About Nothing (a fictional story)

The little girl woke up to find God sitting on the end of her bed.  No-one really knows what god looks like, but the little girl didn't know that yet, so she saw him very clearly.  She was a bit drowsy, but being an inquisitive little thing, at heart she asked, "What am I made of?"

God looked thoughtful for a second, and said "nothing"

"How can I be made of nothing?" she exclaimed a little indignantly.

"Nothing, has nothing, no boundaries, it never stops, it's huge.  Anything is possible if you have enough nothing.  Look at nothing out of the corner of your eye, and you can always find something, even if it is just a trick of the light"

"So I'm not really here?"

"You're here because you think you are."

"So.....if I think I'm not here, will I disappear?"

"If you're thinking you're not here, you're still thinking and so you're still here."

"Yes, but if I completely forget!"

"Will mummy forget you"

"No"

"Daddy"

She had to think about that one. "Only for a little bit, when he's really busy."

"The woman who smiled at you yesterday?"

"I don't think, so she looked really nice."

"So, you'll still be here."

"Right, so if I want to live forever, I simply have to be remembered"

"Sort of"

She looked him straight in the eye "God is supposed to know everything!" she said firmly

"Sometimes people remember that another person has died, and then it gets complicated, but you can live as long as you want to."

"So what if I think I'm somewhere else?"

"I watch you when you are playing, you go all over the place, all the time"

"So everything is just pretend?"

"Yes, it's called an illusion"

"So, why don't people notice?"

"They know that if they see the illusion for what it is, the magic is gone"

"Most people don't believe in magic"  She had been frustrated enough times by this, to know what she was talking about.

"Yes they do, the magic of more, more money, more things"

"So if the illusion disappears, then all their money disappears?"

"They see it for what it is, nothing"

"But you said you could do anything, with enough nothing"

"You can, but most people don't see it that way, every-one wants something, and so nothing is a scary thing, but when you see through the illusion, then you see how it is done, and when you see how it is done, then you can do it"

"So I can make my own illusion?"

"Yes"

"Can mummy come too?" she asked warily

"God took the little girl in his arms, "As long as you want something, even your mummy, then you don't want nothing, and you can't see through the illusion"

She was a very practical girl, and beginning to feel very sleepy.  "I think, I would like to stay with mummy, thank you"

God sat silently as the little girl drifted back to sleep. Then he whispered softly, "Wanting mummy, is a lovely reason to stay in the illusion, for now, and when you are older, you can tell all the people who want so many other things, about the day you talked to God.

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