Jaiden and Yeshua(Kassy) Jaiden and Yeshua

She could feel the tears fall from her eyes and fall upon her cheeks. She quivered in the dark. She could see nothing but dim light shine under the crack of the closet door. The only thing she could feel with her trembling hands were the clothes that surrounded her as they shielded her small frail body, from the naked eye. The small dark closet is where Jaiden spent all of her six year old time. She wasn’t an odd child who didn’t like the company of other people, because she loved people if only they loved her back. The closet was the only place that protected her from the lashings of her father´s angry hands. He was always angry when he was drinking and he was always drinking. He left at sun rise so she would be safe to leave and prepare for school. He never seemed to bother with her if she was in her closet. As long as he didn’t see her he wouldn’t disturb her.

Her father despised the day his six year old daughter was ever born. It´s sad but a fact. The drinking only made him more aware of his anger. Jaiden´s mother tried to comfort and care for her child but she was always hiding in the house so the public couldn’t discover her fresh black and blue tattoos that her husband gave to her night after night. One would think this small six year old child would be sad child who hated life, but she wasn’t. She found comfort in her dreams. Most wouldn’t believe the things that occurred in Jaiden´s dreams, but her dreams were the only reason she kept a smile on her face throughout the day, even though she spent most of it in her hiding place. Once Jaiden closed her small eyes she never had night terrors of the time her father lashed out at her. She went somewhere peaceful and calm.

One night when she closed her eyes she found herself standing next to a tree. She was in a white dress with flowers stuck in her black curly hair. She had millions of flowers surrounding some blue, white, yellow, and purple. She felt them entwine in her toes and through her tiny fragile fingers. Jaiden knew that what she saw had to be a dream or an illusion of some sort. The tree that she stood next to was the biggest she ever saw. Matter of fact, it was gigantic. It's limbs reached high in the sky and even if she wanted to she could never climb it. Her daddy was the tallest thing that she had ever seen. This tree was three of her daddies stacked one on top of another. All of a sudden she got a sense of joy and started to run and without looking she ran into a man. This man made her startled. She couldn’t fathom why this man was in her peaceful place away from her hiding place. When she ran into the man her head knocked into his stomach and she stumbled backwards. She fell upon the wild flowers. They felt like a big fluffy pillow catching her. The man was wearing white pants and a white buttoned shirt. He had flowing brown hair that fell upon his shoulders, and a neatly groomed beard. His eyes were like melted chocolate. The man giggled and put his hand out for Jaiden. She reluctantly accepted. She was frightened but once she touched his hand a sense of calmness came over her. The man said that his name was Yeshua in Hebrew. Jaiden had no idea what Hebrew meant and she never Heard his name before. Jaiden told Yeshua her name and he answered and told her that he already knew. She found that odd because she never met him before in her six years of life, but she was no longer frightened but merely confused. After they exchanged names Jaiden woke up with the same clothes and darkness surrounding her.

Jaiden pretended to be happy every day and painted a smile on her face. That day was the first time that she ever truly experienced the feelings of happiness and joy. The smile upon her face wasn’t painted, she couldn’t get it off even if she tried. She was excited and hoped she visited the same place that night because that was the only place where she felt the way a six year old should feel. That night when she was hiding she heard her father shout but never bringing up her in the shouting. She was terrified and wished she could go back to where she went when she was dreaming. The young girl closed her eyes and breathed in and out. She still heard the shouting and the sobbing of her mommy but she tried to ignore it. Eventually, after what seemed like years to her, she no longer felt the same darkness. She no longer felt her parents fighting. Instead she heard birds chirping and a river rushing in the distance. She now knew that she must have been in her dream, but last time she didn’t hear the river and birds. Before she opened her eyes she moved her hands down beside her and found herself gripping the wild flowers. She pounced up and wanted to find her new friend Yeshua. She wanted to know how he possibly knew her name. She walked and tried to find the tree but couldn’t find it this time. So she decided to follow the sound of the water. Once she did she found millions of stones piled upon one another. For the first time in her life she saw water rushing down rocks into a clear pool of blue. Little fish leaped out of the water and back into the water. She began to get the same sense of joy and happiness. For the first time she felt as though she could experience the world she only heard of before and that was, fun. She looked around and found her friend on a big rock with a net in his hand. He was tossing it in the water and bringing it back out of the water. She leaped one stone to another until she reached him. He smiled and told her that he missed her. She told him that she missed him too. Jaiden got an odd look on her faced and asked him what he could possibly be doing with the net in his hand. He laughed a loud laugh that sounded like thunder. He answered her and told her he was fishing. She learned about fish in school but never ate them before. He told her that he would teach her to fish and then she would never be hungry again. She got excited because even though this was a dream she thought that imagining that eating the fish may make her belly full until she got to school. She only ate breakfast and lunch at school. Her mommy was too sad to feed her. While they sat and fished, a question popped into her mind. She asked the man what his name was in English. He told her that Yeshua meant Jesus in English. Jaiden thought that was strange because she remembered hearing about a man named Jesus who fished, walked on water, and helped people. She hadn’t put the two together until the next question she asked. She then asked him how he knew her name before they met. He smiled and told her that she may not understand him but he knew her since she was a baby. She was bewildered, and didn’t understand like he thought, but she listened. He told her that he was with her when her daddy hurt her and when her mommy forgot to feed her. He was with her when she stayed in the closet, she just couldn’t see him. She thought he was crazy but knew it wasn’t real. She then asked if he was the Jesus that ate fish, walked on water, and helped people. His eyes then lit up and he answered, yes my friend, but I do more than that. He told her how he created the place where they were, and he created her too. She then felt funny, but kept listening. He answered, I know all about why you stay in your closet and I want to help you. I didn’t create you to be in that closet, but there’s a reason you I created you. You will find out soon enough. He told her how she would help people too and she became really happy, and even though it sounded crazy she believed he was real. He told her that he was real, but when she went to where they were she was asleep. He told her if she closed her eyes she would be in that place until she felt strong enough to go back to her real life. He then wrapped his arms around her and told her something she never heard before. He told her he loved her.

---