eternalxmus1c

‘In the beginning, there was love. God created the land of the living and the land of the dead. Then he connected the two with a bridge—the bridge to Terabithia, a new kingdom, where beings alike worked in harmony to create a new realm.’

“Mum, what’s Terabithia?”

Lynne Rose smiled as she closed the book and pulled up the bed covers. “It’s a world of love. Of this,” planting a kiss on her daughter’s forehead.

“Will I live in that world in my lifetime?” Evelyn looked so small underneath the heap of blankets.

“You absolutely will.” Lynne’s eyes twinkled. Evelyn was satisfied.

**
In the morning, there was light. The sun cast its beams across the glowing sky, its rays catching the glint of the alarm clock. It read the usual wakeup call, seven at the dot.

Lynne was always occupied. Her world, not love, especially. Still, Lynne was grateful for her daughter. God, beyond her apprehension, had granted her at least that much of a blessing. She never counted her others and she didn’t attend church much.

Standing at the mirror, Lynne readied herself for a promising day. She paused at her daughter’s door like she did every morning. Surprisingly she found it ajar, but Lynne was sure she closed Evelyn’s door every night after story time. Her daughter sat upright in her bed, eyes closed and mind in deep thought.

Lynne crossed over to her silently. She didn’t want to disturb the peace, but all children, somehow, had a certain awareness of their surroundings. Evelyn opened her eyes expectedly, thrusting her angelic face towards the heavens. “I was just hoping that I could visit Terabithia again.” She tugged at Lynne’s carefully knit sweater. “I dreamed I was in it,” she whispered.

“And what may have been in your dream?”

Evelyn smiled at her mother coyly. “Oh, I couldn’t tell you that. A wish wouldn’t be a wish then.” Giggling, she quickly got on her running feet of seven and sped to the breakfast table.
“Mum, you’ll let me help make breakfast right?”

**

It was finally the first day of school. Evelyn stepped hesitantly on the bus. She turned slightly. “I’ll be fine, mum, don’t worry.” With a reassuring smile, she pushed herself into the foreign crowd.

In the front sat a dead looking boy. I guess I’ll just sit here. He looks like he needs a little waking up, though. She slapped his sickly face, but not too hard.

“Hey, what was that for? Mind your hands will you?” He said it with so much force that you would have never thought he was the same boy all slumped up and lonely. The boy sat straighter now and proceeded to observe Evelyn’s features. “You’re new this year?”

Evelyn glowed. “I guess I am.”

“This is our stop.” He jerked his fragile head to the building before him. It looked adequate and proper, although not as nice as Evelyn had wished. The roof needed thatching and the walls lacked in paint, but all was sturdy. Her old school…this will just have to do.

“Say, what’s wrong with you?”

The boy struggled down the bus steps, but didn’t respond until he had overcome the challenge. He met Evelyn at the ground and gave her a steady look.

“I’m a weakling, you know. Jake, by the way.” His posture from the back looked upright for all its weakness as he disappeared into the throng of people.

**

“How was your first day?”

“The beginning of a new school year is the beginning of hope, ren-oo-wal, and acc-u-mplishment.” Evelyn lifted her head proudly.

“My my, that’s quite something.”

A bird knelt at the sidewalk in front of Evelyn’s feet. It fluttered, but its left wing was broken and it gave up. Evelyn stood there, but refused to accept it.

“Can we take it home with us? It needs somewhere safe.”

“We’ll give it refuge.”

**

Amidst the bustling play at recess, it was still easy to spot the lethargic boy. Evelyn approached Jake warmly. “Why doesn’t anyone else play with you?”

“Looks like I got the flu.” He smiled weakly.

She took his hand and kissed it like her mother did.

Suddenly, he remarked, “I’ve never had a mother.”

Evelyn squeezed it. “I just lost my father.”

**

“What happened?” Jake asked one day.

“He didn’t like his life.”

Jake was silent. “My mom died giving birth to me. I’ve always been weaker than the others.” He nodded as if acknowledging it for the who-knows-how-many-ith time.

“You don’t have to be weak if you don’t want to,” Evelyn countered.

“What do you mean, ‘don’t want to?’ I don’t have a choice.”

Evelyn shook her head. “You can choose to fly.”

