00068

Albert Zoeniga spent the first night after the destruction of the miners' quarters wandering the streets in the ill-lit sections of Sparkle City. He walked in a stupor, muttering, "Why? Why? What does it all mean? What was the point of it all? What does it all mean, God? I- I don't understand- it's impossible to know why-- Is there a reason behind all this, God?"

When the late-night rains started, Albert Zoeniga never even noticed. He just walked and walked, until the morning sun appeared.

By this time he grew weary from all the directionless walking. "I should find a place to spend the day, to sit in quiet, and to- to think about what happened. God, show me, if it makes any sense- show me how it makes any sense! You took all those people away! And you took Jane away! We just got married, and now she is gone!" Such turmoil roiled inside him, that if God was speaking, Albert couldn't hear a word.

Albert Zoeniga considered where to go. Well, no one would be there to operate Kelli's stand today, since Kelli O’Mally had been wiped out in the flashburst with the rest. And, so far, as far as Albert knew, she had not yet been identified with the illegal house church, so he could probably go there and not be bothered by anyone else, except his own thoughts.

And there might be some food there, although most of it not very nutritious, but it was better than none.

Albert knew where she kept the keys, so he could help himself and lay low there for the day, and rest. Probably not sleep, though; how could he, having just lost his church family, and especially having lost Jane, the only woman he ever loved. And perhaps, just perhaps, God might give him some insight into the matter. And Albert might be able to listen, in spite of his grief.

Albert Zoeniga made his way to the beach. Nobody took notice of him. The morning rush crowd had already begun the day. Surprisingly, Albert had, in all his wanderings through Sparkle City, detected no Security Agents patrolling the streets in search of him. Well, after that terrible tragedy, and with so many witnesses, obviously Gov. Bright didn't want more bad publicity by pursuing the lone, harmless survivor of the "Incident", as Albert heard it called among the chattering people passing by. Maybe the authorities just regarded the lone survivor as insignificant.

He kept the CLOSED sign in place while he settled in the back room, curling up on the floor. The white hot flash that had hurt their eyes- he saw it over and over in his mind. This wasn't the first disaster ever in human history, nor even the first to hit God's people, but yet, now that it happened to those he personally knew- Albert dwellt on the difficulties of why it had happened, the problem of "why" always inherent in such situations. All those folks- and some very young kids as well, just starting out in life... People who tried to worship God the way they thought was the proper way... Why did the accident happen, if it was an accident and not meant to happen? Why did God allow such things?

And why did Albert, out of all of them, live? Why not Jane?

Albert Zoeniga realized some questions in this life never receive an answer, particularly such questions as these. He had a copy of a state-unapproved Bible- a small version that fit into his pocket, and he always carried it with him. He had it with him when he had gone out to speak with Sec. Ldr. Clyden during the raid. Lately, he often read it in his spare time. But, it seemed some mysteries, such as why", even the Bible left unexplained.

After lying there for a few hours, Albert Zoeniga noticed he felt hungry. He got up and went to the power fuel battery-run refrigerator, where he found some apples. Biting one, he remembered how his grandmother, when Albert was knee-high, told him the story of Adam and Eve. God set the first two humans He had made in the Garden of Eden, and gave them a test. The first parents could eat anything they wanted, except the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. His grandmother told him everybody thought it was an apple, but the Bible never really said what the fruit was...

He heard the beach-goers flocking outside, playing volley ball or making sand castles, the same way he and Jane had done when they first arrived on this planet. They were just a couple of tourists back then, until the two came to this stand, and met Kelli O’Mally, who ran the stand, and who invited them to a late night, unapproved church service, and that had led to Albert and Jane getting involved in the lives of these citizens on the World of Hope. They stayed on this world, then, instead of returning to Earth.

