Chapter 29

Jesus was adrift in a vast, rolling emerald sea. Gentle waves lapped at his ankles as he baked against the unhindered sun with nothing more than his clothes and a tiny raft to protect him.

Seagulls circled forebodingly overhead. Before he even looked around, he knew that there wouldn’t be any land or place of refuge to be found. But he did anyway, and a surge of hope filled him when he spotted a vessel in the distance. In a moment, he was on his knees waving his arms, trying to signal the boat to come to his aid. He was in luck. The ship grew nearer, looming steadily larger against the baby blue horizon speckled with fluffy white puffs of water vapors.

Why then, as the ship grew closer, did the gulls circle in tighter and tighter in anticipation. Jesus did not listen to the uneasy feeling in his stomach. He was overcome with excitement at the prospect of salvation. As the ship grew larger and larger, his hopes grew in turn, until a huge shipping freighter towered out of the water, careening towards Jesus. It was headed right towards him, and showed no signs of stopping. Jesus’ exuberance turned to apprehension, and then terror. The vessel was rocketing towards his meager raft at full speed. He dived for the side, trying to swim as far as he could away from the path of the large ship, but it was no use.

The force of the turbulent undercurrent pulled him into the water and spun him around, as helpless as a rag doll. He couldn’t tell up from down, much less swim against the incredible forces of power that lay at play. He toppled and turned underwater, unable to control himself. The air in his lungs burned like hot coal. If he didn’t get to the surface soon, he would surely drown. He desperately kicked his feet and pumped his arms, attempting to find the sun, but succeeded only in pulling himself deeper into the depths of the ocean, away from the sparkling radiance of the fragmented, crystalline sun. Finally, the air tore free of his lungs, in a desperate, muffled scream, and water filled him.

“Aaaaugh!” Jesus yelled, sitting up out of the bed in a jolt of adrenaline. Andrea awoke immediately.

“What’s wrong, my love? Are you ok?” Jesus’ eyes were wide in fright and body soaked with sweat. It took him a few moments to regain his senses and realize where he was.

“Just a dream; it’s nothing,” he said, settling back down. He looked at the clock. It was nearly eight.

As good a time as any to get out of bed.

He slipped out and started getting ready for the day. Luke had provided enough money to buy basic home amenities like towels and soap from the convenience store down the street. He also bought pens and paper, and in the morning light, before Andrea woke, Jesus wrote into the late hours of the morning about all that had happened of late. Some of it was specific, some vague and general. He dared not write explicitly of what happened on that Baja Leai beachhead only half a month ago. That memory would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Eventually, Andrea awoke and joined him in the kitchen, where he scribbled away in a flow of consciousness style free write.

“Good morning my love. What are you writing?”

“A little bit of nothing, a little bit of everything. Here, listen to this: In languished anguish In tacit complacency The dreams of a notion Ignore horrors they can see.”

“That’s beautiful,” She said, “What’s it about?”

“The war. I think it’s terrible what is happening over there.”

“The march is today, isn’t it?” She said.

“It is. I figured I’ll make breakfast while you get ready, then we can both go and meet John and we can all go together.”

“John was someone you met Friday night?” She said.

“Yes.”

“And let me guess,” She said skeptically, “He put you up to this?”

“He didn’t put me up to this, but he invited me,” He said, “I think it’s a good idea.”

“Whatever you do, I’ll be right behind you, my love,” She said, and went into the bathroom.

The couple ate and took busses to The Rooster, where John was already waiting on them. He was wearing a light green T-Shirt, ripped at the shoulders to expose his arms. His hair was a curly mess, and his smile was wide and welcoming.

“Jesus! Glad you could make it, my friend. And you must be Andrea. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” She said.

“So, are you ready? Where’s everyone else?” Jesus asked, impatient to start.

“Probably at Central Park already if they’re not sleeping in,” John said.

“Great, let’s go,” Jesus said.

The trio took two busses into the center of the city where the edge of Central Park lay. Already, they heard the chants of dozens of voices joined together. They followed the noise.

“There are a few people I want you guys to meet,” John told him. They came upon a throng of wildly attired people, mostly young college students, but with a few older individuals in their thirties and forties interwoven into the color tapestry of charged humanity.

The first person they encountered, Jesus recognized from the bar a few days ago, and before that, the protest in Brooklyn. It was Stars, and he immediately caught sight of them and peeled off from the group to greet his friends.

“Cool that you guys could make it. Good to see you again, Jesus. And what’s your name?”

“I’m Andrea. I see Jesus has neglected to mention me,” She said, heavily sarcastic.

“Actually, he wouldn’t stop talking about you. You’re even more beautiful than I imagined. I’m Andy, but you can call me Stars, and this is my partner, Lily,” He introduced a petite black girl with a wreath of flowers encircling her head.

“Aren’t you two so lovely! I can practically see the love radiating off of you!” Lily said, brimming full of unbridled enthusiasm.

“Can’t you feel it, the love and energy in the air? This is the beginning of a new age,” She proclaimed.

Andrea laughed uncomfortably, as if it was a joke, then realized Lily was being serious. Jesus shifted his weight to the other foot nervously.

“Honey bear, I don’t think they’ve been experienced yet. You want to do the honors?” Stars said.

“What do you mean?” Jesus asked, confused.

