When mom showed me the picture, I could see that it was the woman I saw over the bush. It was a religious picture of the mother of Jesus. This confused me a lot. Why would Mary appear to me? I hardly have any relationship with God and I definitely never tried to pray to Mary. The woman in the picture definitely looked like the one I seen above the bush. She also said I would find out who she is when I came home. So now I knew the woman was actually the mother of Jesus. The question was why did she show herself to me?
Mom explained that Mary has been appearing all over the world and usually to Catholic children. She wanted the world to repent and pray, as well as be a better place. The fact was that Mary was supposed to have appeared in hundreds of places. So at some stage, she would have picked Denmark!
" So you believe me that I see her?" I asked
" I believe that you see something" mom answered. " I think you need to visit someone to make sure that you are not hallucinating or your imagination is being overworked."
I suppose I could understand why. None of my friends could see her and it seemed as if I was the only one that could see her. I hope I was not going crazy.
Dad admitted he did not believe in it. He asked why would the mother of Jesus bother showing herself to a boy. Dad also said according to Wikipedia, she always appeared to Catholics. Then why would she appear to a protestant? It just seemed like it would be impossible. He put his hand on my shoulder and said that I should admit now if all this was just a joke. Everyone would have a good laugh and then move on. If this joke continued, then it would not be a joke anymore.
It hurt me that my dad did not believe me. At the same time, I understood him. I told him that I was certain that I saw something. He did not speak to me for the rest of the day.
The next day at school, the boys gathered around me and laughed saying they were happy they did not fall for my trick. I was getting annoyed as I shouted at them that it was not a joke. I did see a woman! The boys had the same reaction as my father. They told me that they did not believe in me. They went as far as to call me an attention seeker. This, of course, upset me as I did not choose to see her. She chose to show herself to me.
The boys seemed mad at me as they thought I would not admit it was a joke. I was alone for the rest of the day. In fact, I was alone for the rest of the week. They were mad at me and would only accept me in the flock if I admitted that the whole thing was an elaborate prank. This was something that I refused to do.
The teacher wanted to speak to me one day.
" I heard the problems you are having with your friends, and that you want them to believe that you saw a ghost" She started
" She is not a ghost."
" That's good that you admit to me there is nothing, but you should also tell your friends"
" Oh you misunderstood me," I explained, " The woman is not a ghost, but we saw a painting of The Virgin Mary, and she looks exactly like her."
" So now you are telling me that you can see the mother of Jesus?"
" I am not sure. I have to ask her"
" Now listen here. This has to stop here. There is no way you are seeing a ghost or anything religious. No one else can see. You told me yourself once that you are not very religious and you are not Catholic. Why would she appear to you?"
" I do not know."
" Then stop this game now. It has already gone too far. I do not want to hear anything more about this!"
I hated it when people told me that I lied. I knew what I saw and now people were telling me to admit that it was just some prank. This would be a lie! I never asked any woman just to appear to me and only me. It would just be easier if I admitted that it was a prank. Then people would be mad at me for a short time, but things would get normal again. I would not have a dad or friends that did not believe me. I would not listen to people saying that I was just seeking attention.
I could admit it, but that would be the lie. I would tell the truth and people would have to believe in me.
Friday came, and I went to the park. I was surprised that a friend was there. He told me that he believed in me and wanted to support me. His grandmother was also there. She told me she was a Catholic, so she could pray if the lady came.
The light started becoming stronger and stronger over the bush. I told them that she was coming, but they could not see anything. This made me sad, but I could see the light become stronger and stronger. The lady finally was there. The grandmother said she could not see anything, but said that she felt the warmth. I explained that the light coming from her was like the sun. The grandmother fell to her knees and started praying. For some reason, I did the same.
We stood there staring at each other.
" My mom found a painting. She was the mother of Jesus. She looked exactly like you!"
" I want you to tell people about me," she said smiling
" Who do I say you are? "
" All will be revealed. Your mom says I look like the mother of Jesus?"
" Yes, are you?"
" Wise woman"
" Even if I do tell them No one believes I can hear or see you! They cannot see you."
" Do not worry, something big will happen so they will know it's me and worship me!"
I didn't respond. I suppose it explained why I was on my knees. The light was slowly fading once again and she kept on telling me to tell others about her and come again next week. Then she was gone.
The grandmother said that she did not see her, but she could feel the presence. She didn't hear the lady speak, but she could hear me speak. My friend was not as convinced as she was. He asked me if it was a prank and he also promised he would not tell others. I told him it was not and started walking home.
When I got home, I told Mom and Dad about the lady. I said that she said mom was wise and she wanted me to tell people about her. Dad just growled and sat in his chair cursing while mom had this worried look. She told me to sit down and told me that I could cause a lot of trouble. In other words, mom said Religion is important for some people. Some of these people will believe in this lady, They will want to believe in her. So if it was a hoax or something with my imagination, it would be so devastating.
Dad reminded us once again that Mary appearing to people is a Catholic thing, and we were not Catholics. He also wondered why she would want people to worship her and not Jesus himself?
