Day 1

Rain keeps falling down. On my house. On the ground. The trees. The leaves.

My soul.

Some people think rain is dreary. Maybe to them. Maybe the rest of us find the sunshine dreary.

The rain hasn't stopped falling. All day long it just keeps pouring down. At first, the people are grateful, drinking the natural liquid in. Refreshed. But then they get their fill. The wetness starts to feel cold. The sky seems darker then before.

And they begin to drown.

It won't stop. They choke and sputter. They try to push Death from their lungs. They try and make it go away. They long for something else. They don't know what. Something other than this...
Pain comes.

But it doesn't stop. It keeps coming, likes unending waves hitting the shore of their lives.
Slowly they lose feeling, consciousness. The pain becomes a part of them. This lifelessness becomes a part of them.

They walk around. They float, like ghosts, unaware of their surroundings. They pretend to have something inside these empty shells that they pretend are lives. But it's all a lie.
Darkness surrounds them. It runs through them, over them, underneath them. It's everywhere. All-encompassing. Everyone is hidden from each other. They don't realize that every other person has that Darkness inside them.
But each person knows it's in himself.
Alone in the dark, though they can't see it, they feel it.
Some people are numb to it. The emptiness, the Darkness is so much a part of them, that they've become oblivious to it. This is how they are. This is how they have lived - if you can even call it living.
But some can feel it. They feel... Nothing. Is it possible to feel Nothing? It must be. Because they can feel it. The loneliness. The emptiness.
The Darkness.
They are the Darkness.
They are asleep. No they are walking. They move. But they can't see. They walk in a trance. They must be asleep, for if they were awake and could see... they wouldn't be able to live with themselves, if they are even living now.
A call. Through the darkness, someone is calling. It's like an alarm clock buzzing in their minds. They all feel it, some more than others. Many are too numb, too comfortable in their deep, lazy sleep to respond. Others become angry, throwing their hands over their ears, screaming for the buzzing to stop.
One.
One sole person is doing neither of these things. She was beginning to ignore the buzz, but... then, she started to listen.
Just buzzing; that's all it is. Loud and annoying buzzing in my mind.
No; wait. There's something else. There's a voice... I can't hear it. Oh but it's there...
Wake up.....
What?
Rise.....
I can't hear you!
The voice grew.
Waaake... uuuppp!
I feel a war going on inside of me. In my mind. It wants to go back to sleep. It wants to hide in its Darkness. No. I want to wake up. I want to leave this trance. I want to be free!
So I woke.
My mind started to become clearer - had it been this blurred before? It must have been. But... everything had seemed clear before.
No. It wasn't. I had been blind before. I could see nothing.
But now...
I notice a Light. There's a light in front of me, coming from... I can't tell where it's coming from. It's coming from everything. Nothing?

The sun. It starts coming up. Over the tree tops, that are still dripping from the Night's storm. Little beams of light start to poke through gaps and holes, their warmth trying to grab hold of something.

I see it. The light. But it seems unfamiliar. Foreign. It scares me. No. I want it. I want to grab hold of it. I want to taste it.
I reach forward. My fingertips graze a beam.
And suddenly, I can see myself.
Everything.
The Light grows and shines through me. I can see inside myself. I knew there was something there before, but I couldn't see it in the Darkness. But now... I see! I'm terrified.
Inside, there is a form. Some sort of life... No. It's not life. It's Death. It has buried itself into my soul. It's been sleeping there. The Darkness. But it does not like the Light. The Light is hurting it! The dark form is screaming! Let it go! Don't kill it! I love my Master!
Master? No. This thing does not control me.
But it does. I am subject to it. I give in to it. I do what it pleases. It makes me live in the Darkness.
But this Light... It's ridding my soul of the one thing that has been controlling my life. It hurts. It's painful.
No. That's what is being taken away. The pain. Was there pain? Yes. I never noticed. But it has always been there. Now it's being taken away. The pain. It's... gone. I am free!
It's being... replaced.
Yes, this Darkness, the Death in my soul, it's being removed and in it's place there is... a Light. This beautiful, wonderful Light! The Light that has saved me from myself, from the Darkness, it is coming inside and illuminating my soul!

I realize something. I've never seen the light. Before the storm, it was dark. It had always been dark. And being born in the dark, I didn't realize that I had never had life. I'd never seen the sun. I didn't realize something was missing. The Darkness had deceived me. It made me believe that there was no Light. That Light was a lie. That Darkness was the only truth in the world. But now I see the Truth.

I look behind me. There is still Darkness there. It's not going anywhere. But it's no longer a part of me. It will follow me. I don't think it will leave. Not for a long time. But if I keep my eyes fixed on the Light ahead of me, I don't have to fear it. I know there is Light inside of me greater than the Darkness behind me.
The voice... it's returned. No, it never left. It's speaking... it's beckoning me...
Rise. Walk with me.
I step forward. I am fearful. No. I am not. I know now. My eyes have been opened. My soul has been filled with the Light. I know what is true now. The Darkness was a lie. It was deceiving me. It still wants me. I can hear its whispers.
But now I know how to defeat the Darkness. No. It's already been defeated. There is no Darkness inside me. It follows me. It will never stop following. I know that there will be times when I will turn around and embrace it. Sorrow fills me, thinking of those times when I will reject the Light, and turn to the one who can only give me death. But I pray that if those times ever arise that the Light will sing its song. All I'll have to do is turn around and the Light will be there. And I'll remember.
I am no longer a slave to the Darkness. I am a child of the Light.
The Light inside me will burn bright. It will reveal the Darkness that I stand next to. And I will flee. Yes, I will run with all that is within me, back to the One who saved me from myself.
So I will continue on this journey. Journey? Yes. There is a path I must follow. There is something greater ahead of me. I must find it. This will not be easy. So many trials. And the world is filled with the Darkness that once owned me. So many others are still filled with it. But the Light is inside of me, and it will lead me. Perhaps others will see it and find what I never knew was missing. But the Darkness hates the Light. And if they are the Darkness, they too will hate the Light. But Light is more powerful than Darkness.
I don't know where the Light will lead me, but I trust the Light. I believe in it. It has saved me. I owe it my life. And that's what I'll give.
My life.

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light"
Ephesians 5:8