Fan Fiction ❯ Entering Paradise ❯ Entering Paradise ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the songs mentioned in this story. The last song, You Led Me, was written by Barlow Girls, and is also owned by them. I don't take credit for any of the songs.

 

WARNING: If you are insulted by religion, please do not read. Also, this is rated PG-13 for violence, bloody scenes, and death.

 

Dedicated to: My father. Most of the songs I used are songs that he would sing in the car, in the shower, around the house, and anywhere else he could. He always had a song and a smile for me. I love you Daddy.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

It was cold, so cold. She pulled her knees up to her stomach and rocked back and forth on the hard stone. The water slowly dripping off of the slime-covered stone walls didn't help to calm her nerves either. She was starving, scared, and alone in the cell. Her mother had always taught her to sing when she was scared, and it seemed like a good idea right now,

 

“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little want to him belong, they are weak, but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me, yes, Jesus loves me, yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so…”

 

Her courage began to return, and although she did hesitate a little when she heard the guard's footsteps, she continued to sing. She knew she would be punished for singing about Jesus, but that didn't matter to her.

 

“Hey, you! Stop singing right now! Your god can't save you now!”

 

The small girl just kept singing, ignoring the guard's protests. A calming peace settled about her as she smiled and began a new song.

 

“Jesus loves the little children, all of the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world...”

 

The guard was haunted by the words of her song, and began to grow afraid of the presence he felt in the room. He opened the door to her cell and stomped over to her. Looking into her eyes, he saw something in them that told him she wouldn't stop singing for anything. He saw her love and passion for her faith, he heard the emotion in her voice, and he saw as her body began to relax, and it scared him more than any battle he had ever fought in.

 

Smack.

 

Her head snapped back as the guard smacked her across the face. She fell against the wall and her head started to bleed. Still, she sang, though in a weak and fragile voice.

 

“I love you Lord, and I lift my voice to worship you, o, my soul rejoice. Take joy, my king, in what you hear, may it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear…”

 

Darkness surrounded her as the guard knocked her unconscious and she slumped against the wall…

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Cold and hot liquid running down her face…

 

Darkness and light surrounding her…

 

A whisper of wind, and the stillness of night…

 

Anna awoke slowly, her head throbbing and her body aching. She opened her eyes and realized the cold liquid she had felt had been water, splashed on her to wake her up. The warm liquid had been blood, oozing down her face in tiny rivers from the gap in the back of her head. She understood these things, but she couldn't figure out the light or the wind. There were no windows in her cell, and the door was now closed.

 

Anna didn't have much time to ponder these things as the guards splashed another bucket of cold water on her. Her worn, thin dress didn't help at all, and her body was overtaken with tremors.

 

Yet, through her all her pain and discomfort, something in her soul whispered,

 

Sing.

 

And sing she did.

 

“Father, I adore you, lay my life before you, how I love you…”

 

The guards started yelling again, but she didn't hear them. In the back of her mind, she saw them approaching her, but that was not what was important right now. She had to keep singing. If it killed her, she would continue to sing for her Father.

 

“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name. Master, Savior, Jesus, let all Heaven and Earth proclaim. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, like the rainbow after the rain…”

 

They came so quickly…Anna hardly had time to think before the first guard punched her in the stomach and her voice cracked as her breath was knocked out of her. The second guard then punched her in the jaw, and her mouth began to bleed.

 

Unable to speak or sing, Anna closed her eyes to the pain and prayed to her God.

 

`Jesus, save me, please. Take me with you. I want to see your face Jesus. I just want to be with you.'

 

A soft, gentle voice answered her with one word:

 

Sing.

 

Her mouth was still bleeding, and Anna didn't think she would be able to sing anymore.

 

Once again, the voice spoke, this time with a more urgent tone,

 

Sing, child, sing! For me, Anna. Sing!

 

And so once again, Anna sang for her Daddy. She sang with all that she had left.

 

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. Was blind but now I see…”

 

This was the last straw for the guards. They smiled evilly as they both pulled out clubs from behind the bars of her door. They laughed and started to beat the poor girl with their clubs, and expected to not hear the angelic voice anymore. They were wrong.

 

Anna felt faint from the loss of blood, and her whole body screamed at her to give in and stop. If she just stopped singing, they would go away. If she denied her Lord, she would be free. But would she? How could she even live knowing that she had rejected the One whom had saved her? She couldn't stop singing. She wouldn't.

