I was not about to close my store off to a line of hungry people.
We needed to provide them with some level of service
Regardless of how small it was.
I viewed the line of people as several days of my survival.
My partner agreed with me.
We lowered the level of food offering
Even further to the point where the amount
Was barely enough to feed one person for a half a day.
I had no remorse knowing that just behind my back wall
Was an abundant supply of food
That would feed me through the storm.
The food was mine.
The crowd was lucky
That I was not selfish and supplied them with some.
The next day, Beelzebub noticed
That a portion of the food had become rotten.
We both decided to trim the decayed food
And place them in the bundles to give out.
I reassured myself that rotten food was better than no food at all.
The people did not seem to notice.
I received a surprise visit the following day
From a few of my suppliers.
The farmers did not wait in line
Like the others and barged into the store.
Due to the frost that was destroying their land;
They were demanding back the crops that they sold me.
With the storage area well hidden,
I told them that all the food we had
Was going to the people of the city.
If they required food,
They would have to wait in line.
My words enraged them
As they began threatening to cut off my stock
For future seasons
If I did not return their product.
I replied that I could not
As it was dispersed amongst the people.
In a sudden turn of events,
The people began to fight along side me
As they did not want the food that they were to receive
To be given back to the farmers.
With the farmers outnumbered and
Being forced from the store,
It was apparent that I had won the battle.
As they were pushed,
They proclaimed that I was hording the food, but
The people were only concerned
With their current status in the line
To believe such nonsense.
We continued to give out the contaminated food as
We did not want it to alter the fresh supply.
The amount of rotten food was more
Than we had originally thought as
We uncovered more that was buried deep in storage.
We increased the amount of food in the bundles
In order to cleanse the store.
Outside, the snow enlarged in density.
A bitter wind howled through the streets.
The city was completely covered with a white cover
That was thickening with each coming day.
With their robes glistening with white crystals,
The prophets continued their tales and
I was there to hear every word.
They spoke of snow as the tears of a demon;
The frost as its coffin.
They enlightened me by saying the freezing rain
Will slay many and alter few.
Were they talking about people or animals?
They never answered my questions,
Which was quite frustrating.
The line in front of the shop became larger
With every day that went by.
I still saw every person as a day of my survival.
To see several hundred people lining up was a bit depressing.
I told Beelzebub my worries,
He suggested that we could close the store and
Claim the food was depleted.
He said it was my choice
And that he would abide by my decision.
The choice was difficult
As I was giving food away, albeit some of it was contaminated.
Was it not my right to preserve my own salvation?
I had acquired the food in good faith,
So I should be able to do with it as I see.
I should not have to suffer for believing in the prophets.
Everyone had the same opportunity to prepare for the storm;
Instead they chose to ignore the words.
I should not have to suffer for the ignorance of others.
I looked to Beelzebub with a smile and made my choice.
He was very satisfied to say the least
As that meant more food for him as well.
I stood upon a table and acquired attention.
I announced that we would no longer be able to offer food
As the supply had run dry.
My words instantly sent everyone into a panic.
They desperately laid claim to any food that was present.
Arguments and fights sporadically
Showed their ugly faces as the thought of no food
Entered into the minds of the customers.
The word spread quickly outside
Where the line wrapped through the streets.
People began to shove one another
In hopes to gain access inside.
Beelzebub and I started to funnel the people outside
In hopes that we could rid the store of chaos.
He grabbed two of his butcher knives.
The threat of violence led the customers out through the door
And onto the cold, bitter streets.
We barricaded the door and breathed a sigh of relief.
I was not concerned about their safety
Or how they would weather the storm.
I was only concerned about my survival through the blizzard and
My partner shared my fears.
With no one inside, we opened up our storage
Simply to look upon it with satisfaction.
I felt relieved not to give away any more food.
I saw the pile as my complete salvation.
The morning after, we did not open.
It was the first time that I did not
Welcome customers since starting the store.
