Fictional stories by John Saccone

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  • The Lady in White

    What are pleasant memories but nostalgic glimpses into our lives.

     As a kid I didn’t like going to Church. I would rather spend a Sunday morning riding my bike. And the only time I had any fun in Church was when I saw my mom swaying back and forth, in rhythm with the music. I started doing the same thing. I even started jumping up and down. But when the Lady in White looked at me, I froze.

    The Lady in White didn’t seem very friendly. And she was always staring at me. She looked as old as my mom, with black hair and wore a flowy long sleeve white dress. The dress went down to her ankles, and she had a white headscarf. Unlike my mom, she didn’t wear any makeup.

    She looked very serious. I entertained the idea that maybe she just didn’t like boys? Back then, I knew many girls that didn’t like boys. Boys and girls just didn’t get along. And I especially hated Peggy. She was always pinching me.

    The Lady in White was always standing in the corner, and on the left side of the Church. She didn’t sit down. She wasn’t even near a pew. And when it was time to kneel down, she knelt on the hard floor. When I got home, I tried doing the same thing for a few minutes and my knees ached.

    The first time I ever noticed her, I was around 7-years-old. I had never seen her before. We went to a small, modest, Catholic Church. And I knew all the faces of its members.

    And before she started attending the Church, I would take a few of my toy soldiers along with me, and play with them. But she started staring at me, whenever I took them out of my pockets. She was one of these nosey busybodies that couldn’t mind their own business.

    She was there every Sunday, and I dreaded seeing her. Every time I wasn’t paying attention I could feel her looking at me. I thought it was just my imagination. But when I peeked in her direction, she was staring right at me, with a frown on her face.

    I told my dad about it and pointed to her. But he got mad. He said, “You don’t point at people. She’s probably annoyed with you because you’re constantly fidgeting.”

    At the time, I didn’t know what “fidgeting” meant, but I could tell by the look on my dad’s face that it wasn’t good. After that, I never said anything else about the Lady in White. She might tell my dad that I was always “fidgeting.”

    I noticed that the Lady in White wouldn’t stop staring, until I started paying attention to what the Priest was saying. But it was so boring.

    And when it wasn’t boring, I was usually in trouble. That was because of Mark.

    Mark was 3 years younger than me. He was around 4. And he had a baby brother that had a big mouth and was always crying. One time, when the baby brother was crying and we were exiting the Church, I walked up to his stroller, and waved to him. I even made a funny face, hoping to cheer him up. He threw his bottle at me.

    The family didn’t go to Church every Sunday and that was understandable. Those 2 guys were a handful

    One Sunday, I promised myself to be on my best behavior because my dad promised to take me to the park after Church. But Mark got me into a lot of trouble. He was sitting a few rows in front of us, and he took out of his jacket pocket a ball. He turned around and looked at me and was showing me his prized possession. Not to be outdone, I raised my arm, and pointed to my new watch. I felt like an adult. My parents gave it to me a few weeks earlier, as a present for making my Communion. And then I watched in horror as Mark went into a windup position, like a pitcher would. Did he think I was signaling for him to throw me the ball? All I wanted to do was show him my new watch.

    Mark threw me a fastball. The kid had a pretty good arm. I tried to catch the ball, which was coming at me like a rocket, but it flew right over my head and hit an elderly lady, and it bounced off her head. She was startled and screamed.

    I went to retrieve the ball, and was relieved when I found it. It wasn’t a hard ball, but a sponge ball. She was a lucky lady.

    My dad went to retrieve me. The man, whose mom got hit with the ball, wasn’t happy. He called me a jerk for playing catch in the Church, and my dad a poor parent. But he didn’t say it as nicely as that.

    There was an argument and they had to be separated by the ushers in the Church. After Church, we didn’t go to the park. And I was punished. No television.

    The next Sunday, I couldn’t believe what was happening. Mark and his baby brother and parents were sitting right in front of us. And Mark was sitting right in front of me. His parents were talking with my parents, before the Mass began, about the week before. They were laughing. I couldn’t believe it. What was there to laugh about? It was a disaster. I was punished and didn’t go to the park and I didn’t get to see tv.

    I made sure to not make even eye contact with Mark. And even though he was talking to me, I ignored him. But Mark is not the kind of guy that you can ignore. He’s very sensitive and tried to punch me.

    I wanted to whack him in the head but I resisted. I tried to keep my eye on the prize and not get distracted. My dad promised to take me to the park, if I behaved. I wasn’t going to jeopardize that. And I already got into trouble earlier, at breakfast. My mom yelled at me for putting too much syrup on the pancakes. I tried to explain to her that I didn’t like pancakes, just the syrup, but that made her angrier.

    Halfway through the Mass, and I heard a frog croaking. I wondered, did Mark bring a frog to Church? I looked at his jacket’s pockets, but I didn’t see anything bulging. The frog wasn’t there. Oh no! Maybe the frog escaped and is hopping around. I started looking all around. The Lady in White was looking at me, but I didn’t care. There was a frog on the loose and I didn’t want to get blamed. Or have it jump on me. Someone told me that frogs can give you warts.

    Mark whispered something in his mom’s ear, and he was excused. He ran to the bathroom. But he was going in the wrong direction. It was then that I realized that it wasn’t a frog croaking but Mark farting. My mom told me to go get him and go with him to the bathroom.

    We had to wait outside the bathroom. It was occupied. And Mark kept croaking and croaking. I don’t know why but I felt embarrassed. Mark seemed to be taking it in stride, and wasn’t overly concerned.

    The woman finally came out and Mark hurried in. He tried to grab my hand. He wanted me to come inside the bathroom with him, but I refused. I pushed him inside and shut the door.

    After a couple of minutes, I noticed that water was coming out from behind the door. And when I opened the door, I was hit with a tidal wave. Mark broke the handle on the toilet, and it kept flushing and flushing. And because there was lots of paper in the toilet bowl it was clogged. He didn’t even use toilet paper but paper towels to wipe his butt, and it clogged the toilet. His reputation for not being the sharpest tool in the shed was well deserved.

    Unbelievable.

    The bathroom was right outside the Church entrance, to the right, and I watched as the water made its way into the Church. Along with Mark’s poop.

    Mark and I were examining the situation. Neither of us knew what to do. I don’t know why but I felt embarrassed. Mark seemed to be taking it in stride, and wasn’t overly concerned. I was about to take Mark’s hand, and run back to where our parents were, and pretend that we didn’t know what happened, when one of the ushers yelled, “What the hell happened?”

