| ACCEPTING |
| THE ONE Long before Earth was made Ere rock and water yet been laid In the Void was naught but space Lacking warmth and light and grace Yet the Three were always there Amongst the Void, amongst the bare There They lived amidst no light Yet harbored They no hate nor fright After time They learned to speak And thereafter sought to seek A place beyond the endless dark Countless sojourns did embark But the darkness reigned supreme An ocean of sightless dream So ended the search of the Three In still solidarity Many sittings all alone Mundane Their lives, dull and drone But then They gathered all Their might To bring about a sense of sight And so They wished as well They may Until They glimpsed a colored ray And then other hues of light Shone in that darkness bright And so the Three were much appeased Their fascination fully seized Each other's faces first to see After long eternity No definition to Their shape No limbs, no body; all agape Just eyes amidst formless cloud Enveloped They in misty shroud And so they practiced with Their might Created They much differed light And then came shapes imagined so New delights for Them to know So They delved deep in Their minds Labored shapes of many kinds ~~~ There came a time that the Three Wanted Their own place to be Apart from the Void so black To dwell in light and not go back So They toiled very hard Building up shard by shard A grand palace in thus to stay It was Earth, on its way Ever to it did They build Mountains raised, oceans filled Upon that Earth They danced all day Existing now in newfound way Then Their hearts were ever keen So grew plants and all things green And that brought Them much delight But colors more they wanted bright So flowers popped up fresh in bloom And o'er all the ground did loom A blanket thus of rainbow hue Vibrant alive with drops of dew And so Earth, it was made Valleys gorged, hillsides weighed A magnificent castle grand Full of light and warmth, this land And so the Void was far behind That lack of grace, so cold, so blind ~~~ The Three remained as aeons passed There on Earth abode steadfast But lonely They just being three Amongst this home, enormously And so They wished for others to Converse aloud just as They do And made They did upon first try A likeliness of Their own eye Shapeless clouds up in the sky They moved about, passing by But Their own tongue did not speak Their life within was rather weak The Three, saddened, attempt in vain The clouds asunder rent out rain So it was that with Their mood Weather subsided or darkly brood But toward Their goal, no avail Those clouds set forth asky to sail ~~~ Many labors later came With results much the same Suns and stars and rainbows, too Stunning beauty all to view But alike could not speak Only which the Three did seek More fruitless years trying passed Then something different came at last Animals began to graze And happy were the Three those days Even though they did not talk Yet they did live, breathe, and walk More fervently then They tried To create of Their own pride Finally from the Earth did spring That arrival which made Them sing The first few of mortal Men Came to speak to Them then ~~~ Long after their first birth Man wandered all of Earth And mingled they with the Three Sharing in such splendid glee Towns they built in those days of old Houses etched and roofed with gold Like kings they lived, their own accord Gems and jewels, each had his hoard And in lordly halls, mighty feasts Dine on wine, rich meat of beasts And dances held on holy ground Music, laughter all abound ~~~ One night, while all slept A darkness into the land had crept And poisoned then one of the Three To betray humbled divinity And when He woke He did feel An inflamed sense of His own zeal Next when Men came to Their door He denied entrance evermore And the other Two questioned why That such visits He should deny Of this to them He did say: "Brothers, listen, if I may Long toiled We, the mighty Three Creating all there is to see Are We not the masters here Of all these Men We hold so dear? And do We not deserve more praise For all the deeds We did raise? Worthy not is the breed of Man To share in all that We can Far too long they've roamed Our halls And with it Our own glory falls!" At that the Two could not speak Inside, their hearts faltered, weak Grievous were those words to hear Conceived by Their fellow peer But to this They refused to vow To His will They would not bow For Man They loved and ever would And this They made understood So left the One, full of rage And had in mind a war to wage ~~~ In the Void where all is black To the Earth He turned his back All alone He