Forty-Fifth Paradox Writing

In Italy, in San Lorezno,

I found three options for Sunday devotion.

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Some went to Sancto Laurentio

in their Sunday finest,

entering the wine colored doors

in orderly fashion

to quietly take their wafers and wine sips.

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Others went to Bar Martins,

dressed to meet their finest friends.

They slipped under the roof

with laughter on their faces

and songs on their chests,

to drink anything and throw darts.

__________________

I sat on a bench near the fountain,

a scarf around my neck,

a Bible and notebook on my lap,

listening to living water and chewing words.

“I’m sorry Mr. Death, but Penny Jacobs isn’t in that room anymore.” Her eyes, brimming with innocence, stared back at his empty ones.

“Then who is?” Mr. Death sighed, smoothing his pale hair back. He could feel in his hands where this headed.

The nurse glanced at the open binder on her desk. “Pam Jacobs.  Completely different person Penny’s family says.”

Mr. Death, or Al, as he preferred to be called, rubbed his face wearily. (Angel O. Death tended to give people the wrong impression.) “You’re absolutely sure?”

The nurse twirled a blonde curl in her hand. “Absolutely.”

“Alright.” She half expected him to sigh in defeat, but he almost looked relieved. “You said there was somebody I should see in room 50?”

She flipped through her notebook, sliding her finger down to the appropriate name. “Yep, that’s the one.”

“Thank you.” As Al left, the nurse swore she saw his shadow linger longer than the others.

Waiting until Angel O. Death vanished around the corner, the nurse headed to “Pam” Jacobs room. The nurse sat in the chair next to the hospital bed and whispered “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but your husband was right.’

“I think we should’ve turned right three palm trees ago.” The sand rustled along the hooves, and two of the riders tightened the cloths covering their mouths.

“Three, huh.”

“Yeah, three. That one by that mountain.”

“You call that a mountain? That was more like a foothill!”

“Um…I think my cammel needs to pee.”

The others glanced at him, their turbans billowing in the dessert wind. Still, they didn’t stop just yet.

One sighed, the narrow band of gold circling his turban glinting in the moonlight. “I suppose he didn’t need to when we were at that oasis not to long ago.”

“Not at all.” The second answered, scrutinizing his robes of fine scarlet while his skin tried to match their hue.

“Hm, well, we could always try the next one.” The third added optimistically, trying to juggle his star chart and his looking glass.

“I’m sure there won’t be one for another few days. You should’ve checked your camel while you had the chance.”

“I did! I swear, no signs at all of any… potential leakage.”

“You sure we couldn’t just take a break? I’m feeling a little tired myself.”

“We can’t. That camel will be doing its business until the moon wanes at this rate. We’re already late.”

“Oh come on. That child has waited for over a year now, it’s not like he’s still waiting in some manger for our gifts.”

“I don’t know..this myrrh might spoil, or that frankincense. It’s not like gold, you know.”

Her shirt had already begun to stick to her skin, but she couldn’t wash it today. As she pushed the glass door open with her foot, she wondered if anyone but the employee had bothered to show up. No one had. Sighing softly, she figured it was for the best. She really didn’t want the company anyway.

If only building had air conditioning. Most of the women in her neighborhood did their laundry in the morning, or the evening, when the sun didn’t turn any suspect building into an oven. She couldn’t bear the stares. And so the woman came here alone, even though it made her more thirsty, and the heat sapped her strength.

Thirst. She knew the feeling all too well. It only took her an hour in this heat, surrounded by hot clothes dryers to empty her water bottle. Everyday she emptied her water bottle, and every day she headed into the convenience store to buy a fresh one. Even though the store had better fans than the laundromat, she looked forward to those even less. Better fans meant more people, and more people meant harsher stares.

She would just have to bear up and bear every moment like she did every day. Things wouldn’t get better any time soon, if ever, so she’d have to accept the way things went now. As always, she’d have to settle for anything and anyone, when no one nor nothing would settle for her.

The minutes dragged on, each one making her wish she lived somewhere else, as someone else. As she waited for her clothes to dry, she noticed a man outside. He wore a plaid shirt and ragged jeans, and his hair seemed a bit unkempt. So far, she didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, except for what he carried in his hand. She swallowed, recognizing it as a leather bound book with gold print.

BEEP! The dryer called from across the aisle. She walked toward it, pulling her hot clothes out slowly, hoping the man outside would walk away. He didn’t. Why would he even be here? Bible thumpers didn’t come here, not to laundromats in trashy neighborhoods. They just didn’t. So why him?

She picked up her basket, heading toward the door and slipping out as inconspicuously as she could. Unfortunately, the chime on the door gave her away. Turning quickly, she tried to duck away from his glance. It didn’t work. Thankfully he didn’t follow when she walked away…yet.

