A story about two people on a train - with religious overtones, but no real point. (599 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.77 on 17 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by itchy <itchy.is.Teephphah.you.dumbass.at.gmail.com> (View user info) at 2005-03-08 11:11:35 EST
"You certainly do have a knack for turning up in the most unexpected places" Peter Thomason thought as he stared blankly at Jesus' suffering face.
The two a.m. train from Queens to Brooklyn was not the sort of place he would think to see his former savior's fingertips reaching out to him, as the fallen lords arms remained pinned to a board so much like butterfly wings in some entomologist's glass case.
"Why here and why now?" Peter wondered numbly, "You have to know that we are done. I will not come back to You. I do not want You. I don't nee . . ."
"What the fuck you lookin' at, mang?"
The words were spoken angrily in a heavy Spanish accent. A sense of menace underlying them shook Peter from his thoughts, and he looked up from the face of his once-savior into the hostile eyes of a young man sitting opposite him on the mostly empty train.
"Huh?" Peter mumbled clumsily, "Oh, the crucifix on your rosary there caught my eye. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare."
"You some kind of faggot, ese? You checkin' me out? You want me to fuck you or some shit like that, mang? I will fuck you UP. Ha! How you like DAT?" the young Latino man threatened.
The threats did not fluster Peter though. He'd seen many young men just like this one, many times before. The tattoos peeking out of the neckline of his button-up shirt showing his "set", the words he had spoken themselves, even the tear-drop tattoos - two of them - trailing from the boy's, (and really he was still just a boy,) left eye . . . they were all only devices to inspire fear. Just like the crucifix on the rosary that hung around the boy's neck . . .
"'m a priest," Peter said softly touching his hand to his chest, "Padre'."
Two days had passed since Peter had left the Church, and already lying was becoming second-nature. He was a priest no longer, a "man of faith" no longer, and yet he still felt guilt for his current deceit. "Old habits die hard," he supposed, but the lie served the purpose for which it was intended.
"Oh, shit!" the boy exclaimed, crossing himself vigorously and apologetically.
"Oh shit, Padre', lo siento! Lo siento! I'm sorry, you looked just like a normal person."
Peter shook his head wearily and forced a smile he did not feel. It felt more like a grimace from the inside. Waving off the boy's pleas for forgiveness; telling him there was nothing to forgive, Peter said, "You can never be too sure who you are going to run into out late at night like this. I understand. Think nothing of it."
"Can't be too sure, huh?" the boy asked, "You stick with me Padre', and you won't have nothin' to worry about then. I make sure no one mess with you. I owe you one and I got friends in Brooklyn. They look out for you too. Where you goin' anyway?"
"Not sure yet," Peter replied, honestly this time. "My sister's in Brooklyn, I guess that's where I'm going. Guess I had better find a hotel though. It IS late."
The boy cocked his head a little hearing this, trying to peer into the priest's downcast eyes.
"You okay Padre'?" he asked. You seem a little fu . . . um; you seem a little messed up. Know what I mean?"
Peter actually chuckled at the boy's words, again, honestly. "Yes," he said, "I suppose I know what you mean. I'm just a little tired, . . . uh, I'm sorry. I've not asked you your name. I'm Peter."
"Gabriel." The boy said jerking his thumb to his chest and pronouncing the words with a decidedly Spanish flourish. "But everybody calls me 'Toro.'" This last bit was said a little sheepishly.
"'Toro,' huh?" Peter questioned, "Doesn't that mean 'bull?'"
"Yeah," Gabriel said, "It's because I'm so strong for my size, I guess. See, one time when I was fourteen, I lifted a car off my dad. I don't know how I did it. But he was under there fixin' something. He was always fixin' something on one of his cars. Anyway, he was under there and the jack broke."
"I was scared, man. Terrified. But I didn't think nothin' about it; I just went over there, grabbed hold of the bumper and lifted the thing off him. It was the strangest thing."
"When we got my dad to the hospital, he told the doctor that his little 'toro' was the one who saved him. People been callin' me 'Toro' ever since."
"Whoa." Peter said. "That's amazing."
Now it was Gabriel's turn to shake his head, "Nah. You ought to know what it was Padre'. It was a miracle. It wasn't me that lifted that car. No way. I couldn't do it. I'm not THAT strong. God's the only one who could have done that, Padre', He was the one lifted the car. He just used me to do it."
Peter looked into Gabriel's eyes and saw the light of blind faith shining in them. The rapturous elation of pure faith. The joy the simple people were lucky enough to hold onto from childhood. The light he'd lost not too long ago.
He'd seen it thousands of times in the faces of the people of his parish, and Peter wondered briefly if Gabriel would notice the dull darkness in his own eyes. Peter wondered if Gabriel would see the evidence of the part of him that wanted to tell Gabriel know about all the similar stories he had read in the news over the years; Stories about mothers saving their children from fallen trees, or walls that had suddenly collapsed. Peter knew that sometimes traumatic situations could cause a massive release of adrenaline and that that was how all of those stories were explained. Peter knew that was what had happened to Gabriel, and that what happened wasn't a miracle. Part of him wanted Gabriel to know it too. But Gabriel cut him off.