I saw an old woman that week, that was a child phycologist. I told her everything and she kept writing in her notebook. In the end, she did not believe me. She told me that it was part of being the X-factor generation. I was doing something that would give me 5 minutes of fame and attention. She explained it was like having an imaginary friend. This lady could be real for me, but it was my brain overworking. I told her this lady was no imaginary friend. She was real.
I was frustrated at everyone. I did not ask for any of this. I did not ask for this lady to show herself to me. I had a happy life before all this started. Now things were getting messed up. Some people thought I was just an attention seeker, while others thought I was going crazy! On top of this, the lady wanted me to visit her and not only that, she wanted me to tell the whole world about her. This was only bound to make things worse. I did not want the attention, as it was so negative!
Friday came and went to the park to see the lady. This time mom said she wanted to come. There were about 50 people there already. A few were kneeling praying while others were just waiting to see what all the rumors were about. A priest was also there. Mom said we could go home but I told her that I made a promise to come, so I walked past all the people and stood before the bush and waited.
I heard people whisper around me asking if I could see something, and I heard some discussion on what was really happening. I suspected that most thought that I was making everything up and they just came to see me get exposed.
The light slowly came and there was a nice warm feeling as the lady slowly appeared and stood there smiling at me. She started by saying that she was happy some people were there, and she knew that in time many more would come. She wanted people to come and worship her. I told her that people did not believe she was there and thought it was all my imagination. I reminded her that we were not even sure who she was.
She smiled and told me that everyone would know who she was when the time was right. She also promised that there would be a sign that would show everyone that this is not just a prank. She looked at me and stretched her arms out as if she wanted to give me a hug and said that she knew it was hard for me, but she promised to give this sign when the time was right.
Then once again the light faded and she went. However as she was going, I could suddenly see some flowers blossom on the bush. They were so beautiful. For some this was enough as most people got to their knees.
I told mom she was gone but smiled at how speechless mom was. I told her the lady promised a huge sign and mom asked was it the flowers suddenly appearing on the bush? I did not know. All I knew is that things would be change and more and more people would come.
Some press was also there and asked me was it the mother of Jesus? Was the world ending? Did she want us to repent? The asked a lot of questions which I had no answer to. The only thing I could say was that she wanted people to pray and worship her. I did not know if the world was ending and why should people repent? I did not know why only I could see her. I did not know why she picked a protestant child to appear to. I told the press that I actually never prayed or read the Bible.
When we got home, Dad was raging mad. He was walking back in the house and cursing and shouting. When mom asked him what the problem was, he shouted that the whole lady thing was in the news. Then he looked at me and asked was I happy now? I managed to get the attention of the whole world. I was making a fool out of the town and our family. He kept on saying that it was in the news and kept asking me was this my plan.
I just sat and said that I knew the lady was real. If this was a prank, how did I do that with the flowers? I was not going to try and convince him or anyone else if she was real or not. It was up to them to believe it or not.
Dad was mad all night and it seemed like nothing could get him to calm down. Even when I was in bed, he came in and told me that I was no longer allowed to go to the park. I tried telling him that I promised the lady to come. I could see that it was a waste of time. Dad made up his mind.
It was not just Dad, it was also my friends at school. They continued to tease me and told me they were not falling for my prank.
Friday came and despite mom trying to plead for Dad to let me go, he was determined that I should not leave the house. I felt bad that I could not keep a promise.
Then mom turned on the TV. it was live from the park. The newscaster said that it was full of people, but I was not there. The time came when the lady usually appeared but I was of course not there.
"Something strange is happening here." the news reporter said, " William, the young boy is not here and unknown where he is. There is also something going on that is not normal. Inside the park is now totally dark and it is like it is night there. There is hailstone and thunder and lightning. The strange thing is that I am standing outside the park gate, and it is like a great summer day. If I walk through the gate, it is dark and like I am in a dark storm. The people here are starting to panic, asking where the young boy is. Police have been called in, as the situation here is very tense."
Mom looked at Dad and said now it was her time to decide. This was obviously not just a prank. I had to go. So she rushed and drove me to the park.
It was true. It was a sunny day, but when I went into the park, it was dark and raining and there were hailstones that hurt as they fell. There were so many people that were on their knees praying for salvation.
When I stood before the bush, the darkness and storm weather stopped and it was suddenly like a summer day. The lady appeared.
" I am glad you came," she said
" I am sorry, but my Dad would not allow me."
" He will be no problem anymore. I want people to pray to me and worship me."
" Who do I tell them you are?"
" Just say I am Madonna! The time is soon here."
She went as she usually did and I looked at all the people. They were all asking what she said. I told them that the lady wants them to pray and worship her. She said time was nearly here for something. I also told them that her name was Madonna. When I said this, they fell to their knees and started praying.
On the way home, I asked mom if Madonna was not an old singer on the radio. Mom smiled and then went serious, saying that Madonna was often a name given to Mary, mother of Jesus.
ns 15.158.61.54da2
