Infidel

About a person I saw screaming about the end of the world on a street corner in Boston.

Infidel

                His sign read “the end is near repent sinners!”  He stood on the corner of 34^th Street and McArthur Avenue like he did each weekend and began his work.  Standing atop a bench, he coughed to clear his lungs, blew into his hands to warm them up, and then began.  “Lord have mercy upon them, for they know not what they do.  The time is now people, the place is here, Jesus is coming and he shall bring you into the fires of hell if you do not repent!”

                People glaned for a moment, jolted from their routines, and then began to move away.  Couples walking by took a wide detour around him, some crossed the street entirely, a homeless man woke for a moment, cleared his eyes, and turned the other way while pulling his blanket tighter.  A woman on her cell phone said, “well, hold on just a second, there’s some crazy guy yelling about the end of the world.”  She glared at him, walked across the street and said “yeah OK, you can go ahead now.”

                The man upon his bench noticed the glares of hatred and annoyance, and he accepted them with a smile.  “The work of the Lord is not easy” he whispered to himself, but he knew in his heart that his message was true.  He felt the presence of the Lord and firmly held to his conviction.  “It is not easy Lord, but I accept their hatred because I have your love.  I do this for you.” A man of perhaps 60, white hair, white skin, a face wrinkled by the steady march of time, slower in movements and body yes, but stronger in terms of conviction, belief, and determination.  He was just getting started.

                His pleading continued for hours.  Most people rushed by a bit faster than normal, a few made the sign of the cross, three boys on skateboards laughed and called him a “jackass f*****g crazy old man” as they zoomed by.  His voiced cracked once or twice, but he continued unphased by the February cold or the hecklers.  “I offer them up to you Lord.”

                The speaker noticed a man walking towards him.  Straight towards him.  He walked alone, at a brisk pace.  Considerably younger, this man wore clean, white sneakers, stylish jeans, a pea coat tightly buttoned, a black scarf, a face covered with a week’s worth of stubble, Prada prescription glasses and had a buzzed head.  He walked at his brisk pace with his eyes on the floor and his hands deep in his coat pockets, but he continued straight towards the speaker.  He was dark, suspiciously dark, thought the old man.  Like them Muslims who want to attack our country.  “Here me you sir, the Lord has spoken and we must repent!  No false idols, no fornication, no false lords in the presence of the Lord for he will come and his wrath will be merciless!  Repent while there is time young one.”

                And the young man stopped, about two feet in front of the speaker.  Slowly he lifted his head and met the speakers’ eyes.  He was the first to do so that morning, they stared at one another, the old man breathing deeply to catch his breath.  He opened his mouth to continue spreading the word when the young man finally spoke, in a clear yet quiet voice still locked in the stare “Allah will punish the infidels.”

                The speaker blinked, and his mouth remained open but no words escaped.  The young man stared at him for a moment more, dropped his gaze, and continued his brisk walk.  His footsteps clicked away and the old man watched him until he disappeared around the block.  He shook his head, coughed to clear his lungs, blew into his hands to warm them up, and then began.

3/11/11

Reviews

[Ken Simm.]

Like the man said, who wins when Dogma speaks? Clear, concise write with an excellent moral element.

[roarke]

one way or another, somebody is gonna get punished. Dogma is so redundant.

Good short piece, take a look at a few typos, and make sure the ancillary characters and where and how they are directing their dialogue is clear.

I find it essential to capture any moment, no matter how influential on your attention, into words. You never know when you might need a scene or character and by sifting back through your notes or journal, a piece like this could add tons of flavor to a larger piece, or upon letting it simmer for a while, more of the scene begins to emerge.
Nice write.

[emmajoy]

Oh my goodness! That one phrase could near say it all, “Allah will punish the infidels.”

There's real food for thought - if one wants to think that way. Okay so being a believer i don't but, there's logic shown, inasmuch your previous words tell how people ignore what could be termed as truth. Time and time again ignored, insulted, jeered at,, the man stood his ground and was only acknowledged by one person .. who, in his own mind, understood.

You see people when you write, don't you! ' Couples walking by took a wide detour around him, some crossed the street entirely, a homeless man woke for a moment, cleared his eyes, and turned the other way while pulling his blanket tighter. A woman on her cell phone said, “well, hold on just a second, there’s some crazy guy yelling about the end of the world.” She glared at him, walked across the street and said “yeah OK, you can go ahead now." '

This story flows more than well; you again create a place and time. Plus - and this is quite extraordinary for me: your words have their own kind of moral.