As they left the hospital, they were approached by a couple police officers. "Are you Eva Salvadores?" One of them asked. "Y-yes." Eva replied nervously. "You're under arrest. Come with us, please." "W-what? Why? I did nothing wrong!" Eva exclaimed as they handcuffed her. "What's going on?! Why are you arresting Eva?" Kiersten demanded. "It's none of your concern. You girls go home." The other one said. "None of our concern? She's our friend!" Lisa said. "We're going with her!" Kiersten added. The cops looked at each other and agreed they could accompany Eva. On the ride to the station, Kiersten made it a point to give the cops an earful. "Don't you know what Eva went through?! Her entire family just died and now you want to make things worse by sending her to jail! And for what?!" "Look. We were simply given orders to arrest Eva. We don't know any more than you do." A cop said with an irritated tone. "Calm down, Kiersten. We'll find out what all this is about when we get there." Lisa whispered.
When they got there, the cops escorted them down a long, dark, metallic hallway and into the interrogation room. And to their utter shock, the interrogator was none other than the President himself! Accompanying him was Vice President Henry, Sergeant Marshall and Dr. Lee. "M-Mr. President!" Kiersten said. "Are we being pranked?" Lisa wondered aloud. "Please girls, have a seat." The President said. They sat down nervously. "Eva. Can you guess why you are here?" The President asked. "N-no. Not really." Eva replied quietly. "Really? You don't think it's odd that you—oh, I don't know—survived a plane crash?" "With all due respect, Mr. President, people have been known to survive plane crashes before." Eva said bluntly. "Yes, but never in history did anyone survive a crash like the one you were in. The plane took a nose dive from 41,000 ft. There was no gliding in between, the plane hit the ocean full force. And on top of that, Ms. Eva, the plane exploded on impact! There wasn't even a trace of remains; except you. And not only that, you survived. Now tell me, what are you?" The girls just looked at each other. Then Eva bravely said, "Sir, I don't know what I am. But the truth about what happened? You would never believe me." "Try me." The President said boldly. Eva hesitated. "You know, she's right. You guys won't believe her." Kiersten said. "It's true." Lisa added. The President grew angry, and said, "If you don't want to be locked up for life then I suggest you tell us what's going on!" Eva began to tremble.
Suddenly, a being of light began to form next to Eva. A pure, white, radiant light glowed brightly and everyone in the room became afraid. "I'll tell you why. Because I saved her." A voice that came from the light said. Suddenly, they could make out a form. "Leo!" Eva said as she embraced him. "Oh, Eva." Leo said softly. "W-what's going on? Who are you?" Asked the President. "I…am God." "God?!" Eva exclaimed. Kiersten and Lisa froze in fear. Eva felt as if ice were coursing through her veins and she drew back. "You…are…God…?" Eva asked softly as she trembled before Leo. "Don't be afraid, Eva. After all, you're a Goddess." "What?!" Eva exclaimed; then asked, "Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" "Because, Eva, I had no choice but to wait until now." Leo then turned to the President. "I am sure you are aware that the world is ending." Leo said solemnly. "Lord, have you come to save us?" Asked the President. "Not I. But Eva." They all turned their attention to the seemingly insignificant little girl that was before them. "What's the plan?" Asked Marshall. "For one thing, there is no plan to save the world. I will see to it that it ends." Everyone was shocked. "But why, Leo?" Eva asked in tears. "Because earth was never meant to be home. It was meant to be a classroom of sorts, to prepare everyone for Heaven. Our eternal home."
"So then, why weren't we just born in Heaven? I don't get it." Marshall objected. "What you have just asked is what every human being has been wondering since the beginning of time. So be sure to tell the people what I'm about to say. I am God. The Lord. And I have created all that exists. I never wanted my children to suffer in the slightest, but there is a dilemma. Free will. Without it, you cannot be real. You would be no different than a rock. Yet with it is the power of choice. The power to do good or to harm. Imagine that everyone was born in Paradise, with free will. Would it not be a matter of time before people would choose to do harm? Before long, Heaven would end up becoming no different than earth; or worse. So I created a neutral place where everyone could freely make their decisions: Earth. If I dwelled among the people, then they would feel pressured to do good, without really wanting to. So I hid my presence and created the ultimate education system. A place where people could choose to do good or evil; and to receive the good or bad consequences of their actions. But the day has come where history will no longer repeat itself. People are well informed about reality now, so now they must make a choice. To do good, or evil. The people who want to do good and thus choose the light, shouldn't have to suffer because of those who do evil and choose darkness. And so, I have created two portals: two different worlds. A world of light and a world of darkness. The world of light is bliss incarnate and the world of darkness is nothing but misery. And yet, no one will be forced through either portal. One by one, the people will choose which world they want to enter." "So there will be souls lost in darkness forever?" Eva objected. "Don't worry, Eva. Yes, they will be forced to stay for one thousand years, but after that, they will be free to choose again. And again. Until every soul comes to the light." Leo said reassuringly; but then there was a change of tone. "But they must know what those thousand years will be like. Which is why Eva was born. Why she is here; now."