    The parishioners weren’t happy, and neither was the Priest. My parents blamed me. I should have kept an eye on Mark.

    After the Mass, I noticed that the Lady in White was staring at me, and her head was wagging in disapproval.

    We didn’t go to the park and there was no television for me that Sunday.

    The Lady in White would be staring at me for the next three years.

    When I was around 10-years-old my dad got sick. He had a stroke, and my mom stopped going to Church. She was too busy taking care of my dad. And even though the Church was a couple of blocks from where I lived, I stopped going.

    My dad would never go back to that Church again. He had his second stroke when I was 12. The day that he died in the nursing home, that night I had a dream. I saw the Lady in White and she was with my dad. She was holding his hand.

    I noticed that my dad’s right arm and hand were no longer paralyzed. And he was no longer crippled. He was walking with the Lady in White, hand in hand, and they were both ascending a long staircase. They were both smiling. I hadn’t seen my dad smile like that in a long time.

    There were white clouds on both sides of the staircase and golden rays emanating from above it. And above that there was a wall of bright Light. It was so bright that I had to turn away. I couldn’t look at it.

    My dad and the Lady in White turned around and started waving their hands. I knew that they were waving at me.

    I woke up.

    That Sunday, I went to Church. I wanted to talk to the Lady in White. I wanted to tell her all about my dream. But she wasn’t there. After the Sunday Mass I approached Father Zimmerman and I told him about my dream. I asked him about the Lady in White.

    He assured me that the Lady in White, never went to our Church. He looked at me in disbelief.

    I looked at him in disbelief. What was he talking about?

    Father Zimmerman: “If she had attended, I would have seen her. Someone dressed all in white would be hard not to notice.”

    But I didn’t believe him. I figured that he was old and more than likely senile. Maybe he forgot. I started asking other people that I saw at the Masses that I attended. No one ever saw her.

    But an elderly woman told me, “She might have been an Angel. Every Church has one.”

    I looked at the elderly woman suspiciously. What was she talking about? It couldn’t have been an Angel. She didn’t have wings.

    Many years have gone by, and time fades memories, or wipes them away. But not the Lady in White. I remember her frowning at me, as if it were just yesterday. I never saw the Lady in White again, not even in a dream. I am now a Priest in that very same Church. And at every Sunday Mass, before it begins, I look for the Lady in White.

    Photo by Florian Weichert on Unsplash

  • The Flame 7

    Beyond the gates of hell… In a fiery graveyard you’ll find me, as skeletal figures dance around.

    An inferno of death, and there is no escape.

    No brief rest. No brief pause. An unending fiery gloom, with darkened smoke swirling around them and rising in a desert night.

    A Sign for everyone to see.

    Didn’t the fallen hear the Angels voices? Didn’t they hear the Angels sing?

    O night divine! The night when Christ was born.

    Didn’t the fallen hear the Angels voices? Didn’t they hear the Angels sing?

    O holy night

    The stars are brightly shining

    It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth

    Long lay the world in sin and error pining.

    Why didn’t they listen?

    Was the table set too high for them?

    The blind cry out for sight but never see.

    They grope about in darkness.

    The ignorant cry out to hear words but never learn.

    They have no understanding.

    These people are shackled to UnGodly lives, and they live with a sickness of the Soul.

    They are existing in the devil’s shadow

    Being taught but never comprehending.

    Wisdom refuses to dwell in a body indebted to sin, and the lives they lead drown out the Voice of God.

    They are the walking dead.

    Their suffering and confusion in this life is just a taste of things to come.

    A beginning.

    They have alienated themselves from Almighty God.

    They have opened the door to Hell.

    Ghosts dancing in the darkness. Writhing in pain.

    Ghosts inhaling the second Death.

    Too late. It’s all too late.

    Is there no one willing to dip their finger in water and place it on their lips?

    Is there no one there to help relieve their agony?

    Is there no one willing to Warn their families and friends?

    The gnashing of teeth… a very familiar sound.

    Wailing but no tears.

    No water in this graveyard of fire, where the damned are doomed to spend eternity.

    The minds of men cannot comprehend the destruction and devastation.

    There are no words to describe the horror.

    And in the corner, in the hottest part of the graveyard you’ll find it.

    Roaring in anger. Roaring in pain. A dragon no longer proud.

    And not that far away demons. Who have known since the Holy One walked the earth, where they were bound.

    It is now their time.

    I was born in hell. Raised by the Almighty for one purpose.

    I am the instrument that He chose to fulfill His Justice.

    I am a flaming fire.

    Enkindled by Him.

    I will fulfill His Will.

    I will fulfill my duty.

    Deceit? Deceit is a dragon that roars throughout the world.

    The world is the devil’s evil maze.

    It’s a diabolical trap.

    Fool’s gold and shiny objects are everywhere.

    Meant to delay and confuse.

    Time is running out!

    Don’t be late for the wedding feast and be turned away.

    If you do not find the Light of Creation in this life, you will never meet Him.

    You will meet me.

    I was born in the womb of darkness and cradled there.

    Protected from prying eyes.

    Born to do the Will of Almighty God.

    I have a beginning but no end.

    I am eternal.

    My arms embrace warmly.

    My tongue licks greedily.

    I am Justice.

    Like the first parents… many are fooled.

    But a Light was born into the world to show them the Way. A Light was born into the world so that they wouldn’t have to grope about in darkness.

    A Light of Love that would reconcile them to God.

    A Light that men tried to extinguish but could not.

    Man’s struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

    To help them, a Savior was born.

    A narrow road that leads to the Kingdom of God.

    To reject that Light, is to embrace Death.

    To reject that Light, is to meet me.

    There is only One Way.

    Rv. 21: 27 “…. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

    Jn. 8: 12 “Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ “

    Jn. 3: 18 “Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe, has already been condemned because he has not believed in the name of the only son of God.”

    1 Jn. 5: 11-12 “And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.”

    Jn. 8-24 “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”

    Wisdom 1: 4 “Wisdom refuses to enter a soul devoted to evil or to dwell in a body indebted to sin.”

    Heb. 12: 18-24 “You have not approached that which could be touched and a blazing fire and gloomy darkness and storm and a trumpet blast and a voice speaking words such that those who heard begged that no message be further addressed to them, for they could not bear to hear the command: ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.’ Indeed, so fearful was the spectacle that Moses said, ‘I am terrified and trembling.’ No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.”

