Man in the Mirror

A cool breeze sweeps through the buildings of a bustling city, on a warm Friday afternoon. The call for prayer can be faintly heard over the noises commonly heard in a market place on weekends. A man hustles past pedestrians in haste, a thin sheen of sweat coating his forehead. His eyes staring sharply in front of him, bulging and reddish from strain. He bumps a lady with the heavy rucksack he's carrying, and as he adjusts it he mumbles,

"Sorry miss" in a thick accented English.

Things aren't going well for him it seems. He looks stressed out and fatigued as he leaves the market centre quicker than he entered, and without his burden. As the Adhan ends he presses a button on a rigged switch and whispers "I'm so sorry". The explosives sends innocent shoppers and sellers flying. Those lucky enough to be close to the blast zone die immediately, those further away succumb to the terrible pain.

The man who delivers the explosives doesn't leave unscathed. As soon as he hit the switch he's overcome with a searing pain and starts coughing copious amounts of blood. The switch wasn't just meant to trigger a bomb, it seems. He's brought to his knees as sirens and tortured cries are heard. Turning to lay on his back, tears run down his face as his eyes loses its light. His last thought, of a girl.

His eyes quickly snap back, the jaded eyes of a man betrayed. Why was he still alive. All that pain, the lives he just took, why is he still breathing. Is this a curse, a cruel joke? Are they going to kill her now? They already betrayed him by poisoning him. Was this all worth it then?

"Well, was it?" a gentle voice asked. He was violently brought back to the present as he jumped at the sudden question. It was then he realised that his environment changed. Where once he stood in a city turned war zone, now he stood in a void. His eyes could only see the pitch black of the nether. It was as if he was in space, only there was no light, no stars. Only he, and what appeared to be an old man. That was the only way he could describe the person that stood in front of him.

"Are you going to answer your question or just continue staring at me?" the old man said

"Where. Where am I?" the terrorist asked

"First answer the question, then I will tell you" the old man replied

"What? What is this? Are you with them? I did what you asked!" the man started walking up to the old man "I did everything you asked me to!" he shouted at the old man and goes to grab him, but he had no hands. He looked down in shock only to see that his body was gone as well.

"What is this?" he mumbles

"Was causing all that death, all that pain, worth it?" the old man asks again

In shock still, the terrorist looks at the old man, blinking away unshed tears

"No, it was not" he whispers "I am disgusted with myself for committing such a crime"

"And if you could go back, would you do it again. Even for the life of a girl?" the old man asked

The terrorist hesitates for a few seconds, then starts breaking down and with a sobs he says "No, I would not."

Smiling sadly, the old man beckons and says "Come, Boy, we must speak"

"Sir, what is this? Where am I? Who are you?" the young man asks

"All will be explained shortly. Come, sit" the old man waves and two chairs appear in the void.

"We are in a dimension between states. Your mind would be correct for calling this a void. And before you ask, yes, your mind is open to me, and no I cannot stop myself from hearing your thoughts."

"I have many names, some you've never heard, having not been uttered for ages. The name known to many now is God. Yes, the same one." the Old Man says "please, hold your questions for when I finish"

The young man nods slowly with big eyes.

"I have existed from the beginning, I formed the stars and the planets. I created the Earth as you call it, ocean and all within it. I created man, then I stood back and let you control your own fate" God said

"Then I watched you subjugate your fellow man. Label my creation by race, colour and creed. And then kill the innocent, In My Name. I brought flood, hoping to flush the filth away. Yet the taint remained and blossomed in a small city. I rained down fire on that city, hoping to burn it to the ground. Yet the filth already spread. To what it is now." the old man continued

" And I grow tired " He sighed " I have grown weary of seeings brothers killing brothers. Fathers raping daughters and claiming that they do it in My Name. I have had enough "

" Is there nothing You can do to stop it? " the young man meekly asked

"What is there to do? Give rules to follow? Punish the evildoers? Die for you?" the Old Man snarks "Believe me, I've tried that already"

...

" So I made you"