It was quite relaxing
To not have to set up the visual table.
I only wanted to hear the words of the prophets.
The new speech brought about more concerns
Of the freezing rain that would soon arrive.
They said the rain would seal doors, crack streets
And would serve as the first sign of devastation.
They advised everyone to stay
Within the safety of their abodes.
No one except me would listen.
As I walked away from the prophet,
I was approached by two men who demanded food.
I told them that I had no more to give.
They were in a state of starvation
With their thin appearance and sunken cheeks.
I myself was very healthy and
Was nourished quite nicely each day, but
My appearance did not seem to help the cause.
They became violent and began to shove me around
And accused me of hording food.
I denied their accusations as they pushed me to the ground.
Beelzebub came out of the store armed with his knives
And stood by my side.
The inclusion of blades halted my attackers’ progress.
They backed away slowly, then ran the opposite way.
To calm myself from the recent incident,
I sat down with a ripe apple and stared at the pile of food.
My power came from knowing that the men
Who attacked me would weaken in the days to come;
That I
would continue to be healthy.
The next hazy sun brought about the freezing rain.
It pounded the city and all who dared to be outside.
From the haven of the shop,
I could hear the screams of people outside.
There was no physical warning.
The sharpened rain droplets appeared at a blistering speed.
Several people banged on our door in hopes to seek shelter,
But Beelzebub and I were performing inventory of our food.
We ignored their request as we were quite busy.
The screams got louder and distracted
Me from counting the bananas.
It was very annoying.
I opened the front door ever so slightly
To hear the shouted words of the prophets.
They were no longer standing at their usual places.
Instead they sought shelter underneath an overhang.
Their robes had become tattered from the frozen falling daggers,
But still they preached in hopes to save lives.
They spoke of a massive hail storm
That would destroy buildings and scar the city.
I began to worry as everything they had foreseen
Had come true.
Before I could close the door an arm
Penetrated from the outside and kept the door ajar.
Someone was trying to overpower me to gain access.
I pushed at the door but the inclusion of the arm
Made it nearly impossible to close it fully.
I called to Beelzebub who came to my aid.
He held the door and told me to get a knife.
Without much thought I grabbed one from a nearby table
And tried to give it to him.
He told me that there was no time,
That I must handle the situation myself
As our stockpile of food was in jeopardy.
The pressure was too much for me,
I stalled in my actions.
Beelzebub hurried my thoughts
While the man was pushing open the door.
I gripped the knife and slashed the blade across the arm.
The man cried out in pain.
Beelzebub told me to do it again.
I slashed one more time as the man withdrew his arm
Allowing us to close the door.
I looked at the blood dripping from the knife.
I knew that it was necessary in order to preserve our salvation,
But the pain that I caused another human
Made my heart sink into my stomach and drown itself.
Beelzebub took the knife and smiled at me in acceptance.
From that day on, I knew I had to protect the food
By any means necessary.
I knew the starvation was making people desperate.
I vowed that I would strive to never feel that pain.
I did not want to die by hunger.
The steps that I accomplished would help me avoid it.
I awoke to the loud knocking
On the walls and ceiling.
The hail had begun to fall.
It sounded like the city was being
Bludgeoned to death with heavy stones.
God pummeled the buildings with great authority.
The weak human constructions and materials
Were no match for the sheer power of the almighty.
The impact of the heavier hail
Splintered and cracked the wooden structure of the store.
The grey haze of the outside leaked through the cracks
And holes that mother nature was creating.
The dull rays of light spilled into the shop
With full force and extended across the entire floor.
We overturned tables and leaned them up against
The storage walls to provide reinforced protection
In case the hail storm intensified.
The newly created holes in the front wall
Provided me with the opportunity to peer outside.
I saw many people running to seek shelter
Through the snow ridden streets.
The ice on the ground made it almost impossible
To gain traction as several people lost their balance.
The large ice chunks exploded upon impact
With the land and buildings.
The shattering of the ice bombs glistened
Against the grey glow of the city.
