Arise

Heaviness pressing on my chest,

Harder and harder to breathe.

Days blur together; will I never be well again?

Father's worried eyes stand out knife-blue in his wind-scarred face;

Mother's pale face speaks of nights without sleep, filled with yet unspoken prayers.

Woolen blankets cover me, and yet I shiver;

My mind will not slow, my heart will not beat.

Breathe in....breathe out...breathe in...breathe out...bre---...

My eyes are open. I see nothing.

My heart is still. My breath is lost.

Gone.

A scream.

Silence.

...eyes snap open.

Dark wood, green light.

Trees that block the sun...

...nothing moves.

My heart is thudding in my chest; fear begins to creep over me.

Someone laughs. Deep, chilling -- the most frightening sound I have ever heard.

Something is pulling me -- an invisable rope of fire and ice.

The sound grows louder.

I am not moving, but I am falling.

"Mine..."

The voice is a hiss and a scream all at once....

...I am dead...

One. Word.

ARISE!

White light, one single beam.

The voice is thunder. A rushing stream. A sunrise. A storm.

A hand reaches out, pulls me...

Strong. Warm. Safe. Terrifying.

The hiss melts, fades.

The terror has died.

Only peace.

Only love.

Only His face....

"MINE!"

In that moment, I know.

I am His.

"ARISE!"

...my eyes open.

Mother is holding my hand.

Father is weeping.

He is there, standing beside me.

I sit up.

"Give her something to eat."

ALIVE.