The horror that walked with God
*Reader Discretion Is Advised*
I had been on the journey for a while, sun burning overhead, the road stretching forever before me, mind tired, tongue parched. I had not seen, for a while, any of my friends that had been walking along with me and I was looking forward to meeting someone else on this long road. I knew, though, that it was only a matter of time before I met someone else on this journey that never seemed to end.
Sometimes, there was the joy of finding gems on the journey, and at other times, it was the peace of being in tune with life itself, or the feeling of harmony and being in sync with others who were on the same journey, seeking the same destinations – and at other times, it was simply the arduous discipline of forcing one feet in front of the other, drawing on Life and moving on.
Perhaps I had been too lost in my thoughts, or maybe it was the poor visibility as the wind’s dance caused a mild sandstorm, but then, suddenly, in the midst of the sandy fog, I saw him…
Or maybe I should say “it”.
It was a man’s form alright, but something was very wrong – I could tell from where I was. Yet, despite myself, my feet quickened their pace as a part of my soul leapt with the thought of fellowship. It was always great to meet another person on this journey. I walked quickly towards the figure that was walking rather slowly. Heart pounding, I was closer now, visibility was still poor, but then I reached out to tap my new-found friend on the shoulder, smiling…
The smile died from my lips.
My hand had made contact with the shoulder, but there was no firmness at the touch. It felt gel-like, and with a life of its own. At the little tap, a little bit of flesh had fallen right off the skin, just like that, flesh caked with clotting blood…and rivulets of green-yellowish pus. The figure turned to me, agitated, and with a voice that sounded like a howl, spoke:
“What?!!!!”
But I just stared. I could only stare. How do you begin a conversation with a man who has no eyes? Not a blind mind, but a man whose eye sockets appear to have been obliterated, completely eroded…
Gone.
It was then that the stench hit me. This man was alive and yet, somehow, he was dead! This was a corpse and yet it had life – or maybe the semblance of it. It was then I saw the worms, the mass of worms, as they moved over him, in and out of him, all around his sickening, pus-filled, decomposing skin…and the stench! God! The stench!
“What do you seek?” He (or was it “it”?) asked, voice quivering, and yet, there was a faint hint of authority.
“I seek the Kingdom” I cried, trying to hide my horror.
“Then you have found it!” he said to me with ugly glee, baring inky gums and short, hollow, yellow teeth “You have found it here…with ME!” Specks of saliva with bits of living and dead worms flew from his mouth, some landing on me. With his declaration, he pointed to the ground, and just before the wind swept across with vehemence one more time, I saw his footprints in the sand as they traced a perpetual circle that was now his “journey”.
“SO, stay with me” he said, and even through the horror and stench, the filth and worms, I could hear the faint plea in his (or was it “its”) voice. “Sometimes, it get lonely – and we need each other” – and by God, that voice drew me in, the truth in what he said hit home and I wanted to stay with him. It slowly dawned on me that I could get used to the stench and his disgusting look. Come to think of it, no one was perfect, the proposition was weird but it didn’t sound so bad and…
“That is why it is called manipulation” a strong voice said behind me. I whirled around to see HIM. His eyes burned like coals of fire, his hair was white and billowing in the wind, he looked young and yet seemed to have lived (as strange as it sounds) forever. Somehow I understood HE was what I was looking for – and yet, though I was with him, I still had to find him…
I still had to keep moving.
Then HE smiled at me, and I felt a fresh strength, new vigour, new life pouring into the core of my being and then, I saw them all…the bones. By God, the mass of bones around the living dead man that I had not seen earlier! I opened my mouth in horror, but no words came out. Was I blind? How could I stay with him…and in the end, die?
“What does this mean?” I said to my friend. As I looked at HIM, I saw less and less of the living dead being, heard less and less of his voice as I was lost in the resplendent radiance of HIM.
“Friend”, he said, gesticulating mildly with nail-scarred hands “God is LIFE and anything or anyone and any gathering that comes in contact with HIM, simply, LIVES. But, when they are cut off from HIM, they DIE – but the afterglow of the eternal life that is in GOD continues to give them a semblance of life, though they are really dead.
If one does not abide, he simply dies and is cut off. Even in the afterlife, those who are cut off forever will still have that semblance of life though their “worms die not”
He paused, smiled and then pointed towards the horizon.