The water bottle purchase went through without anything unusual, and it served to get her hopes up.  The sight of him served to dash any hopes she had of avoiding him, and anything he had to say. She walked past him quickly, hoping something would distract him. It didn’t.

“Excuse me, miss.”

She didn’t stop to look, she only slowed her pace.

“Could I have a drink of your water?”

He seemed sincere enough. “Do you even know what I am?” She asked. “If you did, you wouldn’t want to share a drink with me.”

“If you knew who I am, you’d be asking me for a drink.” He replied evenly.

The outrageousness of his statement caught her by surprise.

“But sir, you don’t even have a water bottle…or a wallet for that matter. How do you plan on giving me water?” Her eyes narrowed. “Who do you think you are? Just because you’re a preacher, doesn’t mean your beliefs are better or higher than mine.”

He took the water bottle from her hand studying it casually. “Anyone who  drinks this water will just be thirsty again. Those who drink my water will never thirst again.” Then he handed her bottle back to her. His eyes met hers as he said levelly, “Those who drink my water will gain eternal life.”

It would be nice to not have to buy water every day after leaving the laundromat. She could finally hide from the eyes of the public. And to never thirst again… “Please, give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

“Go and get your husband.”

The request caught her by surprise. “I don’t have a husband.” He still didn’t understand….

“You’re right; you don’t have a husband.” He smiled slightly, not to be condescending, but to show some sympathy. “Actually, you’ve had a husband, and four boyfriends before. The woman you’re living with right now is your girlfriend.”

Okay, maybe he did know. In fact, he knew more than she felt comfortable with. “So maybe you do know something.” She quirked an eyebrow expectantly as she asked “How can you be sure that you have the only way to heaven? The only right way to worship?” Turning her head to glance around the street, she added. “We’re good people with good intentions. How could God exclude us?”

“Who are you to judge God? You hardly know him.” She could see a sparkle in his eyes, as if he had seen the punchline and she hadn’t. ”Salvation comes through me, and there will come a day when how you worship God won’t matter, except that you do it truthfully and in his Spirit.”

“I know a savior is coming, who’ll explain everything to us.” She folded her uncomfortably, wishing she knew what was so funny.

“I am the Savior.” His grin exploded onto his face.

“You are?” A car blaring its horn a short distance away diverted her attention away. A moment later she turned her head back to the man only to see him gone. The woman only knew of one thing to do. She left her water bottle and her laundry at the laundromat as she walked away.

Soon walking didn’t seem fast enough, and she ran. She pounded her feet against the pavement as she made her way back to her neighborhood. Knocking on doors and making phone calls, she told everyone she could think of what she had seen and heard. Some followed, some didn’t. At first she didn’t know where to lead them, until she spotted it back at the laundromat. The preacher had left his book behind, leaning against the wall on the sidewalk.

She knew exactly what to do now.

A soft hum lingered near the ceiling. Pastel hues drifted down on sparkling dust from the stained glass windows facing each other. Row after row of pews separated the two sets of windows as if snug in a warm embrace. A lone lectern stood on the stage at the front of the room, bearing a carved cross on its front panel. At the moment the lectern stood alone, empty as most of the room, save one person.

Said person sat one pew back, with his face in his hands. Besides the fans overhead, the room could only hear his soft, relaxed breathing. He didn’t notice the stain glass windows, since other matters seemed much more important at the moment. After a few more moments in seeming silence, he opened his eyes. As he lifted his eyes to the rose-stained rose window at the top of the front wall; the pink rays cascaded down his blond hair like children on a water slide.

A smile bloomed on his face. “I’ll go.”

The door in the back of the small church opened with a soft creak, and a taller figure walked into the sunlit room. His steps echoed off the walls as he made his way down the aisle. A moment passed before he reached the second to front pew, but neither of them noticed. He stopped by the younger man’s side, with his dark hair making the blond hair stand out even more.

“Been in here long?” The man with dark hair asked.

Give us today the food we need,

Provide for our hunger,

Even when we don’t hunger for you,

When we don’t acknowledge you,

Or give you proper credit,

Where all of it is due.

Fulfill the needs

We don’t think we have,

That we don’t acknowledge,

Even when we acknowledge you.

Feed our hunger Lord,

But give us deeper hunger,

Strong hunger,

For you alone.

(Words in Italics taken from Matthew 6:11, as written in the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, published by Tyndale House Publishers).

My mommy led us to the swarm of creatures and beasts, and all I could hear was noise. Lions roared. Dogs barked. Elephants trumpeted so loud it hurt my loud ears. Mommy said Miss Mouse and I were going to go on a spaceship to Mars. She said the sun had become so large and so red, that it would swallow the Earth our home completely. We had to go so there would be mice in the future. I asked Mommy if she was coming with us, and she shook her head.The stairs going into the spaceship went on forever, but every inch carried the feet of the animals, and the smell. I scurried as fast as my tiny feet would carry me, smelling the fish on the breath of the cat behind me. I wonder if the cat would still eat me if I gave it a breath mint.

