The Words
It’s obviously going to be one of those nights - I can't sleep so there is little point in tossing and turning in bed! I give in and come downstairs.
The muffled sounds of night greet me in the lounge. Strange, the atmosphere at night. Under the cloak of darkness, it seems that more can be seen, not less.
Sinking into an armchair, I sigh and close my eyes. Instantly, I find myself in a large room - no, a hangar! - filled with people. Strangely, despite the crowd, the place is totally silent. Taken aback, I grip the armchair.
'Open your eyes - it will go away.' I say to myself, as if I were a child. Gritting my teeth, I force my eyelids up but the scene is unchanged. Holding my breath, I wait for someone to speak, but nothing! I can’t even hear the sound of my own breathing!
I scan the room. Clusters of people sit around, whilst one or two stand alone. The silence is thick and heavy.
'How can so many people stay so silent?’ I ask myself.
As the question echoes in my mind, I see the answer. The people are talking - or crying or laughing - whatever. But their words and noise can not be heard. Instead they are seen.
Carefully, I select one or two people and follow the direction of their words.
Nearby, a couple share a joke and laugh together. Their laughter is beautiful – stardust, that softly shimmers, hanging momentarily in the air before dissolving and filling the atmosphere with sweet perfume.
I see spoken words, formed in letters, but they do not fade or fall to the ground, as I would expect. They travel - like arrows, with purpose and direction.
Close by is a mother with her small son. The child is weeping, his tears and his cries falling to his chest. His mother's words, velvet soft and honey soaked, gather around his heart and caress away his pain.
I tear my eyes away from her and settle them on a nearby elderly lady. Her face is twisted with pain, as she throws angry words at her partner. His head is bowed and his face hidden, but her words are plainly in view. Hard as iron and ice-cold, they bury themselves in his back, like darts. I see no blood and he doesn't even flinch but I know his wound is terrible. And then - how
strange - I see her heart - as the words leave her mouth, a piece of iron falls to her chest. In wounding him, she also harms herself.
I look away as my stomach churns with conviction. How often have I done such damage to those I love?
My eyes fall on the face of an angel - or so it seems. A young man stands alone, his face alight with peace, his eyes closed. His mouth is barely moving and there is no evidence of words coming from his lips. But then I see - long slender arrows of gold rise from his heart, ascending to heaven with such speed that they almost can not be tracked. Somehow, I know that they reach heaven and dissolve into incense, poured into an ever-filling bowl.
Another angel sits nearby. A young girl with flowing brown hair and eyes closed, sings, her mouth caressing the words with such love. The words that travel from her mouth seem jet-propelled – so fast do they move that I almost cannot track them. Looking above her, though, I catch sight of them as they rise to heaven.
Two women catch my attention. Their faces are close together and their eyes dart from side to side. From behind cupped hands, they exchange confidences – giggling and gasping together. A child tugs at one of their skirts so, momentarily, she moves her hand and I can follow her words. They rise and hover in the air – and just before I look away, flapping wings catch my eye. A bird snatches the words and carries them to the other side of the room. Fascinated, I strain my eyes to see what happens next. The bird hovers in the air above a young man and then swoops and pecks at his ear. The bird then seems to vanish and I search around the room for it but it has gone. Looking back towards the young man, I see his face racked with pain. An agonised groan escapes
from his mouth and he grips his head with his hands. He looks towards the two women – they have their backs to him – and suddenly, his eyes fill with tears. He exhales slowly and crumples into a sobbing heap on the floor.
His pain wrenches at my heart but before I have time to gather my thoughts, I see another couple standing slightly apart. The woman is speaking and the man straining his ear to hear. I see her words, strong and clear but as they approach the man, they seem to hit an obstacle. Looking very closely, I realise that the man is wearing some sort of body armour. The gentle words of his wife hit the armour and somehow are changed in meaning and in nature. Words intended to heal cause pain. His reply struggles equally to pass through the armour he wears and then I realise that she also wears
the same sort of guard – designed to protect but somehow bringing such destruction.
Back on the other side of the room, I see another man and urge my body to go to his aid. But I can not move. He is lying on the floor, sobbing, his chest heaving with the effort to survive. The arrows of words - ice cold and nail hard - batter his body. His feet and his chest are most affected. His tears pool around him and no self-defence is attempted. My own tears overflow as I watch - those golden arrows, now incense and balm, fall from heaven and his wounds are soothed. 
His tears subside but more incense falls and a shield is formed around his feet and heart. Rising to stand, his face now calm, I see those same harsh word arrows bouncing off his armour. As they move away, fine slivers of incense mould to them, and they return from whence they came.
I glance around the room and everywhere I look, the same things are repeated. Never ineffective, the words always bring life or death, blessing or curse.
'O Lord,' I plead in my heart,’ How would it be if we lived in such a place?'
His response is immediate. It echoes through eternity.
'O but you do!'
Ecclesiastes 10:20 “Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.”
Proverbs 18:21 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue.'
Deuteronomy 30:19 'I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life,that both you and your descendants may live'