Chapter Ten

When Diana reached home, she felt so relaxed. She didn't know why it was so relieving to have talked to Erik, tell him of her past, and here his'. She felt she could easily like being around him. She sat down at her desk, and pulled out a piece of paper.

Dear Erik,

I wanted to tell you how much better I felt after our visit. I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off of my shoulders. I was wondering if it would be all right with you if I came over to visit this Saturday?

Hope to spend more time with you,

Diana Nicole Callister

She decided she would deliver it later on that day, or maybe the next morning.

Diana went down to lunch a few hours later with a happy spirit. But, that feeling soon vanished when she noticed that Anna had come over for lunch, and brought Mr. Richard, the same man she had tried to introduce her to at the party, and who walked in on her when she was singing and playing the piano.

"O Diana, you do remember Mr. Richard, don't you?"

She wanted to turn right back around and go up to her room, but she decided that it would be best to stay, for she might be able to have some fun with this.

"As a matter of fact, I do"

"Excellent. Well, I happened to run into him this morning, on my way here, and he asked about how you were, and I told him he should come see you for himself."

Mr. Richard sat by an empty chair, and Diana just smiled, and sat down.

"I, heard you were recovering from a serious illness, and, I wanted to make sure you were alright", said Mr. Richard.

"Yes, I am quite well, as you can see", she replied, wanting to roll her eyes. She knew this man must be a snob.

"The last time I saw you, was when I interrupted you playing on the piano and singing. You did sound astonishing."

"Yes, that was the last time I saw you, and it did leave a pretty bad impression of you", she replied, trying to be as cold as she could be.

"Well, that is why he is here, to clear that up", replied Anna, trying to cover up Diana's behavior.

" Good luck with that Mr. Richard"

" I, um, have recently become even more wealthy in my family's business, I am making quite enough money to raise a family, and intend to do that soon", said Mr. Richard.

"O, that is very nice, isn't it Ms. Callister?" replied Madame Clark.

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "O, I am sure she will be a very happy lady. Tell me, Mr. Richard, what do you do in your spare time, for I am sure you don't have much of it, if you are so wealthy, you must have to work on a daily basis."

"O, not at all, I am home all the time, which I find another attractive thing about me, as being a husband and father. As for my free time, I do quite a lot of things. I sometimes hunt, and walk, and like to stay indoors."

"Is that all you do?"

"Well, yes, is there something you were expecting me to do? For example, you may think I swim? Well, I do do that, in the summer, it keeps me nice and healthy."

"Yes, that is nice, Mr. Richard. But you do not read at all? Do you even have a formal education?"

"Of course I have a formal education, I was one of the top in my class."

"What grade was that, kindergarten? And I am sure there were a lot of boys in that class who were as much of a snob as you are Sir."

He remained silent. Madame Clark and Anna were trying to interrupt, for they knew what Diana was up to.

"Now Mr. Richard, you say that you came here to erase the bad first impression you had, but actually, you have made a second bad impression, and I must say, I hope I will not see you again, for that shall be a third bad impression, and you will reveal even more of your snobbish ways to me, which will not make me feel too well. Have a nice day Mr. Richard, and good luck on finding your wife, for she certainly is not here."

With that said, she immediately left the room, with a smile on her face. It felt good to have him out of her way now.

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Diana had taken her letter to Erik after lunch, leaving it at his' door.

The next morning, she received a letter saying:

Dear Ms. Callister,

You are very welcome to come.

Have a good day,

Erik

She smiled, and closed the letter, looking forward to Saturday more and more by the second.

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It seemed like it took forever for Saturday to come.

She planned to soon invite him to church with her one Sunday, but didn' t know if she should invite him today.

She left in the morning, to avoid Madame Clark's questions.

Her and Erik talked of their likes, and dislikes, their passions, and beliefs.

"Erik, do you believe in God?"

"Me? Of course not. If there was a God, why would he have put me through such a miserable life?"

" He works in ways that are beyond our knowledge"

She could tell he didn't believe her. She wanted him to believe her though.

"Erik, would you like to come with me to church tomorrow morning?"

"I, um, don't want to go out in the public eye."

"Ok. The newspaper says that you were said to have fallen in love with a woman, named Christine. Is that true?"

Pain filled Erik's mind when he heard he say the name Christine. He wanted to cry, or rip something into shreds. He couldn't discuss this with anyone, he just couldn't. Then he thought that if it would relieve him to talk about it, like it relieved him with the other things he told her about, it would be worth it.

"Y-es."

"What was it that you loved the most?"

Diana felt like she was crossing a boundary, but she felt like the Lord was calling her to talk about it.

" It was,…her voice"

"Is that all?"

"What, else should there be? I mean, she was kind, beautiful."

