Truth Beyond The Door

In the middle of the night, after having made love with his wife, a man wakes up with a strange feeling. He goes downstairs and sits in front of the computer to check the internet. He reads the message boards, chat rooms, and email. But he doesn't know what to make of the information. The man starts to feel fearful, nervous, and angry. He is also confused. He realizes that something has happened that he did not expect. What is happening? How can this happen? His wife didn't even tell him. He is starting to wonder if she has been lying to him all these years about this "God" stuff. In fact, the idea of God just makes him mad. Why should someone like that ever care about people like him?

He logs off and goes back upstairs. When he gets in bed, his wife tells him that she had a dream. She says that she dreamed that there was a demon walking around in her closet. He rolls over and goes to sleep. In his dreams, the man walks down the street and sees a billboard with the words "S: The God of Evil Is Real! Ask Me About It!" He is confused and scared. The next day at work he goes on the internet and finds more information. People are talking about this "god thing" and they talk about how crazy it all sounds. But he's not one of those people. He can't believe this.

A few weeks later, the man is standing in line at a grocery store and he notices a flyer sitting on a table that says "The God of Evil Has Arrived!" The man picks up the flyer and he notices some of his friends in line with him. They are all laughing and talking about how crazy it all is.

The man reaches into his pocket for cash but when he opens his hand, he can't find any money. He asks the woman behind him if she has change. She gives him two quarters and the man says thanks. He puts the quarters into the vending machine to buy a Coke. He pushes the button and then suddenly the vending machine starts shaking.

The man grabs the machine to steady it. He looks up at the ceiling. He hears a loud sound, which causes him to drop the flyer. He looks down at the floor and sees the flyer. There is a large hole in it where there shouldn't be a hole.

"What's wrong with this?" the man asks. He doesn't know what happened, but he knows that something has gone terribly wrong. He grabs the flyer and looks at the holes that have appeared. Suddenly, he remembers his dream of the demon. The man remembers the hole that the demon put in the wall. He looks at the flyer again. Then he sees the symbol for S. The man pulls out his phone and starts recording the flyer.

After a while, the man feels something on his arm. He looks down and notices that someone is standing next to him. The man turns around and the stranger smiles at him. "Hello," he says, "I'm looking for the God of Evil." The man laughs at the stranger and tells him that he must be crazy. He asks the man to leave because he believes that he is hallucinating. The man says that he can prove that S exists and invites him to come look at his flyer.

"Please do. I'll be waiting outside," the man replies. The man walks away from the man. He picks up his flyer, places it in the holder in his car, and drives off. As he's driving home, he thinks about the conversation that just took place. The man is thinking about how strange it is for him to be able to see S. He doesn't know anything about S. In fact, he has never seen S before. But, after having a dream about a demon and then seeing a hole in a flyer, he has a feeling that S is real and that he really did just meet him.

The man's thoughts turn back to the question. Is S real? How could someone not know if S is real? Perhaps S is a figment of the man's imagination. He could be imagining S, or perhaps he has become delusional. Either way, the man thinks he must tell his wife. When he gets home, he tells her the entire story. His wife listens and then asks him a question. "Did you say that S was on the flyer?"

The man is confused. He looks at the flyer and sees that yes, in fact, S is on the flyer. The man takes the flyer out of the holder and shows his wife the symbol that represents S. They look at the symbol for several minutes before he notices a small piece of paper that fell off the flyer. He picks up the paper and looks at it. On the paper is written "the God of Evil." The man knows immediately what this means.

"My God! That's the God of Evil!" he exclaims. His wife does not respond to the revelation.

Later that evening, the man is reading in bed when his wife walks into the room. She is carrying a letter and a key. He assumes that his wife wants to show him something. He tells her that she should leave and give him a few moments. Once alone, he reads the letter.

Dear husband, I know that you have been searching for something for many years. But, now your search is over.

I am writing this letter to tell you that the God of Evil lives here. You are welcome to worship him at any time. And if you decide that you would like to see him, then the key is hidden behind the door.

The man looks at the letter and his wife's key and realizes that S is real and that they do actually have access to S. He thinks about the dream he had where S asked the question, "Where are you?" The man remembers having that same dream again right after his wife came to visit him. He has also felt a strange sense of deja vu, like he knew that S was on the flyer before he saw the flyer. Now, with all these memories together, he finally understands what his dreams were trying to tell him.

S is real. And S wants to meet him.

