The Flame of Light. A Story of Good Friday

So, as I have said before, I often write easiest in realistic fiction style. Mostly I do this with Biblical themes and stories. I love doing it with Mary Magdalene's story, so this has a bit of her story weaved in. With stories like this one, that I have written a ton of over the years, I'm working on, by the power of God, bringing them together into a book. So, this would be a taste of what one of my books will sound like.  

This is an Easter series I'm doing. So, today, tomorrow, Easter, and Monday I will have posts out in this series. 

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Brokenness. This world is broken. What else should I expect? I try to run. They bring me back and shove more poison down my throat until I’m temporarily paralyzed. We must surrender to the darkness. It owns us. I don’t know why I keep trying to run, but I do. I guess I want to keep searching for even a candle flame of Hope. I beginning to think it doesn’t exist. I think that talk of Freedom, Hope, Joy, Peace and Love are all myth. I’ve never experienced any such things in my life. Death. Fear. Pain. Darkness. Numbness. Hate. Despair. That’s what I know exists. 

I don’t know why I run, chasing myths, but I do. Here I go again. Maybe if they kill me, this cycle will be over. I don’t know what death is. But I’m tired of this. 

I make a break for it. 

There goes the horrendous screeching alarm. Why do they even care??

I run as fast as my legs will carry me. Chains bouncing and clashing as I run. I scan the endless darkness as I run. Looking for myths. The noises of the pursuing demons behind me are growing louder than they ever had before. I wondered why and then I saw it. 

A candle flame of Light. 

The myth of Hope that had eluded me all of my life burst inside of me. I slowed in shock only for a moment before racing on all the faster. 

The screams behind me were gaining closer and closer. Oh, if only I could reach the flame!! I ran with all I had. It was so close!! I reached out as I ran closer and closer to touch this Flame of Light. 

Then as it was within reach, I felt a strong yank on the chain trailing behind my iron collar. 

“Noooo!!!!” I screamed. Of all the times… This time it wasn’t just routine! The myths were real!! The Flame of Light existed! I couldn’t go back to a place where the myths were just myths.

I fell with a crash to the ground before I even finished screaming. 

The demons soon encircled me. “She saw the Flame!!” Some of them screeched in panic. “How did it get so close?” Others shouted in fear. 

They were afraid. However, I didn’t have time to ponder this oddity. 

The demons were pulling me back by my chains. 

“No!!” I screamed again, as I fight to stand. 

They pause and glance at each other, fear not only in their eyes but rippling from them. I’ve never put up much of a fight before. Then they jerked me back down and pressed my head into the dirt. 

“Remember who you are, filth.” One hissed and spat right next to my face. I shuddered knowing that they were not finished. 

“Worthless!! Why don’t we kill her now?” Another said with a raised dagger. 

“No, we can’t do that. Worthless is to cling to every breath we let her have.” Said yet another demon in a gravelly tone. 

I fought to get up again, as their words sunk into my heart. 

They kicked me down again, adding to the bruises that covered my body.

“Bring the poison.” They shouted. “Worthless is not going back easy.” 

“Noo!!” I screamed again. I couldn’t go back. 

They laughed down at me. “Who are you to fight us? Worthless being. The only reason you still exist is because we have let you. You are owned by the darkness.” 

I clamped my jaws shut as I saw them coming with the poison. Tears streamed down my face. Could I not just die? Where is Hope? Where is Hope?     

They pinned me down to the ground and some tried to pry open my mouth. 

The deathly scent of the paralyzing poison wafted through the air thick with fear. I gagged and moaned. No… not to be paralyzed again. I closed my eyes against the pain. I had no fight left. 

I took a hesitant breath, and my eyes flew open. A breeze of pure oxygen flew through on wings of Mercy and sent the smell of poison into the faces of the demons. Whatever was left of their facade was gone now. Some began to flee. Others were screaming. Those pinning me down tightened their grip.

“Don’t let Worthless breathe it in! Bring the poison!!”

I barely heard them. Then I looked up and saw the Flame, larger and more luminous than it had been before. 

Chaos raged around me. Demons screaming, wailing, fleeing, and bowing down in terror. They threw the poison on the ground and its scent and voices attempted to fill the air. 

“You are owned. Worthless. Owned by the darkness.” Each word thudded heavily with emphasis, and yet even its voice trembled. 

I was not pinned down anymore. I got up slowly, only seeing the Flame of Light. In desperation some of the demons clung to the chains trailing behind me. Yet they only slowed me, it was as though the Flame was pulling me closer. 