"But, did you know anything about her? Like her likes, and dislikes?"

" I didn't need to."

"Doesn't sound like true love to me, but maybe confusion?"

"You have no idea what you are talking about! I loved her."

"Do you know what love means? How to love someone as a husband or wife?"

No one had ever asked him these questions before. He had never thought about it this way.

"I, I don't know"

Emotion rose in him, as he began to realize he had only loved Christine for her voice, and beauty. He felt like a coward.

" Don't tell me I have spent all these years, days, hours of my life in despair over her, and yet I don't even love her? How can this be?!"

"Erik, it isn't like I am the one to know about true love, but, I do believe it is more than just outward appearance. It is a love that goes deep down. Where you feel the need to be by their side all the time, to have them close. Someone who shares your passions. Those type of things."

Erik laid his' head in his hands.

After all of this, and I didn't even know what love was? This cannot be happening, it just can't be happening!

"I am sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up, but I just felt like the Lord was calling me to."

"No…please, don't be sorry. Thank you"

Diana was shocked to here him say that. She feared that he would make her leave.

"At my church, they have an organ. I am sure they would love for you to come and maybe play it, if you wanted to."

Erik did feel the need to play an organ, but did not feel like sitting through a service of preaching. He could never believe in God.

"No thank you"

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Several weeks passed, and Diana was visiting Erik three or four times a week now.

Diana hadn't brought up the subject of church again, but felt like since they had gotten much more acquainted that he might feel like going now.

When she asked him, he felt like he should, for her sake, for he knew it would make her happy.

"Alright, I will go."

A bright smile crossed her face.

"That is wonderful, well, I will come back in the morning to walk with you there. You will enjoy it, I know."

When she left, Erik couldn't help but smile. She had become a great friend of his. They had a lot in common.

He found himself quite interested in hearing about God now. Maybe he did exist.

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The next morning Diana came to his' home.

Erik asked if they would stare at him because of his' mask, and she said that the people that go there are not like everyone else, but kind and generous, and that they would be glad to have him there.

"Don't be surprised if someone invites you to dine with them after church", she said, with a laugh. "When they do ask you to come, just say you already have plans, for you will be eating with me."

"O, I am?"

"Of course. You are my dear friend, and have had me over quite a lot, and I think it is about time that I took you out to lunch."

Erik smiled. He liked her saying he was her good friend.

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Erik was amazed at the kindness of everyone there. They didn't even seem to notice his' mask, they just noticed him.

Diana introduced him to Anna Lilac, and then noticed how Diana was right about her dresses being all fluffed out, and smiled. But, he had an odd feeling around her, she was looking at him very awkwardly.

When they sang the hymns, he didn't feel like singing. He listened to the words of the song, the organ, and the people singing. They were majorly off key, but he liked it. It made him smile, seeing all the elderly singing with the jolly smiles on their faces.

When the preacher preached his' sermon, Erik really began to see and feel like God truly did exist, and that he loved him.

He preached about God's amazing grace. How he is willing to forgive all of our' sins.

Erik felt such guilt, as he recalled all of the sin he had done. Murder, stealing, lying, the list went on and on. He felt like God would surely not forgive him.

After the service, he remained seated, and Diana looked at him, concerned.

Once everyone had left, Diana asked Erik what was wrong.

"I, I have committed so many sins in my life, that I know God would never forgive me. I have killed people, stole things my whole life, lied, the list is never ending."

"Erik, we all have done those sins. We all don't deserve God's mercy. But, God sent His' son to die on the cross, to take all our sins. Because of our sins, we are supposed to die, and go to hell, never be connected with God. But, God's son was perfect, of no sin, and he took our place, by dying on a cross. All of the sins of the world were put upon him. Since the price of sin was paid, we humans have a chance to go to Heaven, to be connected with the Father, but we have to confess our sins to Him, believe in Him, and confess our faith into him, and giving our lives to him. Bringing people to Christ. He is waiting for you to admit you are a sinner, to believe in him, and devote your life to serving him Erik. He loves you more than this world's love equals. He loves you enough to have killed His son, so that you may live."

"I, I believe in him, and that he loves me."

"Hold on one moment, I will be right back"

When she returned, she had the Preacher.

"Well Sir, I have just heard the most wonderful news, that you are ready to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior."

"Yes Sir, I want to dedicate my life to Him."

"Praise God."

Erik looked over at Diana, and she was smiling. He smiled back.

The preacher told him a prayer to pray, and he prayed it.

Erik felt amazing.

"You are real God, You are. Thank you, thank you for bringing Diana into my life."

"Diana, you know how I told you I thought my life would never be happy? Well, I was wrong, for right now, is the happiest moment of my life"

"Mine too Erik," and she gave him a hug, with tears in her eyes.