 Once I got inside, I followed the smell of cheese, and found a hunk of cheese just for me in a tiny little hole in one of the inner walls. Noah and his family really thought about everyone of us animals when they built the ark. Me and Miss Mouse shared the hunk of cheese every day we were on the spaceship.

We made so much noise, day after day, that Noah and his family couldn’t sleep at first. When the dogs went to sleep the cats would wake up and start howling. Japheth spent a lot of his time keeping the animals from eating each other. I overheard the hyenas giggling a lot about which animals would become dinner first. But we all learned to eat veggies and milk and cheese (though I liked that already.) A few animals missed meat a lot, namely Mr. Cat.

 The cat still chased me up the rafters, through the air vents, and even across the control system. Finally Noah, the captain of the spaceship grabbed the cat by the scruff on the back of his neck, pulling him high above me in the air.

 ”What are you doing, Mr. Cat?” Noah asked, not looking very happy.

 Mr. Cat just shrugged, and smiled as if he’d been taking a bath this whole time, and not hunting mice.

 ”Don’t you know? Without him and Miss Mouse, there will be no mice on the new world?”

 I don’t even remember what Mr. Cat said back to him. All I saw at that moment was the whiskers on my mommy’s face, and that I would never see them again. My ride to Mars suddenly seemed lonely, though Miss Mouse came with me. Miss Mouse couldn’t replace mom though.

 We watched Mars get bigger in our round windows. Both me and Miss Mouse could fit on the window sill, Noah and his family had made it so much bigger than us. Mars kept growing as our wide eyes looked on. Soon our new home was bigger than even the windows, and maybe even bigger than the ship. Miss Mouse said that it would have to be bigger than our spaceship, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to land on it.

 Mars was orange, like a good chunk of cheddar cheese. Maybe Mars wouldn’t be so bad, even if Mommy didn’t get to see it.

 And then we landed, on Olympus Mons, or as Ham, Noah’s son called it: Mt. Olympus. My tail wagged excitedly as I waited to leave the ship. Some of the birds got in a line, already ready to stretch their wings and fly. Then we heard the Noah’s voice on the intercom.

 ”Sorry, no heading out on Mars, today, the atmosphere is still too thin.”

 I looked at Miss Mouse, and she gave me the same confused look back. We then looked at Mr. Turtle, since he always looked like he knew what he was talking about, even though he talked really slow.

 ”We…have…” He began, and I glanced at Miss Mouse impatiently. “….to wait…” I counted 15 other creatures walking by. “….until the Red Sun…” Ten more passed me. “….melts the…” Five. “….ice on…the surface…” Three. “….of Mars…and create the sky.” He always talked so slow!

 Noah sent out a probe to test the air in the sky. It floated around Mars for several days, and came back, with results that Noah didn’t like. We waited longer. Then Noah released it again, and the probe didn’t come back, instead it gave Noah a message saying the air was okay now. Every animal and person on the spaceship danced, stomped, roared, and sang, everyone was so happy. We were so happy that the spaceship shook from all the noise and dancing.

 A week later all of us held our breath as Noah released the air locks on the doors, though we knew there was air outside. Red sunlight hit us, making the ground seem red as a cherry, instead of orange. White clouds turned pink when they passed in front of the sun. Down below the walkway, I heard the roar of the ice-cold water in a river.

 The hummingbirds hummed happily when they saw flowers growing in the ground. Most of us hurried past the altar with the animal sacrifices, even though we knew we were “unclean” as Shem called it, and we were safe.

 The hippos immediately took to the water, near the new springs. And from the springs came a rainbow, a beautiful rainbow. A voiced boomed from the sky.

 ”I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that was with you-the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you-every living creature from earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the fires of the sun; never again will there be a fire to destroy the earth.”

 All of us animals looked up at the sky in awe, and in awe of the voice that came from it. “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the geysers, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth on Mars. Whenever I light the volcanoes underneath Mars and the rainbow appears in the geysers, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the sun become a fire to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the geysers, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth on Mars.”

 God, as Noah and his family called him, finished talking with this: “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

If God loves the poor,

Tijuana never heard

Above cheap, clattering tin and foil

And tourists zipping past to

Ensenada, Rosarito, other advertised destinations.

Tijuana knows it fate, just north

And just south of Paradise,

It roofs, thatched

With second-hand, even third-hand offerings once considered trash.

Its yards: altars clothed in bottles, cartons, and newspaper,

A meager apology to a God

It’s only heard passing rumors of.