Carter's Illusion of Paradise

        Hi, this is Carter. Kat isn’t feeling too good, so she asked me to do her blog tonight. I told her that I would if she corrected my spelling and stuff before posting it.
        I have been following Kat’s blog, so I know what she has been telling you about our adventures.  She wanted me to talk about what happened to me in Paradise City. I’m not proud of how I acted there. As we traveled through Dearth, the dark land beyond the dead forest, we suffered many hardships and faced many terrifying dangers. So when I came to Paradise City, I thought it was Heaven! I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life. I had never tasted water so sweet or eaten food as delicious as I had in Paradise. And no matter how much I drank or ate, I never felt full. In fact there was always a twinge of hunger and thirst so that whenever you wanted something to eat or drink, you could consume as much as you wanted. 
        The apartments Kat and I stayed in were full of luxuries, entertainments, and rich refreshments. Oh yeah, the view from my balcony overlooking Paradise was breathtaking. When I first saw it, I literally stopped breathing.  The buildings were the most unusual designs and glowing with bright, beautiful colors. I could see parks, amusements, and wonders I cannot even describe. There was so much to explore so many things to experience and enjoy! I was filled with wonder and excitement, greedy to take it all in. I mean, who wouldn’t?
        Well, Kat wasn’t as sold as I was. She wanted to talk about finishing our quest. She wouldn’t stop bringing up the prophesy that some thought might involve us. She was so annoying. I didn’t want to leave Paradise. It was everything I ever imagined Heaven to be. I was done with prophecies and quests; even going home didn’t matter to me anymore. 
        Our first and last night in Paradise, Kat and I quarreled over dinner.  After eating bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, toast, and hash brown potatoes covered in ketchup, I ordered two extra-large meat pizzas. I ate both of them myself, and then I ate three hot fudge sundaes. Kat watched me eat all that food and finally got fed up with my attitude, and stormed out of the dining area declaring that she was going to bed.
        Talk about a buzz kill, but it was for the best. That was the first step in my wake up call. The second happened when I saw out of the corner of my eye a hideous, fleshless skeleton walking toward me. I nearly jumped out of my skin. But when I turned toward the skeleton, all I saw was my waitress bringing another pizza. When she saw that I was startled, I tried to explain that since I hadn’t ordered the pizza, that she just caught me by surprise. But she did not seem convinced, and her attitude turned cold and suspicious.
        I didn’t want the pizza she brought, but I decided to eat it and see if I could catch the vision of the skeleton again.  I had to know if it was my imagination or if there was something really wrong going on. When it happened again, I went to Kat’s room and told her what I had seen. Then it occurred to us that if the staff were not what they appeared to be then nothing in Paradise was what it appeared to be. It was all an illusion to keep us deluded and distracted until we died of thirst and hunger. It was a trap set by the Adversary to keep us from completing our quest.
        Whenever I think that I let the temptations of that illusion almost keep me from true paradise, I cannot help but think that our world is filled with all sorts of temptations that promise so much, but they are empty promises the Adversary uses to keep people occupied until their spirits starve to death and they miss true paradise.
        Even though I am not proud of how I acted in Paradise City, I am glad that I was able to learn from it and escape before it was too late. Is there something you need to escape from that is keeping you from completing your true purpose in life? I hope that you didn’t miss Kat too much. She should be back next week.