    Rom. 10: 9-10 “for, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.”

    1 Cor. 15: 21-22 “For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life.”

    Acts. 4: 12 “THERE IS NO SALVATION THROUGH ANYONE ELSE, NOR IS THERE ANY OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN TO THE HUMAN RACE BY WHICH WE ARE TO BE SAVED.”

    Heb. 12: 14 “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”

    Mt. 28: 19-20 “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

    Jn.14: 6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”’

    The Annals of Tacitus (c. AD 56 – c. 120) – Ch. 44

    “For this purpose he punished, with exquisite torture, a race of men detested for their evil practices, by vulgar appellation commonly called Christians. The name was derived from Christ, who in the reign of Tiberius, suffered under Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judaea. By that event the sect, of which he was the founder, received a blow, which, for a time, checked the growth of a dangerous superstition; but it revived soon after, and spread with recruited vigor, not only in Judaea, the soil that gave it birth, but even in the city of Rome, the common sink into which everything infamous and abominable flows like a torrent from all quarters of the world. Nero proceeded … a number of Christians were convicted …. They were put to death with exquisite cruelty, and to their sufferings Nero added mockery and derision. Some were covered with the skins of wild beasts, and left to be devoured by dogs; others were nailed to the cross; numbers were burnt alive; and many, covered over with inflammable matter, were lighted up, when the day declined, to serve as torches during the night.”

    Pliny the younger’s (AD 61 – c.113) Letters – To Trajan – 96 – Book 10

    “Meanwhile, in the case of those who have been brought before me in the character of Christians, my course has been …. Those who persisted, I ordered to execution. For, indeed, I could not doubt, whatever might be the nature of that which they professed, that their pertinacity, at any rate, and inflexible obstinacy, ought to be punished. There were others afflicted with like madness, with regard to whom, as they were Roman citizens, I made a memorandum that they were to be sent for judgment to Rome….”

    Trajan To Pliny – 97

    “You have followed the right mode of procedure, my dear Secundus, in investigating the cases of those who had been brought before you as Christians. For, indeed, it is not possible to establish any universal rule, possessing as it were a fixed form. These people should not be searched for; if they are informed against and convicted they should be punished; yet, so that he who shall deny being a Christian, and shall make this plain in action, that is by worshiping our gods, even though suspected on account of his past conduct, shall obtain pardon by his penitence….”

    Flavius Josephus – (AD 37 – 100) – Antiquities Of The Jews.

    “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was (the) Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.” (Book 18, Ch. 3).

    Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

  • The Flame 6

    As for this worthless servant, cast him outside into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

    I am also cast outside, into the darkness.

    But I am not a worthless servant.

    I am an Eternal Flame. An Everlasting Fire.

    I was the instrument that God chose.

    I will deliver His Justice.

    Right the wrongs of evil.

    Avenge the innocent.

    I was born in Darkness… hidden.

    Sculpted by His Hands.

    And only the Blessed do not meet me.

    Hellfire… there is no such thing.

    Don’t let the crafty one deceive you.

    No matter their religion. No matter their beliefs.

    I’m known throughout the world. Since the beginning of time.

    There are many appellations for where I reside.

    Some call it Hades; others call it Gehenna; some call it Sheol. Others… Niflheim, Diyu, Xibalba, Naraka, Jigoku.

    There are so many names.

    In the darkest recesses of all of Creation, is where you’ll find me.

    In the darkest of nights is where you’ll see me.

    In the darkest place, without any hope, is where you will meet me.

    I will be forever lighting up the fiery graveyard of the damned.

    Forever doing the Will of my Creator Almighty God.

    I am the second Death.

    My flame lights up this darkened world.

    Beyond the wide road. Beyond the wide gate.

    Beyond the entry gates of hell… In a fiery graveyard skeletal figures dance around.

    Ghosts… Drowning in an ocean of flames.

    Ghosts… Knowing that there is no escape from the relentless unending night of horror.

    I was born in the womb of darkness.

    I was sheltered in the nether world.

    A flame bathing in a lake of fire

    A nightmare beyond human comprehension.

    I am a flame that can never be extinguished.

    A flame that will outlast the stars, the moon, and the sun. They will all pass away, but not me.

    Life as men know it will pass away, but I remain.

    I am a flame that is everlasting.

    A bedrock of consistency, a fortress, tirelessly doing the Will of the Almighty.

    Like mankind, I have a beginning but no end.

    Didn’t the fallen hear the Angels voices? Didn’t they hear the Angels singing?

    O night divine! The night when Christ was born.

    Didn’t they hear the good news?

    Joy to the world! the Lord is come;

    Let earth receive her King;

    Let every heart prepare Him room.

    Why didn’t they listen?

    Was the table set too high?

    Instead, they poison their Souls by the life they lead.

    While living, they crucified their own souls.

    The ghosts dance, a dance of death. A dance of pain.

    Blood curdling yells that go unheeded. That is ignored.

    Shouts. Shouts of grief. Shouts of regret.

    Curses. Curses that they didn’t listen to God.

    Curses. Curses for those that deceived them.

    Too late. It’s all too late

    They were born into the world by the Almighty and made to be Masterpieces, but instead they became vile cheap works of art.

    Blinded by the Light, because they prefer darkness.

    Handed over to their degrading passions.

    They were playing with fire, while dancing and laughing.

    Even at the hour of their death, they do not plead for mercy and grieve at the offenses done to God and repent. Instead, they are more concerned about my flame, than about having offended a Holy and Loving God.

    Narcissists!

    More concerned about themselves and hell, than having offended the Almighty.

    How Foolish!

    There are people who flirt with Heaven but find the seductive advances of another suitor more to their liking.

    They become imprisoned to a lifestyle that leads to Death.

    There are others that play the field and date both.

    While dancing, they have one foot in Heaven and the other foot in a secular world.

    They mix honey with poison.

    And it results in their Death.

    As a lover I will warmly embrace them with a burning passion that is unimaginable.

    Dark angels and dark ghosts reaping what they have sown.

    An unending night awaits them.

    They have harmed themselves.

    Are there no longer any tears for the damned?

    Will the everlasting years wash away people’s memories?

    Will they be forgotten?

    Rev. 20: 14-15 “Then Death and Hades were hurled into the fiery lake. This fiery lake is the second death. Anyone who was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the fiery lake.”

    Luke 8: 28 “When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him; in a loud voice he shouted, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me!’”

