And Then The Ground Opened Up

As I walked beside the incredible beast, I found myself calm and collected. I wasn't nervous or scared, I wasn't panicking. The lion then turned to me and spoke.

"Dear Annabelle, I am Aslan. You may not realize it, but Narnia is a place you know deep in your soul. Four years ago I brought the Kings and Queens of Old here not only to save Narnia from an evil being, but for another reason as well. You see, I exist in both of our worlds. I created Narnia for the people of your world to experience things you may never have believed in. Narnia is a place to learn trust and to faith in thing you would not otherwise believe in. It it time you learn to know me here as you do in your own world. You must remember dear child, seeing is not always believing."

To say I was stunned would be an understatement. I was in awe of what he had said. I felt a numbing feeling running through my body but somehow I managed to keep walking.

"I believe that is enough for one day. Now go join the others for lunch. It is time you put you trust in others learned to be the strong young lady I know you are." He said with a chuckle.

As he led me back to the castle, my mind was racing. I could see truth in what he had said. Its not that I don't trust others, its just that there's normally a limit to the amount of trust I place in my friends and family. I always considered myself independent. I didn't need to rely on my parents of Stacey to accomplish things.

I got good grades all by myself, without the help of my parents. I made became friends with the people I chose, not the ones Stacey wanted. I took care of my problems by myself and kept everything inside. I would never admit it out loud, but some of my deepest darkest thoughts were about the ones closest to me holding my back, keeping me from reaching my full potential.

I always knew the lifestyle Stacey lived and wanted me too as well was stopping me from greater thing. I felt like my time was wasted at parties, with all the mindless mingling and useless drinking. I felt I was better than that, like I was destined for more.

Those were things I usually only thought of late at night, once I was regretting the party I had gone to, of after listening to my parents rattle on about the university course they were teaching. The next day I was always ashamed of those thoughts. I always tried to push them away and forget all about them. But they would always come back.

My parents thought me to be rational. As a kid I never wasted my time reading fairy tales, because I knew they weren't true. But now, I was in a place that looked just like a fairytale. I found myself questioning everything I had ever believed in.

There was only one thing in the world I believed in. Something that I had no proof of. My parents were scientists so they lived by facts and statistics. I never told of this, but one thing I would always have faith in was God.

This was something I always kept to myself. My parents would say that there was no solid evidence to support His existence, and that I was wasting my time with fairy tales. But I did believe I had proof.

It had happened two years ago and it was a day I would never forget. I had been sitting in the park a couple of blocks away from the local market. I had a book with me and I had been there for about an hour reading when something made me look up.

There was a man standing at the edge of the roof of the grocery store across the street from the park. It was at that moment that I knew he was going to jump. I felt frozen and there was nothing I could do.

Suddenly, a dove whiter than any other dove flew softly by me and up to the man. It landed gently on his shoulder. The man than took a step back from the edge and sat down and began to cry. The man raised his hands in the air and yelled "Thank You God". He than disappeared for a moment, then exited the grocery and walked out onto the sidewalk with a smile on his face.

I had never seen a dove in our city before. I don't think anyone had.

I had never told anyone this before, but it was a moment that defined everything I believed in.