John-David was sipping on a white mug full of hot liquid. In front of him rested two other mugs with steam seeping out of their mouths. "Take a seat, I have been waiting for you both."
I sat in the chair in front of him, while Gabriel sat in the one on my left. I neither looked nor touched any one of the cups, being familiar with the threats of poison.
"The Gold one is yours Dakota. Take a sip, it may surprise you of what good is in it. As for you Gabriel, the Blue one is yours. Indulge yourself, you'll be surprised at what you're missing out on." John-David took another sip and sighed.
Gabriel touched the handle of the crystal blue, glass cup. Inside was a substance that was dark milky brown. He smelt it before he gingerly took a sip of its contents.
Was it a terrible thing for me to see whether he would present any side effects before I took a sip of my own? After all, I was the King of a nation and had to take every precautions.
As I realised my brother was still alive, I therefore touched the handle of my own crystal golden, glass cup.
I drew it near to me but sipped nothing of its contents. I analysed the surface of the substance and noted that it was not quite the same shade as Gabriel's one.
It had foam on top with brown specks, like dust. I peered at Gabriel and saw that he was enjoying his own cup.
"How did you know? Hot chocolate is my favourite!" My brother stood up as he finished the contents.
"What is inside of mine?" I asked him because I only drank one kind of hot beverage.
"Caramel Cappuccino. I know you fancy this kind of delicacy." He drank his own cup, so at last I took a small sip of my own. I kept my eyes open to let him know that I didn't entirely trust him.
The beverage was a smooth and preciously delicate substance, so thought driven and intensely satisfying. I had never had something that tasted so good and so genuine.
I wanted to smile but I also didn't want him to know how much I enjoyed it. Despite this, I had a feeling that he knew. Why? Because he gave me this knowing look.
Blushing, I arose from my seat. John-David sighed yet again as though something was sincerely troubling him. His countenance changed and he now appeared to be deeply distressed.
"I asked the Father, if He was willing, to remove this cup of suffering from us; yet not our will, but His be done." (Luke 22:42 AMP) John-David grimaced as he rose from his seat.
Like honey to the mouth and lemon to the stomach, the substance instantaneously became coldly bitter.
I looked at the man named John-David. He rose from his seat as a firm and harsh feature licked his face.
My stomach painfully contracted and I felt like vomiting. Did this man poison me?! Did the mysterious man lead me to my death? Is John-David finally avenging his brother like he once questioned me of?
All these questions circulated throughout my startled heart.
I gasped for air as a horrified feeling drenched my soul. Like road kill, my brother plummeted to the ground as though he was dead. I ran to him so that we could escape from here together.
However, before I could reach him I heard something shatter and a loud thud reverberated throughout the room. It was then, I realised that it was me who had fallen to the ground in disarray.
.
.
.
I yet again heard music playing and I awoke from my slumber. I was questioning myself many questions as my head pounded.
What was I doing here? Why did I follow that man's instructions? Am I deceased?
I scrutinised the room and found the same lady playing the piano, but this time she softly sang a different melody in the library.
"Slowly
But surely he's returning
To take all His people
Back home where we belong
We are in this world but we don't belong
We are in this world to take up souls
Slowly
But surely
He will return return return
Don't give up now
He's almost coming back
He will return return return x2
Slowly but surely
He will return return return
Slowly
But surely
He will return x2
To his people
He will return return return-"
I had not yet seen her face and I was growing deeply distressed at the turn of events.
I paced from the entrance towards her and sat beside her. Her hair covered the side of her face so that I would not see her features.
I lifted my hand to sweep her hair behind her ear; Before I could complete what I had planned in my heart, the familiar voice of a Man startled me.
"What are you looking for?"
His voice held such supreme authority I could neither contradict nor ignore Him.
I turned back to the girl who was beside me. However, she had disappeared. This time, the piano had remained. So I turned back to the Man.
"The one who played the piano."
"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and He will give you everything you need." (Luke 12:31 NLT)
"Why do you speak in such parables?" I questioned Him. But He did not answer me.
