Heir to the Stones

                I opened my eyes to see a vast void. A plain of nothing. On my left and on my right sat a field of dirt, christened by stiffened mud flaps of waters old, dust bellowing in the wind. Before me sat what looked to be a massive throne, made of Greystone. Its edges rough from the granules of sand being blasted against its sides for all of what felt like eternity. In this reality I felt a longing in my conscious, for I seemed to be the only man on this death-filled planet. The earth was silent, it seemed to have stood still; a life before creation itself.

                In this void I felt nothing; nothing but terror and dread. From my stomach came an intense feeling of hopelessness. Something was wrong. I did not choose to be here, for I would never choose to exist in a place like this. My mind wandered, trying to conceive of how I ended up here. I felt no beginning and could not comprehend an end. What happened to lead up to this, this erection of nothing but stone and sand?

                As I stood, behold, a manifested Light formed before me. Its presence was something like the universe itself, all wrapped in a cloak of containment. My body began to tremble from within, starting from this clump of flesh I call a heart, soon to escape from my whole being. What was this feeling?

                The Light rested on the Greystone throne; its presence so abundant that even the back of the throne shone through with beams of light. As it rested, the throne began to change. From what was once solid grey granite, now resided crystal clear amethyst, of the deepest purple hue. This being of light had no face; no expression was conceivable for I could not look into the Light. The region surrounding the young, but beautiful amethyst throne began to spring forth plants of every sort, a garden abundant in wealth. The flowers grew bolder and brighter, as if trying to mimic their master. The fruit grew larger and more abundant than any plant known to man. From the foot of the throne began to flow water. This water was glorious, its flow strong but controlled, cleansing everything is its path while providing life to everything in its presence. Such a beautiful sight.

                Before I could even comprehend what my mind had seen, I felt a shaking in the earth. A voice seemed to have come from everywhere but nowhere all at once. My body began to tremble from its exhilarance. Forth came words of abundance, “This is my Son, Worship Him!”

                I could not think of what to say, for I do not believe in such radical beliefs. Before I could think, my voice gave forth, “I shall not worship Your Son, for I do not believe!”

                At this moment everything trembled even more than it had before. The plants surrounding the throne began to wither. The water dried up, leaving fish leaping for breath in its wake. Soon, they too, were rotting flesh; wreaking of filth. The stone began to crumble beneath the Being, releasing flashes of light with every schism; these flashes blinding. The Being grew dark and vanished, leaving rubble in its place. At this moment, the voice rang out, even more omnipotent than before, “Then, shall the stones in your place!”

                All at once the earth stood still. Silence. Just as I thought this nightmare of a place was over, the world went dark. I could see nothing, not even my own flesh in front of me. My world, yes, my world was dark. This was my doing. In my chest I felt a longing, a longing for something, anything. My mind and soul could not comprehend this life in what seemed like a purposeless feud of nothing and flesh. My heart began to yearn, I had never felt this before. I yearned for light. My cells began to tingle, a welling up of fear gripped my loins. Was this it? Was this all that was left? What was this?

                This feeling grew stronger and more persistent. As if my body knew what it needed and left me out of the loop. It needed light. I began to hear voices, wretched voices, voices of death and things much worse. They began to whisper in what felt like my entirety; every syllable wreaking havoc on my mental persona. I was no longer free. I felt what seemed like hands grab my feet, from where I don’t know, for I was standing on solid ground. These hands were burning with heat, yet felt cold, lifeless; a being of death itself. I began to smell a burning. The smell of sage and withering bodies embodied my sinuses. I was overwhelmed.

                These hands began to pull, and as they did, I began to sink, being filled from the outside in with what seemed like death. I struggled to stay afloat, but what was there to hold on to, for there was nothing. I tried to scream in terror, but my voice failed me, not even a sound permeating my lips.

                The whispers now turned into screams, screams of long-lost lives reaching for divine intervention, but why were they reaching for me? I was not any help of any sort. Or maybe I was just a ladder, a ladder composed of rings of despair falling abundantly into their hopes and dreams. For I was not what they were anguished for, but I was a glimmer of hope, of escape to be in a land of loss.

                As I came to a point of seemingly dread and horror, a Light shone. From above glistened a small glow, pure of any color, just light in itself as what light should be. At this moment, everything went silent as if nothing was present at all. This pure light, the size of a candle’s flame, brought forth a calming storm. Upon this very moment, I realized I was no longer being drawn to Hades. My body was safe from the grasp of the ghouls.  I felt my flesh rest upon itself as if floating in a sea of warmth.

                But this calm was a deceitful maid in the night sky, one who wreaks beautiful havoc on the unexpected world. The ground once more began to shake. As I tried to stable myself, I heard what sounded like a chorus of stars reaching out to the heavens. From all around, in the dim light provided by the presence in the sky, I could see stones, they surrounded me. First, they were small, like pebbles in a dry creek bed. It seemed as if this melody of synchronized vocals was coming from these stones. It was faint, but pleasant.

                When, suddenly, the sound began to grow, and as did the stones themselves; their volume matching the size of the glories they presented. They rose up out of the dead soil like a mountain being born in the moonlight. As they grew in volume, I noticed the light becoming abundant. It seemed to be growing with this harmonized hum. Was this worship? Is this what the Voice meant by “…the stones shall in your place?”

                Before I could come to a conclusion, the voices grew and so did their size. This, what seemed to be chaos, was sending shivers down my spine. What at first seemed insignificant was becoming abundant. The Light grew evermore to match the resonance in the air. This worship was crucial. It seemed to be opening a door, a large vast allowing this Light to penetrate what is dark; those dreaded hands that grabbed at my soul.

                Just as I thought it couldn’t get any louder, it did. This once small sound, pulsing in overgrowth that never outmatched the Light, His Son. As this worship intensified, and the stones grew into mountains, I noticed a heavy feeling on my shoulders. What limbs I used to be able to move freely, now felt like stones themselves; my blood pooling in every nook of my being - mercury in the creek’s end. I could not move. Furthermore, I could not fall, I was standing prostate in this ever-powerful light.

                The earth began to rumble, followed by a terrible tremble. The mountains now grew even larger and the Light brighter. I could feel every fiber of my being yearning to bow, but I couldn’t, I was frozen in my own mind. Just as the Light began to become too much to bear, I noticed the faults. Lines in the earth’s surface forming all around me, surrounding me. I watched in the corners of my eyes as the sand and deceased mud began to crumble into the belly of the earth. I was petrified. Was this my fate? Was this my end? Closing my eyes from the intensity of the Light, the surface started to fail beneath my feet. My mind fleeting every thought, but my body responded.

                With a soft and petrified grunt, my body took over and whispered,

                                                                                     “Lord.”

All at once the earth was silent. Everything that once was, was no more.  I opened my eyes to see an image of the past. A Light, seated on a throne, surrounded by beauty.

                At this very moment I collapsed to my knees, then face, wishing I could recede further beneath the surface. My eyes began to well, “Lord!” I whispered.