"Doctor said that thing like that can happen sometimes." Gabriel said. "He said something about all kinds of crazy chemicals makin' people be able to do outlandish shit."
"Hmmmfff," Peter grunted, not wanting to give away his own thoughts.
"But you know what I say, Padre'?" Gabriel asked.
"What do you think Toro?" Peter replied trying to keep his cynicism at bay in that last word.
"I think, that doctor wasn't there, mang. He got no idea what it felt like. I was there. I know. It didn't feel like no 'chemical reaction.' Ha! I know all about what 'chemicals' feel like in your body, right?!"
"Oh, uh, sorry, Padre', but it wasn't like none of that. Nah, man, it was different. Everything just felt . . . light. The car, me, everything. Like everything was floating and I was just filled up with all of this . . . I don't know . . . "power." I could have done anything right then Padre', but all I wanted to do was help my dad. That's all I wanted to do, and I think that's where that power came from, you know? Not from some bunch of steroids pumpin' through my blood or whatever that doctor said."
'Besides, Gabriel went on, "Wouldn't matter if it was 'chemicals' anyway. Those chemicals had to get there somehow, right? Had to be put there for a reason. If they're there in everybody all the time, just waitin', then how come people ain't usin' 'em all the time? Fact is, things like that only happen once in a while. Hardly ever. So how you know which time they gonna kick in and which time they won't? You don't, mang. Nobody does, not even that doctor. Only God knows, mang. He's got the tools, fine. But He's still the one decides when and how to use 'em. And that's what a miracle is, Padre'. Least that's how I see it."
"Ha!" Gabriel said. "What do you think about that?!" And he picked up the crucifix hanging on the rosary around his neck and held it out to Peter's gaze before he kissed it happily.
"Hmmmfff," Peter said again. He had just decided that he did not like Gabriel very much, and he wanted to get off this train.
User Reviews
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2005-03-09 10:09:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
not having read the bible I think I miss a lot of the dynamic here.
I liked the dialogue though.
Apart from 'wondered numbly' that was just lame.
Submitted by shandythedog (user info) at 2005-03-09 04:32:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
i thought this read very well, actually, and had alot of feeling to it.
maybe the last block of dialogue from gabriel was a bit long and forced, could be broked up with some comment/description about him carrying on at such length?
the last line was excellent: unexpected but somehow conveying/reinforcing a lot.
Submitted by RideJohnnyRide (user info) at 2005-03-08 19:08:34 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Teephphah (user info) at 2005-03-08 15:21:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Shlongy - It ain't no thing, man. Look. It is just this easy . . . WHAMO! The "streak" is ruined.
I've even mentioned that this thing is a mess, so I don't know if I'm getting "A"s for effort or what, but . . . it isn't a "+2" post in my opinion. At least not yet. Still thinking I'll rework it once I get all the concepts straight in my head.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-03-08 15:00:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I KINDA liked it...not enough for a +2 but I'm sick of getting yelled at.
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2005-03-08 14:00:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Hmmmmm...
Submitted by Dannie (user info) at 2005-03-08 13:57:48 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by TigerLilly (user info) at 2005-03-08 13:47:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
"This story is actually a complete mess. NONE of the ideas I started out with found fruition in the end, but I thought the interraction between the two was at least quasi-interesting enough to post."
This post was definitely interesting.
+ 2 for PG greatest hits!! Great CD.
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2005-03-08 13:23:12 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
the way your mind works is God's own mystery
Submitted by itchy (user info) at 2005-03-08 13:05:47 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Tigerlilly - "Gabriel" was allllllmost the arch-angel in disguise. Maybe he still was. I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted to do. But there were never any plans to include the former front man for "Genesis." (Although, coincidentally, I did break out ol' PG's greatest hits this weekend.)
There was also going to be something in there about "Peter" denying God three times . . . but that one kind of got away from me. (Ah . . . "Peter" and "Gabriel" - now I get it. No, "Peter's" name came from the "denial" thing - and the "Thomason" from his "doubt" thing. "Gabriel's came from the angel thing.)
This story is actually a complete mess. NONE of the ideas I started out with found fruition in the end, but I thought the interraction between the two was at least quasi-interesting enough to post. I may try to rework this one in the future, though.
Submitted by TigerLilly (user info) at 2005-03-08 12:45:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I really like Peter Gabriel.
Wait, this wasn't about the singer?
Good post.
Submitted by Ainkara (user info) at 2005-03-08 12:21:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I like
Submitted by mles76 (user info) at 2005-03-08 12:16:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by itchy (user info) at 2005-03-08 11:30:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I did this instead of something that might actually be exciting to read.
To everyone I've already contacted on that little story . . . I blame the ADD.
Submitted by Pentameter (user info) at 2005-03-08 11:26:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Heh...you rock.
Submitted by DonkeyOnTheEdge (user info) at 2005-03-08 11:25:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Your trains are nicer than ours.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2005-03-08 11:19:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Interesting.