The Holy Man and His Shadow, A Story of Redemption in Three Parts, Part Two: The Rapture

The Holy Man and His Shadow

A Story of Redemption in Three Parts

Part Two: The Rapture


That night,
the holy man knelt alone on the hill top bound in his own shadow and in the
shadow of the holy book.  As the darkness
around him deepened, he began to hear noises; hooves clicking among the rocks;
heavy padded feet crushing the grass, wings fluttering like wind-tossed drapes;
deep, guttural growls and puffed breath from enormous lungs; grunts, shrieks,
and even whispers.  He trembled and fell
to his side, arms bound behind him, eyes slammed shut.  And then he heard the sounds of roots lifting
from the ground and entire trees shuffling towards him.  The night itself seemed to yawn and roar, breaking
away from some ancient hinges; circling around him like a monster.  An ink colored river flowed towards him and
soon surrounded him, lifting him ever so slightly from the ground.  He shook with panic, mumbling prayers and
curses.  The gathered beasts and animals
splashed in the river that now was carrying him down the hillside into the
valley below.  Many times he rolled in
the river, going face down into the black water thinking for sure he would
drown, but at the last moment he would turn face up, gasp for air and then
scream as the river bore him faster and faster. 
The beasts and creatures of the night ran through the river behind him,
growling and shouting with savage fury. 
Bats and ravens clawed at him as he floated on the river.  Dark horses with flaring nostrils and flaming
eyes trampled towards him.  He screamed
in terror as he saw trees running through the liquid-obsidian river towards him
waving their branches as if caught in a storm. Voices from the blackness washed
into his ears and tickled his mind with maddening sensations. 

At last the
river spilled him into a lake.  He
descended down into the water, deeper and deeper, feeling his lungs about to
explode.  He screamed a silent scream as
he saw huge shapes swimming near him, some buffeting him and brushing him with enormous,
rough fins and tales.  Giant crabs and lobsters
snapped at him with claws as big as sharks. 
And as he began to lose consciousness, the last thing he remembered
seeing before the end was a soft, blue light moving towards him like the dawn.

Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog

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