Chapter 4: 4. Back on the Ground

__Aby__

 

I didn’t believe in God. Never had, never will. Grandma hadn’t been religious either, or so I think. It’s normal. Or so the surveys say: the majority, or roughly 52 percent of Chinese, are non-religious.

I checked the possibilities of the ‘pseudo-God’ lying. It was possible, my brain told me. Also probable, but nothing was for sure since I knew nothing about God. I sighed. Me and my stupid little brain.

School was a necessity after all. Nobody ever told me that God existed, or that I might accidentally meet him one day. If school was a place for learning, it ought to tell me the answers I needed. About how the Pseudo-God had done something that, if I were correct, defied most of the laws of physics. To my knowledge, teleportation was impossible with current technology. And the tiny little stars I had seen in the background looked similar to the ones I saw in the night sky. I made a mental note to keep studying more about religion. And also technology, since my knowledge was clearly outdated.

The apocalypse. The person told me that the apocalypse was happening. That we would all die. He said ‘virus’, I remembered, and ‘zombie infestation’ . He told me to stay away from schools and small neighborhoods. Like that would happen. The person was currently on the top ten of my list of suspicious people, and I was not going to have anything to do with him unless I had concrete proof he was telling the truth. And to get my proof, I would need to go to school, and to go to school, I needed to find the police station.

I could just ditch school if it seemed problematic, I concluded.

Problem solved. But there was another problem. I put my hands inside my pocket and took out the shiny gold medallion I had been given by the person. There were many circles and other shapes drawn on it, making the thing look mystical. It gave me a peculiar feeling.

What was this? I wondered. What purpose did it have? And why… my brow creased. I frowned. Why did the ‘God’ try to give it to me?

I inspected the object more closely. Real gold, or I hoped so. I bit into it, but my teeth didn’t leave a single mark. Instead, my teeth fit inside the ridges of the coin perfectly. Too perfectly. I calmed down. Well, that’s that. Maybe it was plated, or of low quality. I would have to inspect it later. 

A person passed by-the streets were crowded. I immediately shoved the flat disk into my pocket. Thieves were scarce, but that didn’t mean I shouldn’t be careful. A child with coin was conspicuous. Suspicious. If someone took my things- I frowned. Harassment could be endured, and as long as I was alive with all limbs intact, scrapes would solve themselves with time, but money was everything. Especially with the supposed apocalypse coming up. If someone steals your valuables, you aren’t getting them back. My dreams would be shattered. Whatever choices I had would disappear. Grandma told me never to trust my stepmom or dad, so of course I wasn’t going to trust them with my future.

I walked over into the direction the ‘God’ had said the police station was.

The building itself was not that well designed. Blue and hideous, but easily recognizable. I gave myself a small pat on the back for making it this far. There was a small hill part of the way so it wasn’t easy either- heaving myself to the top, it felt like my legs were going to drop off.

Luckily, the entrance was at the front without any stairs so it was easily accessible. I got closer and crossed the parking lot, then I knocked on the door.

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Maybe they didn’t hear me. I knocked again.

The door was transparent anyways, I thought. It barely fulfilled its purpose as a door. Should I just barge in? But that would be rude. I was here to ask for help. I wouldn’t want to help anyone rude to me, and I doubted the police would either.

It was then that a shadow fell over me. Goosebumps came over my skin. I turned around with my back straight and head back. I saw a man. A very dumpy, chubby, warm looking man with a donut stuck in his mouth. His head was lowered, as if I was so short that he couldn’t see me without sticking his neck out. I stood on the tip of my toes so he could see me better. I wasn’t that short, I huffed sullenly. He was too tall. My stamina regained by now, I opened my mouth, filled with confidence.

“Good afternoon.” I said.

The man swallowed his donut.

“I am Aby, and being lost, I wish to use your services. I hereby request to be taken to Apartment 02, Building No. 38, Everdane Residential Community, Second Road, C District.”

As Grandma likes to say, confidence is key, and I was oozing confidence. I was sure my request would be stamped, approved, and taken seriously.

“It is the duty of the police to help the people.” I added last minute, just to ward off any uncertainty.

The man didn’t answer. He just looked at me curiously. He was very big. But no, I wasn’t about to let my self confidence escape me. It had even endured God, it couldn’t be taken away by a mountain sized man with a boxful of donuts and the fashion of a five year old.

You know what? He was the police. And since Grandma told me that police could be trusted, I decided to entrust the man with my current dilemma. I rummaged in my pocket for the gold medallion I received from the self-proclaimed God. What a pity I didn’t have their diary. That would be fool-proof evidence.

“And, um-” I brought the gold piece to the light, and it sparkled.

“I got this from God.” I said hesitatingly. “They told me that the apocalypse is coming, and everybody is going to die. Can you give this back to him?”