The noise of the blasts shook the very foundation
Of my spine and forced uncontrollable twitches in my muscles.
I surveyed further down the street and
Witnessed bundles of cloth submerged in the snow.
At first I thought that someone lost their cloaks,
But as the wind shifted the material,
I was able to view the lifeless body of a woman.
Her skin was blue in appearance
With an expression of fear frozen upon her face.
The vision did not startle me as
I knew that death would reveal itself within the storm eventually.
I looked down the other end of the street and saw more bodies
Being buried in the snow.
A man forcefully started beating on the front door
While I looked to him through a hole in the wall.
When he received no response,
He ran across the street to another store
When a large piece of hail struck him in his back.
The power of the hail forced him face down into the snow.
He was slowly moving and
Managed to raise himself with his arms.
As he struggled to get to his knees,
Another piece of ice smashed into the back of his head
And silenced his movements.
The boulder of ice exploded on impact with his skull
Robbing him of his life.
The bright red blood flowed into the street
Crystallizing in the freezing environment.
The cold wind that crept through the hole gave me chills, so
I walked into the food storage and sliced up some bread.
During our meals, as Beelzebub and I sat with food,
It was not uncommon for us to be serenaded
With the chilling sounds of screams from the outside world.
We tried to have at least one big meal each day
In order to keep our strength up.
To my surprise, I was even gaining weight
Which was welcomed as the excess fat provided me with warmth.
On one particular day when the weather was so horrid,
I could not even see the street from my hole,
I heard a knock on the door.
Through the random shifts in the wind,
I was able to catch a glimpse of a dull red robe of a prophet.
He was standing outside the store
And was simply knocking on the door.
I called to Beelzebub and showed him the visitor.
I struggled with the dilemma of whether to allow him entry.
Beelzebub said it was my choice and that
He would once again agree with my decision.
I thought about how the prophets were the ones
Who warned me of the blizzard;
How their words prepared me for my survival.
On the other hand,
It was one more mouth to feed;
One more stomach to satisfy.
I wanted Beelzebub to assist me in my decision,
He offered me nothing as usual.
I opted to remain silent,
Denying entrance to the prophet.
From past experience, I knew that my denial of entry
To anyone would ultimately lead to their death.
The survival rate on the street had decreased dramatically.
I looked through the hole and did not see the red robe anymo
re,
I knew that my dilemma had subsided.
Beelzebub, for some reason,
Forced me to make all of the tough decisions.
He only offered me a smile after the choice was made.
The latest choice proved to be the hardest so far,
I believed that I made the right decision
Since our food pile was slowly diminishing.
Moments after, I imagined the prophet
Pummeled by the hail as he froze to death.
I desperately looked out the hole to see if my vision was correct.
Beelzebub must have seen my desperation.
He wanted to ease my worry so
He summoned me for a meal.
My hunger took precedence over my concern for the prophet.
It prompted me to sit down at the table with a plate of food.
After I was full from my meal
I discarded the excess that I could not eat
Within a wooden crate that we used for waste.
The crate began to smell so horribly
With the mixture of food
That we decided to empty it outside.
The front door was sealed shut from the ice,
But I managed to jar it loose.
The air was so cold outside
That my fingers immediately turned numb upon contact.
I tilted the crate
Allowing the waste to spill out onto the ground.
The warmth of the food released steam
Upon blending with the snowy terrain.
I could not cleanse the crate completely
As the weather was too unbearable
For me to stay out long enough.
I slammed the door closed
Trying desperately to remove my chill,
But was drawn to the hole in wall
As I heard a loud commotion outside.
I peered through the hole and saw several people
Rummaging through the food waste.
Their skin was a pale blue and hardened from the frost.
Icicles hung from their mouths and noses
In an eerie fashion that presented a monstrous persona.
As if the cold had consumed their bodies
Making them slaves to the blizzard.
They were uncontrollable in their mannerisms
The Sinner Page 14
