The Missionary

The crimson cloud slowly drifted down-stream carried by the gentle flow of the ice-cold water. Fully submerged he watched tiny fish dart frantically around his torso. His feet scattering the small stones on the riverbed as they searched for the soft sand below.

Not quite two hours before Abraham had stood by the side of the highway with limited knowledge of his future path. A two-foot square of cardboard with a lone message scratched across the face…SOUTH. His hands filthy-black from the charcoaled wood he had used as his pen. Then in the distance two shining stars broke the almost non-visible horizon. His spirits had lifted as he held out his life’s wish in front of him, hoping that God would provide a means for him to continue on his way.

The loose gravel from the roads surface spat at him as the pick-up truck slid to a halt. A bearded occupant smiled at him from behind an already lowering side window. The first rays of sunlight increased visibility as pleasantries were exchanged. Then the sound of the loose gravel again as his body relaxed to the shape of the well-worn car seat.

A conversation of no importance took place between the newly united travellers. It revealed that his companion was a carpenter as Joseph was before him. Abraham revealed his mission of spreading the Lord’s word to his new-found guide. A message that was lost on the ears of the heathen. The bearded devil proclaimed that God was not the only person who could show compassion to men and that he also liked to comfort and caress. Abraham questioned his companion’s logic on this matter and asked for proof of the declarations he made.

He looked to the back of the pick up through the small viewing window in the back of the cab. The Lord had provided him with the tools of his earth father’s trade…it was indeed a sign.

As Abraham surfaced from the river he looked toward the deep, red pool that had gathered in the dust of the riverbank. Mother-earth enriching herself on the spoiled wine of the crucified heathen. His dark hair now soaked as the blood ran downwards from his up-ended carcass. Abraham came forward from the river cleansed like John before him. As he methodically dressed he cast no further eye on the Devil’s disciple, he would soon breathe no more.

The tyres of the vehicle crunched across the surface of the shale track as Abraham crossed himself and sped away.