Glory Is Peeking

Glory is Peaking

The air was filled with a chorus of children’s voices cheering. The bell had just sounded for the last day of second grade, and Abigail Sawtell’s students were elated. It wasn’t because they didn’t like her, though. As a matter of fact the case was quite the opposite. She was a teacher who was just excellent at her job, and there was no way around it.

“Ms. Sawtell, this is for you.” The high pitched offering had come from Emily Cerny, the top in her class. Emily had been Abby’s favorite student, but she would never admit it. Little Emily had the insight of Albus Dumbledore, but the sweet demeanor of an eight year old.

“Thank you, Emily.” She took a small white envelope from her hand. She wondered whether this would be a good time to open it.

“You’re welcome, but you know it’s me who should be thanking you. You are so strong and intelligent, and I hope to be just like you someday.”

Abby knelt down so she was eye to eye with Emily. She saw herself in those little green eyes: her drive, her thirst for knowledge, and her desire for fun.

“You will go places you’ve never dreamed of, Emily. You’ll travel the world, and when you get back from all your adventures you’re going to tell me all about them. And I would like nothing better than for you to continue teaching the second grade when I’m done.” Abby reached out and hugged her student. “Have a great summer, Emily.”

“You too Ms. S. ” She turned and ran to be with her friends. Abby wiped the tears off of her face and returned to her desk. The end of every year was bittersweet. She hated saying goodbye to all her pupils. She always looked forward to meeting her new class, but Emily was gone. She would never have another student like that.

She grabbed the last of her belongings, packed them away and left the building. On the drive home she listened to talk radio. Usually she hated listening to people share their opinions despite the fact that nobody wanted to hear them, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

Abby’s dog, Hailey, was excited to see her home, as was Rufio, her cat. They both jumped at her and smothered her in dog and cat kisses. She smiled and sat down on the couch. She heard the sound of paper crinkling underneath her. It was Emily’s letter, she had already forgotten about it.

“Hey, get down guys.” She told Hailey and Rufio. They both hopped off the couch and looked sadly into her eyes. She opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.

“Dear Ms. Sawtell,

You have been the best teacher I have ever had, and I appreciate everything you have done for me. I loved staying after school and having philosophical discussions with you. There is so much you have to contribute that I feel goes unnoticed.

But there is something I want to say, and you may take it as you will. I in no way want to hurt your feelings, but I have a feeling that this hunch is anchored in truth.

Throughout the year, as you read to us about fun and adventure, you got a certain look in your eye, and it betrayed a longing. It became apparent to me that you wanted to experience something otherworldly and fantastic, and I can sympathize so much with that feeling. It seems that you feel you are too old now to have such a journey, but that could not be further from the truth. You and I both will experience and learn so many marvelous things, and I can’t wait to see you again.

Love Emily”

Abby cried. Emily was so right, how had she known? All her life Abby had been a girl

who wanted to go so another world and save them from a deadly crisis, like all the books she had read. She felt sorry for herself for not realizing what Emily had. It was never too late to find adventure in this humdrum reality, she just needed to look for it.

After a short period of contemplation, she decided to go ride her bike in order to get her mind off of things. She always rode the same path, but it was a refreshing routine. She turned on her iPod and left the house despite the many disagreeing barks and meows.

Her ride never lasted more than a forty five minutes, so she was home within the hour. It was growing darker by the minute, so she closed the blinds and turned on the TV. After a couple hours of mindless watching, she went to bed.

Abby rose a few hours after the sun, but could barely get herself out of bed. Her gaze drifted to the window, her own personal theater with which she could view the world. Her heart began to race at the thought, but quickly returned to normal. This world was a gross pallet of grays and browns, an ugly sight to behold. She didn’t belong here. She had dreamed of magic and wizards and other worlds who needed her help.

She stared aimlessly at the ceiling, wondering what her purpose was. She had nobody to guide her, nobody to even offer friendly advice.

“Good morning, Rufio.” She said in response to a meow. He had been asking for food. This, if nothing else, was a good reason to get out of bed. She made sure Hailey was fed as well, then walked to her front window. As she opened the blinds, she saw a face.

“HOLY CRAP ” She began to shake and ran away. She turned to peek around the wall and get a better look. The face was still there. It was the visage of a white male, with beautiful blue eyes and a brown mustache and beard. She wanted to run away, but the face was smiling. It was the happiest smile she had ever seen. Perfectly aligned white teeth gave off a glimmer and made the room glow.

He spoke with a booming, yet pleasant voice “Do what you love, and you’ll live the life divine.”

Abby opened her mouth to speak, but he had dissolved. The whole window started to give off a gold light, and it was drawing Abby in. She walked up to the window and touched the sheet of gold light. As she did, a warm sensation ran through her body. Something she couldn’t see grabbed her and pulled her in.

“Goodness, you took forever I hate forcing people to do things, but when he wants you here, I have no choice.”

