Chapter 3: THE HORSE AND THE GIRL

As I surveyed the valley, the first thing that caught my attention was a beautiful stream flowing through the middle. It was a natural setting, yet in some way it seemed wonderfully manicured. It was so seemingly perfect that I could not tell if I was still in the realm of Heaven or back on the earth.

Then I heard a noise above me and on both sides. It sounded like many thousands of stomping feet. It was an alarming sound, especially in such a peaceful setting. I knew right away that something was not right. A great multitude appeared all around at the top of the mountain. It was an army of some type. As I watched, they began to descend from the top, moving slowly, even tentatively, but relentlessly.

I began to feel very strongly that this was an evil army with evil intent. Then thousands of vultures appeared like a cloud above them, circling as if waiting for a slaughter. I was appalled by what they would do to this beautiful place, not to mention afraid for myself since I was obviously hemmed in by this evil horde.

"What are you going to do about it?" a voice behind me asked.

I turned to see who was speaking and saw a large, white stallion. It was beautiful, with muscles rippling even as it stood still. I had never seen such intelligence in an animal's eyes before, so I wondered if it had spoken.

"What can I do about it?" I asked.

"I see you are a torchbearer. This horse is for you," the voice continued. "You must learn to ride it if you are going to help stop the evil horde that is coming."

"Is there time to learn to ride a horse?" I asked, looking around for the owner of the voice, since it was now clear that the horse was not speaking.

"There is still time."

Then a young girl, who seemed to be ten to twelve years old, stepped from behind the horse. She was dressed in what appeared to be a school uniform, but it was covered with silver and gold armor which was worn and battered. A sword was strapped to her belt. She was thin with a beautiful face and brilliant blue eyes which were set in a fierce, penetrating focus. She exuded a boldness and confidence with a childlike purity that was stunning in its nobility.

"I am here to teach you how to ride," the girl said. "We have time," she repeated as if trying to calm me.

I was captivated by this little girl but still agitated by the huge, dark force that was descending on us. I marveled at how calm she was. I wondered if she was just too young to understand what such a horde from Hell would do to her and this place. However, as I looked at her it was obvious that she had both experience and intelligence beyond her years.

"I understand much more than you think," she replied as if my thoughts had been spoken out loud. "I am here to fight with you, but first you must learn to ride this horse. We do have time, but not time to waste. We must get started."

"Let's get started then," I said, not wanting to waste a second. "I know how to ride a horse. Is there anything special I need to know to ride this one?" I asked.

"I don't know," she answered. "I have never ridden a horse."

"But I thought you just said you were here to teach me how to ride. How are you going to teach me if you have never ridden a horse yourself?"

"You will learn by teaching me. You will not be fully trusted with this horse until I have my own and can ride it as well as you do. You also must understand that this is not like any horse you have ridden before."

"Tell me all that you know," I replied. "Can we drink from this stream?" I asked, feeling thirsty and weak.

"Of course. That is why it is here."

I reached up and touched the reins on the horse. I gently pulled, and it followed me without a hint of resistance. When we reached the bank of the stream, I reached down and brought a sip of water to my lips. Immediately, my eyes brightened and my mind became clear.

As I continued to drink, I felt stronger. I gently nudged the horse forward, and it knelt down on its knees and drank. I had never seen a horse do that. The little girl did the same, getting down on her knees to drink. I decided to do the same and drank my fill.

"Fear makes you weak," the girl said when she had finished.

"You're a very wise little girl," I responded, thinking how truly extraordinary this child was. "How do you know so much, and how do you know about this torch?"

Before she could answer, the increased noise from above caused us both to look up. There was obvious confusion in the ranks of the evil host. My eyes were so sharp now from the water that I could make out some of the banners over the different divisions.

The banners I could see were named after different philosophies, religions, and strange mystical teachings, some of which I had heard about but were not very familiar with. There were other banners, but they were too small or far off for me to read.

As we continued to watch, the confusion increased until some of the divisions started fighting with each other. A huge cloud of dust was rising, and battles were breaking out in all directions. Soon the entire horde was disappearing back over the tops of the mountains. However, they did not go far because I could still hear them and see the dust rising from the great commotion which was obviously going on among them. So it seemed we were safe for a while.

"That is why we still have time," the little girl explained. "Demons hate each other as much as they hate us. They can't march together for very long before they start fighting each other. The only thing that can keep them unified is a battle with us. Their fear of us is stronger than their jealousy of each other. That is why we must be ready to defeat them when we fight. When we fight we must destroy them completely."

"You talk as if you are a seasoned warrior," I said, examining her armor. "Please tell me more."