    Mt. 25: 30 “As for this worthless servant, cast him outside into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

    Jn. 12: 46 “I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.”

    The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Sienna – A Treatise Of Discretion

    “This fire burns and does not consume, for the being of the soul cannot be consumed, because it is not a material thing that fire can consume. But I, by Divine justice, have permitted the fire to burn them with torments, so that it torments them, without consuming them, with the greatest pains in diverse ways according to the diversity of their sins, to some more, and to some less, according to the gravity of their fault. Out of these four torments issue all others, such as cold and heat and gnashing of the teeth and many others. Now because they did not amend themselves after the first reproof that they had of injustice and false judgment, neither in the second, which was that, in death, they would not hope in Me, nor grieve for the offence done to Me, but only for their own pain, have they thus so miserably received Eternal Punishment.”

    “But if the soul have light to know and grieve for her fault, not on account of the pain of Hell that follows upon it, but on account of pain at her offence against Me, who am Supreme and Eternal Good, still she can find mercy. But if she pass the Bridge of death without light, and alone, with the worm of conscience, without the hope of the Blood, and bewailing herself more on account of her first condemnation than on account of My displeasure, she arrives at eternal damnation.”

    Mk. 16: 16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

    Mt. 7: 21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

    Zec. 13: 7-9 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate, says the LORD of hosts. Strike the shepherd that the sheep may be dispersed, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. In all the land, says the LORD, two thirds of them shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left. I will bring the one third through fire, and I will refine them as silver is refined, and I will test them as gold is tested. They shall call upon my name, and I will hear them. I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they shall say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

    Mt. 7: 13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and those who find it are few in number.”

    The story will be continued in The Flame 7

    Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

  • The Flame 5

    If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is preferable for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go into the unquenchable fire of Gehenna where the devouring worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.

    The darkened night moves in Gehenna, as ghosts dance in the darkness.

    I am the flame that lights up their world.

    A world where all hope comes to die.

    What are their cries but mournful echoes that will resound throughout eternity unanswered.

    I was Created in Darkness by the Almighty. Hidden from prying eyes.

    Created in the night of darkness… A sight so awful to behold.

    I was created to torment and torture those that are evil for all eternity.

    I was known by demons before mankind knew of my existence. They feared me.

    I am a burning fire. But I do not consume.

    I am a burning fire. But I do not destroy.

    My fire can never be quenched or extinguished.

    I cannot be bought or bargained with.

    I am not impressed with money or fancy titles.

    What are worldly trinkets to me?

    Many will be turned away and thrown into outer darkness.

    And it is there that they will meet me.

    In a world that rains fire and brimstone.

    A fiery graveyard of the damned.

    Ghosts will plead for death.

    But it will never come.

    What are their tears but worldly stains of disobedience and rebellion.

    Those who spread out their couches in Darkness, will wind up in my nether world. They will find me.

    They have lived a life that can only lead to my door.

    They have spurned the advances of a Holy God for another suitor.

    Though I burn… I do not consume.

    Though I burn… I do not destroy.

    The smoke of the fire that torments them will rise forever and ever.

    They will be like dry twigs that kindle a fire, wood in a fireplace. But they will not be consumed.

    An unending night awaits them, and only my flame breaks through the darkness that surrounds them. I will be the only light that they ever get to see.

    I am a light of pain. A light of torment.

    A light so horrible that I was hidden in Darkness.

    I was born in Hell. Created by the Almighty. An Avenger for those that have been wronged.

    There are many appellations for where I reside.

    Some call it Hades; others call it Gehenna; some call it Sheol. Others… Niflheim, Diyu, Xibalba, Naraka, Jigoku.

    There are so many names.

    Many people live out their days in prosperity and tranquilly go down to my nether world.

    They have spent their lives pursuing and acquiring trinkets and fool’s gold.

    What is of real value to God they disdain.

    They have spent their lives paving a road that can only lead to one place.

    Immorality, impurity, murder of the innocent, evil desire… an unending number of affronts to a Holy God.

    That long winding road leads to my door.

    They should have paved a narrow road to God’s Kingdom.

    They should have entered through the narrow gate.

    I am an engulfing flame that never dies and my fire is never quenched.

    An everlasting flame.

    I was born in the womb of Darkness for just one purpose: to fulfill Scripture. People will reap what they sow.

    Mt. 8: 11-12 “Many, I tell you, will come from the east and the west to sit with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven. But the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

    Mt. 25: 46 “And they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous will enter eternal life.”

    Mt. 25: 30 “As for this worthless servant, cast him outside into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

    Mk. 9: 43-44 “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is preferable for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go into the unquenchable fire of Gehenna where the devouring worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.”

    Lk. 16: 22-24 “Now the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In the netherworld, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham, far off, and Lazarus by his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.”’

    Rev. 20: 14-15 “Then Death and Hades were hurled into the fiery lake. This fiery lake is the second death. Anyone who was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the fiery lake.”

    St. Augustine – City of God – chapter 16

    “He therefore that will escape hell fire, must be both baptized and justified in Christ, and this is his only way to pass from the devil unto Him. And let him assuredly believe that there is no purgatory pains except before that great and terrible judgment. Indeed, it is true that the fire of hell shall be more forcible against some than against others, according to the diversity of their deserts, whether it be adapted in nature to the quality of their merits, or remain one fire unto all, and yet be not felt alike of all.”

    Mt. 7: 21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

    Mt. 7: 13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and those who find it are few in number.”

    The story will be continued in The Flame 6

    Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

  • The Flame 4

    A pale horse follows them, and its rider is named Death, and Hades follows right behind.

    Without Punishment, there can be no Justice.

    Without Punishment, evil will prevail.

    I am the torturer.

    The avenger.

    I am the one that inflicts pain.

    I am the one that rights the wrongs.

    I am the one that balances the scales of Justice.

    I was Born in Darkness by the Almighty for one purpose.

    I was known by Him before the birth of mankind.

    I was created to torment and torture those that are evil for all eternity.

    I am a burning fire. But I do not consume.

    I was born in Hell. Raised by the Almighty. An avenger for the innocent that have been wronged.

    There are many appellations for where I reside.

    Some call it Hades; others call it Gehenna; some call it Sheol. Others… Niflheim, Diyu, Xibalba, Naraka, Jigoku.

    There are so many names.

    Immorality, impurity, murder of the innocent, evil desire… an unending number of affronts to a Holy God.

    And rather than expose the fruitless works of darkness, people bask in them.

