" Do you think there really is a God?", asked the small boy huddled close to his mother.
Her shawl, once a bright menagerie of color, thick and warm now clung to her cold bony shoulders. The colors faded and worn. She swept it up and over him trying to offer some bit of comfort and warmth.
He shucked it off. His cheeks glowed a brighter red than the dismal fire they huddled next to.
"Huh papa? Is there God and Jesus?"
"Of course there is Caleb, don't you ever doubt it'', the weathered man across the fire said.
"I don't think there is", the boy said sadly.
''Caleb! Don't you ever say that"
"But Papa why would God let this happen?"
"Why would he let everything die?"
"It can't be true, it's not possible".
"Get some rest yong man. Tomorrow is going to be a long day"
"I don't want to sleep, my dreams are bad. I don't like them."
The young man left his mother's arms and unrolled his sleeping bag, nudged it close to the fire and climbed in.
The sun was just setting and the bright oranges and fiery reds of days gone by were no longer visible. The sun would not penetrate the thick banks of grey clouds and the never ending fog that rolled off the ocean that shrouded everything in a cloak of sadness.
He closed his eyes and slipped away into the night. The blackness.
His papa watched him.
He knew the boy's nightmares. He was having them himself.
The sleeping bag next to the fire began to twitch and he reached for the boy but the woman stopped him.
"It might be good dreams", she said.
The blackness faded away as the boy slept by the fire. Once again he was standing next to the ocean. His house stood tall and proud behind him just like all the others in this little town on the California coast.
The manicured lawn and the beautiful flower gardens his mother tended to all fit into a perfect picture. He smiled at the sight. Perhaps it was all just a dream and this was his real life. He turned to the ocean. A walk on the beach and maybe a quick play in the surf before dinner.
As he walked along the tide line he began to notice the multitude of fish that had washed up on the sand.
He shielded his eyes and peered at the setting sun. Waiting for the flash that comes when the sun melts below the horizon.
The sun was blood red and he thought it looked sad tonight. He reached for it. Just a gesture to say everything will be fine tomorrow. He edged closer to the surf until his toes felt the coldness of the surging tide. The air smelled acrid like the sun was smoldering. A bitterness crossed his tongue and his eyes began to burn. He walked further into the surf. The waves lapped at his knees. He waded out even further. The sun called him, beckoning to warm him if he would just get close enough. Soon he was waist deep and as the water reached his chest he began to feel the burning. The sun needed him but the further he went the more the water burned.
He turned for the shore but when he looked the house was so far away. Miles and miles. An endless sea between him and the safety of his mother.
He cried out and began to flounder haplessly towards the beach.
After what seemed like hours he reached knee deep water. Screaming and crying for his mother he hauled himself onto the wet sand. He burned everywhere, his eyes clouded like a pool overfilled with chlorine. Struggling to his feet he looked down at his legs wondering why they burned so bad. His mind kept telling him it was just a school of jellyfish but he knew better. He knew this dream.
He had been here before
Looking down he saw the blisters. Giant sacs of fluid that distorted any semblance of the shape of his legs.
They oozed and pulsed. His knee exploded in a giant gush of fluid.
He looked up at the house and screamed.........
Her shawl, once a bright menagerie of color, thick and warm now clung to her cold bony shoulders. The colors faded and worn. She swept it up and over him trying to offer some bit of comfort and warmth.
He shucked it off. His cheeks glowed a brighter red than the dismal fire they huddled next to.
"Huh papa? Is there God and Jesus?"
"Of course there is Caleb, don't you ever doubt it'', the weathered man across the fire said.
"I don't think there is", the boy said sadly.
''Caleb! Don't you ever say that"
"But Papa why would God let this happen?"
"Why would he let everything die?"
"It can't be true, it's not possible".
"Get some rest yong man. Tomorrow is going to be a long day"
"I don't want to sleep, my dreams are bad. I don't like them."
The young man left his mother's arms and unrolled his sleeping bag, nudged it close to the fire and climbed in.
The sun was just setting and the bright oranges and fiery reds of days gone by were no longer visible. The sun would not penetrate the thick banks of grey clouds and the never ending fog that rolled off the ocean that shrouded everything in a cloak of sadness.
He closed his eyes and slipped away into the night. The blackness.
His papa watched him.
He knew the boy's nightmares. He was having them himself.
The sleeping bag next to the fire began to twitch and he reached for the boy but the woman stopped him.
"It might be good dreams", she said.
The blackness faded away as the boy slept by the fire. Once again he was standing next to the ocean. His house stood tall and proud behind him just like all the others in this little town on the California coast.
The manicured lawn and the beautiful flower gardens his mother tended to all fit into a perfect picture. He smiled at the sight. Perhaps it was all just a dream and this was his real life. He turned to the ocean. A walk on the beach and maybe a quick play in the surf before dinner.
As he walked along the tide line he began to notice the multitude of fish that had washed up on the sand.
He shielded his eyes and peered at the setting sun. Waiting for the flash that comes when the sun melts below the horizon.
The sun was blood red and he thought it looked sad tonight. He reached for it. Just a gesture to say everything will be fine tomorrow. He edged closer to the surf until his toes felt the coldness of the surging tide. The air smelled acrid like the sun was smoldering. A bitterness crossed his tongue and his eyes began to burn. He walked further into the surf. The waves lapped at his knees. He waded out even further. The sun called him, beckoning to warm him if he would just get close enough. Soon he was waist deep and as the water reached his chest he began to feel the burning. The sun needed him but the further he went the more the water burned.
He turned for the shore but when he looked the house was so far away. Miles and miles. An endless sea between him and the safety of his mother.
He cried out and began to flounder haplessly towards the beach.
After what seemed like hours he reached knee deep water. Screaming and crying for his mother he hauled himself onto the wet sand. He burned everywhere, his eyes clouded like a pool overfilled with chlorine. Struggling to his feet he looked down at his legs wondering why they burned so bad. His mind kept telling him it was just a school of jellyfish but he knew better. He knew this dream.
He had been here before
Looking down he saw the blisters. Giant sacs of fluid that distorted any semblance of the shape of his legs.
They oozed and pulsed. His knee exploded in a giant gush of fluid.
He looked up at the house and screamed.........
