The Chest of Visions: New Pathways ‘cross Broken Highways. Tim Ferguson
that you will love no one in this world more than you love me. In return, I pledge that your God will be my God, my dear Chihaysu.” She stood up and he did likewise. She then stroked his cheek gently with her hand. She blew him a kiss, climbed onto her beast and rode away to the East.
Chihaysu watched as Cle-as rode away then sat down. He appeared deep in thought, so Jonas decided not to disturb him. He left him, returning to Caperston to share this surprising story. We all await Chihaysu’s return.
You asked about the name of Mattpaul’s father. Mattpaul always called him “father.” His actual name is Paved, pronounced “Pav-ed.” I will try to use this name when corresponding in the future with you.
Huchfee
February 22th
Dear Huchfee,
Just when we think the drama in Caperston cannot become more complicated, we hear of Chihaysu’s encounter with Cle-as. Wow! We await your next letter with great interest.
In our world our lives are so different. We meet every two weeks as a youth group at church where we enjoy each other’s company and do activities that challenge our faith. We all have a difficult time praying, particularly out loud in the group. I sometimes wonder if this prayer activity actually works? My friend, Laura, tells me that it is all right to have doubts. That is what faith is all about . . . when we are not certain, we still act on our beliefs. We say “Yes” to the call of God’s word.
I am trying very hard. Sometimes, when I pray, I feel close to God and, other times, I am not so sure. I am glad that I had the vision of heaven, but sometimes I wonder. Was it just a dream? At times I feel confused so I hope I will learn to pray more effectively.
After youth group we go back home to our lives of family, friends and school. Some are on sports teams and, when I am playing basketball, the success of the team seems to be the most important thing in my life.
All of you in Caperston are showing us that following Chihaysu’s teachings and regularly taking your challenges to God in prayer are the important things. Thank you for inspiring us.
Alex
February 25th
Hi Alex,
Before I tell you of the new events in Caperston, I want to ask a question. You often refer to something called a church. What is a church? Sometimes it seems to be a building in which you gather and other times it seems to be a special holy place. We are interested in this thing you call a church.
Now I have an even more amazing story to share. After visiting his mother Chihaysu called us all together to tell us of his days in the wilderness. We knew of his meeting with Princess Cle-as, but from Jonas not from Chihaysu. Chihaysu wanted to update us on what happened while he was in the wilderness the past four days. He did not begin by mentioning meeting Princess Cle-as to our surprise. We thought this is what he deemed important.
Instead Chihaysu shared something both exciting and very mysterious. It starts with the power of prayer and what prayer exactly is.
Chihaysu stated that on his last night in the wilderness he had a dream. He found himself walking down a path. In a short distance there was a fork. He looked down the left fork and it appeared to curve in a short distance. When he looked down the right fork, he saw it go on and on, seemingly endlessly.
His first inclination was to go left as he could see the turn ahead, but instead, intrigued by the distance, he chose the right turn. He took a few steps then, suddenly, a beam of light came from behind and carried him down a tunnel and then dissipated. He looked up and saw a door a few steps away.
Chihaysu said he walked to the door and in bold white letters was the phrase “Warning: unknown land ahead.” Above the message was a small rectangle, about three inches wide and two inches tall. Over the rectangle was a hinge that could be pulled upward. There was no warning message on the hinge. Chihaysu’s heart was racing. He paused and thought, “There is a reason I was brought here. There is no warning message on the hinge so looking must be safe.” He raised the hinge.
As he looked through a glass enclosure under the hinge, he saw a world similar to Caperston yet different. There was blue sky and trees, but the trees seemed taller. There was a path coming out of the collection of trees on the left and on it were people. There had small packs on their backs, and, upon emerging from the path, took the packs off and opened them. Upon opening his pack one person took out a clear bottle of liquid, drank some then shared it with a friend. They were talking to each other, but he could not hear anything behind the closed door. Then he looked to the right, over a large rock that seemed to protrude into space. Past the rock there was a slight haze in the sky, and through the haze, he could see buildings, many buildings which appeared very far away. Chihaysu assumed that the buildings were tall, probably taller than the House of the Dead, the tallest building in Caperston. He then looked again to the left at the path coming through the trees and he saw a sign “Bear Mountain Lodge . . . three miles.”
Chihaysu stepped back and again looked at the message on the door, “Warning: unknown land ahead.” He wanted to open the door and enter but questioned, “What if this world was not conducive to people from Caperston? Maybe we will not be able to breathe the air.” Even more frightening was the thought, “What if the door only opens one way?”
Chihaysu stepped back, turned around, and, after a quick glance back over his shoulder at the door, stepped forward. Upon completing two steps the flash of light reappeared, carrying him back to the fork in the road he had earlier walked to.
Chihaysu once again looked down the two forks and this time took the left fork. The path around the left fork was clearly more travelled. Fifty steps along the left path he began to turn further to the left and after a few more steps, he emerged into his campsite in the wilderness.
Chihaysu awoke from his dream and relived it over and over in his mind. He did not want to forget, as we so often do after dreams, any of the details of the dream. As morning came Chihaysu prepared to leave when suddenly he felt exceedingly tired. He thought to himself, “I did not get a full night of sleep. I will rest for a minute.”
Once again Chihaysu fell asleep and had a second, very vivid dream. A man was approaching him in the wilderness. He looked quite ordinary except for his eyes. There was a sparkle in them, and he sensed that they were sending minute beams of light towards him, many small beams that, together seemed to say, this man has a message for you.
“So, you have had a dream, my friend,” the man said. “You were in the tunnel.”
Cautiously, Chihaysu replied, “Yes.”
“Just after you came to the fork in the road?”
“Yes.”
“And you took the right fork, the road less traveled. Most people who come to the fork take the left fork. They are not daring enough to visit the unknown.”
“Yes, I took the right fork,” Chihaysu replied.
“So, the beam of light came and took you through.” The man paused.
“Yes, my friend, where did the beam take me to?”
“Oh, yes, people living in Caperston do not know about wormholes. A wormhole is . . . ”
“My friend, as you say, we know nothing of wormholes, even though we have a very learned scientist in Caperston. Where, my friend . . . where was it that I visited?”
“My dear Chihaysu, perhaps your scientist can tell you about wormholes some time. You wish to know your destination?”
“Yes, I do,” he replied.
“Well, God, your Caring Creator, has found you to be an upright man. You are the first such man, who has been given the opportunity to choose a destination for his future in a generation. The last such man was Jonton, a generation ago. You probably have heard of him. He chose the left fork and returned to Caperston. Just before him, quite a while ago, was . . . ”
“How