Petals of Eternity

Where Do You Dwell?

A/N: This is a short story mostly based on Jeremiah 17:5-8. It does have bits from other verses though. Some quotes are almost directly from the Bible. I used the NIV translation. This is a Christian based story, so keep that in mind while reading. If you are not Christian and choose to read it, please don't comment hatefully. I do believe that it is our job to go out and rescue those lost souls, but since I based this on specific verses, that is not very well reflected here.

I walk through a wasteland, sand crunching beneath my feet. Kneeling down, I run my hand through it, letting it sift through my fingers. It's burning hot. I touch a finger to my tongue. It tastes bitter, like the salt of the sea. Bushes are scattered across this lonely desert, dry and scraggly, like lost souls, desperately clinging on to life.

Something grabs my leg. I jump back in surprise. Looking down, I see a gnarled hand gripping me. A figure crawls out from beneath two bushes. Their hair in long and uneven. Burns cover their naked body, most likely induced by the sand.

"Please," their voice is harsh, ragged, "water."

"I-" My own voice sounds rough, "I have no water."

"Please. . . Help me. . . Water. . ."

I gaze around, searching for any source of liquid. Then I see, only a few miles off, what appears to be an oasis: trees with fruit-laden branches surrounding a large pool of water.

I point towards it. "There! There's water over there! Come on! We can go there!"

"No." The figure clutches me tighter. "That way holds nothing. It is empty and foolish." The figure pulls themself towards me, baring their filthy teeth. "Help me. Help me."

I stumble back, tearing my foot from their grip. "I- I can't help you."

They continue crawling towards me and I retreat faster. I trip and fall. Suddenly I'm lying on my back among trees. I prop myself up on one elbow. My attacker is gone.

I'm in the oasis, by the pool of water. Trees surround me, sending their roots out by the water.¹ Their branches hang heavily with all kinds of fruit.

I hear a rustling in the bushes behind me. Another figure emerges, this one dressed in white and seeming most to glow with an unearthly radiance.

"Hello." Their voice is deep, soothing. "Welcome."

"Thanks." I'm still tense with energy from my escape. "Where am I?"

"Paradise." The figure gazes down at me, their expression calm and strangely peaceful.

"What- What's out there?" I point out, toward the desert.

The figure's expression clouds. "Out there lies only desolation."

"What are the creatures that live there?"

"The cursed. Those who trust in man. Who draw strength from mere flesh, and whose heart it turned from the LORD.² Among them prowl Beasts. Beasts of Doubt, Beasts of Hate, Beasts of Anger, Corruption, Cruelty, Chaos, Pain. Beasts of Evil."

I draw in a sharp breath. "Do they ever attack this. . . Paradise?"

"They try."

"What happens to them?"

"We fight them off."

"With what?"

"The most powerful weapon in our possession. Faith."

Letting out a sigh, I lean back on the ground, my mind still haunted by what I have seen. "Why can't the others, those who dwell in the desert, come here? They thirst for water."

"They could come. If they had but faith. The water has always been within reach, the love obtainable, they have merely to except it."

"Then why don't they?"

The figure shrugs. "They are stubborn, their heart like rock. The heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure. Who can understand it?³"

Their words slowly pierce my soul, and I begin to wonder what this might mean for me.

"Where do I belong? Paradise? Or the desert?" My words sound weak, even to my own ears.

The figure gazes down at me, their eyes deep and wise. "That is up to you. The LORD searches the heart and examines the mind, so to reward men according to their conduct.* Follow the LORD and you shall do no wrong."

The figure and my surroundings slowly begin to fade away. As darkness surrounds me, I hear hear a voice saying, "Where is the word of the LORD? Let it now be fulfilled."

So be it.°

¹Jeremiah 17:8
²Jeremiah 17:5
³Jeremiah 17:9
*Jeremiah 17:10
°Jeremiah 17:15