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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Drama / Human Interest
- Subject: Miracles / Wonders
- Published: 07/21/2022
Movement
Born 1947, M, from Oceanside, United StatesMovement
He was sitting in church half listening to the priest, and kind of half staring at the very tall, free-standing cross behind the alter, when he thought he saw the fingers on the right hand of Christ wiggle. Staring wide-eyed, he decided, I must have been more tired than I realized. He hadn’t slept well the night before, which was why he decided seeing Christ’s fingers move had to be because of his not sleeping well. Besides, no one else in the Church appeared to have seen what he had. Otherwise, he was sure they would have reacted in some way: a gasp, a shout, a scream—something.
So, did he see it or not?
Squinting slightly (he was sitting halfway between the front and rear of the church), he continued to stare at the crucifix, but when nothing else happened, he chucked it up to his lack of sleep and continued to follow the rest of the mass.
But the next Sunday, it happened again.
This time, he was wide awake when he saw the fingers of the Christ figure move. No, this can’t be, he thought as he glanced around to see if anyone else had seen what he had. Once again, no one reacted.
After mass, he waited for most of the celebrants to clear out, then went to stand beneath the twenty-foot high cross with his hands clasped in front of him. To anyone seeing him, they would think he was praying. In a way, he was—asking Christ why he had been the only one to see his fingers move?
“Because I wanted to get your attention,” said a booming voice inside his head.
Checking to see if anyone else had heard the voice, he thought, “Well, you sure did. But why me?”
“Because, I want you to do me a favor.”
A favor, he thought! Oh, no, not that! All the stories in the Bible about God talking to profits and saints included difficult if not impossible tasks for them to perform. This was the reason he was feeling fear blossoming inside his stomach. What request would Christ ask of him and how disrupted of his life would it become? At least, it wouldn’t affect his marriage. That had been over long ago.
When Christ explained what he wanted him to do, he couldn’t help himself. He laughed. “Are you kidding!”
“Do I sound like I’m kidding!” boomed the voice.
“Uh . . . no, of course not.”
“Then why do you question me?”
“Because, I’m not a profit or a saint. I’m just an ordinary human being.”
“So were many before my father made them profits.”
“But how would I even spread such a message?”
“Simple. Go to your media outlets and tell them what I told you.”
“Once again, he nearly laughed. “No one is going to listen to me. They’ll think I’m a kook.”
“Not if they see what happens if they don’t listen to you.”
“And what is that?”
“You’ll see.”
As he surmised, no one took him seriously. Not only did they decide he was nuts, he even received death threats, which is one of the reasons he lost his job. Although his boss liked him, the boss decided it was too dangerous to keep him around.
But then came the day, he and everyone else woke up to a sky that had turned from blue to blood red.
Although it lasted only one day, people all over the world came to believe, and suddenly, skirmishes between people and even countries ceased or diminished in their intensity. He became an instant celebrity, with many seeking him out, hoping he could relieve their infirmities, just like Christ had.
Wanting no part of it, he tried to remain anomalous. It didn’t work. Too many people knew what he looked like. His only option was to try and become a hermit by living off the grid.
Then one day, Christ’s voice spoke to him again. “People are starting to revert back to how they were before. I want you to repeat my message.”
He did.
But this time, it wasn’t just ordinary people who sought him out. Aliens from the planet Cocktue also came to him. They wanted him to repeat his message to civilizations on other worlds. After accepting their invitation, it wasn’t long before the occupants of these planets also began to practice civility to each other.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, since he was no longer preaching, his message became less and less stringent, which lead to the rise of an evil dictator who decide to blow up every major capitol around the world. But when he pressed his big red button, nothing happened.
“Why isn’t it working!” he raged as he continued to slam his palm against the button.
“Because I don’t want it to work!” boomed a formative voice inside his head.
Panicked, he looked around his secret bunker. “Who said that!”
“I did,” replied the voice.’
“And who are you?”
“God.”
“Yeah, right!”
“You don’t believe me?”
“Prove it!”
That’s when he began to experience all the fires of Hell burn inside him . . . for the next thousand years!
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