did abide Amongst dark shadows did He hide And ever did His hatred grow For that life, so far below But devised He then a plan To reek upon helpless Man Havoc did He bring about And fill them with much dread and doubt A reign of terror from atop And would He thus never stop Until from Earth the Two should flee And leave poor Men their own to be The Two did fight against the One With pride hotter than the Sun Yet His darkened prowess did prevail As a blackened storm set sail Through Their efforts, Men had died And over this many tears They cried So to prevent further loss Wielded They to this boss To the Void They also went All Their joy drained and spent ~~~ The Void too bleak for Them to bear A new home They built with longing care Beyond the Earth, it loomed above Blessed light white as a dove A place where shadows ceased to be Where peace reigned eternally The souls of those who died on Earth Traveled there anew rebirth The great white light of this realm Helpful served to overwhelm The One who grew to know the dark Undone by light so pure, so stark Thus nearby He could not go Safe it remained ever so Yet in those years Men did doubt The Two revered, so brave, so stout Why should They resolve to flee To leave Mandkind alone to be? Bitter became their fearful hearts Curses shouted like poisoned darts Up to the sky whence They'd gone Hatred on their minds did don The One heard Men's angry screams And reveled in their tortured dreams Unto the edge of Earth He'd stray And haunt Men as best He may Dark laughter filled the darkened night Filling them with dreadful fright Into their houses He would creep Ensure a fear for them to keep So taunted He the race of Man Preamble to His wicked plan ~~~ Violent grew His boredom then As chaos came to lands of Men Lakes were scorched and trees did burn And homes themselves in their turn Much despair befell the Two And so it came what They must do To Earth They flew with dire speed Calling to such desperate need And CLASH! They met in the sky Boiling strength and tempers high Sparred They days and weeks on end Wills so strong they would not bend But then the fight, it gave chase Into the Void did They race Then the Two upon first chance Gave each other a clever glance A moment planned long ago Would reveal itself soon to know Summoning great magic force Deep within ambitious source They cast a seal around the One A victory then was won From this space He could not stray As long as They kept him at bay A sacrifice the Two had made A determination deeply laid Never to Earth could They go To their creation there below For if They swayed one second small The seal would break, dooming all Far too weak to it renew And loose the One, destruction brew So the Earth They need forsake Guard every moment Life awake ~~~ A seed was sewn unbeknownst to all A messenger came to His call Alone he carried out a task And hid behind a guiled mask Much power promised to this Man To carry out a sacred plan Wait he must, with immortal life The Two to weaken with aged strife And then a summons of mighty zeal Would release the One from the seal |
| "Greg! Greg!" Those were the first words he heard as he was startled from his slumber. His eyelids opened slowly, still heavy from a desire to stay slipped away from the waking world. Elizabeth was looming over his face, her own quite contorted with panic. Greg became aware of another sound echoing all around him; a rhythmic banging off to his right was nearly as loud as his wife's exalted screams for his attention. Finally, the wearisome haze cleared from his groggy head and he bolted to an upright position to greet a very scared Elizabeth sitting nearby, with Harmony snuggled next to her lap. "Oh my, God! Greg! What's going on!? Who's there!? Make it stop! Please make it stop!" Elizabeth was shaking him by his shoulders, in an absolute state of hysteria. Harmony was crying, confused by all the pandemonium. "Mommy, mommy." She sobbed. There was a vehement pounding on the door to the bedroom. relentlessly sounding. The door itself seemed to buckle under the tremendous stress and the walls shook along with the steadfast beats. Greg got out of bed and immediately reached for the sword. He motioned for them to stay put and he approached the doorway. "No! Don't open it!" Elizabeth beckoned to him, terrified to find out what was the source of ruckous. Instead of reaching for the knob, Greg gave the door a furious pounding himself. "Go away!" He screamed at the unknown trespsasser. The stranger ceased his knockings instantly. After a moment, which seemed like an eternity, he reached for the knob. "No, don't...," whispered Elizabeth. Looking over his