"I don't know Jimmy well enough to answer that… what do you think?"
""I don't… he SAID nothing could stop him from loving me."
"Then what leaves you to think otherwise?"
"Because…" Cindy took a deep breath. "Probably the fact that he seems to have quit acting as if Libby wasn't our friend."
"What would be the consequences of not taking Libby's side?"
"Not sure… from what I know Libs will still be my friend… but according to her I will not live to be older than twenty-three… and I'll be blessed to make it till then."
"How come?"
"Well… she believes that the rapture happened… she also believes that three and a half years from now Natas Reficul, who she claims is the Antichrist, will die; only to be resurrected three days later as Satan incarnate. He's supposed to rule for another three ad a half years and seven years from today Jesus Christ is going to come back to earth to set up his millennial kingdom."
"Die and come back to life… so he's the Messiah the Jews have been waiting for?"
"You'd think… but she says he's the exact opposite."
"Well… it's defiantly a new concept to me… and you should get to bed, it's late."
"Ok. Night mom."
"Night."
Cindy walked briskly up to her room and took out her diary. 'Dear Diary, Not much has changed this last week. The good news is no one else has disappeared, the bad news is that there is no sign that they'll return, and Libby says they won't. I honestly want an answer as to where everyone went… but I don't know if I can accept what Libby… and even Jimmy call 'the truth.' I really think that if I DID go for it Jim would decide he didn't love me anymore and I REALLY don't want that. What I want is a truth that gives me purpose… and doesn't split Jim and me up. I want something that tells me I didn't just come from 'random chance.' I think monkeys are ugly. I don't want to have evolved from them! And… IF we DID evolve why has the evolving stop? I mean…' "Cindy, lights out!" her mother yelled up the stairs.
Cindy put up her diary and flipped off the light next to her bed. What if Libby's right, if I side with her then I gain everything, and MIGHT lose Jim's relationship. If she's wrong, I lose nothing, besides my true love, and gain nothing; but what about the reverse? If she's wrong and I don't take on her view, I gain nothing, and lose nothing. But… if she's right and I don't take her view… then I lose EVERYTHING, besides Jim, and gain nothing. As soon as that thought had cleared her mind… well at least the front of it, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
"Jimmy, Mom, Dad, where is everyone?" Cindy looked around terrified. She felt as if it was 1650 degrees Celsius, and the heat was rising from her feet. No… falling from the sky… that wasn't it either… it was consuming her entire body. The heat was making her extremely uncomfortable, she felt as if it were a miracle… or curse… that her skin wasn't literally melting off of her body. "There they are!" Cindy saw Jimmy, and her mom and dad surrounding her. Taking a few steps towards Jimmy she realized she was no closer than before. "That's weird. Jimmy appears to be within a centimeter of my fingertip no matter what I do."
"Father, God, please forgive us! We are sinners; we know that. Jesus Christ alone is Lord and Savior… PLEASE!" the yelling continued endlessly. "Anybody have water?" Cindy heard a few people call out.
Now THAT'S what I'm thinking! Cindy thought. That and WHO turned on the lights? Cindy shielded her eyes from the bright light.
"Silence!" the voice boomed, shaking the air around the place. "You will NOT mention THAT name any longer!" the voice sneered. "I AM the king of the earth! I AM the prince of the power of the air. I, and I alone WILL BE WORSHIPED!" No one yelling stopped, and not much changed besides people covering their eyes. "I said SILENCE!"
"Great and Holy is the Lord who was and did and is to come! Blessed be His name above the heavens. Oh, Great and awesome Lord, save us from being separated from you any longer. Lord, forgive us!" The screaming continued… this time Cindy was joining in, meaning EVERY word with her WHOLE heart. Instantly the whole scenery changed.
Cindy sighed with relief as soon as she no longer felt the heat. THAT is something I'd rather not experience EVER again. As soon as she could think clearly again Cindy reached up to cover her eyes from yet another light, this one appeared as if the sun and the one before merely reflected it's light. I wasn't that it was dangerously bright… just pure, whiter than snow light. "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end." Instantly Cindy fell to her knees.