 

“T'was grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved, how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed…”

 

Mercilessly, the guards continued to beat her body with the sticks. Her voice echoed in their heads, telling them, begging them to stop, yet at the same time not wanting them to.

 

Anna sang her last words with strength unknown to men. The Spirit of God filled her as she prepared to go home.

 

“Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come. `Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home…”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

She expected darkness, but instead a bright light blinded her. She felt peaceful and giddy and joyful and happy all at once. A whisper of wind swept by her, carrying with it the scent of a thousand roses. It picked up her hair and gently blew it across her face. She looked down and realized that she was not in her own clothes, but a pure white robe. Her feet were bare, but she knew she wouldn't cut her feet on this ground. This ground was made of pure gold, yet gold didn't seem like such a big thing anymore. Anna closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, enjoying the peace she felt hear, and the smells carried to her by the wind.

 

For some reason, it didn't surprise her when she felt two hands wrap around her own on either side. She looked and saw that two beings were smiling at her. Each of the beings had one set of wings wrapped around their bodies, and another spread out behind them. Anna knew at once that these were angels, yet they were unlike any picture she had ever seen. The light radiating off of them seemed to come from another source, a source Anna could only guess at. Their long hair whipped about their faces, the wind leading their strands in a dance known only by the wind itself.

 

Suddenly, a blast of trumpets interrupted the previously quiet scene in front of Anna. She looked up to see thousands upon thousands of angelic beings forming two lines on either side of her. Each of them looked the same, yet she knew they all had their differences.

 

The angels that held her hands began to lead her down the between the two lines of angels. Looking around, Anna saw that every one of them was smiling. Up ahead, she saw the trumpeters standing next to a golden throne. The figure sitting on the throne also radiated a light, but this light felt different. Anna sensed that this was the source of the angels' light. It was as if the figure was so happy he couldn't contain it. Like he had to share it with the angels around him. And that happiness was contagious. Anna felt herself growing happier and more cheerful with every second. And like that, she knew who was sitting on the throne.

 

Reverently, she approached the throne with her head down. She knelt at the bottom and started to cry tears of happiness and relief. At last, she was home.

 

“Stand up, Anna.”

 

The voice was gentle and not at all what she had thought it would be. His words streamed through her and made her want to cry out in happiness.

 

She stood up and looked at the Lord she had served all of her life.

 

“Gabrielle, Michael, please bring me the Lamb's Book of Life.”

 

The angels that had led her to the throne picked up the heavy-looking book with no trouble and set it before Him.

He flipped through it with an ease that told Anna he knew this book well. At last, He spoke.

 

“Anna Marie Leanne, I have found your name in the Book. Please come up here and talk with me.”

 

Obediently, Anna came closer to Him.

 

“Father, I would do anything for you. What is it that you ask of me?”

 

He looked at her, smiled gently, and said,

 

“Child, I love you and I welcome you home. You have done well, and we are all proud of the influence you have had on the Others left behind. Your only job now is to forever praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which is one job I know you'll do well.”

 

Anna smiled and began her job immediately with a song that fit perfectly into the heavenly aura surrounding them.

 

“Good Morning, the night is over and gone. I thought once, this dark would last for so long. I feel the sunlight on my face. You have brought me through this place. Jesus, Jesus, You found me. Through the long night You led me. You set me free. Do You see just what You've done in my life? You gave me more than I hoped for now I feel the sunlight on my face; You have brought me through this place. Jesus, Jesus, You found me. Through the long night You led me. You set me free...”

 

As Anna continued to sing, the angels joined in and soon all of heaven rejoiced in the homecoming of another child of God. And Anna knew that although she would be here forever, she would never forget this day.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

In a little town on the outskirts of Bosnia, a mother wept for her child. She wept tears of sadness, but she also cried tears of happiness, for she knew that her daughter was safe at last.

As she walked away, a gentle breeze tickled the petals of the single white rose that lay on the ground next to the small tombstone. The tombstone read:

Anna Marie Leanne

March 5, 1987 - September 3, 1997

Safe at home, she sings.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

A/N: I wrote this short story thinking about all the martyrs, and how tragic yet beautiful their stories are. Entering Paradise is a fiction story, but there are many people out there right now, being persecuted for their faith. Remember them in you prayers, please.