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She stood on the edge of the abyss,

trying to decide whether to throw herself in.

The despair in her heart called to her,

and she fell without a sound.

She stood hopeless inside of the pit

trying to get out.

The Voices inside her told her that she must leave-

before it was too late.

The Voices around urged her to stay.

sparkling voices, smooth as honey

they tempted with pretty things, glittery worthlessness;

they promised everlasting happiness.

She listened and allowed herself to stay,

no, she fell even more into the blackness that surrounded her.

For a time, the promises filled the gap in her soul.

She felt like she had finally found where she belonged;

The Voices inside were silenced as if forever.

Almost without realizing it, she fell to the very bottom.

Here, the outside Voices were not so smooth.

They shouted and cursed, harsh and merciless,

no longer voices, but demons.

As if she had been blind before, she opened her eyes and saw.

In the darkness, the specters loomed,

ready the snatch the uncareful soul.

The darkness of the pit was horrifying;

she knew that she must try to get out.

But the pit suddenly trapped her in;

the walls were high, unsurpassable.

She could not get out.

She felt as if her soul was dying.

The blackness was suffocating her

and there was no hope in the everlasting pit.

The endless noise deafened her

and she longed impossibly for a quiet place.

Though thousands of other souls were crying,

dying in the pit of despair,

she felt alone.

In her utter helplessness, she let down her defenses.

The Voices inside which were silenced for so long

articulated once again.

They called to her, begging that she escape.

The walls were too high, she said. Towering, surpassing her ability.

She was hopeless. She stayed.

She felt that it was almost better to stay down in the pit

then reach the surface, the epitome of her hopes,

and be disappointed.

Her Voices continued calling, and she listened, still without hope.

They grew stronger, blotting out all other noises,

and in her despair, she listened.

They told her that her soul was imprisoned

in the depths of the enemies grasp;

hope and faith were the keys to survival.

Her hope was diminished, she cried,

Her faith gone forever.

Yet the insistent Voices sustained her,

and slowly her hope was reborn,

like a budding flower her faith was restored.

She no longer looked at the walls as an inescapable prison

but rather as a challenge which could be overcome.

She stood slowly,

inch by inch reasserting her independence from evil.

The prison walls deteriorated before her,

and she knew that she was free to leave if she so desired.

But the outside Voices came back again

warning her of the outside world.

Here, they whispered, she was safe

and nothing was uncertain.

There, the world was changing and different-

she would not be so secure.

Stay, stay, stay, stay

they called incessantly, their tone changed once again.

She listened at first, almost willingly,

knowing that she was scared, terrified by the unknown.

But as she looked fearfully outside, she saw Him,

a Heart so filled that It overflowed.

The open arms soundlessly called to her,

and suddenly she was aware of Love.

She broke the bonds that held her;

brushed aside all clinging hands.

Out into the sunshine she went,

into the arms of the Love she knew would be eternal.