This is the last chapter in a series. Here you can read chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, and chapter 4.
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One Thousand Years Later
David and Hannah woke beneath a tree whose branches stretched wide, leaves shifting in a slow breeze. The sound was like the rustling of turning pages.
They stayed still at first. The grass under them was cool and thick, and when they pressed their hands into it, it gave way and sprang back. Their bodies felt different — light, steady, whole. No aches, no weight pulling them down. Even breathing came without effort.
For the first time in years, David noticed he wasn’t tired.
They sat up slowly.
Hannah saw him first. Her face startled him. Not because it was unfamiliar, but because it was entirely whole. She glowed, clothed in white, and running through the fabric of her dress were threads that shone like diamonds. He looked closer and realized they were not jewels at all, but time itself woven into her garment: days and nights, years of quiet endurance. Every dark season gleamed brightest.
His chest shook. “So this… this is where everything was leading.” He pressed his hands against his arms as if to hold himself together. “Hannah… I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
She reached for him and held his hands. Her palms were steady and warm. “No more tears here,” she said softly. She glanced down at her dress, then back at him. “And I think you had something to do with this.”
Before he could answer, light moved among the trees.
David turned his head. “Who is that?”
Hannah whispered, “I don’t know. Someone important. Maybe—maybe the Blessed Mother.”
The figure drew closer, parting branches as she came. And then David saw her. Their daughter.
Abigail ran to them, and the three of them fell into each other’s arms. None of them spoke at first. They just held on, clinging, their shoulders shaking, as if they could never let go again.
At last Abigail pulled back, smiling through her tears. “God wants to see you. He sent me to bring you.”
The three rose and walked together. The trees gave way to an open clearing where twelve tall stones stood in a circle, ancient and steady, pointing toward the sky. In the center stood God.
He was clothed in light, a light that filled everything and every space between everything. His face shone with something like relief.
He moved. Not slowly, not regally. He ran to them, arms open, and wrapped them in an embrace so strong David felt something he hadn’t felt since his own father held him as a child. For a long time, God said nothing.
When He loosened His hold, David stammered, “I am so ashamed, I—”
“Enough,” God said gently. His eyes glistened with joy. “The time for shame is over. The time for sorrow is over.”
David swallowed. His voice was barely a whisper. “I feel like I’ve been wrestling with You my whole life.”
God smiled. “You have. And you have won.”
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You should know I wrote this with the help of ChatGPT. I explain how I use and don’t use it here.
©Catholic Anonymous 2025
Catholic Anonymous 
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