do you know it is the same?”
Because I just do.
“What happened?”
He hides more when he sees a man approach.
Fool.
The man says.
Seemingly to himself.
Peter-John shakes his head.
Bad stuff. I really don’t want to talk about it. I only wish to forget that and move on with my life.
“If you won’t meet me, than at least tell me.”
There is a short silence.
Peter-John looks around.
No one was near.
He relaxes more.
His face less tense.
The wrinkles barely visible.
That stuff messes with you. That’s all. Stop gardening and stop with the flowers if you have been arranging.
“Omar, what happened?”
A short silence.
Then.
I saw stuff okay.
He shouts.
“What kind of stuff?”
Things. I’m not sure what they or it was.
“Where was this?”
Omar sighs.
Starts.
We, me and my date, went to the club. Joint near the mall. She went in first. I went to… you know. She didn’t know.
“Then what?”
Omar sighs again.
Soon as I entered the club, I saw them.
There is a short silence.
One… a grotesque looking one… was rubbing up against my date. She was dancing by herself, but it was there, behind her. Rubbing up against her. It was like he wanted her.
“What else?”
There were more of them. All over the place. All of them surrounding the people. Doing stuff to them, but the people were unaware of their presence.
He continues.
What really freaked me though, was the way they hounded the girls. Like they wanted to do things to them. Sexually I mean. That one rubbing against my date, definitely wanted her.
“Unbelievable.”
Yeah. That’s what I said. It must have been those blue violets.
“So you believe it was a hallucination? Brought on by that?”
Had to be. There is no other explanation for it.
“You don’t think it was anything other than that?”
No. It was that and perhaps months and years of doing it. I messed up my head. Think I suffer from dementia, perhaps I’m a schizo.
“Mental?”
Yeah. That’s why I’m warning you to stop. Your friend should too.
“Thank you for telling me, Omar. I really appreciate it.”
Sure. But please. Stop calling me. I have said my final peace. I don’t want to be reminded of that life or anyone apart of it.
“I understand.”
Peace.
The line goes dead.
Peter-John hangs up the phone.
That must be what it is.
Disorder of the brain.
Sounds more realistic than to go and blame it on demons.
The devil.
He peeks from the booth.
Pulls his hoodie tight and walks away fast.
I must speak to Drew.
س
“After God created the souls, while they were still in the world of the souls, He woke them all up and told them that He is their Lord. When He asked them: ‘Who is your Lord?’ they answered: ‘You, Lord.’ So, not a person today… or since existence… does not know God and know that He is God.”
“Why do people then not believe in Him, or even that He exists?”
“Well, there are many reasons for this, but let’s start with the soul.”
“Okay, I’m listening.”
“The soul is placed into this body to experience life through the senses. It has a desire to return to the world of the souls, meaning to be near to God, seeking peace, love, tranquillity as it has always known.”
“Your point being?”
“It starts seeking that through the eyes, the ears, the nose, touch and the rest. The soul is actually looking for God. Through the senses, together with the intellect, it thus sees the evidence of God. All of creation is evidence of God. But the soul still seeks that feeling of tranquillity, love, peace.
What it gazes upon, it will start to like, if it gets pleasure from it. If it keeps looking upon it and remains to get pleasure from it, it will start to love it. If it continues to look, it will not be able to live without it. All this, because it yearns to feel what it always felt, before it entered the body. It will keep looking for that through the senses and whatever remotely resembles that feeling, it will start to pursue and finally covet.
So, there is no denying that the feeling is true, but it can be love for the wrong thing, even if in the eyes of the lover, it can’t be wrong.”
“I don’t follow what you’re saying. How can love ever be wrong?”
“To dispute that it is even love is still open for discussion. But let’s not get hung up on that. To love the wrong thing, is a disease of the heart.”
“But how can you love the wrong thing?”
“Well, listen.”
ش
"Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left: Nor wilt thou find, in most of them, gratitude (for thy mercies)." Surah l-aʿrāf (The Heights) 7:17
“So what are you saying?”
