I see you
“This is anonymous, right?”
The man with the recorder smiled. Of course, it was. That was the only reason she had agreed to do the interview. There were no cameras, no one else in her tiny apartment. So why was she nervous?
“Could you repeat the question, please?” What was his name again? Charles. Or was it Ben?
He leaned into the chair.
“God as a protector, fact or fantasy?”
Mansa squeezed her fingers.
“I believe he has the power to protect. I’m just not a hundred percent certain he would do it every single time.”
“Based on what?”
“His current record.”
He scribbled into his notepad. “So, you’re saying that if you found yourself in a car that was headed for, say, a head-on collision, you believe there’s a possibility that God would let you die.”
Mansa exhaled. “He could.” “If he did it before, he can do it again, right? Unchanging God and all that.”
She wiped a hand over her mouth. Her mother would kill her.
“You’ve been a Christian all your life. This has always been your belief?”
“Oh no.” She laughed. “There was a time that I was absolutely sure I would defy all the odds because I had a supreme being in my corner.”
“I see.” He pursed his lips. “What happened?”
She shrugged. “Life. You see people like yourself get taken down by supposedly powerless forces and you just … it makes you wonder.”
“You wonder if everything your Sunday school teacher told you is true.”
“Exactly. Don’t get me wrong. I believe in God. It’s just that a lot of the things don’t work out the way he said they would.”
He shut the book. “Say I pulled a gun on you right now, and an angel appeared out of nowhere, knocked my teeth out. Would that restore your faith, even a little bit?”
She turned to him. “I’m sorry. If I actually saw an angel with my own eyes, yes. Yes, I would believe.”
But that was never going to happen. All she could continue to go to church on Sundays, evangelize and lead prayers. However long that would take.
The man got out of the chair, tucking the book into his bag.
“You’re opening your restaurant tomorrow night, correct?”
“Yes!” She could barely contain her excitement. ” I hope you pass by.” I hope someone passes by. No. She wasn’t going to be negative. A lot of work had gone into planning this opening. It was going to be a success.
“Please, pass by.”
He laughed. “I’ve seen your posters. It’s going to be great. I won’t miss it.”
She unlocked her door and sunlight streamed in.
“Thanks for doing this, Mansa.”
“Not a problem.” Charles.
“And don’t forget, if you ever experience a life or death situation, call and let me know how it went.”
Mansa proffered her hand and he took it. “If I live to tell about it.”
He smiled.
“Yeah. If you live to tell about it.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The man they called Virus had killed before. Once. Of his many sins, it was the one that haunted him every waking day. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t erase the memories. They stayed, feeding a conscience he had been oblivious to, all his life. That’s why he needed the drugs. They helped him think. Focus. Now his thoughts were everywhere.
He’d been clean for three weeks; since they let him out of hell. No drugs. No blood on his hands. Nothing. Three weeks was a long time. They said it was a victory, a sign he was on his way to a new life. He had started to believe it himself.
But now, Hades was here.
The man leaning against his door was blowing smoke into the night’s air. Hades. It was dark outside his grandmother’s house. The light bulb had blown out days ago. He should have fixed it. He was going to fix it. But he didn’t need any light to recognize the man who had turned him into a killer.
Hades dropped the cigarette and pushed himself off the door. He had told him to stay away. Told him he was done. But seeing him now, it brought back the memories.
He stopped a few feet away and slotted both hands into his black jeans. “You’re late.”
Virus pulled at the hairs on the back of his hand.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“That’s no way to greet a friend.”
“Why are you here?”
Hades smiled.
“I found her.”
It took a few blinks for his brain to process. But then it did.
“You found her.”
He nodded.
Virus looked past Hades, to the his home. The familiar voices reached him, tugged on something in his chest. And yet …
He met his pointed stare.
“Show me.”
.
.
.
Thanks for visiting. 🙂 I’m presently in a writing slump, struggling to complete my second novel. This is a work in progress from last year. Hopefully, digging into it will kick-start something. Fingers crossed.