Abby opened her eyes and saw a man looking down at her. He had short brown hair and a face that looked like it was never sad, but not always paying attention. His voice gave off the impression that he was smart and enjoyed life.

“Who are you?” She asked.

“The name’s Trevor ” he answered heartily, “And this his Nevae!” He held his arms up and his eyes glowed with exhilaration.

“You seem so enthusiastic.”

“Why wouldn’t I be? This place is marvelous, and it never loses it’s wonder. And just when you think you’ve seen it all, something new comes along!”

A melody, sweet and high, began playing. Abby turned around to find the source and fell to her knees. All this beauty was more than anyone back in her reality could ever dream of. She was surrounded by rolling green hills, each with a rainbow of scattered flowers dancing in the wind upon their heads. Beautiful birds of red and gold sang a song far above, doing dips and dives and flips in the cloudless sky. Straight ahead was a crystal clear lake with two large fish, one silver and one blue, jumping in and out of the water. A perfect waterfall splashed down off of a small plateau on the lake’s east side.

Directly to Abby’s right was the most gorgeous object of all. A tree, more than one hundred feet tall swayed with the breeze as it came and went. It had fruits of every color imaginable, probably millions of them, but every single one was perfectly round. Abby watched a particular orb as it shook and fell. Trevor, now standing under the tree, had caught it.

“I hate when they fall.” His tone suggested that he knew something she didn’t about this tree.

“Why?” She responded, “There must be a billion others!”

“6,706,993,152 if you want to be exact. The Giving Tree is growing every day, though.” Understanding came to Abby more quickly than she anticipated, but she still was skeptical.

“What do you mean, Giving Tree? Wasn’t that a book?”

“That it was. But what very few people know is that it actually exists, but on a much larger scale. Rather than give a bunch of things to one person–“

”It gives one thing to everybody?”

“Exactly. And that thing is life.” He gazed at the glorious plant.

“So when an orb falls from it....”

“Exactly.” He coughed and continued “It may not be the easiest way to do things, but it’s the way He wants it.”

“And who is this He?”

“He created this world and all others. Yours is his latest project, actually, but he cares for you guys like a baby. As a matter of fact, he tells me you guys talk to him more than anyone in any other realm, and he approves.”

Abby stood stone-faced. “WHAT?! That was him, right? I mean, he was the face?”

“Indeed.”

Everything went black for the lesser half of a second, and Abby woke up on her back, Trevor staring at her.

“I’m fine.” She said. “I just wish I could have had some warning. I want to look good if I get to look HIM in the eye!” She stood up and took several staggering steps towards the tree and leaned up against it.

“Don’t worry about that. He’s been keeping an eye on you. He actually spoke very highly of all you do and stand for. Would you like to hear what he said?”

“Yes, I very much would, but let me sit down first.” She half slid, half fell to the ground with her back to the Giving Tree.

“Alright, he started with that bit about you guys talking to him, which he very much appreciated. But then he narrowed it down to one person who could make her world the best of them all. He, as you may have guessed, chose you. However, He said that your mind was stuck on going elsewhere, so we developed our plan. It was very simple, seeing as He can do most anything. But anyway, He told me to bring you here and show you Nevae as a kind of preparation. He knew that you would not be willing to change your own world without the satisfaction of knowing that the others were safe.”

Abby gasped. It was as if they had read her mind. Come to think of it, they probably did.

“So what do you say.” Abby’s eyes widened. That was not Trevor’s voice. She looked to her left and saw the same beautiful face from before, only this time it had a body to go with.

He bent down and touched Abby’s cheek and she felt his soft white robe brush across her arm. She beamed.

“Will you do this for me, Abigail? If not for anyone else, do it for me.” A chill ran through her body as she saw her reflection in his smiling eyes. She opened her mouth in response but no noise came out, so she settled for a nod.

“Thank you, Abigail. I promise you’ll return here, so long as you ask me first.” He turned to Trevor.

“And thank you, young man. You really are extraordinary.” They hesitantly exchanged a handshake and looked at each other, as if in thought, then embraced. They hugged for a long time and there was silence for a short while until He broke the silence.

“Best of luck to both of you. Trevor, I’m sure this fine young lady will pay you regular visits. And Abby, sometimes the world changes best when the approach is one person at a time.”

She blinked and was back in her living room. She put on her hat and jacket and ran out to her car. Minutes later she pulled into the driveway of a quaint townhouse and knocked on the door. A little girl answered.

“Ms. Sawtell! What are you doing here?”

“Can I come in, Emily? I have the most marvelous story to tell you!”

Abby and Emily talked for hours and hours about Nevae and what it meant and what to do. Abby then explained that Emily was the first person whose life she wanted to change, and Emily responded with tears of joy.

Years passed and Abby became closer and closer with Emily. They were not only the best of friends, but colleagues as well. Emily received a teaching degree after college. Often the two would go to Nevae and talk to Him or Trevor or just make small talk. They both changed in many ways through each other, but one thing was always consistent. The glory of Nevae was always peeking through the blinds.