It was a normal Friday evening. People were returning from work, heading toward their homes. The sun was setting on the horizon. Birds flew toward the sun. People walked the streets with their friends and family. Some were sleeping on the street; some performed dance and music on the streets. People ignored them and walked right past them. On that street, there was a man distributing flyers about his religion.
"Excuse me, sir, do you have a few minutes to talk about our God?"
He was about to hand him the flyer, but the man showed his hand upwards and walked right past him, ignoring him. He stood there trying to distribute the flyer, but not a single person took one from him. He walked toward the corner and sat on a railing. He looked toward his left shoulder to see a man sitting on the ground with a board that read, "Need help." The man looked at him, and he walked toward him and dropped a few coins. The homeless man looked at him as the man walked away.
Rain poured heavily. The streets were empty. Water started to fill the streets. Street lights were blinking, shops were closed, and the entire area was pitch black except for a bus stand in the distance with a light on. The man rushed toward the bus stand. He ruffled his hair, trying to dry it. He saw an old woman sitting at the bus stand alone, holding a stick. The woman had a wrinkled face. She wore a pink dress with flowers on it and had a brown bag at her side. The man looked at her.
"Excuse me, miss..."
"Yes?"
"Do you mind if I talk to you about our Lord?"
The woman looked at him with eyes like daggers, a hardened gaze. Her eyes were as dull as the night sky.
"Miss?"
"Oh... I am sorry, yes, I do have time. My bus arrives soon."
"Oh, that's good. My name is Ludwig. I'm from ISKCON."
Ludwig offered her a handshake, but the old woman just stared at him. He withdrew his hand back, smacking his lips. He sat beside her and removed the flyer he had.
"I follow Hinduism, which is different from other monotheistic religions."
Before Ludwig could finish, he was cut off by the woman.
"What do you mean by a different religion?"
She looked at him with wide eyes and a smile stretching across her face. Ludwig was creeped out by the woman's facial expression.
"Well... Hinduism is based on the concept of dharma and cosmic order. Its concept revolves around creation, preservation, and destruction."
"Hmm... interesting."
She put her hands on her stick while looking at the sky. Suddenly she turned her head toward Ludwig.
"Tell me, young man, what does your religion give us that makes it better than another religion? Why should I choose your religion?"
Ludwig was stunned hearing this from the woman.
"Umm... I... I..."
Ludwig didn't know how to respond to her question.
"Tell me, what is religion? We are God's perfect creation. We were created in the image of God, so why does a man have to sleep under a bridge? Why does a woman need to sell her body to feed her child at home? Why do people die in war? Aren't we His favorite creation?" She looked at him as thunder burst in the night sky, and the rain fell heavier. Water started to rise. Waves formed from the raindrops on the street.
"Hey, look at me and answer."
She raised her tone, showing anger or seriousness.
"Religion is something that people believe in; it gives them hope."
"I don't care about people. What is religion to you?" She looked at him, her expression dull, her eyes empty like a hole.
"I believe that religion is having faith that there is a higher being out there and everything is written by Him."
From a distance, a bus was coming. The woman stood up. The bus arrived at the stop.
"Ah, faith... Not heard that in a while."
"I have a question: what came first, did God create humans, or... humans created God for their own needs?"
As the bus door opened and she began to walk in, she took her first step inside the bus and looked back at Ludwig.
"How strong is your faith then?"
Her smile stretched her face for a split second. Her eyes were completely dark as she went inside the bus. The bus moved away, leaving Ludwig alone at the bus stand. He walked back and slid onto a seat. He looked at the next bus arrival time; it was half an hour later when the next bus would arrive. He rested his hands on his face. Ludwig knew he saw something in her eyes but wasn't sure what it was. The light on the bus stand started to flicker. He looked at the light. A paper boat floated down the street. He looked at it and picked it up from the street. The boat reminded him of his childhood. He smiled as he looked at the boat. From a distance, a nearly empty, rundown bus with corroded paint, headlights cracked and flashing yellow light dim like a street light stopped in front of Ludwig. The door opened. The driver wore a cap and had a mustache, big and white, covering his bottom face. His clothes were greasy, and his nails were long and dark. Ludwig got on the bus. He saw a man with a gray hoodie covering his face and a woman sitting on the back seat with a kid in her arms. Ludwig looked back at the bus stand and looked at the clock. The time was
1:36 AM.
He sat in the middle row as the bus started to move forward and took a left turn. Thunder cracked, and the sky grew misty. After 15 minutes, the bus took another right turn. Ludwig looked out the window and saw the same bus stand he had been on. He was confused. He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was tired. He clenched his shirt tighter and looked outside again. Another 15 minutes later, the bus took a left turn. In the distance, Ludwig saw the same bus stand again. He got up and walked toward the other side of the bus, looking out the window. He saw the same bus stand where he had placed the paper boat on the seat. This freaked Ludwig out. He fell backward on the floor. He got up and ran toward the driver.
"Hey!"
He grabbed the driver's shoulder. The driver snapped his own head a full 180 degrees. Ludwig backed away, shocked.
"What the...?"
Blood came out of Ludwig's eyes and ears. His mouth opened wide, his skin started to tear apart. Ludwig ran to the back of the bus. He removed his shirt, wrapped it around his arms, and tried to break the window. He looked back at the driver and saw the people inside the bus floating in the air. The steering wheel turned right and left frantically. Tears streamed down Ludwig's face as he was terrified by what was happening. The bus rolled over on the street and crashed into a pole.
Ludwig opened his eyes. Blood was dripping from his head. He looked down and saw his right leg twisted. He screamed in pain.
"Ugh! Oh God, help me, please!"
The bus began to crush down from something above. Ludwig's eyes widened. He began to crawl out of the bus with his broken leg. Broken glass from the window cut his skin. He clenched his hands in pain and came out of the bus. He looked above the bus and saw a fat glob of flesh hovering in the air. The glob had eyes all around its body, moving in every direction. Flesh dripped on the ground. Ludwig looked back and saw the people on the bus hovering over him. The man in the hoodie was missing his lower body; his organs hung down and swung in the air. The driver was missing his entire body with only his head and spinal cord. The woman had a big piece of glass gouged in her head, splitting her head in two. The baby's limbs floated around him like a crown. Ludwig cried seeing these horrors and screamed.
"Oh God, help me, please!!!"
He clenched his locket, praying to his god. The glob looked at Ludwig. Suddenly, Ludwig started to float toward it. He closed his eyes in fear. The glob moved its flesh toward Ludwig's face and ripped off the skin over his eyes, exposing them completely. Ludwig screamed in pain.
"Ahhh!!!"
He moved his hands frantically in pain. The glob opened its mouth, and a small light emanated from its dark mouth. Ludwig fell into a trance by the glob. Ludwig smiled, with blood coming from his eyes. He dreamed of a life where everything was perfect for him. People listened to his thoughts and took his flyers. Everything was perfect. The glob dropped its body on the ground and vanished. The bus and people disappeared as if nothing had happened. Rain poured down again, mixing with blood on the ground. A paper boat floated down the street. It stopped at Ludwig's body. Slowly, a black liquid covered Ludwig and dragged him inside. The boat floated on the rainwater-filled street, carrying a dark and empty presence. Heavy fog and chilling wind blew the boat further until a woman picked it up at a bus stand.
At the end, the question still loomed: What is God? Is there a God to begin with? Or is it something disguised as God?
What came first, God or humans? Who created whom?
The end.