“Here,” Lily said, taking a small pouch from the pocket of her ripped jean shorts, “Put this under your tongue,” She handed a small square of paper to Andrea.

“What is it?” She asked.

“It’s acid,” John said.

“It’s a gateway to another dimension,” Lily said.

“It’s far out. Trust us, you need to try it,” Stars said, “Leave it under your tongue until it dissolves.”

Andrea looked at Jesus. He shrugged and nodded. They both took the strange squares of paper from Lily and put them in their mouths. They tasted like paper.

“Are you sure this is right?” Andrea asked.

“Don’t worry, child, it will all become clear,” Lily said cryptically, “Do you mind if I borrow this one?” She said to Jesus. It was an odd question.

“Sure, I don’t see-” Before he could finish answering, she had pulled her into the crowd of hippies, moving and gyrating to the drums that had begun playing in a nearby circle.

“She’ll be back, don’t worry,” Said Stars. Jesus nodded, taking it all in.

“Say man, you got another hit?” Said John.

“As lady luck may have it, you can have my last one,” Stars said. He unwrapped a piece of aluminum foil and handed it to John, who popped it in his mouth.

“Thanks, how much do I owe you?”

“Nothing, friend. Have a happy trip,” Stars said, disappearing back into the crowd from which he came.

“Come over here, I wanna talk to you,” John said. He and Jesus sat down on a nearby park bench.

“So tell me the truth, why did you come to New York out of all places,” John said.

“I didn’t really have a choice. It was something I was forced into,” Jesus said. In front of them, the hippies chanted and moved.

“I know how that can be. Sometimes I feel like I was forced into this whole life. I just took the best decision that was placed in front of me.”

“Yeah, kind of like that,” Jesus said.

“Where do you work?”

“Lucardo’s pizza in Brooklyn,” He answered.

John’s eyebrow raised, “As in Luke Lucardo?”

“Yeah,” Said Jesus, “You know him?”

“Yeah, you could say he’s an old friend,” John said. “How’d you meet him?”

Jesus considered if, and how he should answer the question. Eventually, he decided on the direct approach.

“My dad knows him. He got me a job there.”

“And is that how you ended up in New York in the first place, your dad?”

“In a way, yes.”

“What’s his name?”

“Winston, but some people call him Scott,” Jesus said. Underneath the surface, the gears in John’s mind began churning rapid-fire, but the expression on his face didn’t change.

“Don’t know him. I’m sure he’s a good guy. What’s he like?”

“He’s pretty weird. One moment I think I have him figured out, and the next, he shows me a different side of himself.

“Understandable,” John said. He paused, calculating his next move. “What’s your dream, Jesus?”

“How do you mean?”

“You know, your life dream. Like, what do you want to do in twenty years? Unless you’re content working for Lucardo’s pizza.”

“I want to be a writer.”

“Ah, yes. You mentioned that earlier at the bar. What do you like to write?”

“You know, poetry, prose, anything,” He said, “I think the written word is beautiful.”

“You know, I just might be able to help you out,” Said John with a warm smile.

In the middle of the drum circle, Lily had pulled Andrea into the center of a dozen people dancing to the moving rhythms. Lily moved her head and arms freely, letting her body sway and flow with the energy. Andrea was a bit overwhelmed by the experience, surrounded by people she didn’t know in an unfamiliar setting, but she wanted to fit in with the crowd, so she began moving her feet with the beat.

Soon, she was moving her hips, too, and before long, her entire body. Lily took her hands and spun her around, dancing around her and beside her. Lily had no apprehension about dancing. Everything about the small girl was totally free. Not careless, just unrestricted by the chains of cultural norm. She let herself fall in step with the dance of Lily, feeding off of her vibrance and energy. In front of her, a tall, bearded man was stomping his feet in pulse with the beat. Sparks of energy flew off his shoes, and the entire world gained an otherworldly glow, as if another new color had been added to the light spectrum.

Everything sheened and tessellated, and a powerful, almost overwhelming feeling began to arise in Andrea. The people, the drums, the signs of protests, even the war all took on a new meaning to her.

“You’re feeling it, aren’t you?” Lily said.

“Yeah, I am. It’s amazing,” Andrea said. The world blossomed and bubbled around her, like a three dimensional mosaic, but the most incredible thing was the raw emotion of it. She could feel the love of everyone around her, their positive vibrations filling the continuum of time with an uplifting vibrancy. It was electrifying. She lost herself to the beating of the drums, the dancing, the warm sunlight, and the pure emotion and energy she felt from all around her. She felt like part of a whole, a single molecule in a drop of water. She was the people around her, and the people around her were her. The exhilarating feeling came in waves, almost overpowering at times, but she rode with it, not resisting the powerful chemical magic that was rushing through her body and her mind.

I wish Jesus was here to experience this with me.

She thought about the love and appreciation she had for her partner. In that very moment, she decided that Jesus was her soulmate, that they were meant to be together for all time. She searched the crowds for him, sifting through the sea of unfamiliar faces, but he was nowhere to be seen. She turned and turned again, starting to become worried. What if he left? What if he didn’t love her? Frantically, she began pushing through the throngs of people, trying to make her way back to where they had been before. Lily was long gone, lost in the dancing crowd. She was alone, unable to find anyone she knew in an unfamiliar place when a powerful voice burst through the ruckus.

“NYPD, nobody move!”