The church

A life between two worlds the one of darkness and the one of light

Joseph sits on the bench in front of a very striking church. How beautiful did the long forgotten old church goers not construct the house of their Father? Newly painted, the brilliant white statue brings out a pillar of beauty between all the new buildings. A strong breeze sweeps up his long brown hair from behind, flapping it all over his face. His athletic body are still trembling from this morning’s exercise, making him shift around a little. He has overdone it a little bit, but the feeling of adrenaline seems to drag him into doing more and more.

 An old beggar walks slowly past the church, his one leg seems to be shorter than the other. Years of bad weather, spirits and sleeping on benches makes him look like a pathetic heap of bones and torn cloths dragging itself down the walkway. He stood up and walks closer. Sir! he calls out. Eyes that have seen more sorrow than most people look slowly up to him. Here is money, please go and buy yourself something to eat. He did not fail to notice the small flicker in the poor mans eyes before he turns around. Not even a thank you could give him that much pleasure as the faint smile he got back. Brought up in a very poor home, he knows what it feels like to be hungry.He jumps up when the first people walk past him to the church entrance. They do not even notice him. His hand still hanging in the air to greet, he gets that beggar feeling. Watching people walk past him, too scared to stand up and “beg” again. Only a few times people’s eyes met his but before he could greet, they turn back, babbling on, on what happened this week.

     “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the end” Joseph’s eyes sweep across the church members. Folks looking at their watches polishing the chairs with their newly cleansed pants, irritated by the seconds who seem to go back and not forward and what about the extent of sleep lost (Is this going to take any longer?). A lady almost enclosed with an outfit and hat fit for a clown, look intently at her flawless polished nails and waving them around as if saying “amen” to whatever the preacher was saying, but she has no more interest in the sermon than the flies on the wall. Children trample the humble chairs, looking at the by now hypnotized zombies behind them; some will even make a peculiar face or two. An old lady prods her husband as he starts snoring out loud. It appears as if the “dark angel” hovers above the church. A strange sensation takes hold of Joseph. This must be the ignorance Noah had to put up with. His heart pounding irregular and a warm feeling takes hold of him. He suddenly knows that whatever should happen must happen without delay. All the sleeping hypnotized over clothed furniture must be taken away from their mirrors and brought closer to their dusty bibles. “How?”

     Joseph’s mind drifts of “what should I do to solve this riddle, how can people be so ignorant not to see the end? Words are been put on a platter, but they can think only of the sensation the world and its splendor presents them!” He look forward and found no motivation on the preachers face, just another day at the office look, pounding on the innocent piece of wood trying to stay awake.

     As Joseph sits back, his mind starts dwelling in the streets of knowledge. In all his years of Christianity he has never had to face such a massive pothole of ignorance... All of a sudden he found himself wondering about the chores he needs to do this afternoon. His new master, not very happy with him spending time in church whiles he should be working, gave him more to do than what he can accomplish in one afternoon. “What are you doing?” a non audible voice says. He almost broke his neck swirling around to uncover this commanding sensation.

 Whatever it was, it made his hair stand on end. Terrified to the point where his heartbeat feels as if it has been running a marathon. The cussing sound of blood rushing through his ears slowly settles down as he cannot see or find any rat or cat. He smiled and waved it off as a hallucination. His mind did not drift off again as he tried to drink in the words coming from the minister who’s rushing to catch the chicken consuming the potatoes in the oven.  

     After church, walking back to his quarters , he wonders why this small still voice brought him here. “The place of the dead I would say!” Joseph mumbles as he strolls on to undertake his master’s wishes

Author's Note

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