This thought reminded him of one of the most baffling things of the whole matter of the Incident. When Jane had planned to go to Earth to finish up some business and then return here to Albert, both believed they were being told that if she did go, she and Albert would never see each other again- Well, at least not in this life. So, Jane stayed here instead. But what was the point of that, if she died so soon afterward, anyway? They still were separated from each other! At least, had she gone to Earth, she would still be alive!- unless, maybe, she would still have died there, because it just was her time. But if she would have not died, had she gone to Earth, was it possible she still would rather stay here and enjoy what time she had on this world with Albert, rather than go to Earth and live a long life, except without Albert...

Albert's grandmother used to tell him they lived in an imperfect world, with imperfect people, because Adam and Eve failed the test, and took the apple- or whatever it was. The snake had deceived them into thinking they, too, could become gods, but instead, all they got out of the deal was separation from the only God there was or ever would be, and also they were banned from the garden which God had planted for them to live in, and had to work hard for enough food to survive. God let them experience troubles and grief, to realize that all was not right in the world because of their disobedience, and things would never be right until the people came back to God.

Because of their sin, Adam and Eve died spiritually, cut off from God, the True Life. Also, their bodies eventually wore out and died. So, they passed death down the line to everyone born from them. And, according to the Bible and Albert's grandmother, one day God became born into the human race, when the Father sent His Son, so that He could also die like every other man and woman, since death was the penalty for sin, and then, Jesus, being God, and sinless even though human, He rose again from being dead, and invited anybody who wanted to come to Him for this True Life, Eternal Life, which came from Him alone. He had conquered death, which was the penalty for sin, and since Jesus had lived a sinless life, His sacrifice of Himself which He gave paid the penalty of sin for humanity- Someone, a sinless Someone, taking the place and dying for those who should be the ones on the cross- now made it possible for people to accept His offer of New Life, and believe that He should be the One Who took their place on the cross- if they wanted Him to be their Paschal. Substitution.

And God let the humans more or less do as they wanted, up to a point (and the snake, the Devil, who was the snake in the Garden of Eden, troubled the human race along the way) and when the humans got into so much trouble that they finally realized they needed help, then some of them would ask God for His help, and then they would come back to God, to live the way life was supposed to be lived, to have True Life, even though they still had these bodies born from Adam, prone to sin and death. The physical bodies still wore out and died, but they were promised that one day the bodies would be raised up and made new, and they would not wear out anymore.

This somewhat explained the human condition to Albert, and its periodic tragedies, but still, why Jane... And why did his old friend Osmo Martin betray him like this? His anger burned against Osmo and Security Leader Clyden for this evil! -Careful, careful, don't give in to bitterness, which chokes off life. Be like God, who is willing to forgive all our sins. But did God really expect him to forgive such a thing as this? How could he? But God also forgave those who put Jesus on the cross, Who was God's Son (but also somehow God)... Albert never could understand the Holy Trinity, but he understood enough about God to know that if he were to have any hope of forgiving them for what had happened to Jane, he would need help from God Who could also forgive the wrongs done to Him.

Too tired to finish the apple, Albert dozed off and then slipped into a deep sleep.

When he awoke again, he still wished he had more answers. Too many unanswered questions. He sighed. Maybe he would never understand, not totally in this life. His grandmother's theories shed some light on the problem, but so much of the answers still remained hidden. But one thing he did know. He knew what he should be doing.

He found some more food and saw the sun going down. He left Kelli's stand at the beach. He went into the city, and stood on the corner of New Street and Liberty. There, crowds walked back and forth, since many could not afford cars, and also many of those with no cars preferred to walk the distance to wherever they were going, instead of paying what little money they had for bus fare.

Albert Zoeniga began telling the citizens hurrying home from their workday, "Listen, listen to me, people. I know your lives are so busy, and I know you sometimes don't even have time to think. But listen, if you are unsatisfied with your situation- I cannot guarantee it will change. I cannot promise the Governor will not continue to oppress you. But I can tell you how to get strength to endure. I can tell you how to have True Life. Listen to me, I have some Good News to tell you all...”

(c) drk 2012