"Go to the library and read the book I revealed to you earlier.
There you will learn everything you need to know.
You will receive the Wisdom
I have prepared for you.
And once Understanding sees that you walk with Wisdom, she will accompany you.
Once Knowledge understands you walk with both Wisdom and Understanding,
she too will seek you.
Once Discernment notices that you are accompanied by Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge,
She too will also help you.
And finally, once Discretion
knows that you are with Wisdom,
Understanding, Knowledge and Discernment, Discretion will guide you.
Only if you follow my Statutes."
I breathed in such clean air only to find myself against the hard, cold floor.
Surveying the room, I noticed that the shattered cups were no longer on the floor, as though the room had already been dusted before my awakening.
Gabriel also lay on the floor, a victim to the recent events that took place. His back showed signs of him breathing.
My heart skipped a beat, as if to tell me I must do what that man told me to do.
I moved Gabriel so that he lay on his side before advancing to the library.
I took the same directions I had in the dream and found that the location was the exact same.
In the centre was the elegant, white grand piano I had dreamed of.
I went to the aisle where I first saw John-David and looked for the book written in gold. I flicked through the pages. Then a voice said to me;
"Do you understand what you are reading?"
I turned around to see who was speaking to me. But I found no one. I scratched the back of my head questioning myself whether I had heard wrong.
"Do you understand what you are reading Dakota?"
They asked me again.
"Reveal yourself!" I shouted as I expected the intruder to emerge from their hiding place.
Instead no one appeared and thus they remained silent. Appalled, I returned back to reading Daniel Chapter 2.
"One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn't sleep.
He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed.
As they stood before the king, he said, "I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means."
Then the astrologers answered the King in Aramaic, "Long live the King! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means."
But the King said to the astrologers, "I am serious about this.
If you don't tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble!
But if you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means,
I will give you many wonderful gifts and honours.
Just tell me the dream and what it means!"
They said again, "Please, Your Majesty.
Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means."
The King replied, "I know what you are doing!
You're stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say,
'If you don't tell me the dream, you are doomed.'
So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind.
But tell me the dream, and then I'll know that you can tell me what it means."
The astrologers replied to the King,
"No one on earth can tell the King his dream!
And no King, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer!
The King's demand is impossible.
No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people."
The King was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed.
And because of the King's decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends.
When Arioch, the commander of the King's guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion." (Daniel 2:1-14 NLT)
As I read this I remembered what the Man said about Wisdom.
Here I had thought that He referred to actual women who went by these names.
However I was surprised to know that they were attributes and characteristics one actually must possess.
This passage intrigued me so I had to continue reading.
"He asked Arioch, "Why has the King issued such a harsh decree?"
So Arioch told him all that had happened.
Daniel went at once to see the King and requested more time to tell the King what the dream meant.
Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon.
That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision.
Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.
He said, "Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power.
He controls the course of world events; he removes Kings and sets up other Kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.
He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light.
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength.
You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the King demanded."
Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the King had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon.
Daniel said to him, "Don't kill the wise men. Take me to the King, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream."
Arioch quickly took Daniel to the King and said, "I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell the King the meaning of his dream!" The King said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar),
"Is this true? Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?" Daniel replied,
"There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the King's secret.
But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future.
Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed.
"While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events.
He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen.
And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.
"In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man.
It was a frightening sight.
The head of the statue was made of fine gold.
Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay.
As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands.
It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits.
The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold.
Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor.
But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.
"That was the dream. Now we will tell the King what it means.
Your Majesty, you are the greatest of Kings.
The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honour.
He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the wild animals and birds under your control.
You are the head of gold."
"But after your Kingdom comes to an end, another Kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place.
After that Kingdom has fallen, yet a third Kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world.
Following that Kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron.
That Kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes.
The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this Kingdom will be divided.
Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron.
But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay.
This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these Kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage.
But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix. "During the reigns of those Kings, the God of heaven will set up a Kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered.
It will crush all these Kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.
That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold.
The great God was showing the King what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain."" (Daniel 2:15-45 NLT).