The end of the world was near. The disciples knew it. The people around me knew it. And my lord, the one to lead us to the path of eternal life, knew it. I was behind the confession circle of my fellow enlightened as they began to talk about their past sins. I stood in the background watching. The person standing, Lemuel, had just finished his confession and the group cheered as he bent down, kissed the earth, and returned to his place on the floor. Joses was up next. He waited for acknowledgement from the confessional leader and then broke out of his Indian-style position, uncrossing his legs and unfolding his arms. He stood up. The room was still, the people, the tables, the lights, dimly lit and blinking, all still and waiting apprehensively for Joses to tell his story.
       “I am enlightened now…†Joses began to say. The group responded in a nodding notion. Some responded in words of approval, which blended together in a similar monotonous chant. He loosened the red scarf around his neck and continued his speech.
       “I know this because I do not take drugs like I used to. I do not drink or commit sins anymore. I will become perfect. My mother died a year ago and I was lost until I found this group. I did not realize how corrupted my inner being was when I joined. But now I know that my inner being was corrupted even before my mother’s death. I was unenlightened, and now I know that I do not want to die unenlightened like my mother.â€
       The group cheered him as he finished his speech and returned to his Indian-style sitting position on the floor. He was inspiring. The group watched him for a few seconds waiting for him to conclude his speech, yet he seemed oblivious to the ending confirmation so they proceeded to the next confessor. He was newly enlightened. He did not understand that he must kiss the earth for nature to give him its blessings, but he had cleansed himself of most of his corruption in the short time he had been there. He would still need coaching. I watched him as he sat obediently and reformed, watching Serah talk about her past. I then left to visit the Garden of Eden.
       The garden was planted in front of the church where confession was held on Wednesdays. It had been designed to perfection. The garden had two plateaus with a walkway in between, leading to the gate that blocked the holy community from the unenlightened. The plateaus held smaller plateaus, rising up like steps, which gave it a cone shape. It was beautiful. Zinnias, the flower god had picked himself, had been planted in batches along the outer edges of the plateaus, with the biggest and most charismatic on top. I stood there. I listened to the sounds of the garden around me and felt the gentle push of the wind, blowing gently against my back. I felt at peace. Then a shrill voice began ringing in my ear.
       “Do you think you are happy, Jacob?†The voice said. I became tense. Suddenly, the noises of nature surrounding me became loud and angry. I placed my hands on my ears and shut my eyes in reaction to it. I tried not to listen.
       “Are you happy, Jacob…?†The voice said, dragging at every word and syllable. I stared ahead at my father’s image. His ethereal being, slowly becoming more visible, stared back. His thin face and long ears, his small mouth and thin cheeks, his gray pupils, soulless and empty, focused directly on my figure.
       “I am happy, father,†I said prudently. I would not let him corrupt my inner being. I would not let him win.
       “Do you believe that? You are worthless and everyone here knows that,†he said brashly.
       “Yes, I believe that. I am enlightened,†I said. I had to hold my guard up or my father would bring me to hell with him. I stood up taller. My eyes met his in a cold stare and he folded his arms in an arrogant manner, smirking.
       “You are not enlightened. You are a fool. The disciples don’t even respect you,†he said. His voice became even more mocking and satirical. “Remember that day they were laughing in the main chamber until you walked in?â€
       “They were talking about one of the members that was still corrupted,†I responded.
       “Sure, sure,†He responded. The idea of the disciples mocking me became implanted in my head, gradually transforming into more a reality than an idea. It discomforted me.
       “Please leave, father. I do not wish any harm on you,†I replied.
       “And that is why you killed me?â€
       “That was the will of God. I had to do it,†I replied again. My father was the spawn of the devil, so it was directed that I kill him. He refused to leave me alone, even after death.
       The voices of nature were now much more audible. They screeched in my ears violently. I began to bend to my knees and kissed the earth to calm nature. My father’s figure and the voices around me faded as my lips touched the earth. It was peaceful again.
       I kept my lips on the earth for a certain amount of time before removing them and leaving the garden to visit the main chambers. The chambers were to the left of the Garden of Eden, right behind the church where confessions took place. There were five chambers. They looked like the traditional apartments of the unenlightened except with a cross on the door. The main chamber had a gold plated door. I opened it.
       As I entered the main chamber’s living room, also called the holy room, I scanned the room to check if there were any evil souls that I would have to cleanse. There were none. I walked into the holy room and moved toward the center table. The table was surrounded by a bright red crouch on three sides, and a large cross on the other side. The cross was life-sized and positioned perfectly, with a stool to step on in front of it. It was set here so that if God needed me, I would be able to ascend quickly. In the holy room, behind the couch, there was a door and a staircase. The staircase led to the twelve rooms of the disciples, while the door led to my room. The disciples were praying at this hour, so I made sure not to disturb them.