    These people do evil to themselves.

    Every hair is numbered. Every spoken word known. Every thought uttered is scrutinized.

    Every injustice recorded.

    Nothing goes unnoticed by the Almighty.

    Many people believe that out of God’s Love and Mercy that He will look the other way.

    They use His Love and Mercy the more to offend Him.

    These people delude themselves.

    Without Punishment, there can be no Justice.

    I was born in Hell. Created by the Almighty. Fashioned with His Hands.

    It was He that gave me life and a purpose.

    And from my flame there is no escape.

    Do not be deceived. Do not delude yourself.

    Through me, He will repay everyone according to their deeds.

    Those that oppose the Will of God live in the devil’s shadow, and it shields them from the Light.

    Enslaved to their passions.

    Chained to their desires.

    Stumbling.

    Lost!

    Death and Hades follow them.

    If they don’t repent and alter their course they will perish.

    I am the instrument that He Chose.

    I am His work of art.

    The grass withers and the flower wilts, but the word of our God stands for ever.

    People will reap what they sow.

    Don’t be like foolish people who are shaken by a foul wind and fall from the Tree of Life and run after every UnGodly fad known.

    Anchor yourself to the Almighty and His Teaching. Cling to the Truth.

    It is not too late.

    My destiny cannot be changed. Neither can my course be altered. My fate is already written.

    I was born in a world of darkness to do the Bidding of the Almighty.

    I am an Eternal Flame. An Everlasting Fire.

    If your name is not written in the Lamb’s book of life… You will perish.

    If your name is not written in the Lamb’s book of life… You will meet me.

    Rev. 20: 14-15 “Then Death and Hades were hurled into the fiery lake. This fiery lake is the second death. Anyone who was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the fiery lake.”

    Mt. 8: 11-12 “Many, I tell you, will come from the east and the west to sit with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven. But the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

    Mt. 25: 46 “And they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous will enter eternal life.”

    Mt. 25: 30 “As for this worthless servant, cast him outside into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

    Mk. 9: 43-44 “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is preferable for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go into the unquenchable fire of Gehenna where the devouring worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.”

    Lk. 16: 22-24 “Now the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In the netherworld, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham, far off, and Lazarus by his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.”’

    Mt. 7: 21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

    Mt. 7: 16-20 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.”

    Mt. 25: 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”

    Gal. 6: 7 “Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows,”

    Mt. 7: 13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and those who find it are few in number.”

    The story will be continued in The Flame 5

    Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

  • The Flame 3

    Not by God’s Will have they crucified their own Souls, but by their own choices.

    I was Born in Darkness by the Almighty for one purpose.

    To torment and torture those that are evil for all eternity.

    I am a burning fire. But I do not consume.

    I was born in Hell. Raised by the Almighty. An avenger for those that have been wronged.

    There are many appellations for where I reside.

    Some call it Hades; others call it Gehenna; some call it Sheol. Others… Niflheim, Diyu, Xibalba, Naraka, Jigoku.

    There are so many names.

    There is no joy to be found in my nether world. All I can hear is the weeping and gnashing of teeth.

    From century to century; from millennium to millennium; from eternity to eternity; they lie down in a place of pain.

    And to compound the terror… The damned know that it will never end.

    I do not discriminate nor do I feel compassion.

    I never tire or grow old.

    I am an Avenger.

    A Crusader for Righteousness.

    A Vigilante for Justice.

    A Protector of Godly Values.

    Cries of mercy go unheeded. There is no escape from my flame.

    Every road has a destination. And all roads come to an end.

    I am not a threat but a warning.

    Every road has a destination. And all roads come to an end.

    I am beyond the vale of tears, beyond the gates of hell.

    In a fiery graveyard you’ll find me as ghosts dance around.

    A dance of pain. A dance of regret.

    I am the Second Death.

    I was born in the womb of Darkness for just one purpose. To fulfill Scripture; People will reap what they sow.

    Born in Darkness… hidden.

    Born in Darkness… a sight so frightful to behold.

    I know of no other life than the one that God gave me.

    There is no other purpose for my existence than the one I have.

    Born in the shadows… a tool that serves His Will.

    Mockery, ridicule, lies, hatred, slaughter of the innocent… an unending number of affronts to Almighty God.

    The walking dead are led around on a leash by their own passions, and it clouds their judgements.

    They have crafted a guillotine with their own hands. They are the architects of their own destruction.

    They have placed a crown of fiery thorns on their heads.

    They have erected and nailed themselves to their own burning cross.

    They have crucified their own Souls.

    The road is narrow and only a few arrive safely. Many a winding turn… has led many people astray.

    Kingdoms topple. Leaders change. One history page after another is turned. In a world of inconsistency, I remain the same.

    A bedrock of consistency, a fortress, tirelessly doing the Will of the Almighty.

    I burn endlessly.

    Was the table set too high for them?

    Was it out of their reach?

    Be careful, lest you fall prey to the devil’s snares.

    Who can live with fire? Who can live with an everlasting flame?

    You have only one opportunity to find the Light of Creation.

    Those that fail to find that Light will never have that opportunity again.

    They will go blindly into a future world where there is no God.

    What awaits them is darkness and me.

    They will be like dry twigs that kindle a fire, wood in a fireplace. But they will not be consumed.

    An unending night awaits them, and only my flame breaks through the darkness that surrounds them. I will be the only light that they ever get to see.

    I am a light of pain. A light of torment.

    A light so horrible that I was hidden in Darkness.

    I was born in Hell. Created by the Almighty. An Avenger for those that have been wronged.

    I am a soldier passionately administering Justice.

    A warrior for Holiness.

    A gladiator for Truth.

    God chiseled me into existence from nothing.

    I know of no other life than the one I have.

    I know of no other existence or purpose.

    I am an Eternal Flame. An Everlasting Fire.

    I am the Instrument that He Chose to fulfill His Justice.

    Better to have never been born, than to meet me.

    Dt. 32: 22 “For by my wrath a fire is enkindled that shall rage to the depths of the nether world.”

    Ps. 21: 10 “At the time of your coming you will drive them into a furnace. Then the Lord’s anger will consume them, devour them with fire.”

    Ps. 112: 10 “The wicked shall be angry to see this; they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the desires of the wicked come to nothing.”

    Is. 33: 14 “On Zion sinners are in dread, trembling grips the impious: ‘Who of us can live with the consuming fire? Who of us can live with the everlasting flames?’”