He frowns and shakes his head.
“What I am trying to tell you is that the whole celebrity thing is something they cooked up. It is more of the propaganda.”
Peter-John frowns more.
He asks.
“I do not understand you exactly. A celebrity is…”
“A celebrity because they made them as such and then the rest followed suit. Put it this way, we would never have had celebrities, if they didn’t… create… them in the first place.”
Peter-John shakes his head as if he understood.
“It does not only end there though. They are in all spheres of life… these… soldiers. Entertainment, sports, science, education… religion… politics… got a couple of presidents that were theirs, if not all of them. And it is not limited to America only. We were only the guinea pigs.”
“So you’re saying this is not only got to do with America?”
He shakes his head.
Seems annoyed as he starts.
‘You don’t get it do you? This hasn’t got to do with the American people. It has to do with everyone. These are soldiers, meant for a purpose.”
Peter-John frowns.
“And that purpose is…?”
“To mislead, misguide, influence, corrupt, distract, confuse… us from the path…”
He gets up and turns to face Peter-John.
Before he starts, Peter-John asks.
“You say that as if they are meant to lead us in some direction.”
He shakes his head as if to agree.
“One direction.”
More confused, Peter-John asks.
“And that is?”
He laughs softly, as if he still can’t believe that Peter-John doesn’t understand it.
“Hell. They are satan’s soldiers; in human form.”
“That sounds… I…”
“You don’t believe me? Or the rest that say it?”
Peter-John gets up and starts pacing.
“Where is the evidence for it?”
“That’s it isn’t it? You need proof. But you will never find any. This is all about faith.”
“But… the… devil?”
He smirks.
Starts.
“His greatest deception is that he does not exist.”
Peter-John still frowns.
This is all too much.
Back to the devil again.
Is it why Drew has been behaving the way he has, or is it simply a case of the gardening gone bad?
I must speak with Jeanne.
But there?
I don’t know about that.
A man walks by.
Looks in his direction.
Sticks his tongue out at him.
Peter-John looks.
Shakes his head and sits back down.
“You gotta believe me, PJ… or the others at least. Satan wants our souls… to be in hell with him… and from what I have told you… and what the others have said… you can clearly see that he will stop at nothing… I mean, some of these people, are but babies when they are… tortured. Most of them probably. It all makes me sick to my insides to think that an eight year old baby is being paraded in front of us and all we think is how cute is that… the poor soul.”
Peter-John swallows.
Starts.
“That’s just it. Who would ever believe such a thing? It really is sick and twisted.”
ص
“Here’s someone special I would like to introduce you to.”
Jeanne gestures to the girl on her left.
Peter-John looks her up and down.
Short and stout.
Looks like she can take you down just like that.
He snaps a finger in his mind.
“Pete… this is Maryam. Maryam, this is my… stalker,” she gives him a coy smile “friend, Peter-John.”
Peter-John shakes the girl’s hand.
She doesn’t look him in his eyes.
They all sit down.
Maryam whispers something to Jeanne.
Slowly Jeanne reaches with her hand and puts it on the girls hand and rubs it gently.
Shhh… shhhh… also seems to form from Jeanne’s lips.
She looks at the girl sympathetically and then at Peter-John quick.
“We can’t stay long, Pete.” She rolls her eyes in Maryam’s direction.
Frowns.
“Is something wrong?” Peter-John asks.
Jeanne puts her arms around Maryam and then looks at Peter-John.
“I brought you to meet Maryam, in order that you might… by some… small… minute chance… develop an inkling of faith.”
Peter-John stares at Maryam.
Then back at Jeanne.
“I do have faith?”
Jeanne smirks.
“In what? Yourself?” she laughs more.
“Of course.”
“Exactly why Maryam is here. Perhaps you’ll have faith in something other than only yourself.”
He removes his spectacles.
Rubs his eyes and temples.
Starts.
“You mean God?”
“Yes.”
He gestures to Maryam.
“And how is she going to aid me to
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