The Shadow

The sun shines on my face. Bright and warm. Soft, kind and gentle.

From the corner of my eye I see something. Its dark, cold, eerie.

"What is that?" people ask. They look on with bright eyes of curiosity. One girl says to the rest "I will go in and see what it is!"

She goes in, just as she steps into it she vanishes.

"This is great! Come in! Join me!" she shouts through the darkness to those standing in the light.

 All around me people turn to it and walk into it.

Up from the shadow a cry of pain comes!

I see the face of an old man appear from the shadow "I want to come into the light!" He struggles against the darkness. The shadow holds his shoulders tightly with its cold hands and pulls the struggling man back in.

I see a boy walk around it, watch it, but he doesn't go in. Then he slowly extends his hand toward it touching it. Then he puts one foot in. Then his whole leg, then his side.

"What are you doing!?" I cry out to him.

"I am just testing," he replies "I won't go in!" This lasts for only a moment then the darkness spreads around him like a blanket. He disappears in the shadow!

"HELP!" I hear the cries coming from the shadow. I turn away from it.

"Come in..." a still gentle voice beckons me. The voice seems to be coming from the shadow itself. "Come in to me..." It whispers again. I find myself feeling curious. "Just touch me...go on stretch out your hand." It says softly. I listen to it reaching out I feel my fingers brush it ever so slightly. The a feeling surges through my finger tips up my arm into my chest. It is a good feeling but it leaves me wanting more. "Come in..." It says to me "Just step inside." I stepped in.

As I did my whole body is filled with pleasure, I love the feeling! As I look around me I see the old man, the young girl and the boy. Their eyes fixed straight ahead, they look empty. I cry out to them. But they do not respond.

 Suddenly the good feeling begins to fade and I feel myself being bound tightly and weights being placed on my shoulders. I struggle against it fighting my hardest but the shadow is stronger.

"NO!"  I scream. "Let go." the shadow will not release me.

"You are mine now." It says to me. I feel my skin burning, pain surges through me.

"This isn't what I wanted!" I say with a whimper.

Suddenly out of nowhere appears a hand, it glows warmly. The shadow recoils from it leaving a path that leads into the light.

"Come to me" A booming voice bursts through  the shadow "Take my hand and I will rescue you." the voice was bold but kind. I reached out to touched the hand and it began to break me loose. As the binding comes off it hurts.

"No wait!" I say through the pain "It hurts. Please!" I cry.

"I know it hurts." His voice is filled with compassion "I know it hurts but trust me it has to be this way"

"Please just save me." I say as I feel my strength leaving me. The hand continues pulling me free from the binding. As I am pulled from it I collapse into the hand and It gentle pulls me from the shadow and lays me in the light.

I lay in the presence of a bright Light for a long time. "Who are you?" I say when I finally have the strength to speak.

"I am the one who created you." says the Brightness. My eyes burn as I struggle to see. "Don't worry my child your eyes will adjust." He says to me.

"You rescued me...why??" I say as I look up into the warm gentleness of the light.

"Because I love you." He said warmly.

I still hear the whimpering from the others still inside the shadow. "Why did you not save the others?"

"I tried. But they didn't want to be rescued, all except for the old man. I reached in for him but he rejected my help. I am willing to rescue but I will not pull them out if they do not want me to." said the Light.

 I looked around.

"What do I do now?" I asked Him. The hand appeared again.

"Come with me!" He said. I reached out and grabbed His hand. "If you keep holding my hand you can go into the darkness and help me free others." I felt fear fill me. "Do not be afraid." said the Light "For I am with you."

I turned to face the shadow, this time when I stepped in the shadow did not surround me, instead it moved away. As I walked in I saw an old woman caught in the binding, screaming for help.

"Take my hand!" I said to her as I stretched out my hand still clinging to the Light with the other one. "I will show you how to be free!"