The Cheat that Was

He was tired. He was cold. The sound of the garbage truck making its rounds drove him to wonder—wonder whether he wanted to live.

He smelled the pizza from the day's lunch special. He tasted the residue of the dumpster walls that he had his face smashed into. He cried from bitterness. The bitter taste of refuse.

"Am I refuse?" He asked.

The sky did not reply.

"I just want friends."

The sky did not reply.

"What did I do wrong? Let me take my case to you God. I just need to know why!"

Silence. He heard the guttural growl of the garbage truck drive down the alley.

From an outside perspective, only the bin could be seen, while the truck drowned out the weak cries of the boy with little strength left.

Beep, beep, beep, beep. The sound of the Garbage truck approaching the dumpster sound like the horns of heaven to the boy.

Then, time stopped.

The truck stopped. The clouds stopped. The leaves blowing in the wind stopped their fluttering. The valley stopped: children in the valley, insects in the valley. Nitrogen stopped being released into the soil. O2 stopped being released by tress, which were also in the valley.

Everything stopped.

Everything except for a man. He carried a iron pail with coals lit on fire inside of the pail.

The man.

This man, he preferred to watch humanity from their current plane, their current point of view.

He wore a white fedora and a clean black suit. The suit was tidy, with no blemishes; he was one for cleanliness.

But, despite his cleanliness, he grabbed the lid of the garbage can with both of his dark brown hands. Yes, his hands were black, and so wade his skin. He was by every mark of the word a man of color wearing a black suit and a white fedora.

He said, "Alejandro, you called."

Alejandro, with his face under a trash bag did not know how to respond.

"It's me," the man said, "God."

"God is black???"

"I prefer to be black," he said, "My son, Jesus, took the form of a man of color too, though people assume he was white."

Alejandro didn't know how to respond. He tried his best to climb out of the bin, but he couldn't. His right shoulder had a deep wound, and blood ran down his head.

To Alejandro's surprise, God reached down and picked him out of the trash can like he was new born baby. That is, he picked up Alejandro with no effort at all. He was light. Alejandro was not heavy. He was black. Alejandro was Black. God was tall and muscular. Alejandro was short and fat. There were too many reasons to doubt the situation, but regardless, Alejandro was not dreaming.

Alejandro said, "Put me down."

"..."

"Please."

God put Alejandro down.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Said God.

In that moment, God's eyes betrayed a foolishness that was wise beyond compare.

Alejandro grit his teeth and said, "Why'd you wait until now to help me? Why? Did you enjoy seeing me suffer? Did you enjoy hearing me cry? What have a done to you, huh. What have I done to you!?"

"You put me on a cross."

"That's not! Ugh!" Alejandro clawed at his head, "You know what I mean! You, you're God, aren't you?"

"You seem to fear your bullies more than you fear me," he said.

"Well, I didn't know you existed, you know."

"But now that you know I exist, you still act this way?"

Alejandro realized that before him was the creator of the universe. Before him, stood the Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. He could not fight God in a real fight. He couldn't strike down this necessary being with human strength.

"Like C.S. Lewis wrote," God said, "I am not a tame lion."

Alejandro gulped and closed his eyes and turned his head.

"But don't worry about it," God said, "People have done worse."

Alejandro looked out at the sky, then back down at God.

He said, "How do I know you're not Satan trying to trick me? How do I know I'm not just hallucinating from brain damage?"

"You'll know I'm a few moments," God said, "I heard your plea and have come to grant you a wish."

"A wish?"

"Yes, a wish, any wish that does not upset space-time itself or my will."

"I wish for power!" Alejandro said, "I don't want to be bullied ever again!"

"Ok, but here's the catch."

"Catch?"

"Yes, a catch. You have a year to have this power. After a year, you will decide if yo want to keep this power, or return to the morning of this day, before you even met your bullies today."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Middle-schooler, today is the day. But first, let me purify your lips. That is the method to receiving power."

"With the coals?" Alejandro asked with a plank of fear in his eyes.

"Trust me. They won't burn."

God approached Alejandro.

Alejandro took a step back.

"You want the power, don't you?"

Alejandro nodded his head.

"This is nothing compared to the bigger price you will pay for having this power."

Alejandro ground his teeth and said, "I don't care what I have to go through or what price I have to pay. I'll do it!"

So, God pressed the fiery coal on his lips. And to Alejandro's surprise, it didn't hurt.

"See," God said, "Nothing."

And so, God disappeared, while Alejandro slumped against the wall near the dumpster.

He didn't notice that time had stopped. He didn't notice it had began again.

Not for a single moment.