"Holy is the Lord who rules over the Earth." Cindy cried out to Jesus.
"Cindy, I was pierced for your transgressions, whipped for your iniquities… by my wounds you were healed." This time the voice spoke with care and compassion. "I wove you together in your mother's womb."
Cindy hung her head, still not taking her eyes off of Jesus. His eyes were like a fire, not literally, but Cindy could feel them search her every desire and thought. Atop his head were many crowns and he word a white robe that said KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS on his side. There was no question in Cindy's mind… he was God. "Lord, please, forgive me!" she cried out; and then she woke up.
Oh good… it was just a dream. She said sighing with relief. "But… what about the streets of gold, the gates of precious jewels; what about Jesus… that was all a dream. I don't want it to be!"
"Cindy, you ok?" Her mother asked leaning over Cindy's bedside.
How lovely… I'm sixteen and have Mom in here as if I was a toddler who had a nightmare! "Yea… I'm good."
"Cause you were screaming for water and something about God and who knows what else."
"Well it's weird… see I had this dream." Cindy said taking the water and sitting up in her bed. "And in it I guess I'd died and went to Hell… I'm not sure. The REALLY weird thing was you couldn't touch anyone. It was like… everyone was so close together, but no matter how hard you tried, your flesh never touched another's. Then there was whom I'm guessing was Satan, his voice shook the air around the pace and no one changed a thing. Mom, it was horrible… the heat was un-bearable, I'd be only guessing if I said over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, and people were BEGGING for water… but there was none. Others were crying out to God to save them, myself included, and you know what? I WAS saved!" Cindy said trying to explain the dream the best she could.
"God opened up the gate to Hell and took me away into what I can only assume was Heaven. Mom, you have NEVER seen ANYTHING like it! The air was so fresh you could almost taste it and the buildings! Oh, the buildings were made of glass, and amethyst and gold! The gates to the place were a shiny crystal and it was just… literally paradise. There was a lamb and a wolf sitting under the same tree… and get this… TALKING! Oh, but Mom, that's not the best part… Jesus was there! He had on this whiter than white robe that said KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS on it and his eyes… oh his eyes they appeared as if searching my every thought, emotion, and desire!"
"Cindy… I would love to listen to more… but it's two am and…"
"And he talked to ME! He said 'Cindy, I was pierced for your transgressions, whipped for your iniquities… by my wounds are have been healed!' He said THAT to me! I've NEVER seen love like that! And he wrapped his arms around me and said 'my child, whom I love… come home.' Mom! I knew it! When I was younger I asked Jesus into my heart but for some reason I forgot about it. He called me HIS CHILD! I'm God's child… or was!"
"Cindy… can we please…"
"Mom, don't you understand? I turned my back on my Father, and he STILL wants me to come home! He didn't give up… I did!"
"Cindy… it's…"
"And you know what? Jim said there ain't nothing that could stop him from loving me… so I'm gonna do it!"
"Cindy... I'm serious."
"So am I mom, I've always felt like God didn't want me… to the point of I'd lie to myself and say he doesn't exist. But he DOES want me! He wants me to come back to him!"
"Cindy… did I mention it's…"
"I know its a little nuts… but I don't wanna die and say I had the chance but never took it. I don't want to go back to Hell… that probably was just a TASTE of the real one. Mom, I gotta do this… and ain't nothing you, Jimmy, or anyone can do to stop me."
"Cindy… this is nice and all… but I seriously…"
"I know you have doubts… but if God isn't the answer then what is? Monkeys are UGLY, so you tell me I evolve and I'll fight you there cause there's NO such thing as a cute monkey!"
"Are you done yet?"
"I think so. Thanks for listening Mom, I'm gonna spend a lil time with God and then I'll go back to sleep."
"Ok then… night Cindy."
"Night mom!" Cindy said. Again she turned off the lamp next to her bed and laid back down.