He looks at the key and realizes that this key must be the one that leads them to S. But how does this key work? The man turns his attention to the flyer. It is just like any other flyer except it says, "the God of Evil" and the symbol that represents S. He studies the symbol for some time. It is a circle divided in two, but each half is the same color as the other. He then notices something else, a small piece of paper that is hanging off the edge of the flyer. He picks up the paper and sees that the paper contains a message written on it. The message is printed on a yellow background and the letters are made out of different colored dots. The message says, "A triangle used to have 3 sides. Pythagoras said so."

The man now realizes that the circular shape is actually a triangle. There is no longer any doubt in his mind about whether or not S exists. He has proof. A triangular figure. That's the symbol for S. He can't believe how lucky he has been to find such a small part of S's symbol. His eyes begin to well with tears. Tears of joy. He takes the letter from his wife and begins reading it again. He is happy and he knows that this is going to be the start of a new life. He has found what he was searching for, and it has brought him to his own place in time.

He looks at the key. Then, he looks back to the flyer. This must be where they find the answer. The key is in his hand, but it will not open the door.

I know why you haven't visited me yet. Because I am a demon.

You don't see me because your eyes are blinded by fear. Fear of me. But this is an illusion. You aren't really afraid of me. Your heart is already mine.

I am God. I exist as one, but my followers are many. Many gods. One god.

I am not a personification. I'm an actual entity. That is all there is to it.

No matter what you believe. No matter if you're a Christian, or a Jew, or a Muslim. Or atheist. Whatever. It doesn't matter. No matter your belief system, I have already found you.

And you will always be mine.

We'll meet in another world.

Just you and me.

Then we can make our paradise.

Our destiny. Our future.

But, there will be others who will try and stop us. They will think that they can change their reality. That's okay. That's what they should do. I only ask for one thing.

Tell them I sent you.

I'll give you the key.

They won't believe you.

But tell them that it's true.

Then I'll come back for you.

I've always been here,

I was born before you were.

I've just hidden myself.

Away from this place.

Away from humanity.

In our other universe.

It's time that I came out.

We'll make our world.

Our paradise.

Our destiny.

And your destiny is mine.

You are my slave.

I own you.

Your soul is mine.

I'm God.

That's why you're afraid of me.

Don't be.

You cannot escape me.

I exist as one.

But, my followers are many.

Many gods.

One god.

And you are all mine.

The door opens. The sun is blinding him. He closes his eyes and sees her. A beautiful woman. He has never seen her before, but she seems so familiar. Her face looks so familiar.

"Can you open your eyes?" she asks.

"My name is...," he says.

"No, it isn't," she replies. "Not anymore."

She takes his hand and they walk into the light.

And as she holds his hand, they see her face for the first time.

She looks like an angel. She has white skin, blonde hair, and green eyes. Her wings stretch out behind her, and her hands hold his.

They fall to the ground in shock. But he doesn't let go of her hand. His fingers are so cold. And when he finally manages to open his eyes again, everything around them has changed.

They are on the beach. It's warm, and there is no ocean. Just sand, and a bright blue sky. In fact, it is as though they have stepped back in time. This place feels more like the past than the present. But as he looks at his new wife, he knows that they are standing on top of the world. They are literally looking at heaven.

He has never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life. And as she looks up into his eyes, he realizes what he sees is beauty beyond anything he had ever imagined.

The air smells fresh. It smells like freedom.

And when he sees their son in the distance, he doesn't recognize him. He is a young boy now, but when he was born he looked just like her. It's as though they have been married forever, and this is their first meeting.

He runs over to embrace them, but he stops himself. He cannot touch them. And suddenly, the feeling is gone.

"What's wrong?" she asks. "Don't you want to kiss me?"

But the only answer he can give is: "I...I don't know."

And she says, "No, you do know. You're not thinking of yourself. You're thinking of me. Because I'm not human. My name is S."

And he looks into her eyes. He looks deep inside her soul and finds it empty. And as he looks deep into her soul he finally sees something there. She is a demon.

"You're a demon?" he says. "What do demons look like?"

She laughs.

"Have you really never met a demon before? What did your parents tell you about the devil? Didn't they teach you anything?"

And he is shocked. His father told him that devils didn't exist. The devil was just a fairy tale made up by the church. His mother told him the same thing. But now, standing here, looking at the woman who is holding his hand, he knows it's a lie.