       My room was dark, but silent. The voices were absent in my room, so there was no disturbance. I sat down on my bed. I let out a breath of wind and ran my fingers through my tangled brown hair. My eyes focused in on the boxes. I didn’t see them there before and I couldn’t remember where I had gotten them from. I walked across the room to the boxes that were set under my table and opened one. There were several bottles of green liquids, slightly denser than water, packed tightly in the large boxes. I held the bottle. I tried to remember where I had received it from. I couldn’t. God spoke to me then.
       “Give the bottles,†he said.
       “God, is it you who speaks?†I replied to him. “I defeated my father, the devil, today God. Did you notice?â€
       “Give the bottles,†he continued. “To my children.â€
       His voice faded. I was disappointed that he did not acknowledge my accomplishment. Yet that was usual, so I should have expected it. He was God. He did not need to include useless words or compliments to have people follow. He was already great. I thought about his orders for a while. “Give the bottles to my children.†What did it mean? It didn’t make sense. Unless he meant my group of the enlightened, the “Children of Godâ€. I called the disciples. They filed in one by one into the small, yet decorated room and gathered along the walls of the room to hear my orders. I felt some tension in my forehead as I saw them all assembled in my room, waiting for me to speak.
       “My friends, God has spoken. He wants you to give these bottles to our enlightened,†I said to them.
       “How did you receive them?†Peter, the first disciple, asked.
       “I do not know. They appeared to me in this room. Perhaps it was god who sent them here.â€
       “Are they meant for us to ascend?†John asked.
       “No. The date of ascension is in two months.â€
       “Is it possible God has changed the date?â€
       “No, my friend. He would not change the date of ascension, and if he did, he would not allow you to know before I.â€
My anger began to flourish. My father’s words resonated in my head.
       “The disciples don’t even respect you.â€
       I felt my forehead tighten as it pulled the skin to the center and my eyes clamped together as my teeth grinded against each other. My father’s words. His devilish tongue ripping apart my inner being and all I could do was place my hand over my forehead to cover the pain.
       “Are you alright, lord?†Peter asked watching me try to cover my sin.
       “Yes. Please hurry with the task,†I said and they hurried off with the boxes. I couldn’t let them see me corrupted. I couldn’t let them see me controlled by sin. I still felt pain in my head as the voices entered my room, my sanctuary. I bent to the floor and pressed my lips against the floor. It calmed the voices. I began to deconstruct and analyze my thoughts as I walked to my bed. He was not my father. My father was God, and this was the devil. I was perfect. I was not the son of that snake, that devil who haunted me. I was god’s child. I walked exhaustedly, yet more relaxed, to my bed and lay there. The sun was still bright. The orange rays made their way through my window and provided a heavenly square of light covering my bed. I was safe here. I turned over to my side and put my head on top of the cushioned white pillow. It was safe for me to sleep.
       The night accompanied me as I woke. The light was gone. I rose from my bed raising my hands directly before me to find the door. It was dark this night. The moon was dim and hid behind the clouds. I struggled to find the exit and made my way out of the main chambers. The silence this night was haunting. The chambers were all silent and made no sound. I opened the small booth next to the chambers and retrieved a small lamp. I could see the dirt path. I followed it to find my way to the church. The silence followed too. The crickets followed me with their mocking chirps as I came closer to the church. I stumbled. I caught myself midway through the fall and ended up just running headfirst a few steps. I was startled. Not by the possibility of falling, but by what tripped me. It was too soft to be a rock and felt too cold and lifeless. I moved forward, a little faster and did not look back. My lamp caught glimpses of figures, cold and lifeless like the first. I began to jog forward. The voices came relentlessly now. I couldn’t escape the voices, the figures, the evil souls around me. I couldn’t kiss the earth because of the corrupt figures on the floor. I had to run. I almost reached the garden when I saw a figure directly on the path. The lamp provided enough light for me to see it. It was gray and lifeless. I could not grasp what it was due to the thoughts circulating through my head. I could only see its dark gray body and that bright red scarf. I felt sick. I moved off the path and avoided the body to make my way to the garden. The garden was scattered with bodies and figures all around. From here I could see the bodies of the twelve disciples lying there among the rest. They took the bottles too. It was sickening, my haven, my disciples, my followers lying there pale and lifeless. They all lost their light and faded into the darkness of the night. I would have to spend the last two months of the world’s existence alone.
       I looked up at the garden and gazed at the tallest Zinnia through the light of the lamp. It was still there, withered and less bright. It was losing its ability to stand. There was something else wrong with the garden, something that ruined the garden and all the beauty it used to encompass. The other flowers were missing.
