“What a luxury” I said to myself out loud

That happened to catch the attention of a daughter and her mother sitting on the same bench as me.

“Mommy that man is talking to himself” the little girl said

“Come here” the mother said as she switched seats with her daughter

I glanced at them quickly, mother had on a purple bubble coat and tan timberland boots. Safe to say if I made any sudden moves I’ll get fucked up. I couldn’t help but think what aura I was giving off. A man in his 20s but looks like he’s in his 30s, dirty pants where the bottom meets the shoe. Not even to mention I was at the laundromat in the middle of the day instead of earning a living. My chest suddenly had an ocean in it, and inevitably my heart began drowning. Through the blurry eyes I looked up at a mirror and my smile was the farthest from sincere. The one you give a elderly person at night time to let them know you’re not a threat, yeah that one.

It was the middle of the day, but to be honest I had nowhere to go. That, I decided a couple weeks ago when I sold the solid gold watch. I looked around and saw 3 people, each with a mind of their own, ages from 17 maybe all the way up to mid 60s.

I looked at my hands and I could see my finger nail poking through the cotton gloves. I had these since a teenager, if that boy could look at me now. Never mind that.

I looked up and the woman that came in a minute ago came and sat next to me. She gave me a glance and a smile, at that, my mind became heavy.

“What an odd thing to do” I said to myself out loud

“Excuse me?” she said looking directly into my eyes

“Oh, I guess I said that was odd”

Her eyebrows creased and the wrinkles near her eyes were more prominent but again she didn’t stop smiling

“Did I do something odd? I don’t understand”

“Well you’re not from here.” I said sitting back in my chair and crossing my feet. “We don’t smile at each other, that’s for countries with free healthcare like Denmark or something.”

She stared at me with the same face for what seemed like a good 15 seconds. After that, she looked straight ahead and said: “It could be worse”

“How?”

“You could be a Knicks fan” she said

I looked at her. I could tell you even now that not a bone in my body felt she was joking.

I suddenly began to feel cold so I pulled up my sleeves and goosebumps were forming. Outside the window of the laundromat the snow was piling up blocking the glass.

I stood up and grabbed my bag off the floor but as I was about to leave I felt eyes on me. I looked at the woman and she said: “Be careful out there, there’s gonna be a blizzard tonight that will last a week”

“Thanks for the forecast but I’m not in a rush to go anywhere anytime soon.”

I walked outside and there was a dog tied to the pole, shivering, and looking up at me. I walked right past it into the parking lot. I could hear my footsteps crushing the snow beneath my sneakers, I was outside for less than a minute and my toes and hands already started feeling numb. But the bag of warm clothes in my hand was burning a hole through my mind. The only thing I could think of was getting into my van and cooking a pot of ramen noodles.

I walked to where my van was supposed to be but the parking spot was empty.

“A week long blizzard huh” I said to myself out loud

Share

The night I died I met God. The first thing I told Him was there will be no reconciliation with the people I knew on earth. There is not a single drop of forgiveness in my heart.

He got up from His throne, took off His crown revealing the scars where the thorns pierced him and stood in front of me.

“Heaven is communion, if you don’t desire to be with the people you spent your earthly life with… then who?” He said

“I want to be with the people just like me” I said

I blinked and when I opened my eyes again—I was in hell.

Dear God, 

Pardon me for taking up your time for I am poor and needy. You are my help and my deliverer, you are the God. I tried to do it my way without your help. I failed every time. The reason I eat every day is because you supply me with manna, and most importantly mercy.

I’m humbly coming to you for wisdom. Basically, I met this woman. Her name is Rebecca but her friends call her Becca. I’m sure you heard of her, of course, she’s your creation, made in your image. The problem isn't whether you two have heard of each other, it’s a matter of relationship. Do you know her intimately? Can you answer that for me?

I met her at this wine tasting event which is funny because you, God, know a thing or two about good wine. 

While I was at the event a bottle of French wine caught my eye, it was affordable too. A Bordeaux Superior if I recall. I asked the man behind the table for a sample. I’m sure you know him, he’s a brother like me. I mean, I think he is. He has a tattoo of a cross under his right eye.

Anywho, I’m getting off topic. As soon as I drank the wine my stomach rumbled and my head started pounding. The brother immediately noticed, I don’t know how, you know me, I have an impressive poker face but he took one good look at me and said:

“Rookie mistake drinking on an empty stomach. Go eat something gang, there’s a food stand over there”

That’s when she appeared! She was wearing these blue 501 Levi’s, a brown leather jacket, brown penny loafers, and gold hoop earrings. Her hair is short and wavy, it’s in a pixie cut. She has these siren eyes, the type that look right through you, honey brown, just like her skin. Her first words to me were:

“Here, have my burger, I’m not hungry"

She said this while shoving the burger in my mouth, it was more like a command than a suggestion. After I took a bite she practically forced water down my throat. Now Lord, I know you blessed me with enough wisdom than that. I know, I know. I shouldn’t have taken food from a stranger. But sometimes I have no sense. Well, I already ate the food so I decided to make the best out of an awkward situation.