shoulder, he spoke to her, "I have to know who's there." She gazed at him pleadingly, but he continued nonetheless. With a sudden movement, he swung the door inward and readied the sword. Nothing attacked. Cautiously, he moved into the hallway and quickly gazed toward the staircase and then the lobby, managing to just catch a glimpse of the mysterious lady walking through the entrance door. He knew he hadn't a moment to lose and he quickly called before dashing down the hall. "I'm going!" As much as he regretted Elizabeth's discovery of this strange apparition, he was quite sure it would be most prudent to track this lady down. He knew she had some answers. Elizabeth called out from the doorway, yet he ignored her pleas. His mind was determined. Bursting through the door, Greg ran out toward the street and was amazed to see her standing plainly in the road, facing him. She was hugging a small book and then she raised an arm and pointed, staring off into the direction past Gestino's Grocery, over toward a group of houses. He followed her gaze, but could not figure out what she was pointing at. "What is it? Please tell me!" She looked back at him and spoke softly: |
| Gregory, please do not delay For He gains strength each passing hour You must enact a reversing seal Before His wrath comes to power |
| The meaning of her words was unclear to him and he beseeched her for further guidance. "Please... tell me what that means." She began to walk away from him. "No, please, don't..." Elizabeth yelled out to him as she drew near the entranceway. "..eg! Where did you go?" Greg turned back to see her standing at the door, holding her gown against her body to keep as much of the cold away as she could. Harmony stood beside her, cuddling close to stay warm herself. "What's going on?" Elizabeth asked. He spun back around and was surprised to see that the woman was nowhere in sight; she had vanished, leaving another enigma behind. "Greg?" "I thought I saw somebody," he replied, still looking in the direction in which he had last seen her. There was something sticking out from the snow and he crossed the street toward it. With the initial shock subsiding, he began to feel the effects of being barefoot in the deep drifts of snow. Not wishing to remain outside any longer, he bent down and retrieved a book and he ran back to the hotel. She did not give him long before throwing the inquisition at him. "What's going on? Who was that? Why did you run off like that?" "Look, I don't know," he retorted, as he was still trying to shake off the cold. "I saw somebody running out of the hotel and I went after him." "Him? It was a him? What did he look like? Did he look like a killer?" He did not mean to mis-engender the ghost, but he found it all too convenient to keep the shocking truth from her for as long as he could. "He looked like... a person. I don't know, I didn't exactly get a good look at his face." His answers weren't good enough. This last incident was just another to add to an ever increasing series of tumultuous events. Something had to be done - soon. "Greg, I'm scared. We have to get out of here." The simple truth hit home in his heart. She was right; things were getting too real. Ill-favored happenstances were becoming too frequent and increasingly intense. He found it impossible to believe that that delicate lady could have caused such ferocious banging on the door. So, who was there? Him? "Harm's frightened. Greg, I'm frightened. It's like living a bad dream, but it's happening to us. It's coming after us!" "Look... I know," he responded, resigningly. "I just don't know what to do. It's too far to walk. We have no means of traveling or contacting anyone. But we will get out of here, I promise you. Look..." He hesitated. The time had come to let the cat out of the bag. Clenching a fist, he started, "I lied to you. I'm not sure why. Figured you'd think I was crazy or something." He paused before continuing, as Elizabeth stared at him with anxious longing. "It was a lady that ran out of here just now." "A lady?" "Yeah, and I've seen her before." "Well, ... when?" Elizabeth asked, abruptly, slightly upset that he had hid this from her. "When we first got here, actually. That first night, at the gas station, when I took a walk by myself. I was inside and saw someone walk by and followed her outside, but then she disappeared." "Well, what did she do?" She asked, impatiently. "N, nothing. She just, walked by and was gone." There was a moment of silence that was suddently interrupted by Harmony. "I saw her too, Daddy." Both of them wheeled around to face her in utter shock of this sudden discovery. Greg took the