    Is. 66: 24 “They shall go out and see the corpses of the men who rebelled against me; Their worm shall not die, nor their fire be extinguished; and they shall be abhorrent to all mankind.”

    Is. 50: 11 “All of you kindle flames and carry about you fiery darts; Walk by the light of your own fire and by the flares you have burnt! This is your fate from my hand: you shall lie down in a place of pain.”

    Jb. 7: 9 “As a cloud dissolves and vanishes, so he who goes down to the nether world shall come up no more.”

    Ez. 22: 21 “When I have assembled you I will blast you with the fire of my anger and smelt you with it.”

    1 Sm. 2: 9 “He will guard the footsteps of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall perish in the darkness. For not by strength does man prevail.”

    Mal. 3: 19 “For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, And the day that is coming will set them on fire…”

    Mal. 1: 6 “A son honors his father, and a servant fears his master; If then I am a father, where is the honor due to me? And if I am a master, where is the reverence due to me? …”

    The story will be continued in The Flame 4

    Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

  • The Flame 2

    I have a beginning, but I have no end.

    A burning fire born in Hell to torment those that do evil.

    At the same time a place of darkness was formed.

    I was Created by the Almighty.

    I am an Avenger for those that have been wronged.

    There are many appellations for where I reside.

    Some call it Hades; others call it Gehenna; some call it Sheol. Others… Niflheim, Diyu, Xibalba, Naraka, Jigoku.

    There are so many names.

    Day and night they burn. Day and night they burn. Day and night they burn.

    Licked by a tongue of fire that never gets dry.

    I was fashioned by the hands of the Almighty. Born to do His Bidding.

    I hear the righteous anger of the innocent that have been harmed.

    Their righteous anger fans my flame.

    I hear their cries and pleas.

    They fuel my anger.

    To fall into my flame is to meet a horror beyond all imagination.

    To meet me is to meet a horror beyond all nightmares.

    Beyond all comprehension.

    I was interred in a place of tears. Interred in a place with no hope.

    Surrounded and hidden in darkness.

    I am deaf to the cries of others. I am deaf to their pleas for mercy.

    I rage as a flame of Justice. I rage as an Avenger.

    The pages from the calendar are torn away. The leaves on the branches fall. One season turns into another.

    Over time, one silly secular idea after another gets mocked and ridiculed.

    One fad after another loses its luster.

    One philosophy after another wilts and dies.

    The pages from the calendar are torn away. The leaves on the branches fall. One season turns into another.

    The young grow old and die.

    One generation after another turns to ashes.

    Long gone… not remembered.

    But I remain resolute. I remain unchanged.

    I am remembered.

    Throughout the world I am feared.

    To meet me, is to inherit the second Death.

    I am Eternal. Everlasting.

    A nightmare beyond all human understanding.

    A flame born in hell to do the Bidding of my Master.

    Not by God’s Will but by their own will they Perish.

    People who surf on dangerous waves, that don’t heed the Warnings of the Almighty, splash into a lake of fire.

    They drown in an ocean of flames.

    I was born in darkness

    A sight so horrid to behold, that I exist in a sunless and moonless night.

    Hidden by the shadows.

    I am a spark ignited by the Mind of ALMIGHTY God.

    To meet me is to inherit the Second Death.

    I was interred in a place of anguish. Interred in a place of sorrow.

    Interred in a place of pain.

    One scheme after another falls to the ground. One dream after another is slain.

    Fruitless works, destined to failure.

    Fruitless works that bear no fruit.

    In life’s moment, one’s hopes and plans are destroyed. Dashed against a Rock.

    I was a spark in the mind of Almighty God. It was He that gave me life and a purpose.

    I know of no other life than the one I have.

    To meet me is to be consumed in a horror that is unimaginable.

    I am on the other side of Life.

    To meet me is to be embraced by the second Death.

    I am inflamed with a passion for Justice. And from my hands there is no escape.

    Dt. 32: 22 “For by my wrath a fire is enkindled that shall rage to the depths of the nether world.”

    Ps. 21: 10 “At the time of your coming you will drive them into a furnace. Then the Lord’s anger will consume them, devour them with fire.”

    Ps. 112: 10 “The wicked shall be angry to see this; they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the desires of the wicked come to nothing.”

    Is. 33: 14 “On Zion sinners are in dread, trembling grips the impious: ‘Who of us can live with the consuming fire? Who of us can live with the everlasting flames?’”

    Is. 66: 24 “They shall go out and see the corpses of the men who rebelled against me; Their worm shall not die, nor their fire be extinguished; and they shall be abhorrent to all mankind.”

    Mal. 3: 19 “For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, And the day that is coming will set them on fire…”

    Jb. 21: 11-13 “These folks have infants numerous as lambs, and their children dance. They sing to the timbrel and harp, and make merry to the sound of the flute. They live out their days in prosperity and tranquilly go down to the nether world.”

    Mal. 1: 6 “A son honors his father, and a servant fears his master; If then I am a father, where is the honor due to me? And if I am a master, where is the reverence due to me? …”

    The story will be continued in The Flame 3

    Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

  • The Flame

    I was born in Hell, that’s where my existence came into being.

    At the same time a place of darkness was formed.

    I was Created by the Almighty.

    I am an Avenger for those that have been wronged.

    There are many appellations for where I reside.

    Some call it Hades; others call it Gehenna; some call it Sheol. Others… Niflheim, Diyu, Xibalba, Naraka, Jigoku.

    There are so many names.

    I was born in Hell, that’s where my existence came into being.

    Created by the Almighty. Fashioned with His Hands.

    A proud warrior willing to do His Bidding.

    I stand tall and dance about in waves.

    I light up the darkness with my flaming colors of red, blue, orange, yellow and white.

    A warrior born to war against those that rebel against the King of kings.

    It was He that gave them Life and a Purpose.

    It was He that Taught them the Way.

    How did they come to this darkened coast? A darkened shore with an everlasting night.

    How did they get marooned?

    How did they open this door to hell?

    Was the table set so high that they couldn’t reach it? Why did they go about grasping for straws and fool’s gold?

    Likewise, it was He that gave me life and a purpose.

    I am a burning fire. But I do not consume.

    I was born in Hell. Raised by the Almighty. An avenger for those that have been wronged.

    I was a piece of clay in the Sculptor’s Hands.

    I am a burning fire. But I do not destroy.

    I torture those that fall into my flame from one century to another. From one millennium to another.