“Worthless!!” A loud demon screamed. 

I turned in time to see the demon, who carried the poison, running towards me holding a large machete over its head. 

“May Worthless die before joining the Flame of Light!”

The voice of authority roared from the Flame. “You will not touch her! Leave her now!”

I fell to the ground gasping as the demons fled, and the darkness left my eyes. Tears streamed down my face. The chains I once carried fell off and turned to dust. The only one that remained was the iron collar. Light filled my eyes and was all I could see. I looked up from the ground slowly and there kneeling before me was a Man. He was looking at me with a tenderness that I had never seen before. 

I looked down not knowing what to expect. I breathed in deeply, marveling at what I had called myths. Light, and Freedom. 

“Arise Child.”

I looked up and the Man was standing offering His hand to me. 

“Me?”

“You seek the Light, do you not?”

“I do!” I replied quickly.

He smiled gently to me. “I AM the Light you seek. Take My hand. Come with Me and I will protect you from the darkness.”

I looked at Him in wonder. He had given me freedom and now was offering me protection. I took His hand hesitantly. 

He gently pulled me up to my feet. “Will you walk with me?”

I nodded, keeping my eyes to the ground as a smile began tugging at my lips. “I will walk with you, for you have given me Freedom.”

I looked up and He was smiling so brightly it was undeniable that He was the Flame. “I am called Jesus.” He said as we began walking. “What are you called?”

I looked down. “I am called Worthless.”

Jesus stopped. “Look at me.” He said gently. “You are no longer to be called Worthless, I call you Beautiful.”

I look down, and tears fill my eyes. “Why do you call me such a name?” 

“Because I know who you are. I know this is not easy to understand, but I will help you as we go on. I know Who Created you. I was there when you were formed. You are not worthless. You are Beautiful.”

“It’s hard to believe.” I said keeping my eyes on the ground. “I’ve never known such words to be true.”

“I know. I will help you. Ask for guidance and I will give it to you.”

“Please.” I said softly as I dared to look into His face. “Please help and guide me.”

He smiled, full of delight. “Always, Beautiful, always.”

We walked on, hand in hand as the midafternoon sun’s golden rays shone around us. As we walked and talked, as He called me Beautiful, my bruises began to heal. The myths are true. Freedom exists. Hope exists. Joy and Healing exist. The Flame of Light leads.

My years with Jesus, walking in His Light, brighter than the sun, were golden. I fell many times, but He always picked me back up. He told me one day I would be His sister, and His Father would be mine. It is hard to understand such things but He helps me and gives me patience for the things I am not supposed to understand yet. He calls me His sister now, even though I am not fully His sister yet. He taught me so many things, how to accept Freedom and not to survive in fear but to truly live. He showed me He came for all people trapped in the dark as I had been. I worked with Him, helping when I could because I remembered the darkness. And now I knew Freedom. I wanted others to know the same. 

However unfortunately there are people in love with the darkness. They have been poisoned too many times to where they willingly intoxicate themselves and they scorn the Light. That is where Jesus made enemies. He exposed those who were leading others down into darkness. They despised His light. 

I arose on morning to hear that Jesus had been taken by a mob of those who despised Him late in the night when He was out in the garden with some of those that He had saved and called His friends.  

In horror I quickly raced to where it was said that He had been taken. There was a huge crowd, screaming and shouting dreadful things. False claims about Jesus. It was a trial of sorts, only completely unfair with a screaming mob on the rise. After being knocked down several times, I had to crawl on my hands and knees to get through the crowd to the One who called me His sister Beautiful. I coughed, chocking on the clouds of dust that came from the crowds stomping feet.

How had this happened? I had wondered as sweat poured down my face. The afternoon sun beat down hard on the protesting crowd but that did not cause them to cease. They only seemed to go on yelling even louder. After a long time of wriggling and crawling through the massive crowd, I came to the front and saw Him. 

I quickly stood up from my knees and started to run towards Him. However, I was instantly struck down by the butt of a spear to my face. A hulking shadow fell over me. I curled up into a trembling ball. These soldiers had a reputation, it was not a good one. Memories of demons striking me down circled over and over in my head. I struggled to breathe. 

“Where are you going, rat?” A deep voice asked menacingly.

 I was near too frightened to speak but I cleared my head and summoned up what was left of my courage. “I need to see… the prisoner.” I chocked on the last two words, almost unable to say them.

“Really?” He sneered. “I’ll show you what I think of that!”

I closed my eyes tight, as I lay tense quietly gasping in fear.