"I have already watched well-meaning but foolish people try to fight the evil ones before they were strong enough to defeat them. This only made the enemy stronger and more unified. Battles that are not fought through until there is a complete victory always result in our losing more ground to the enemy.

"Even though it was before my time, I was told that we once had control over much of this country. Now we are surrounded in this little valley. The next time we fight we must win or all will be lost."

Then she looked at me with her penetrating blue eyes. They were like the blue of the hottest part of a fire. "Retreat is not an option! We have nowhere left to go!" she declared with more seriousness than I had ever seen in such a young child.

This startled me as I had been looking around to see if there was any way of escape. "How old are you?" I inquired. "How do you know so much?"

"I am twelve, but I have been fighting since I was five. I have learned much in the battles, but my wisdom comes from this River. This is the River of Life. It gives the life which transforms experience into wisdom, the vision that is true."

"This is a beautiful stream, but hardly a river! This can't be the River of Life!" I protested.

"It is. Here it is small because it is always as large or small as its demand. Not many will come here to drink anymore because they would have to get past the evil ones who have seized the high places. Most would rather drink from the polluted streams which are not under attack than from the true living waters which are now always under attack. Few are thirsty enough to fight for this, but there is nothing more worth fighting for that I know of."

"Did you have to fight your way here?" I asked.

"I did. I came right down that path," she said, pointing to a place at the far end of the valley behind me.

"How did you get past the evil army?" I inquired. "Are there still gaps that you can get through?"

"No. They have us completely surrounded now. But anyone with the courage to keep moving even when they are attacked can make it through their ranks. I chose the weakest part of their army and walked right through the middle of it."

"What was the weakest part? And how did you know it was weak?"

"There was a large division called 'Ridicule.' I chose to walk through it because I knew they could not really hurt me. I was told that when they saw my resolve they would give way before me, and they did. They raved and screamed insults and obscenities, but they parted and let me pass. I blocked all of their shots with my shield and was not even wounded."

"Who told you that you could do that?"

"My mother."

"Is she here, too?" I asked.

"No."

"Where is she?"

"She didn't make it through. When we were passing through the ridicule, she stopped and said she was going back to get more people and lead them through. She said she would join me later. I don't think she will though."

"Why not?"

"She taught me very well, but she could not do what she taught me to do. I saw her waver from the insults and ridicule. She went back to get more people because she needs the approval of people. No one can make it through who cares too much about what others think of him."

"Can she make it in some other way?"

"It is possible, but going through the ridicule is by far the easiest way. In fact, when she hesitated and started to retreat, she was quickly overcome. She then began ridiculing me with the rest of them. Once you begin to retreat before the evil ones, you are easy prey for them. She is now one of their prisoners."

"I'm sorry. I know you must miss her. She was at least a great teacher. She did a great job teaching you."

"Thank you. I do miss her. It has been very lonely here, but it is still better than being out there, under the influence of that evil horde."

I watched the little girl drift far off in her thoughts, then quickly she snapped back to the conversation.

"I knew when we started, it would be hard for her and that she probably could not make it. I also knew I could not let that stop me. The only hope for her to ever get free and be able to drink from this stream is for me to not stop until I have fulfilled my destiny."

After a pause, she continued, "I have not given up on her, but myself and others like me are the only hope for people like her. We are here to defeat that evil horde and set its prisoners free. I do believe the time will come when she will drink with me at this stream- she and many others until this is a great river again. It will then flow to the sea and bring life to all."

"If there are many others like you, then I have no trouble believing that you will win the victory. Have you met others like yourself who have this vision and resolve to do this?" I asked.

"I think I have met some, but we keep getting separated. I know from my dreams that there are many more, and I will meet them soon. That's why you are here. I have seen you in my dreams, too."

"Tell me, what did you see about me?"

"Well, I did not see you specifically, but I saw the coming of the torchbearers. At first there were just a few and then more and more kept coming. I, too, will one day be given a torch to carry. In fact, many of the torchbearers are quite young."

As she was speaking, a large division of the evil army crested the top of the mountain and started down much more rapidly and in relatively good order. We watched transfixed as it advanced almost a third of the way down the mountain. Then it was attacked from the rear by another one of the evil divisions. Soon it sounded like several more joined in the assault on it.

The advance was stopped at that point while most of the column turned around to fight. However, a large part of this group remained at the point of its farthest advance and started setting up defenses, which quickly began to appear like a fortress.

As I looked at the little girl, I saw her nervous for the first time. I then noticed that the horse was also agitated.

"What do we do now?" I asked, surprised that I was asking a little girl for instructions.

