Does Jesus Lie

I was on the A train pitying the car on the parallel track for the mariachi band it carried:

 

Three full-grown accordion players and one child, a little girl collecting coins in a top hat.

 

I was grateful just then that my fellow passengers were silent and unimposing; that they asked nothing of me but that I reciprocate the silence. I was grateful not to have to refuse anyone money and I was grateful that nobody minded my business.

 

Then at 14^th Street a preacher boarded. He began to talk about the lord and the like in a bombastic mumble. I couldn’t decipher the words but I could tell that they were scripted. I chuckled in spite of myself till he turned his torso- a perfect rectangular prism- towards me.

 

“Folks,” he cried, as a prophet might cry, “Does Jesus lie?” “Folks, does Jesus lie?”

 

I considered this earnestly. Does Jesus lie? How am I to know? I’ve never shared a barstool with him.

 

When the train reached Chambers St. and the minister made no indication that he was leaving, when none of the passengers acknowledged his question, he asked it again.

 

“Folks, does Jesus lie?”

 

“Well there was this one time-” I blurted to put an end to this repetition, to drive out lunacy with lunacy.

 

Without taking one step towards me, he responded to my heresy.

 

“No! Jesus does not lie.” Then he added, “If Jesus says that you’re going to get pregnant, then you’re going to get pregnant.” And with that, he stepped off the train and onto Fulton Street.

 

Still, none of my fellow passenges adjusted their expressions to this extraordinary happening. No one’s eyes fell to mine and I was grateful. I was grateful, though a strange and rectangular man had just threatened me with pregnancy.

 

It’s a formidable threat, after all, when it’s men like him who decide whether or not my insurance covers birth control.

 

Reviews

[Glen Yumang Manese]

I like the ideology of this write... and the way you conveyed the storyline... Of course, this can be taken differently from reader to reader... which in neither right or wrong... The lines take a quick journey on a train filled with many walks of life... The preacher being the protagonist... as the word of God... is the final verdict...

Well, that preacher is one crazy man. I really enjoyed how briefly you were able to touch upon controversial topics such as religion, birth control and politics. This was well developed.

[Marie]

Yes, this is good. Well paced, well written, making a definite point.