"What do you mean, Leo?" Kiersten asked uneasily. Leo turned to Eva and held her hands. "Eva, the choice is yours. I love you deeply. More than you'll ever know. But I also love our children and I know that you do as well. Are you willing to make the ultimate sacrifice? To take the place of a countless number of souls?" Leo asked tenderly. "Wait a minute, you're God! You're stronger than her! Why must she suffer instead of you?" Kiersten asked in tears. "Why don't you tell her, Eva?" Leo asked. Suddenly, memories flashed in Eva's mind. "Because, after we got married…in Heaven, we had many children." Eva said softly. "And Leo told me the day would come where everyone would have to experience pain on earth to truly understand why God is right, and why we should abide under his law. I didn't want that, but I knew why it had to happen. However, when he explained the unspeakable suffering that many would have to endure for the thousand years, I was completely against it. Leo agreed with my objection, and said he would thus suffer as an example of what that world of darkness would be like. To deter as many people away from that place as possible. I told him I wanted to do it." "Why would you, Eva?" Lisa asked. "Because I wanted to forget my eternal past." "Huh?" Everyone in the room was confused. "Why would a Goddess want to forget her past?" Asked the President. Eva smiled. "Because we were very much in love. Leo was always able to prove to me that he loved me, but I wasn't able to prove my love to him in return, because I'm more like a Demi-God. I'm way behind Leo when it comes to power and wisdom. Even when Leo assured me that I did love him; I became depressed because I didn't know for sure if my love for him was real or not. I never felt more like a human in all of my years of eternity. Leo wanted to see me happy again, so he offered me the opportunity to live as a human. To become "Eva." To suffer every trial imaginable so that when I went back to Heaven, I could look back and be assured that-I love Leo. And our children. And I even asked him not to return my eternal memories so that I could fall in love with him all over again. To this he agreed, but said it would fulfill my happiness if he let me remember little by little. That I would feel lost if I completely forgot why I suffered in the first place." "Whoa, I never realized how in love you guys really were." Kiersten said, astounded.
Everyone in the room fell silent. They were so full of emotion and gratitude for their love for the world. "Well, you have already won me over. I choose the light." Said the President. "Me too." Said Henry. "You can count me in!" Said Marshall. Suddenly, a tense and despairing situation has turned in to one full of hope. "So, do you still agree to sacrifice yourself?" Leo asked sadly. "Yes Leo, I do." Eva smiled. "My word is not enough to convince you?" Leo said as tears filled his eyes. (Only he and Eva knew what was about to happen) Eva held his face and dried his tears. "I believe you, but on the other hand I don't believe you. Because I don't believe in myself. I need this to happen so that I can rest in peace. Besides, the pain I will endure will only be a foretaste of what many others would have had to suffer." "I'm so proud of you, Eva. I love you." Leo said as he leaned in to kiss her.
After they had a moment, Leo once again turned to the group. "President. Are you aware of the Dream Simulator that scientists have recently created?" "Yes, Lord. But, that was supposed to be a secret. And we're still working on it-" "No matter. To those in the group who do not know, the Dream Simulator is a machine that puts a person to sleep and induces dreams. I will take the reigns, however, and put Eva in a world of darkness through that machine. Everything that Eva experiences will be projected on a screen and broadcasted on live TV for the world to see. "Yes, Sir." The officials said. "What exactly will Eva experience?" Kiersten asked, concerned. "When she gets in the machine and the dream is activated, she will lose her memory of being arrested, the interrogation, and my arrival. You three will go home as if none of this has ever happened. That is all I can tell you for now. It's going to be a long nightmare." Leo said. "It's okay you guys, I know why I gotta do this!" Eva said pulling Kiersten and Lisa aside. "Do you know what you're getting into?" Lisa asked. "Right now I do, but I'll forget as soon as the dream starts. To ensure maximum pain. But-don't worry! No matter what I go through, I can handle it. And if anything, just trust that Leo is God and that he promised us a happy ending!" Eva said bravely. Kiersten smiled, then said, "Well as long as you're all for it, I'll be cheering you on!" "Me too!" Lisa added. Eva then turned to Leo, who said, "I must go now." "Alright. Well, at least I finally made up my mind that I love you back!" Eva said as they both laughed. "At long last." Leo said smiling. But his smile soon turned to a frown. "No matter what happens, I will be right by your side." "I know you will." Eva said. And with that, Leo disappeared.
"Whoa. My best friend is a Goddess…and her husband is God…" Lisa marveled. "Heh, I'm just as surprised as you are." Eva said. "You mean to say there were no hints before today that something supernatural was happening to you?!" Kiersten was amazed. "Well, I-" "Your majesty, with all due respect, we better get started. The world is deteriorating at a very rapid pace." Said the President. "Your…majesty?" Eva muttered, as she began to realize all that she would have to get used to again.