Jake looked at her incredulously.

**

A new start. Hope, renewal, and accomplishment. Just as her daughter had put it. “Ma’am, can I assist you?”

“Yes, this is my first day on the job. I’m Lynne Rose.”

“Call me Jim. I’m your manager. We’re planning a certain project right now. Right this way.” He paused. “Oh, and if you have any problems, be sure to let me know. I need to make sure all my employees are treated fairly.” He winked.

The man’s eyes were startlingly blue…and gorgeous. He’s my manager for Christ’s sake.

“Hello! Welcome, welcome. We’ve heard a lot about you. We’ll need an architect like you to help rebuild this land…”

**

“You can come over to my house for a while. I’ll tell my dad.”

Evelyn looked aghast at the objects in his room. Mechanics: How do cars work?, The Solar System and the Universe, Star Wars, E=mc2, Albert Einstein, The Human Mind…

“What’s all this, you say? Can’t hurt to expand one’s mind once in a while.”

She had expected Hot wheels or Gameboy or something. That’s all she saw living in the suburbs. “What do you do for an escape?”

He shrugged. “Reading puts my mind off of things.”

“Science puts your mind off of things?”

“Sure, everything’s science.” After a while, he added, “Everything’s art too.” At a second hesitation, “Hey, why don’t we build something?”

“As long as we’re not building molecules,” Evelyn joked, eyeing the various science kits.

“Let’s start simple. Legos.”

“You ever been to legoland?” Evelyn teased.

“Sure haven’t…”

**

“See, we’re working to connect a bridge to the suburbs here. You’ve lived in this part of the world; is there an effective way to do this?”

Jim looked observantly at Lynne. The rest of the team turned to her in anticipation.

“There’s a shortcut on this side of the land that can link to the other side over this body of water”

“Great, this is brilliant.” The lead of the project praised her cordially. “We’ll have our next meeting tomorrow to determine the dimensions and equipment needed.”

Lynne smiled inwardly. She had done well for her first day. Her co-workers were already impressed with her experience. She headed toward her office, but Jim had caught up with her.

“Hey, I was just wondering. Why’d you move from the suburbs to this forsaken place?”

“The same reason why all of you decide to stay in such a god forsaken place,” Lynne replied succinctly, smiling before shutting the office door.

Dang, she was gorgeous.

**

“Hey dad.” Jake approached a man of startlingly blue eyes just as he walked in the door. “This is my classmate Evelyn. Evelyn Rose. She just moved here from the suburbs.”

“Ah, I see, another one, eh? How are you doing, missy?” Jim knelt down in front of her masterpiece.

“I’m doing fine as long as my Kingdom of Terabithia is doing just as well.”

“Terabithia? When did such a young lady know such sophistication?”

Jake grinned at Evelyn. “You’re not the only one who loves books.”

“I see you have a bridge here,” Jim pointed.

“It connects the land of the living with the land of the dead.”

“I don’t see any dead people.” Now Jake was curious.

“Aslan saves them and bring them into Narnia.”

“Who are the lost souls, then?” Jake inquired.

His dad answered. “The ones who are floating not in Heaven but not in Hell. On Earth. Dinnertime, now. Evelyn, you can call your parents and tell them you’ll eat with us.”

**

“It’s been a month and you’ve already made an acquaintance! Who’s your new friend?”

“Jake.”

“Did his parents treat you well?”

“He doesn’t have a mother.”

“I see.” After a moment’s pause, “Well, what did you play?”

“I built Terabithia, mum.”

“Did you now? Turning out like me?”

Evelyn whooped in glee before settling down. “I don’t think the world would appreciate a lego architect.”

Lynne laughed. “Ok, time for school. You can stay and play with him after if you would like.”

**

Jim looked so intently at her that she didn’t think she could concentrate any longer. She wasn’t beautiful, so what else could it be? Certainly she didn’t offer the perfect love, otherwise why would her damned husband leave? She was more than through with love. Her daughter was enough. What was love to the world, anyways? You hear all that talk about its magic…

“Mrs. Rose, see here…”

Jim looked troubled.

Dammit, why can’t men demonstrate their status? Women are distinguished by Miss and Mrs…

“You can just call me Miss Rose, but I prefer Lynne.”