Without answering, the girl knelt down at the stream again and drank with purpose. Soon she regained her composure, but her attention was still fixed on the fortress that was quickly being built. The horse had become so agitated that I was afraid it was going to run.

I walked over to take its reins and was surprised by how it looked me straight in the eyes. I tried to stay as calm as I could because I felt if he sensed fear in me, he would certainly bolt. He let me take the reins and lead him back to the stream. It was not as easy as before to get him to drink, but he did. Then he calmed down. I also drank, and the peace and joy again filled my being, while my vision grew stronger.

"What do we do now?" I asked again. "Have you seen anything in your dreams about this?"

"I did not see this in a dream, but I have seen this happen before. If we do not act soon, we will lose this valley."

Then she looked straight at me to be sure I would hear what she was about to say.

"Whenever I am asked what to do, I always turn to the river first and drink. Then I pray, as we must do now. I have been in two other places where this river ran, and both were taken over by the enemy. We must not let this happen here. We must fight this time," she said, looking at me kind of skeptically. "I will fight even if I have to do it alone. I don't think there is anywhere else left to go where this river flows."

"It is very noble to want to fight and to even be willing to fight alone," I replied, "but how can just the two of us stand against so many?"

She did not answer me, but started praying. I listened for just a few minutes. Her requests were concise and to the point. She did not try to explain anything to God. She mostly asked for the Holy Spirit, courage, wisdom, and power to defeat the enemy.

She then prayed for her mother and other loved ones who were captives of the evil horde. She asked for specific places to be retaken from the enemy. It was the prayer of a seasoned warrior who had seen many battles and did not want to waste time or words. It was also like a conversation with her friend. It was so moving that I did not believe the Lord could possibly reject her requests. When she ended, she looked up at me. All I could say was "Amen."

"You asked how we could defeat such a huge army. Why couldn't we? We have the Lord on our side."

"I understand, but how were the others lost that you fought for? What can we do differently this time? And are you sure there are no other streams like this one?"

"The way they have all been lost is by retreating. I will not retreat again. I will not listen to those who speak of 'strategic retreats' or any other kind. I am going to stand even if I have to do it alone. I also think that we lost them because there were too many of us."

"How could there have been too many when you are fighting against so many?" I asked, not doubting her as much as feeling that the answer to this was important.

"It is better to have a few who are in unity than many who are divided, who do not have a single, focused vision. Many of those who were with us before seldom drank from the stream, and I hardly ever heard them pray. I felt they would not last long, and I was right. Such people are more of a detriment when the battle begins. Our leaders had to spend more time trying to encourage them than fighting.

"Many of the weak ones even turned on us. I determined before the next battle that I would not encourage anyone too much, trying to get them to stay and fight. If they want to leave, then they should because we would be better off. There is also something else very important we have never had before that we must have to win."

"What is that?"

"The torch. This water is the truth, and we must have and love it enough to be willing to die for it. But the torch is like the presence of the Lord here with us. When I am close to you and the torch, I feel Him!

"There is no greater encouragement than feeling His presence with us. If we had carried the torch before, I don't think our leaders would have had to spend so much time encouraging the people, and I don't think they would have been so weak.

"And yes, there are other streams like this one, but there is only one River. It rises out of the earth in different places like this. I have been told that they used to be very common. Now there are not many streams because so few have been willing to fight for them. I am not even sure there are any more like this one.

"Right now we need more true warriors, not more streams. I have heard that every time new streams break out, they are quickly lost because so few are willing to fight for them. This is why we need torchbearers."

"I know what you are saying is true, but I still don't know why more people won't fight to defend them. Are they always as hopelessly outnumbered as we are at this time?"

"I do not believe in the word hopeless, but I think those who seek this River are always outnumbered. Like I said, I don't think the numbers are that important. We need more warriors, but we need more who are true warriors.

"I've heard some say that digging hidden wells is better than seeking the River because they are not as big a target for the enemy. Too many who seem to love this water also seem to have an already defeated attitude.

"This is hard to understand because if they would drink the water they could not help but to believe and be strong. I am afraid that they have only occasionally tasted it but have not really drunk from it. Their love is more for the idea of it than the reality. It is almost as if it is some kind of romantic fantasy to them, not reality."

"Do you know of any of the wells nearby?" I asked. "At the wells we must find some who are really drinking and who may be willing to join us in this fight for the River."

"I know of a couple of wells not far from this valley. The water there is good, but not as good as this. Most of the wells have been too shallow to last for very long. They also get muddy quickly. The wells do help some people, but it is only when the water flows like this in the open that it can turn a valley into a Paradise like you see here. And this water must flow to stay alive and pure."

I then heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see a man approaching.