The soldier aimed his spear but just as he prepared to throw it, he was called by a commanding officer, which threw off his aim. The spear left a long cut on my face, but it penetrated the ground, not my head. As the soldier turned to go, he yelled back, “Careful rat, or you might become a prisoner yourself!!”

I shuddered and grumbled softly as tears, sweat, and dust stung the long scar on her cheek. I felt extremely lightheaded. Focus! I shook her head and drops of blood and sweat fell to the dusty ground mixing together. I looked up and the soldiers that had been around Jesus were meeting together away from Him. He stood alone in the sun, bloody and breathing heavily. My breath caught in my chest as I ran towards him. It was all I could do to keep from screaming. Finally, I stood before Him. He was bleeding and bruised from being beaten and His hands tied behind His back. 

My breath quickened as tears rolled down my face. “Please,” I whispered hastily. “I’ll untie you; we’ll hide until it’s over, or you go, and I’ll stay here. But they can’t do this to you… you never did anything to deserve this…” 

He shook His head and looked into my eyes. “No, you don’t understand what you’re saying. I have sworn to protect you.” 

I looked down, as my heart cracked slowly into a thousand pieces. “Please,” I whispered, trembling. “Don’t die for me… I’d hate myself for being responsible… please don’t stay here.” I pleaded urgently. 

“Hey…” He whispered gently. “Come here.” 

I hesitantly leaned up against Him placing my head gently on His bleeding shoulder. “Are you sure I won’t hurt you?” I asked. 

He leaned His head on mine and whispered, “It’s worth it…” 

The sadness in His voice stabbed my heart. As I sobbed, her tears and His blood mixed before falling to the dusty ground. 

“Hold on to me,” He whispered huskily, as His tears fell on my head. His tears slid down to the scar on my cheek, but it did not sting. They washed the blood and the dust away. 

I wrapped my arms around Him as tightly as I dared, His warm blood soaking into my dusty clothes. Wherever His blood touched on her, bruises healed and faded. My body stopped trembling and I breathed in a shaky deep breath. I wished that that moment could last forever…. The comfort, safety, and hope… Here I could forget the crowds, the soldiers, the blood, and the pain. But all too quickly it was whisked away. I heard behind us the soldiers returning. 

My brother, Jesus, lifted His head. “Look at me,” he said softly but firmly. 

I lifted my head to look into His eyes which were as full of tears as my own. “Remember, I am protecting you not only because I swore to, but because I love you. I love you more than you will ever know. Trust me. My blood for yours. Always. Now, you cannot stay here. Run. Go to a cave called Joseph’s Tomb and wait there for three days.” 

My body shook violently once again. I gasped in horror, “No, please no… Do not make me leave you here alone!” 

He bent down forcing me to look into His eyes. “Please Dear One,” He said tenderly “Trust me. True love, true love never dies.” 

A hand slammed down on His shoulder. 

“Go now! Run!!” 

My gazed locked one last time with His before the urgency in His voice registered in my mind sending my feet flying down the dusty road. My mind sealed that last glimpse, the look in His eyes, strong, protective, yet full of sadness and pain, all stamped into my memory. 

Among the noises fading behind me, I heard a soldier strike my brother hard, He groaned in pain. A sound that tore my heart into pieces. Though I wanted to stop my feet ran all the harder. I covered my face with my hands and it was then that I realized instead of an open bleeding spear wound on my face there was only a scar. His tears healed my scar, washed away the blood and dust, and healed my bruises. The tears then ran freely down my face and all the screams I had kept silent came out in a long, heartbroken wail. The sound of it echoed across the land. I didn’t stop running until I reached Joseph’s Tomb, but I doubted that I would ever be able to stop crying.     

The earth and sky raged. Darkness covered the earth. I battled with suffocating memories and questions. Now that I was exactly where He told me to go, but what was happening? I barely clung to consciousness in my grief. My wails and sobs were joined by many. Fear was so thick in the air that it seemed as though it was nearly suffocating. What was happening? Are we living in a nightmare?                   

Towards the evening, a few hours after a large earth quake, the soldiers came. The same soldiers that killed Him. I could barely suppress my screams. I stayed hidden with a hand over my mouth because I could not control my tears. Turns out this cave is where they buried Him. Still bleeding from many wounds. When they brought… His body I fainted. His dried blood was still on my head, my arms, and my clothes. I fell in and out of restless sleep. I was afraid, so much so that I was almost constantly trembling. 

Where is Hope? Where is Hope?