Homeless God

It was a pretty good day in New York. The sun was shining and not a cloud was to be seen, but it was a whole different scene in the New York subway. The air was musty, graffiti on the walls and the artificial light hurts your eyes after working here all day. Working as a train officer was tough but it was a fun. We were going through the carriages, just my partner Jack and I, handing out fines to people who didn’t pay for a ticket or to anyone doing the wrong thing. I enjoyed my job and didn’t want to leave it. It was getting near to the end of the day and I was getting a little tired and less patient for people explaining there stories as to why they didn’t have a ticket. Last carriage of the day, the very end one, furthest away from the front. This was a boost to my not so great end to the day. This was because this carriage had become my favorite over the many years as every couple of days, anywhere from a week to two days, a man would come and sleep on the train. He called himself God. I asked him many times to prove it to me, but he always said, “next time”. Of course I didn’t believe him, so by law I had to ask him to leave the train. He always did so peacefully without any resentment. He always said “one day you will let me stay on this train” and I would always respond with “only when you prove your God” laughing as I watched the man in tattered clothes and long matted white hair and beard. Now that I think of it, he does resemble what I believe God to look like.

“Hello God, How are you today” I say walking up to him smiling and putting my hand out to shake.

“Hello Mr. Smith, I’m good today” he said, his voice raspy. He shakes my hand as he sat upright, rather then his normal slouched position in the corner, with his hat of many holes, pulled over his face.

“Is today the day you finally show me you’re God?” I ask smiling, expecting him to say “next time” like he always does.

“Why yes, yes it is,” he says, smiling and looking pleased with himself.

I cross my arms, grinning and seeing what the man that calls himself God has to show me “Ok, prove it. Show me your God.”

“Of course give me a moment” he says and reaches into his bag, pulling out a small branch, with a single brown withered leaf on it.

I stood there waiting for three seconds, confused, just about to open my mouth, but I was quickly cut off when all of a sudden, I was somewhere else. Where was my Jack? It was just God and I standing in the middle of nowhere. We were on a vast flat landscape with mountains in the distance, very far away. It was hot, very hot, my palms were sweating and I could smell the natural scents of the wild. The long grass was dry and brittle, scratching my legs as it waved in the arid wind. The air was drying out my mouth and it already tasted like the air I could smell, musty and strange. I turned around in a full 360, my mouth wide, unbelieving what just happened, as I spin, an elephant arises right in front of my eyes, Large grey and smelly. He stares at me for a second, his pupils staring straight at me. Poof. It disappears just as quickly as it appeared and in its place is a lion. I am too stunned, scared, and many other emotions that are swirling around my mind. I stay in place as it gets on its hunches ready to pounce. Its muscles bulge in its short for and its mane is large, just like an alpha lion would be. It leaps, its muscles rippling and its claws razor sharp about to slice at my neck and without a doubt killed me. But just before it reaches me, like the elephant it disappears and in its place is a meerkat, in mid air carrying the momentum of the lion, it lands on my shoulder and I turn around to face God, the meerkats claws digging into my shoulder as I spin around fast. And in the rush and confusion of emotions and thoughts and what I should do, all I can manage in a high pitched strangled gasp. “…How?”

“Well I'm God, like I said the last four months.” He said this, while seeming rather pleased with himself and clicking his fingers and the meerkat is not perched on my shoulder any more, my skin red for where its claws dug into me“do you need me to prove it further?”

I stand there stunned, hardly believing what is happening. Am I in a dream? Thinking that this was the only reasonable answer I reply to him. “Is that all? Show me your best”

God smiles wickedly and lifts his hand slowly, bringing his fingers into a position where he can click them. I stare at him, waiting what is about to happen. He clicks. Nothing happens, I just continue staring at him.

“Well turn around then” he says still grinning, and as I do I am struck, speechless and unable to comprehend what I am seeing. In the middle of what seems to be Africa, A large Lake, a very large lake, about 500 meters to the other side, is in front of me. The sand surrounding it is white and reflects the sun much like a tropical islands sand in the Bahamas would, The water is clear and blue. I can see the sand at the bottom, and in the sand is coral, and fish. Pinks and greens and blues flash in and out of the coral. Its so vibrant, it doesn’t seem like it belongs here in the middle of wherever I am. The air tastes salty, this is especially weird, I cant see any large bodies of water in any direction I look, it must be coming from the water, I kneel down and place my hands in the water and cup it into my mouth. I spit it out, yup, that’s salt water for sure. But the biggest surprise is the large island in the middle. I can hear exotic birds and bugs, making noise in the coconut and rainforest trees that cover the island. The waves gently lap at the sand and even from here I can see the crabs moving up and down the beach, in and out of there holes in the sand. The whole place looks so surreal and like it could have been here for hundreds of years, but, I just appeared here. I turn back around to face god, my mouth open, my mind scrambled. Again all I can manage.

“how?”

He doesn’t answer me, but instead twirls his finger to tell me to turn back around. I do. But the tropical island isn’t there anymore, it’s gone, replaced by musty dry air, and tall grass.

Behind me I hear “I told you I was God” and in the blink of an eye I'm back on the train, sitting where God had been sitting before he did, well whatever that was.

“Yo, Smithy, you all right there?” my partner asks, his face as confused as mine must look.

“What, oh um yeah fine, how long was I gone?” I ask sweating

“A few seconds, you sort of sat down then blanked out” He said, laughing at me “What where you dreaming about buddy?” he asks me jokingly.

Through all the confusion I do believe that what I saw was real. “I think I saw God.”