“Lynne—this project is planning to be completed in a year. I’m going to make you negotiator to the city planner of the suburbs…”

**


“So you and your new friend. You’ve both been at it for a while. It’s almost the end of school, aren’t you going to meet up with more people? You could hang out with them during the summer.”

“Jake’s cool.”

“It’s about time I greeted his parents and thanked them personally for taking care of you.

Why don’t you ask him to come over for once?”

“Ok. He doesn’t have a mother, remember?”

“Right.”

“Speaking of mothers and fathers, your father wants to meet with us this weekend.”

“What for?”

“He wants to see you.” Lynne turned away.

**

“Hey kid, want to greet your father?”

Evelyn stood there, resolute. “My father is the kind who creates a safe haven in the home,” she expounded, “like the one mum and I have for a bird we found on the sidewalk walking home from school. He would carefully pick up the bird, tend to its broken wing, and love it till he could set it free.”

She softened up and led her father by the hand to the cage. “It’s ready to fly.” She creaked open the door hinge. The bird looked hesitant, then thinking the better of it, rather cherished the freedom.

“I’m sorry, Evelyn.” The man’s eyes were starry.

Lynne turned defiantly on him. “Sorry doesn’t cut it. You think little children forgive more than the average adult? She threw up her hands, “Who am I to say that I am the average adult?”

“I can make things safe for you again. Why, Lynne, why move to this area?”

“The dead belong to the land of the dead.”

“I was wrong in wishing for the perfect love. It took me so long to realize, but, the perfect love has to be created not waited upon.”

“You’re going to turn a life of dislike into like?”

“Maybe you just have to accept things for what they are, and see the better of it. When you realize the potential, alter it so that only the good is brought out. Get the best out of everything.”

“And where is your best? Love doesn’t leave someone stranded on an island. Could you have not applied your best there? I’m sorry, but I can’t believe in promises. Ghosts are tied only to the earth which is bound by sun and water.”

“What kind of ghost reads the kind of books you read? Literature of science and philosophy.

Your inquiry of mankind sets you free. Ghosts can’t think for themselves.”

“I have thought and this is what has set me free: love does not leave for the selfish benefit of one’s living standard.” She stood there.

He stared deep into her crystal eyes, nodded profoundly, and stepped out of her life.

**

“A year’s passed.” Jim looked regretful as he approached Lynne. “How has it been, living in the ‘land of the dead?’ ”

“Swell.” Then Lynne remembered. She looked at Jim puzzled, but he had turned to face the waves.

“I brought my son with me to see our completed project.” Jim faced her again.

Lynne nodded.

“His name’s Jake.”

The expression on her face was evident.

Evelyn appeared from her mother’s side. “Hi Jake.” She didn’t look astounded at all. Pretty astonishing for an innocent young girl.

“You kids go off and admire the beams now,” Jim offered. He scooted closer to Lynne, crossing his arms over the side of the bridge. “So…Terabithia and Narnia, eh?”

“My daughter and I are fond of the art of reading.”

Both of them looked off into the distance. Jim started, “Love is…sort of like a bridge. Its ends hold steadfast but if one side breaks, the other side corrodes. You need two to sustain it, nurture it, and if needed, rebuild it.”

After some silence, he pushed himself to continued. “On either side is land.” Jim turned to her. “We’re standing on the precipice. We can either fall or follow our way into Terabithia, Narnia, Heaven…” he paused, “Love. We’ve done what this world has asked us to do. We are architects. Builders of this world. How much more does it take to build God’s world?
We can be builders of love.”

Jim looked at her pleadingly. “Why’d you come here?”

“To this bridge? Because we put effort into this like how we put effort into love. It’s the most love I can afford,” Lynne finished bitterly.

“Yes yes, but here. Undeveloped countryside.”

“To start over. To rebuild.”

“I know what is lost may not be obtained, but it can be replaced. Can I give you a part of that? Can you let me love you?”

A bird swooped over the bridge, its wingspan a glorious breadth. It invited the entire world to watch, but that moment, only two chose to fly with it.

Lynne held on to this second chance. Not only because it redeemed her and the act of love itself, but because she needed it. People just wanted to be loved. It was her turn, once again. “Love me.”