    From eternity to eternity, they drown in my flame.

    A moonless and starless night is what awaits them. All hope is abandoned here.

    They have forsaken Eternity with God and the Pleasures of Heaven for a moment’s gratification.

    Some of them believe that there will not be any more perfection than there is now, nor any more Heaven or hell than there is now.

    Both the learned and unlearned feel this way.

    And then at the end of their rainbows they meet me, and all the cobwebs fall from their eyes.

    Too late. Too late.

    I am a flame born in the womb of darkness.

    In the stillness of a black night, I came into being.

    In the secret of darkness, I was formed.

    Ordered by God. Willed by God.

    There is no escape from my hands.

    There are many appellations for where I reside.

    Some call it Hades; others call it Gehenna; some call it Sheol. Others… Niflheim, Diyu, Xibalba, Naraka, Jigoku.

    There are so many names.

    I am everlasting.

    My flame can never be extinguished. Nor can my fire ever be quenched.

    My flaming tongue licks and burns.

    They were gifted with the gift of Life, but they chose Death.

    They were foolish enough to roll the dice and lost.

    I am a flame lighting up the unending night.

    A fire crashing in a furnace.

    A pink carnation burns here; a blue carnation burns there. And a white carnation burns in the middle.

    I was born to torture, from one century to another; from one millennium to another; from eternity to eternity.

    There is no torture on earth like mine.

    The spark of my existence was rooted in His Mind.

    I am a Creation from the Mind of Almighty God.

    I was born to do His Bidding.

    To meet me is to inherit the second Death.

    To meet me is to know unspeakable horror.

    I can never die.

    There is no terror or fear that the eyes of men have ever seen or can imagine, that does justice to what I am.

    There are no words that can convey the horror. No words to describe the terror.

    Just like they have no idea about the Wonders of Heaven, they have no idea about the Agony of Hell.

    Human minds cannot comprehend the fiery pit.

    Who can live with everlasting flames?

    I am a burning fire. But I do not destroy.

    Though ghosts plead for death, it will never come.

    I am a burning fire. But I do not consume.

    Though ghosts beg for death, their cries go unanswered.

    I am everlasting.

    I can never be extinguished or die.

    Dt. 32: 22 “For by my wrath a fire is enkindled that shall rage to the depths of the nether world.”

    Ps. 21: 10 “At the time of your coming you will drive them into a furnace. Then the Lord’s anger will consume them, devour them with fire.”

    Ps. 16: 10 “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”

    Ps. 112: 10 “The wicked shall be angry to see this; they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the desires of the wicked come to nothing.”

    Is. 33: 14 “On Zion sinners are in dread, trembling grips the impious: ‘Who of us can live with the consuming fire? Who of us can live with the everlasting flames?’”

    Is. 66: 24 “They shall go out and see the corpses of the men who rebelled against me; Their worm shall not die, nor their fire be extinguished; and they shall be abhorrent to all mankind.”

    Mal. 3: 19 “For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, And the day that is coming will set them on fire…”

    Jb. 21: 11-13 “These folks have infants numerous as lambs, and their children dance. They sing to the timbrel and harp and make merry to the sound of the flute. They live out their days in prosperity and tranquilly go down to the nether world.”

    Mal. 1: 6 “A son honors his father, and a servant fears his master; If then I am a father, where is the honor due to me? And if I am a master, where is the reverence due to me? …”

    The story will be continued in Flame 2

    Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

  • The Christmas Tree 5 – Snow, Snow, and more Snow

    Under the New York City sky, and nestled amidst the tall skyscrapers, in a voice that seemed to be echoing the Christmas Spirit, the soft snow flurries started swirling around, and they warmed my heart. Flooding it with memories of Christmas’ past.

    Margaret was about to get her coloring book and finish coloring the different flowers in the book – and recolor the flowers that Billy messed up – when a bright radiant light zigzagged in front of the Christmas Tree. It looked like a bolt of lightning from a cartoon.

    It momentarily startled Margaret and she jumped back.

    The Hrinoff decoration lit up. It started showing a snowstorm. Margaret was mesmerized by what she was seeing. Snow, snow, snow, and more snow. It was an avalanche of snow. A tidal wave.

    The storm, possessing an unpleasant and nasty personality, and very unruly, seemed resolved to continue being a nuisance. It was bullying the Hrinoff family. Not only couldn’t they see out their windows, which were plastered with snow, but the snow drifted against their door, making it difficult to open. And the wind, very irate, was whistling a very ominous tune.

    The blizzard started last evening and there were no signs that it would be ending soon. It seemed like an everlasting drumbeat of falling snow.

    But inclement weather was not a good enough reason for a Hrinoff farmer not to farm and nurture his crops. And even the Hrinoffs, who have the greenest thumbs in the world – and their thumbs are really green – have to tend to their crops.

    Madame Hrinoff Aria, the farmer’s wife said, “Go wake up the boys and have them help you.”

    “I usually let them sleep until sunrise,” said Hrinoff farmer Topegriadnsite.

    “I know that … the weather is so bad, you better get off to an early start.”

    “You’re right,” said the Hrinoff farmer.

    He walked into his children’s bedroom and woke up his five-year-old son and then his three-year-old. Both boys jumped out of bed and put on their overalls. They put on their designer sneakers and coats. Their father put their furry hoods over their heads. The kids excitedly ran to the window to look out, but they couldn’t see anything. There was a wall of snow blocking their view. They excitedly ran to the door, but when they tried to open it, it wouldn’t budge. There were mounds of snow brushing against the door.

    The five-year-old ran to get his ax, and was about to chop down the door, when his father stopped him.

    Dad and mom helped the kids to push the door open, and when it was wide enough, the farmer squeezed through the door and started shoveling. He needed to make a path for him and the boys to walk. He decided to make a path that went to the shed first, so that he could retrieve his sons’ shovels. He was going to need all the help he could get. While he was shoveling his youngest son was trying to swallow the falling snow. He collided into his father and brother a few times while in pursuit of the falling yellow, green, and orange snow.

    “Can you be careful,” said the annoyed five-year-old to his younger brother.

    The three-year-old stuck out his tongue and shook his head “No.”

    The little boy had a system.

    He would eat a yellow snowflake first, and then a green snowflake, and leave the orange snowflake for last. He repeated the same pattern over and over. It was more fun and challenging that way.

    His older brother didn’t have a pattern. He was swallowing as much pink and red snow as he could. And the pink and red snow tasted better. At least that’s what he thought.

