Easter is not just about the candy, people

Maggie looked around in awe. She didn't think it would actually work, but it had. "Jon? Stephanie? Hannah?" she called out, trying to see through the crowd. No one answered, and that fact troubled her. She took a deep breath and took in her surroundings a bit more. She was on a busy road with people and animals all around her. The air smelled like a farm with too many people working on it mixed with a sweet smell she couldn't identify. Upon further inspection, she realized she was in an outdoor market of sorts.

"Out of the way, child!" a woman yelled, pushing Maggie towards a stand with some sort of pastry being sold on it. It was then that Maggie realized she was hardly dressed for the time and place she was at. She was wearing her t-shirt, shorts, and Crocs, while everyone here wore a long coat over what she thought to be a very boring dress. She knew where she was, she just hadn't expected to be there.

"Baklava, child?" a voice asked her from behind. Maggie turned around to look and realized the speaker was a rather round man with a beard and hair that shrouded his whole face. Maggie glanced down at the pastry he was holding out to her and shook her head.

"No, thank you," she said softly. She began moving down the street, keeping an eye out for her friends. Eventually, she walked far enough to come to a quieter part of the city. She stopped and sighed, thinking about how hot and thirsty she was here. There were trees here and there, but mostly the surroundings consisted of brick houses (and not the type of brick she was accustomed to) and sand.

"So, this is Israel, huh?" Maggie murmured to herself, looking around again. Suddenly, two women came running down the road towards her. Following them a little ways was a young girl...wearing a pink tank-top and shorts. "Hannah!" Maggie yelled, running past the two woman and up to Hannah.

"Maggie, I just saw the COOLEST thing EVER!!" Hannah exclaimed. She was easily excited, so Maggie didn't think whatever it was could possibly be that spectacular.

"Yeah, what was that?" Maggie asked as the two continued walking in the direction Hannah had been running.

"An angel! A real, live angel!" Hannah exclaimed and Maggie stopped right in the middle of the road.

"What?" she asked, unable to comprehend this piece of information.

"I was just at the tomb, and the stone was all rolled away, and there was an angel there that told the women to go and tell the disciples that He's risen, just like He said!" Hannah was practically bouncing with excitement, now. "We have to keep going, come on!" Maggie began running along side her friend, wishing she had been there to see such a thing.

"Hey, have you seen Jon or Stephanie?" Maggie asked, panting, as they turned a corner.

"Stephanie stayed behind with the other Mary, but I haven't seen Jon." Hannah replied quickly. They caught sight of the two women just as they entered one of the many stone buildings. They ran up to one of the windows and crouched outside of it.

"The stone was rolled away, and an angel was there, telling us that He's risen!" one of the women said.

"What?" the voice of a man asked in disbelief.

"I saw it too, I did!" the other woman exclaimed. There was the sound of people and things moving around before the door burst open again. A man ran out and down the street where the women had just come from, followed shortly by another man, who was followed by a boy in shorts and a t-shirt.

"Jon!" Maggie gasped. "Come on!" she said, chasing after them. She and Hannah followed the two men until they came to a stop in front of a cave with an enormous stone next to it. Jon stood behind the two men, staring up at the tomb. Maggie couldn't help but stare as well. Hannah bent down to the ground and picked up a small rock. She threw the rock at Jon's back, hitting him.

"Ow!" the two girls heard him say as he spun around. Jon saw Maggie and Hannah and ran over to them without the men noticing. They were going into the tomb, anyways.

"I wondered where you two were..." Jon said, frowning at them.

"I was thinking the same thing, big brother." Maggie said with a smile. "Now all we need to find is-"

"Psst!" the three kids turned to see another girl standing behind a tree a ways away. Their faces lit up as they dashed towards her.

"Stephanie!" Hannah said, hugging her older sister.

"Yeah, nice to see you too," Stephanie said, untangling herself from the hug. "You are not going to believe what I saw!"

"An angel?" Maggie asked.

"Who said Jesus had risen from the dead?" Jon finished. Stephanie's happy expression faded for a moment.

"Guess what else I saw..." she said, lowering her voice. The three other kids leaned in a little closer. "I saw Him! Jesus!" she whispered excitedly.

"No. Way." Hannah said, her eyes widening. Stephanie nodded so hard it looked like her head just might fall off of her shoulders.

"He is risen..." Jon breathed. Maggie's mind spun. She wanted to see the angel, the look on the disciple's faces when they heard the news, but most of all...she wanted to see Jesus. Instead, she had been saying no to baklava, whatever that was... She blinked her eyes a few times to hold back the tears she suddenly felt there.

"Are you okay, Maggie?" Hannah asked. Maggie nodded quickly, looking away. The two men were now exiting the tomb and running back to the city from where they had come.

"Should we go back with them?" Jon asked.

"I guess so," Stephanie said in reply. The group began following after the two men, but Maggie lagged behind. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffed. Why did she always miss the exciting things?

"Worry not, child," Maggie heard a voice behind her for the second time today and wondered if she was about to be offered more baklava. "You are blessed, because even though you do not see me, you still believe I am here." Maggie's eyes widened and she spun around. No one was there. She glanced down and saw, on the ground, a square of baklava sitting on a small piece of paper. She picked up the two things and put the paper in her pocket, then proceeded to put the baklava in her mouth. As she began tracing the footsteps of her friends, she decided she liked baklava...

And she most certainly liked finding out that He had, indeed, risen from the grave.