Dancing away into the dawn in His arms - short stories online

Dancing away into the dawn in His arms

I was sleeping like a rag doll in that large bed that morning, it would be proper to say I had been there for a few months now, just sleeping and waking, being forced to eat at times, and that was all I did..I existed. I breathed and showed signs of life. It would be wrong to say otherwise. All I heard was the monotonous ticking of the clock and the whizzing of the fan when it became unbearably hot. I had been that way since I fell down the stairs that busy morning running around to get the children ready for school.
I had hurt my spine and nothing much could be done. I was doomed to a live in a bed and watch life pass me by. The pain in my husband Greg’s eye was real and so were the rare moments of frustration at having to cope with a disabled wife and three strong boys. It hurt that I could not share the burden, I was pained that I had become a burden and I was waiting for a miracle to come my way.

Five months was a long time, at least for me, a vivacious being. I was always full of zest for life. I wanted to do the craziest and the most unexpected things of all. I would dance on the terrace at dawn or stop the car in the middle of the road when I saw a rainbow or kiss my all grown-up son when he was with friends, embarrassing him. I would find myself doing the wackiest things when I was with the ones l loved. Fun was my middle name and being relegated to the sidelines of sorrow and pain was life’s cruel trick on me.

I loved to be outdoors with the birds and the bees among the flowers and the trees. I loved the sun and soaked in it all day long until I became like a dark cocoa bean. I loved the music of the earth and strange noises that the bamboo clump in the corner of the yard made, when the wind sashayed through it. The songs of the birds at morn when they orchestrated in their special amphitheater, the flapping of wings when they flew away, and the scurrying and chattering of squirrels as they ran up and played on the branches of the huge mango tree, all spoke to my soul.

Now, I was imprisoned in this huge blank and colorless space of my bed. I closed my eyes and heard whispers in my head... He called me.. He called again... He sounded like he was yet far, I had not seen his face but I knew his voice. He called me by my name, a name that I had given myself, no one has ever called me that before.. Only I knew that name because I had wished it was mine when I was yet a child. “Angela” the voice seemed a little closer and stronger now. I could hear it, clearly in the distance, amidst the thundering of hoofs.
“Angela” he called... now much closer and I strained to see his face.. He was not there. Was my mind playing tricks with me? But I could hear it as well as I heard the bamboo trees dancing in the breeze. I could not be wrong!

I listened intently and the voice seemed to fade.. I saw fluffy clouds floating in the skies like tufts of cotton. I heard a music so sweet and so strange. I drifted off into a sleep that was so light and yet deep. He came as I slept and sat on my bed, I tried to pry open my eyes but he said, “Do not trouble yourself Angela.... you can still see me. Be at peace”
I saw Him now, his profile, that auburn hair that graced his shoulders in waves, like a halo it glistened with a light of its own. His eyes were blue like the heaven and the skies thereof, its depths like the oceans, there was so much peace within.
I longed to look and drink deeply of his eyes, it was like an ocean of peace for my restless soul. They smiled.... I could not take my eyes off them to see his lips.. I wanted to see them, but his eyes filled my soul with life and strength I had never known before.
He spoke to me and I watched his lips move, they smiled and the words seemed to fade, my eyes saw him speak, but my ears heard him not.
He reached out to me then as if to take me in his arms. I wanted to tell him, I could not get up, but I did not find my voice. His eyes silenced me and he said, “No negative thoughts, I am He.”
I nodded as if I understood and yet in my mind I was asking, “What is his name?”
Smiling as though he heard the voices in my mind he told me, “I am He whom you call on everyday. I am the Truth, the Life and the Way. I AM, The Great I AM!”
I wanted to fall on my knees but still felt bound in my spine. He reached out and embraced me, he touched me so lightly and tenderly. I felt that I was embraced by light, I could see His light in me. I understood then how the moon is illuminated by the sun, as the Son demonstrated the power of love.
I was standing in His strength, I was happy but He wanted more. He took my hand and led me into a dance and glided across the floor. I followed him still in shock and wonder hoping that my dream would not end in naught.

He called me, “Precious” and showed me his hand and I saw my name inscribed on it.. This was no tattoo, no gimmick here. It was inscribed in fire and a light was shining from my name.
“Angela” he called me again, his voice so honey sweet, dripping with love. His joy was not perfect yet, just dancing with me was not enough, he took me out into eternity. He walked and each cloud bended its head, holding his hands I lost all my dread.
We seemed to go higher with each step, the houses and trees and mountains proud seemed like insignificant specks. I had a strange feeling as if every thing had been put into perspective. A great flood of understanding filled my mind. I knew that I had made my problems into huge mountains and he showed me now they are just a speck in time when I was with him. I was repentant in my heart and tears flowed from my eyes and he bottled them up in a vial labeled ‘precious’. I stumbled with the tears in my eyes, upon a stile we were crossing at that moment, and he looked at the stile and it fell away into the bottomless pit. My feet were guarded by hands, I wondered whose hands they were. He called out to me to get my attention, “Angela” I looked into his eyes and we floated further, he took me to a stream of brilliant water, sparkling like liquid gold and I drank of it while he spoke.

He laid me down gently on the grassy slopes like a mother lays her infant to sleep and he spoke in a sonorous voice of how I was the apple of his eye and I slept again. When I woke up, he was there..looking into my face. He lifted his hands as if to help me. I saw the mark of nails. The light streaming through his hands he lifted me to my feet, like a gazelle I leaped up. He took me into the waters of light and with his hands he scooped the water and it flowed down like a gentle stream from my head. He said in his gentlest roaring voice, “Go Live” and his eyes spoke to me as if he wanted me to go. I took a step and turned back to look at him and he smiled the divinest of all smiles and said, “for Me.”
When I woke up in my bed it was dark, the clock showed that I had slept through the night or was it day? I was was not sure. Slowly it dawned on me that it was morning the song birds were singing. I remembered, the beautiful dance, the meadows, the streams and the washing in the waters. I remembered His word, I remembered his eyes and his loving embrace. They were so real.
I leaped out of bed and almost knocked off the coffee from Greg’s hands. His mouth hung open in surprise! I was still dancing in the dawn! I had danced my way into the dawn in His arms! To live for Him!