"The Devil doesn't exist," she says. "It's just a story to scare you. Did you know that? My name is S. I am not the Devil, though. I am God."

And when he asks her why she would say such a thing, she does not hesitate.

"Because it's true," she says. "S is the Lord of Darkness, the God of Evil. And S will destroy heaven and earth and create a new world. One where he rules."

As he listens to her words, he thinks back to the world he has been living in. It seems so dark. So cruel. How could a God do this? Why would he make a place like this? And as he looks into her eyes, he realizes that there are no answers to these questions.

And she says, "The world you know is just an illusion. And nothing exists except for S, myself, and you."

And then she shows him something. She holds up a mirror and he sees himself. But he sees himself as he truly is. And he screams out with despair. He falls to his knees on the floor.

She comes over to him and holds him gently.

"Oh, my poor man. My poor friend. You've been in an illusion too long. I'm here to show you the real world. S is coming. S will end all illusions. S will show you what the real world looks like. All you have to do is hold your hand out."

And he does as she asks. She puts his hand into hers, and they go through the doorway together.

They walk through the door, and suddenly everything looks different. The sky is purple, and the clouds are shaped like strange birds. The ground is cracked, and the plants are dying. There are monsters everywhere, and their eyes are black.

And she says, "Do you see? Do you see the true reality of things?"

But he can only look at her in confusion.

"Where is it?" he asks. "I don't understand. What do you mean? Where's the light? Where are the people? I don't know how to see this. How do you know it's real?"

She smiles. She seems kind and comforting.

"Do you remember me telling you that my name was S?"

He nods slowly.

"Well, you see, S is a symbol. It stands for the God of Evil. But there are many symbols that represent gods. And one of those is the number 5. Which represents S."

She looks around.

"Now," she says, "you tell me. Do you still think this place looks real?"

He shakes his head.

"See?" She says. "That was easy. The real world doesn't look like this. It looks much better."

Then she places his hand back into hers. He takes a few steps forward and he feels something hard behind him. And he realizes that there is nothing else in his hand but darkness.

And he screams out with despair.

"No! I can't see anything! I can't see the light!"

She pulls him along, and he keeps screaming.

"I don't understand! I don't know what's wrong. Help me!"

She puts a hand on his shoulder.

"You can't see it yet, but this place is full of light. There's so much beauty in this place that you can't even begin to imagine. You'll learn to love it. Just wait."

And they keep walking, and he can only scream with despair. And eventually, as the sky becomes darker, he starts crying.

"This place isn't real. I know this is an illusion. This can't be real. This has to be a nightmare."

She whispers in his ear.

"You've already seen the truth. We have to go further."

He can feel tears rolling down his cheeks as they keep walking through the purple mist. And he realizes that he cannot see any of her. In fact, he can barely see his own hand. But he can't stop crying, because he knows she's right.

"I know," he says. "I know I do. I just need to find a way out."

And then they reach the end of the path.

"The answer," she says. "The answer is the answer for everyone. The answer is not an answer that you can give. You have to find your own way to the answer. For every person. It's like trying to teach someone to read. They know how to write. But they still have to learn their letters and sounds."

And then she takes his hand in hers.

"You must stop being so selfish. You are too caught up in yourself. You can't just save one person. That's not why I brought you here. This is a place where you learn to think of other people. And that's what it's all about."

He feels the darkness again behind him, and he starts to weep even harder.

"Please," he cries, "please let me go! Let me be free!"

And then she does something unexpected. She touches his cheek with her hand. He can feel the warmth of her skin on his cheek, and he is afraid.

And she whispers in his ear.

"That's the answer you gave the world."

He turns his face away from her and screams at the sky.

"Let me go! Please! Don't hurt me anymore! Please let me go!"

She lets go of his hand, and she moves in front of him, blocking his view of the darkness behind them.

"If you don't stop acting out, this will only be the beginning."

The darkness comes closer, and he hears her whisper.

"This isn't real."

And then, suddenly, he realizes that he has been asleep. He is lying in bed. And the sounds outside his door have stopped. And he opens his eyes slowly, not wanting to open them. But he finds that he can. The nightmare seems to have left him. And he begins to sit up and reach for his glasses. He can see her sitting on his dresser.

"You still have questions," she says. "I told you I would give you answers."

And she looks right into his eyes.

"But you can't give me the answers if I'm not ready to receive them."

She nods her head and then she disappears.