before I can get a word out, I'm already someplace else. I look around to see I'm at my old middle school. I watch as a girl around 13 walks through the halls. Tears stain her face as she keeps walking. Her eyes are red and blotchy, causing my heart to clench.
A boy walks up to the young girl looking at her in concern. "Emma, what's happened?" A fresh set of tears run down her face. The boy pulls the girl into a hug and holds her tightly against him.
"My great aunt passed away yesterday," the girl whispers. Sobs rack her body as she holds onto the boy.
"It's okay. Just let it out," the boy says as he pats her back. The scene changes to what looks like a later year. The girl looks older and more mature than before. Tears still stain her cheeks, but she seems to hold most of them in now. People walk pass her and whisper awful things behind her back.
"She's so offensive when it comes to her brother." I hear that mostly being whispered; only things relating to her brother. I look at the girl's face to see pain and heartache written all over it, but she masks it and continues on down the hallway. Everything fades to black, leaving me to see her pain stricken face before it too fades away. I open my eyes to see I'm back in the building once again.
"Why do you think I showed you those memories?" Jesus asks from beside me.
"The girl was me. Those were some of the times that I felt so weak and useless. I felt lonely," I whisper as tears gather in my eyes.
"You weren't alone. You are not alone ever. I was with you when you got the news of your great aunt passing, when people bullied you, when you felt like you couldn't go on. I was there through it all. You never have been alone, and you never will. I showed you those memories along with the others because you need to realize that times do get hard, but if you believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything. Now, it's up to you whether your accomplishments are good or bad." I smile up at Him and let out a deep breath, wiping the tears away as I do so.
"I do believe it's time I get you home. You have school tomorrow," He jokes causing me to let out a giggle. I nod as a reply and stand up. "Just close your eyes." I comply and close my eyes and reopen them a minute later to see I'm in my bed.
"What a dream," I say as I head to get dressed with a newfound encouragement in my mind.