“That’s strange” I said

“What do you mean?” She said with curiosity and a hint of an attitude.

“God clearly sent me an angel but I don’t see wings. You didn’t even tell me to not be afraid.”

“Boy please” she said while laughing

I got game huh God? Alright maybe not, but hey, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.

I took a glance at the brother behind the table and he had that look on his face that my older brother used to give me. Eyebrows raised and a smile holding back a laugh. I thanked him for the wine and then continued to talk to Rebecca.

We talked about all types of things. Like what brought her to the event, what we did for work, even our taste in music. I remember all the details, let me put you on. So, she came to this event because she has a blog and this week's article was about fun things to do in the city. She has been a fashion photographer and a writer since she was 18. She understated her success but I can tell she’s a hustler. She said her favorite music is 90’s RnB, she said she likes “Filling her soul and mind with love not hatred.” When she was saying this I couldn’t help but think “What’s more love filling than love Himself.”

She asked me the same questions, I told her I was here to experience something new, something luxurious, who knew that something would be her company. When she asked me what I did for a living I told her I was a servant for my adopted Father. A little inside joke between us. Between me and you God, I thought this would turn her off but her aura remained unchanged. I also told her I like neo-soul, she said that is a close second to her.

We are meeting again this week and well, I was wondering if you sent her? Either way I trust you to guide me.

Thank you for the blessings you already gave me to steward and thank you for staying with me through the trials.

I would offer you everything I have but I know you have no interest in earthly wealth. So I will just say: “God bless you God” for what greater gift is there for the creator of the universe to bless Himself.

-Love you 

From your adopted son Isaac  

I looked around. To my left were my comrades lying face down struggling to breathe and clutching their chest. To my right? The same thing. The pressure from his presence turned the gravity heavy and visible, tiny static dots filled my vision like film grain. Yet—I was still standing.

“Why is this human still standing?” A dark & thunderous voice spoke. “Kneel” he commanded.

I couldn’t help myself, I really couldn’t. Looking back on it, that's where it started. Apparently, they are experts at manipulating, in producing insecurity. In producing rage. And deadly of all—producing disobedience. Knowing this I still smiled and said:

“Over 4.5 billion years and you still haven’t learned your place.” As I said this, I looked down at an associate of mine cowering pathetically in the dirt. 

The battlefield was falling apart and the sky was red. Monsters, yeah I guess I can call them that, monster corpses covered the earth. The same ones I alone killed just moments before. Now their leader was here. I would say his name but I don’t believe a man made in the Father image should lack such etiquettecy.

I took a deep breath and exhaled about 3 times, raising my palms higher & lower as the air filled my lungs. I replaced his pressure with mine. I looked over at the demon who was once in the Garden of Eden and safe to say he was pissed off. As the pressure he exerted was replaced with my calm but firm grip on reality my associates were able to stand. 

“We’ll see you when you're done. I’ll personally bring the ship around brother.” The first lieutenant said to me, I guess that was all that needed to be said. I mean, I thought about saying something witty but I realized I forgot his name.

The demon walked toward me as the group of men retrieved the ship. The ground shook as he stepped, forming craters under his feet. Juvenile. When he reached me and we were standing face to face, his disfigured features and red skin prominent with the light of my blazing sword. He had to be at least 8 feet. I—standing 5’8. He leaned forward and extended his neck to where his face was almost touching mine and with his hands on his hips he growled:

“You humans. First Adam all the way down to Judas. They all fell to my hand, shaped by my influence. Why do you think you’re any better?”

I took a second to examine him. “Damn, up close you’re nothing special. Were you really that full of yourself that you thought you could replace my adopted Father?”

“Are you really that full of yourself that you think you could defeat me?” he said through a grin. “Believe me, you’re no Jesus or Micheal.”

“Don’t let my height fool you. You saw what David did to the abominations you created. I am greater than he.” I said with a grin 

He threw the first punch. Safe to say the fight was over before the laborers came back with the ship. I was home within 2 minutes. Not a scratch on me.

Now there was a professor who had two students. One an A+ student, the other an F student. The professor, as keen as he was, couldn’t figure out why one student retained the wisdom he bestowed & the other, well, he wasn’t. So the professor watched the two and wrote down their differences.

First, the professor called the A+ student parents and asked to meet with them during office hours. When the parents and student arrived they discussed not his grades, not his future academic plans, but instead, his personal life outside of school. Aestiva scholé if you will. The student explained that he spent his time with his friends whom he cherished. He explained how they would talk about what they learned that week, what they were grateful for, and what they can improve on. When the professor asked whether he would find his time more enjoyable partying at clubs the student replied: “My friends wouldn’t accompany me to places like that.”

Concluding his findings in the first student he called the second student and his parents. When they met, again, they discussed not his grades or his plans for the future, but his personal life. Pyrochronos if you will. The student spent a huge amount of his time with his friends as well, but, what they did was talk about celebrity gossip and scrolling on social media. The student said “I get bored, and I try to change what we do. But they always say my ideas are lame. So we just do the same routine everyday”

When the professor got back to his house he reported his findings. He wrote down: “Can you blame a seed for failing to grow in concrete?”