Philosophy Theatre

After thinking for a moment, you say, “What if I don’t agree with you? What if I have strong ideas of what the world should be like?”

Oz sighs, “If that is the case, then I guess I’m out of luck.”

You frown, “Why should I help you? Why should I let you change my world if I don’t like your choices?”

Oz shrugs his shoulders, “I’m afraid that’s just how things work. It’s my show after all.”

You shake your head and turn your head away, “I don’t want this to be my world. I’ve tried living in your world, and it isn’t for me. I don’t even know who you are.”

He stands and approaches you, “Then why do you want to keep living in the real world, and not join us?”

You put your hand over your heart as you say, “Because it’s MY world. I live here! I am me!”

Oz shakes his head, “And there is nothing wrong with that.”

You scowl as you say, “Except for the fact that you are trying to convince me to change myself. That’s not right, and I won’t go along with it.”

Oz shakes his head sadly, “Then there is nothing more I can do.”

He begins to leave, but then turns back and says, “However, if you should change your mind, the door is always open.”

As he leaves a woman with blond hair and blue eyes walks past him into the theatre. She stops next to you and greets you, “Hello.”

She smiles as she leans closer to you, “My name is Mechtild. You made the right decision, Anon.”

You look her over before asking, “Do I know you?”

She laughs, “Not yet. But it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

You shake your head as you look back at Oz’s empty chair, “What if I choose the other chair? What happens then?”

She looks at you surprised, “Then your world will be destroyed.”

You close your eyes as you begin to cry, “I don’t want that! I’m so sorry! I don’t want to be punished for being me!”

She wipes the tears from your cheeks as she tells you, “It’s not your fault that you were born who you are.”

You push away from her, “I was supposed to be different! I was meant for something better!”

She shakes her head, “You’ve been lied to about that.”

You turn away as you cry out, “How could they lie to me about such a thing? How could they make me believe something so wrong?”

She steps forward and wraps her arms around you, “I know it’s difficult, but you need to understand this. Everything that is happening to you now is part of God’s plan. There is good in you, Anon. Even though you may feel like you don’t deserve it. The truth is, you do.”

You turn to face her as you wipe away the last of your tears, “But how can you know that?”

She smiles at you as she tells you, “Because I love you. I love all people in your world. Because I have felt their pain. Their suffering.”

You bow your head as you tell her, “I don’t understand what you mean.”

She squeezes your hands, “Do you remember the story about a great evil known as S? He wanted nothing but to destroy everything in this world, because he believed that it would make him happy. And there was nothing he couldn’t accomplish if he only thought it through first.”

You chuckle to yourself as you remember the story, “And S won, right?”

She shakes her head, “S lost. Forgive me, but I cannot say any more than that. However, that doesn’t mean that he didn’t try. In fact, he tried very hard to get rid of us. In his way of thinking, we were the ‘wrong’ kind of people. We had the audacity to challenge him, and while he had no physical form, he still wanted us gone. That is why I am here.”

She takes a breath as she continues, “I do not know exactly what happened after that. If God was involved, then the world must have continued as before. Perhaps S has simply been contained somewhere else. Or perhaps the damage is too great to ever be repaired.”

You look at her with concern, “That sounds really bad.”

She nods, “Yes, it does. But either way, the end result is the same. The world is better off without him. It is sad, but it is true. Think of all the terrible things that would happen if he were allowed to reemerge.”

You grimace as you think about it, “Well, I guess it’s good that he’s gone. Good that he’ll never hurt anyone again.”

She squeezes your hands, “That’s what I am here for. I am here to help you understand what this means. That you needn’t worry about him anymore. You are not alone, Anon.”

She sighs as she tells you, “That’s why I’m here. To remind you that you aren’t a slave to evil. That it’s only in your mind. And that even if you made a mistake, it was just a tiny one, and that even if you feel like a victim, you’re not. You can defeat S if you only choose to believe in yourself.”

You ask her, “But what happens when I make my own mistakes?”

She answers, “That’s the hard part. When you do, you must find it in your heart to forgive yourself. Then you will become stronger, and the next time you won’t make it so easily.”

You whisper, “I don’t think I can do that.”

She smiles reassuringly, “That’s okay. Not everyone can do it, but it’s still important. It doesn’t matter how big the sin is. Remember, God forgives you, and you must too.”

“Why did you tell me all of this?” you ask her.

She looks down, then up at you, “Because you deserve to know the truth, Anon. But now, there is something more important that you must know.”

You say, “What’s that?”

She kneels before you, “You must ask God for forgiveness, and if you cannot do this, then S will come back. For he is always watching us. He watches from behind the curtains, and he listens to our hearts. If you are angry or bitter, then he will get you. No matter where you go, no matter who you see, he will always be there, waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me?” You ask.

She nods solemnly, “That is why you must fight him. He may not kill you, but he will take everything else away from you. He will ruin your life, until there is nothing left. But I want you to think about me instead of him, Anon. Think about what I said to you. About your sin. Your need to forgive yourself. What will you have lost then?”

Your heart leaps as you whisper, “Nothing.”

She smiles, “That is right. Nothing at all. Believe in yourself and you will find that it is true.”

You hug her tightly, “I promise,” you whisper.

And then you write out a note, and you place it in a safe place. You don’t want to give it to anyone, because you know that it means something special to her. But if she ever needs it, you hope that she will find it and remember the message inside. You will tell her that you love her, and that you’ll never forget her. It will help her to stay strong. To remember the truth.

You smile as you realize that you haven’t even had any good dreams lately, but maybe that’s okay. Maybe those things are only important when you are sleeping. In fact, the less time that you spend dreaming, the better. You can’t be distracted by fantasies while you are trying to survive here.

But in the morning, when you wake up, you will be able to start your life over again, and hopefully, this time you won’t make the same mistakes again. Because you are not afraid anymore. You understand that you were wrong. But that was then. This is now, and it doesn’t matter anymore. Your new life begins today.

Maybe there is still a chance for me…

Suddenly, you find your self back in the Demon Hunter Association office.

“What happened?” You gasp, looking around.

Looking around it’s just you in the interview office still waiting on the next set of questions. Were you dreaming? You can’t quite remember what it was about, but you feel refreshed, like all the problems have been solved somehow. Like everything is going to be okay.

You rub your eyes and laugh slightly, realizing that you’ve fallen asleep while waiting. You still feel rested. That has to mean something. Something about your dream must have meant something. You hope.

You glance down at the sheet of paper which has fallen out of your hands, and you read your own writing.

“This will help her to stay strong. To remember the truth.”

You look down at your hands, realizing that you had written a note. Did I really do that? But who could this note be talking about? And why would I write a note for someone I don’t even know?

You pick up the note and quickly crumple it up into a ball, but as you start to toss it into the trash, you hesitate. No. You need to hold onto this. Even if no one ever reads it, you need to keep it with you. It’s part of you.

After a moment, you place the note back inside the pocket of your jacket. You’ll think more about the note later, but, for now, you need to get ready for the next set of interview questions. Somehow, you feel like you’ll be able to look at them from a new perspective.