I had a dream.  In my dream, I was on a fast-moving bus. The bus had no driver, no passenger and it was dark – inside and outside of the bus. I had no idea where the bus was headed, but I knew instinctively that I shouldn’t be on the bus. So I started…

I had a dream. 

In my dream, I was on a fast-moving bus. The bus had no driver, no passenger and it was dark – inside and outside of the bus. I had no idea where the bus was headed, but I knew instinctively that I shouldn’t be on the bus. So I started shouting, desperate to get off.

For a while nothing happened, the bus kept going while I continued to scream until suddenly it stopped and I was able to get down. Then it sped off, leaving me in an unknown, dark place. I looked up and down the road to discover there was nothing. There were no buildings, no cars, no trees, or animals … not a sign of life in sight, except me. I had no phone or money or anything, save the clothes and shoes I had on. 

I was all alone.

Scared beyond reason but determined to survive, I decided to walk in the opposite direction of the bus. Surely there had to be a bus-stop somewhere, a station, a shop … some of kind of life … But I found myself walking for a long time, till I started to faint. I soon realized that it was an endless walk. It led nowhere. 

I was going to die walking endlessly. I didn’t want to die.

Then I started to cry. I really didn’t want to die. I wasn’t sure why I wanted to live, but I knew I didn’t want to die. I collapsed onto the ground and wept. 

How did I get here?

How can I get out?

From nowhere, I heard my name. It was a whisper, very still yet I still heard it. It wasn’t exactly a voice, more like the wind blowing my name into my ears. It was scary and soothing at the same time. It was weird. I looked up and down but saw no one.

“Say my name,” the voice said and I did. 

I didn’t even know how I knew the name to say but I said the name. People had talked about this name a lot and how it had helped them in trouble. So I mouthed what was engraved in my memory, not sure if it was correct; not sure if it would work. 

But it worked.

A red bus, with the brightest light I had ever seen, suddenly sped past, illuminating the whole place. In shock, I said the name again, and another red bus sped past. Both buses had been on the other side of the road. I said the name again and another bus drove past.

I jumped to my feet, crossed to the other side of the road and started to run after the buses. As I ran, I shouted the name on top of my lungs and more red buses kept coming. They all turned into another road, a road I didn’t even know existed. And this road was lit! It was brightly lit and busy. Buses plowed it endlessly. They were all red, but they weren’t stopping. 

I said the name but nothing happened. The buses still wouldn’t stop. I ran and ran, screaming after each bus until I was tired. Out of fatigue, I shouted the name and “Please help me”, and the unbelievable happened. A bus suddenly stopped ahead of me.

I ran to the bus, breathless, exhausted but relieved. There was a driver but I couldn’t see his face. When I looked through the window, I was shocked to discover that the bus was full of people. Everyone was seated, their faces bright and happy. They were happy to see me. But the door won’t open. I turned to the driver, confused.

He looked at me, a smile on his face as he said: “You need your password to open the door.”

I said the name. 

The door didn’t open.

I said the name and “Please help me”.

Nothing 

Then the passengers inside, laughing started to chant the password.

“Jesus saved me!”

“Jesus saved me!”

“Jesus saved me!”

So I recited their chants and the door opened.

I got on, suddenly overcome by my emotions, even as everyone else cheered. I was so grateful, I started to cry again.

“Welcome onboard to Bus Jesus Saved Me. We are excited to have you here. Here is your seat, sit tight! It’s going to be an exciting ride from here on!” The driver announced, even as I cried.

I woke up crying.