“So, keep on moving, and above all else, ABIDE in ME…”
Twitter handle: @xtsamurai
I had been on the journey for a while, sun burning overhead, the road stretching forever before me, mind tired, tongue parched. I had not seen, for a while, any of my friends that had been walking along with me and I was looking forward to meeting someone else on this long road. I knew, though, that it was only a matter of time before I met someone else on this journey that never seemed to end.
Sometimes, there was the joy of finding gems on the journey, and at other times, it was the peace of being in tune with life itself, or the feeling of harmony and being in sync with others who were on the same journey, seeking the same destinations – and at other times, it was simply the arduous discipline of forcing one feet in front of the other, drawing on Life and moving on.
Perhaps I had been too lost in my thoughts, or maybe it was the poor visibility as the wind’s dance caused a mild sandstorm, but then, suddenly, in the midst of the sandy fog, I saw him…
Or maybe I should say “it”.
It was a man’s form alright, but something was very wrong – I could tell from where I was. Yet, despite myself, my feet quickened their pace as a part of my soul leapt with the thought of fellowship. It was always great to meet another person on this journey. I walked quickly towards the figure that was walking rather slowly. Heart pounding, I was closer now, visibility was still poor, but then I reached out to tap my new-found friend on the shoulder, smiling…
The smile died from my lips.
My hand had made contact with the shoulder, but there was no firmness at the touch. It felt gel-like, and with a life of its own. At the little tap, a little bit of flesh had fallen right off the skin, just like that, flesh caked with clotting blood…and rivulets of green-yellowish pus. The figure turned to me, agitated, and with a voice that sounded like a howl, spoke:
“What?!!!!”
But I just stared. I could only stare. How do you begin a conversation with a man who has no eyes? Not a blind mind, but a man whose eye sockets appear to have been obliterated, completely eroded…
Gone.
It was then that the stench hit me. This man was alive and yet, somehow, he was dead! This was a corpse and yet it had life – or maybe the semblance of it. It was then I saw the worms, the mass of worms, as they moved over him, in and out of him, all around his sickening, pus-filled, decomposing skin…and the stench! God! The stench!
“What do you seek?” He (or was it “it”?) asked, voice quivering, and yet, there was a faint hint of authority.
“I seek the Kingdom” I cried, trying to hide my horror.
“Then you have found it!” he said to me with ugly glee, baring inky gums and short, hollow, yellow teeth “You have found it here…with ME!” Specks of saliva with bits of living and dead worms flew from his mouth, some landing on me. With his declaration, he pointed to the ground, and just before the wind swept across with vehemence one more time, I saw his footprints in the sand as they traced a perpetual circle that was now his “journey”.
“SO, stay with me” he said, and even through the horror and stench, the filth and worms, I could hear the faint plea in his (or was it “its”) voice. “Sometimes, it get lonely – and we need each other” – and by God, that voice drew me in, the truth in what he said hit home and I wanted to stay with him. It slowly dawned on me that I could get used to the stench and his disgusting look. Come to think of it, no one was perfect, the proposition was weird but it didn’t sound so bad and…
“That is why it is called manipulation” a strong voice said behind me. I whirled around to see HIM. His eyes burned like coals of fire, his hair was white and billowing in the wind, he looked young and yet seemed to have lived (as strange as it sounds) forever. Somehow I understood HE was what I was looking for – and yet, though I was with him, I still had to find him…
I still had to keep moving.
Then HE smiled at me, and I felt a fresh strength, new vigour, new life pouring into the core of my being and then, I saw them all…the bones. By God, the mass of bones around the living dead man that I had not seen earlier! I opened my mouth in horror, but no words came out. Was I blind? How could I stay with him…and in the end, die?
“What does this mean?” I said to my friend. As I looked at HIM, I saw less and less of the living dead being, heard less and less of his voice as I was lost in the resplendent radiance of HIM.
“Friend”, he said, gesticulating mildly with nail-scarred hands “God is LIFE and anything or anyone and any gathering that comes in contact with HIM, simply, LIVES. But, when they are cut off from HIM, they DIE – but the afterglow of the eternal life that is in GOD continues to give them a semblance of life, though they are really dead.
If one does not abide, he simply dies and is cut off. Even in the afterlife, those who are cut off forever will still have that semblance of life though their “worms die not”
He paused, smiled and then pointed towards the horizon.
“So, keep on moving, and above all else, ABIDE in ME…”
Twitter handle: @xtsamurai
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