It was a dark time in history.  The world had been
destroyed in the holocaust.  The Apocalypse had come
and wiped out almost all living creatures great and
small.  A few charred remains of plants lay strewn
about near the decaying bones of animals caught in the
wrath of fury that had befallen the land.  A few
thousand terrified inhabitants survived the terrible
horror by hiding beneath the earth in mines and caves
by rationing out the food they had managed to smuggle
with them.  But, they were without hope, barely
holding on to their lives, and soon, they too, wouldperish.
   One man saw the impending death of his compatriots and
friends.  One stormy night he withdrew from the mine
he had spent the past few years to survey what was
left of his beautiful homeland.  The darkness of the
night impaired his vision, but the intermittent
flashes of lightning revealed enough.  He stood
motionlessly, his eyes darting rapidly looking for
some semblance of life.  He walked frantically about
searching feverishly for something to renew his hope
that his home would recover from the tragedy.  Hours
and hours passed, yet he continued his search.  Alas,
there was not a single thing left.  His willpower was
beginning to diminish.  A single tear began to well up
in his eye.  It slowly crept down his face, leaving a
clear streak on his dirt stained cheek.  It tumbled to
the ground splashing coldly on the hard dead ground.
The man sighed and turned to leave for home when he
felt something brush against his leg.  He slowly
turned his head to the ground to find a small green
plant beginning to flourish from beneath his feet.
His lips parted and tears of joy began to pour from
his eyes.  They would flow like a storming river down
his face and crash to the ground like waves against
the shore.  Soon, he found himself standing in a small
garden.  Puzzled he searched for the answer to thismiracle riddle.
"It is you……," came a voice.
He jerked around looking frantically for the source of
the voice and hoping for an answer to what wastranspiring.
"It is you, child.  Your unsurpassed love for the land
and your dying people enables the world to  flourish
once again by your touch. The magic is strong within
your tears for they are the physical embodiment of
your love.  But, they are only a small morsel of the
power that lies within your soul.  You must now make a
decision.  I can help you unleash the greatness you
possess, but you will no longer be a part of the
people you seek to save.  You will become much more
and you will be their savior."
After a long pause, he sums up his courage and cries,
"You have not let me with a choice. I cannot allow my
people and my world to perish.  It is my duty to save
them even if it means I cannot be a part of them.
Teach me, allow me to help them.  For, by helping
them, I will become a part of them!"
A searing light streamed forth engulfing the Savior.
Intense pain overcame him to the point of numbing his
entire body.  The pain slowly ebbed away and he was
surrounded in a beautiful white aura.  Strange
feelings came over his body and visions of his old
world flashed through his head.  He closed his eyes
and fell into a state of nirvana at the reminiscing.
Alas, the memories drifted and he opened his eyes once
more.  The entire land around him had grown and
flourished!  Trees sprouted from the earth that looked
to be hundreds of years old.  A canopy above let in
patches of light from the sun.  Small shrubs covered
the ground around his feet.  Even the chirping of
birds in the trees and sounds of wild life echoedthrough the land.
"You see," came the voice, "You have power beyond that
imaginable. You are the savior of the world and the
keeper of hope.  Your love for everything has
conquered the hatred that befell this land.  Your
people will thrive and rebuild their lifestyle.
Henceforth, you shall watch over them and keep the
harmony between them and nature.  And they will know
you only as their Savior and they shall call you, Dryden.