A Story

Inhibitions have vanished under the smoky lights. Bodies pulse vibrantly, captured by the booming rhythms. They seem so free, I envy them. I want to see the world how they see it. A blur of colour and light and sound spinning before my eyes. I want to fly. Desire and longing shimmer in my veins, pulling me slowly but surely from my well-worn path of safety. A boy stands before me. Even in the shadowy light, I know who he is. His face is so familiar; it’s been the entirety of my thoughts for months. The curve of his smile consumes my heart and I am running, running into the darkness, trusting him to catch me.

But he can’t. And that’s when I realise. The people around me aren’t flying. They’re falling. My beautiful boy is just a broken soul who can’t even catch himself. I’m colliding with everyone. I smash into them with dizzying speed. I can feel my mind shattering and I’m scared. Control has crumbled. A bottle of WKD fuels the desperate screams of a girl beside me. A boy and a girl whip past me, clinging to each other with such fierceness as they fall. I can’t see, I can’t think, I can’t feel. Nothing. Then two words explode from my lips: “SAVE ME!”. I scream them to the sky.

He hears; He comes. With his sword of shimmering light, He obliterates the chains of my mind. I know Him. He feels like warmth on the first day of spring, like hope in a new beginning, like fire and joy.

I’m back on the dance floor and the world has stopped spinning. I’ve been caught by the true and everlasting God. Safe and loved, I breathe deep to calm myself. But all around people continue to plummet. Broken, lost, alone. I can see the pain in His eyes as he watches them, and His pain becomes mine. I have to help them.

Suddenly, a sword of light appears in my hands. It’s not as bright and brilliant as His, but it is there nonetheless. It comes from Him. And I know why He has given it to me. For one tiny instant, I am scared, but then love floods me. His love. It’s running in my veins, coursing through my blood. It gives me strength, courage and protection. I grasp the sword firmly and look up at Him. I am ready.