“But why me? I’m just a kid. I can’t save the world,” Ayvah said back to God.


“Your age matters not. You have a deep compassion for people. Your heart is forgiving, and you embody the love I expect from all my children. What you lack in age, you make up for in character. I see the hearts, minds, and spirits of every living being that dwells within my creation. Do not fear, do not worry. I will be with you, and I shall order your steps. I must save my children. I can no longer sit idly by and watch them destroy themselves, for I am unwilling to send my son, Yeshua, once again. You shall be the cleanse the world needs,” God said to Ayvah.


“But what about my dad? What do I do? How do I save the entire world? That doesn’t even sound right,” Ayvah asked.


“You now have the power and wisdom to see things as I see them. You no longer operate in the physical. Do not be alarmed when you see your mother and others. You will only see spirits just as they will be in Heaven or Hell. You will come to recognize everyone as they are in their physical appearance. As far as your father, do not worry about him. Everything shall be clear. In 3 days, I will tell you where you shall go and what you shall do,” God said.


“But wait,” Ayvah called out. 


God did not respond.


Lynn came back into the house and went to Ayvah’s room.


Ayvah was still freaked out, but what God said became clear to her. She saw only a glowing aura but felt the peace radiating from her mom’s spirit. After adjusting, Lynn became increasingly recognizable. Ayvah quickly learned she could see a person’s spirit before their physical appearance became recognizable.


“What’s wrong with you? Why are you looking at me like that?” Lynn asked.


“Uhh, like what?” Ayvah replied, trying to cover up what she knew to be a crazy look.


“Like you don’t recognize me,” Lynn said.


“Oh, I was just half asleep, that’s all. I got bored with no internet to entertain me. What did the neighbors say?” Ayvah asked.


“They are having the same issue. No cell service at all. There must be some national outage for all cell phone companies. They don’t even have who we have and are having issues,” said Lynn.


“You think we will still have our tournament?” Ayvah asked.


“I mean, that’s like 3 days from now. I’m sure this will be resolved by then. At least we still have TV to look at. Oh, maybe I can read that book that your dad got from that guy at the store,” Lynn said.


“What book? The Leaving Heaven one? By Shadrick Holloway?” Ayvah asked.


“How do you know?” Asked Lynn.


“I took it and have been reading it. It’s really good,” Ayvah said.


“Oh, ok. Have you finished it?” Lynn asked.


“Yep. You’ll like it,” Ayvah said.


“Okay, cool. I’ll read that, then. Look at you, kiddo. I’m so proud of you,” Lynn said. 


She closed Ayvah’s door, went into the front room to grab the book off the shelf, and began reading it. 


Ayvah eventually fell asleep. She only slept an hour as it was still early in the day.


Three days had passed, and still no one could use their phones.


“Dang, still? What is going on?” Lynn turned on the television to check the news reports. As soon as she turned on the news, she found them talking about the cell phone issue.


“In other news, if you are trying to make a call or send that text, and it isn’t working, you are not alone. Our own Tom Finch is outside one of the local carrier stores to give us more on this ongoing issue. Tom,” said the broadcaster.


“Thank you, Jim. Now, for about 3 days, no one has had any cell service. All cell towers, including 6G, are down. This is a nationwide issue for all carriers; no one knows its cause. As you can see, I’ve moved across the street from the local carrier store behind me because the people have begun to break into the store. Some say that some employees showed up for their shift, but after seeing more and more people show up and begin banging on the windows and door, they soon left in fear of their safety,” Tom reported.


Police sirens filled the background. Tom turned around to see the chaos ensue. The cameraman fixated on the scene. Police by the dozens showed up to try and control the mob. While some complied and began to leave, others stayed behind and continued to cause a ruckus. A fight broke out, and there were multiple gunshots fired shortly thereafter. The camera saw the whole thing. Tom and the cameraman quickly exited the scene to get to safety.


The feed cut back to Jim in the studio. 


“Tom? Tom? Are you ok? Tom?” Jim asked.


Tom never responded.


“We are terribly sorry about the graphic footage just witnessed. We will go to this quick commercial break and come back with an update,” Jim said as the news went to an emergency commercial break.


“Oh my god!” Lynn screamed at the TV.


Ayvah ran out of her room to see what was wrong. “What’s wrong with you?”


“Under no circumstances are you leaving this house. No games, no tournament, no nothing,” Lynn said.


“Why? What happened?” Ayvah got a little afraid of how her mom was acting.


“I don’t know what this world is coming to. These people are breaking into stores. So apparently, there is a national outage, and these folks are not having it. Police showed up, and people were shot. It’s just crazy.” Lynn said.


“What? No,” Ayvah replied. She was disheartened.


The news report came back from commercial break. Ayvah sat down with Lynn to watch.


“And we are back. We did manage to get back in contact with Tom. He’s ok and safe. Tom, are you there, brother?” Jim asked.


“Yeah, Jim, I’m here. We are whole and in one piece. I tell you what, that was the craziest thing I think I’ve ever seen. There were definitely multiple people shot. The crowd has dispersed, and ambulances and firetrucks are on the scene. One can only wonder how many others are affected around the United States. In the grand scheme of things, that is a scary thought,” Tom said.


Lynn got teary-eyed. She had been trying to be strong. Ayvah felt her mom and her thoughts racing about JD. 


“He’s still with us. He isn’t gone yet. Dad’s tough,” Ayvah said to her mom.