    “Stop eating all that snow,” shouted the farmer. “Your mother is making breakfast.”

    Margaret started laughing.

    After an hour, they finally arrived at the shed. When the two boys retrieved their smaller shovels, they started shoveling in all different directions.

    “Not like that,” shouted the farmer. “We all have to shovel in the same direction. We’re going toward the fields, to tend to the crops.”

    It took them an hour to shovel twenty feet of snow.

    The snow seemed to be determined to annoy anyone in its path, and the farmer noticed that the path that they shoveled was being covered up by more falling snow. The snow was very spiteful.

    The farmer also noticed that his youngest son was missing. He started looking around and saw some snow moving. His son was swallowed up by the snow … it acted like quicksand. It just gobbled him up. When he went to retrieve him, he found his son under a pile of snow, and he was digging a tunnel and laughing.

    Margaret was also laughing.

    “Now is not the time to play,” warned dad sternly. “We have work to do. You know the Hrinoff motto: ‘Work first, more work, and more work and then we play.’ Now … stop goofing off.”

    As he was about to start shoveling again, the Hrinoff farmer heard his older son yelling for help. He found his older son with his head stuck in a rabbit hole. He pulled him out.

    “Didn’t I tell you to stop playing around,” said dad, disappointed that his eldest son wasn’t listening.

    “I was trying to catch the rabbit.”

    “Leave those thieves alone,” said dad.

    The Hrinoff farmers hated rabbits. The farmers did all the work, and the lazy rabbits just waited for an opportunity to steal and eat their crops.

    A rabbit stuck its head out of its hole, and stuck its tongue out at the farmer, and wiggled its ears.

    A snowball whizzed by the farmer’s head.

    “Who threw that?” Asked the five-year-old.

    They knew it couldn’t be a rabbit. They can’t make or throw snowballs. They don’t have hands. If they had hands, instead of paws, they could be farmers too. And they wouldn’t have to steal all the farmer’s crops.

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  • The Christmas Tree 5 – Chariot of the Sun

    The Christmas Tree blushed. It was dressed in lights and decorations, but it felt naked without any tinsel.

    The grasshopper-man was no longer a man or even a grasshopper. He still looked like a man, but he was extremely small and had curly hair and pointed ears. And his feet were very hairy. He had a pipe in his hand and tossed it to the ground. He never smoked in his life. He was also wearing very bright colors. That was totally unlike his true nature. He never liked to stand out. He only liked the colors green or brown.

    The grasshopper-man was in a deserted place and wondering about his new body and size.

    He wondered, why do bad things always happen to me?

    And then he noticed them. They were two giant gods.

    Phaeton: “It is unfair that my school chums laugh at me. Am I not a god also? Am I not part god? Don’t I require the same respect? I want proof from you … that I am your son.”

    Apollo: “I am your Father! And the nymph Clymene is your mother. Isn’t that good enough?”

    Phaeton: “No! No one believes me. They think I’m a storyteller and making up stories. I need proof!”

    Apollo: “I can bestow upon you a gift that will help to prove that you’re my son. Ask what you will.”

    Phaeton: “I would like to drive the chariot of the sun.”

    Apollo: “Never! Are you out of your mind? That is the one gift that I cannot give you.”

    Phaeton: “And that is the only gift that I want.”

    Apollo: “No other god but me, can drive the flaming chariot of fire. I am your Father. Ask anything else of me.”

    Phaeton: “There is nothing else that I seek.”

    The grasshopper-man was afraid. He could easily be seen by the gods. He saw a huge chariot and climbed aboard. He hid in the back of the chariot and placed a blanket over him. He peeked out from underneath the blanket. He was hoping that the giant gods would go away. He noticed he was shivering but it wasn’t from the cold weather. He was frightened.

    He wondered, why do bad things always happen to me?

    Apollo: “Are you seeking death and destruction?”

    Phaeton: “I am your son! Not only can you drive the chariot of the sun, but I can too. And this will prove to everyone that I am your son.”

    Apollo: “This is not a good idea. But I made you a promise and am bound by my honor to keep it. You must be careful. Stay within the five circles. If you veer too far to the left or the right, you will ignite the universe.”

    Phaeton: “I will warm the universe and make the weather pleasant … just like you. Have no fear.”

    Apollo: “And the horses … allow them to go at their own pace. They will be going fast enough. Remember … stay within the five circles. I still think you should change your mind and listen to me.”

    The grasshopper-man thought about getting out of the chariot and running away. But he might be seen by the two giant gods. Despaired, he shook his head. Why did he get into this chariot? Why doesn’t the young man listen to his Father? The grasshopper man cowered underneath the blanket.

    He wondered, why do bad things always happen to me?

    What happened?

    The fiery horses were too powerful. Smoke and fire poured out of their nostrils and mouths. And their eyes looked like molten lava. They looked disdainfully at Phaeton.

    Phaeton couldn’t handle them.

    Without someone to properly guide them, they didn’t stay within the five circles. And because of that, the chariot of the sun scorched and then inflamed Mars. The planet was burning. The chariot of the sun veered further to the left and destroyed the goddess Venus’ home, which is Venus. The gods Mercury and Saturn, their planets suffered the same fate.

    The skies were ablaze with a disorderly inferno that day, the planets aghast in a quiver. All the planets were on fire. The whole universe was on fire.

    The grasshopper-man peeked from underneath the blanket. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Everything was on fire, except for this one little planet. But the God of that planet would not allow it to be destroyed. An Invincible and Almighty God. The One True God.

    The Angel Gabriel descended from Heaven, and took hold of the flaming horses, and threw them and the chariot and Phaeton into an abyss. The whole abyss was ignited and on fire.

    “There you shall remain,” said the Mighty Angel. “From generation to generation; from century to century; from eternity to eternity. Your flame shall never be extinguished, and you shall never die. All those that don’t obey the Father shall suffer the same fate.”

    The kind Angel plucked the grasshopper-man from the chariot – just before it was thrown into the abyss – and placed him safely back on earth. He then placed a protective invisible dome around the earth, so that in the future, anything entering the earth’s atmosphere would burn up before it harmed God’s people. And it would also stop any debris that came from these burnt up planets. So, the next time you see a meteor shower – fireworks – it is done in remembrance of this joyous occasion.

    “How are you, fellow Hobbit? You look like you could use a good pipe of tobacco.”

    The grasshopper-man-hobbit smiled.

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