initiative. He bent down to her level. "You did? Where?" "At the gas place too when I had to go to the bathroom," she replied. Greg recalled the moment. So much had happened since arriving that he had completely forgotten about that incident. "Oh, when you ran around behind the building?" "Yeah. That's when I saw her." "What did she say to you?" Elizabeth interjected. "Nothin, Mommy." "Then what did she do?" Elizabeth inquired further. Harmony did not respond. Something was going on in her mind and she was a little confused. Greg finally interrupted. "Why didn't you tell us?" Again, she did not reply, at first, but then, shyly, she spoke, "I thought she was Mommy." Greg could feel his heart sink. He, still, up to this point, was extremely reluctant to reveal that last secret to Elizabeth, but he knew it could probably be avoided no longer. He let his wife take the lead in this investigation; he just couldn't be the one to make Harmony say it. "What do you mean, honey?" Elizabeth asked her. Yet again, Harmony hesitated before answering. "She looked like you." "She looked like me?" She repeated her words, baffled as to the meaning. "What do you mean?" "I thought it was you but it wasn't, but she looked like you." Elizabeth was absolutely confused. She glanced up at Greg and he scratched the back of his head. Finally, he came out with it. "It's true. She does look like you." "What?" Elizabeth questioned, pleadingly. "I thought it was you at first, too. But she's not. Longer hair. Very pale skin. And she never wears a coat or shoes, always walking around barefoot in some thin dress. I was afraid to tell you. Afraid you might get upset." "Upset? I'm..." She did not finish her sentence. She stood up and crossed the room, standing with her back to them. Then, she turned around and asked, "When else did you see her?" Greg rubbed his chin, thinking back. "Well. Just then. At the pond. And now." "What do you mean, the pond? You didn't mention that." "I, I left that part out. Didn't want to alarm you, but when I first got there, I saw her and chased after her, but then the ice broke and I fell in." "What!?" Exclaimed Elizabeth, genuinely concerned. "Or so I thought..." "What do you mean?" He continued. "Well, I fell in, but she reached in to pull me out. Next thing I know, I black out and come to on a park bench, completely dry. Don't know if it was a dream or what." "And then what?" "Nothing. I came back and that's when I found you running out looking for Harmony." There was a long period of silence until Greg added, "Look. I don't know who she is or why she looks like you, but I get this strange feeling like she's trying to help us. I think she's leaving clues." He held up the small book that was left behind in the snow just moments ago. "I wouldn't be afraid of her." "How can you be so sure?" "Well... she's you, isn't she?" He chuckled. By this point, Harmony was long since bored. She had already forgotten about the banging on the door and certainly wasn't interested in the conversation any longer. She took advantage of another brief halt in her parents' talking and interjected. "Is it time for breakfast, yet?" Greg looked at her and smiled at her warmly. "Yeah. Let's go get breakfast." ~~~~~ The cover looked similiar to that of all the other books, but above the strange symbol, it read, "The One Divinity Church." He thumbed through it quickly to view the contents and saw that it seemed to be a really long poem. He could also tell that the story focused on more of the Three and the creation of Earth and Man. Must be some crazy religion in this town. Turning back to the front, he started with the first line of the poem and read on: |
| He snapped the book shut and stretched in the chair, yawning and rotating his head to flex his stiff neck muscles. Whether it really was that long or he just wasn't used to reading poetry, it was quite a mundane chore for Greg. Laying his head back, he gazed at the ceiling and contemplated his thoughts on the matter. So, assuming this thing, this black shadow we keep seeing is the One, then that means the seal has been broken. Man has called him back. Who has? People in this town? And why? Who would want to all back such a mean God? And if so, where are the Two? Shouldn't they be coming back to help, or something? And what's with this lady that look like Liz? ... She said something about a reversing seal. to re-seal the One? But how? It doesn't make any sense. If this One exists, then hundreds and thousands of years of organized religion is all a lie. I mean, that would be huge! And I've never heard about any of that before. Only here in this town... ...God, what happened here? |