The Sinner

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The Sinner Page 13

by K. Trap Jones


  However, my feelings for my new friend were different.

  I enjoyed his presence.

  I wanted him to remain my neighbor.

  If there was anything I could do to make that happen

  Then I would not hesitate to do so.

  The prophets were out in full force

  As winter rapidly approached us.

  The sense of annoyance amongst the crowded streets

  Grew to match the increased intensity of the prophets’ words.

  They spoke of the mighty blizzard.

  The burial of the city underneath snow.

  I did not give them my full attention as

  I was mainly focused on setting up my visual table,

  However, I was hearing random words.

  I found myself only capturing the strong words

  Such as destruction or disastrous.

  One portion stood out in the statements of chaos and

  Lured me in like a hook to a hungry fish.

  I had never heard them use

  The word madness before.

  The crispness in the tone which he used struck me as odd.

  I had heard so many negative words spill from their mouths, but

  They were always the same each day.

  Using the new word was unpredictable

  And prompted me to halt my work and look to the prophet.

  He spoke of the damage that the lands would receive

  The punishment that would reside deep within the soil.

  As he continued, I found myself dwelling in his words.

  I even took a few steps towards him.

  He proceeded by saying that the animals and vegetation

  Would be depleted and would not

  Return as long as the frost covered the land.

  He spoke of freezing rain and large ice storms

  That would slaughter the livestock as they grazed upon the fields.

  As I stood there with a piece of fruit in my hand,

  I pondered the idea of a land without that type of food.

  It was as if the prophet was speaking directly to me that day.

  That time I actually heard him.

  In the past, their words never meant anything to me.

  They were focused mainly on the global aspect of the storm and

  Not at a level that I could properly understand.

  I could not control the atmosphere or

  The destruction of mountains and valleys.

  But the notion that the vegetation would be in danger

  Was something real that I could associate with.

  My life was based on vegetation.

  Without vegetation I was nothing,

  The idea of losing everything I owned caught my attention.

  What if he was telling the truth?

  What if all of the crops were to be destroyed?

  My livelihood could not survive such a devastating attack.

  If I were to avoid the onslaught of the approaching storm,

  I needed to prepare to the best of my abilities.

  I needed to store as much fruits and vegetables that I could.

  I imagined the amount of food that would be required

  To feed all of the citizens of the city.

  I needed to acquire a level of food that would meet that demand.

  As I surveyed my current stock of product,

  I was reminded that the prophets

  Had also mentioned the suffering of animals.

  I had to inform Beelzebub as his store

  Would endure the pain as much as mine.

  The day proved to be too busy

  To spread my concern.

  I planned to visit with him the next day.

  The morning came quicker than I had liked,

  But the store of a vendor never waits

  And the customers did not either.

  I crossed the street before the crowds got too heavy and

  Was welcomed by Beelzebub inside his store.

  I did not want to startle him with my new found claim

  So I began the conversation by asking about his storage facility.

  He said he was nearly full to capacity,

  That he would need to begin turning away product

  For the time being.

  I gradually brought the prophets into our conversation

  And asked him his thoughts regarding the blizzard.

  He said that he had no concern about it

  Since our last conversation about the subject.

  I wanted to choose my next words carefully

  As I did not want to portray the idea

  That I believed the full tale.

  I told him that maybe we should expand our storage

  To acquire more stock in case we experience

  An abnormal winter season.

  I specifically did not mention the word blizzard

  As to not cause panic.

  He agreed with me as more storage of stock

  Resulted in more money.

  Regardless of whether we received poor weather or not,

  The extra space was a good idea.

  Over the next few days,

  We worked busily on expanding our storage areas.

  We were able to double my space

  Due to the amount of store floor space I was able to remove.

  Beelzebub did not fare as well as I,

  However we were able to increase his space substantially.

  The extra area filled up quickly

  As the farmers enlarged their delivery amounts.

  Each day I heard new threats from the prophets

  That seemed to be pointed directly at me.

  The main reoccurring statements included

  The deprivation of crops and vegetation.

  Their words involving the topic

  Were painful to my ears.

  I could not avoid or ignore them.

  I tried to not hear them,

  But their tones echoed through the streets.

  It was as if they were the only sounds I could hear.

  Normally the rustling noise of the outside streets

  Filtered their words, but lately the prophets

  Had been subduing all other sounds.

  I felt my anxiety of the situation rise

  With each sermon I heard.

  It was slowly affecting my work and my concentration.

  A new concept from the prophets did catch me off guard

  Involving the mass starvation

  That would occur due to the lack of crops.

  I had never ventured too much further

  Pass the notion of destroyed vegetation.

  I did not realize the severity of such an event.

  I imagined people fighting for food,

  Possibly dying from starvation.

  I needed to store enough food to feed everyone

  To help them to survive the catastrophe.

  I needed more food than I originally thought.

  My store was not capable of handling such a quantity.

  To meet the new demand, I tore down an adjacent wall

  To the next door shop, which was vacant at the time.

  No one ever used the space,

  So I did not think that anyone would ever notice.

  From the outside, the two shops remained separate,

  But served as one large room from the inside.

  I did not want to give the idea

  To the outside world that I was expanding

  So I only removed a small portion of the wall

  To provide me with access to the other side.

  To hide the pathway from my patrons,

  I stacked up boxes in front to conceal the hole.

  I now had plenty of space to store the food,

  Much more than I actually required.

  When speaking with Beelzebub,

  He did not have enough area to expand.

  The vicinity of his walls to hi
s neighbors forbade him

  From gaining more.

  He informed me that in his current state

  That he would not be able to take in any more supply.

  In a gesture of good faith and

  Without giving too much thought to it,

  I offered him the opportunity

  To share the space of the vacant store next to me.

  The area was twice as big as his store

  And the storage was sufficient for both of us.

  The openness shared between the two stores

  Would allow for more conversation even during the busy times.

  We got along so well

  That I did not have any concerns

  And never resented my idea.

  He thought the gesture was a wonderful one

  And asked when he should begin moving his supplies.

  I needed to still clear some debris from the space

  So I offered to assist him the next day.

  A new morning sun rose and

  The warmth of it did little

  To heat the environment as winter had begun.

  The season always had a way to defeat the sun

  And shun it from the sky.

  Beelzebub and I met early at his store.

  We loaded up his stock, tools and supplies

  And quickly unloaded them within the new area.

  Once everything was transferred,

  It was apparent that we each had plenty of room.

  The large storage space in the back

  Was more than adequate to hold our overstock.

  The customers loved the idea

  That they could buy their vegetables and meat

  Within the same shop.

  Word spread throughout the city and

  We soon became known as the largest vendor in the region.

  Although the business merger was a success,

  I could never really enjoy the outcome

  As the words of the prophets continued

  To bombard my mind and pierce my thoughts.

  No matter how much I focused on my customers,

  There was always a portion of me

  That I gave to the prophets each day.

  I became so accustomed to hearing their stories

  That it was part of my daily routine.

  I tried desperately to avoid them,

  But the cold wind delivered their ideas directly to my ears.

  The continuation of time

  Led us further into the winter season each time the sun set.

  The chill in the air grew more intense every night.

  Each day that followed became colder and

  Was well announced by the prophets

  Who started their rants early.

  They claimed it had begun,

  That soon the frost would reap the ones who did not believe.

  The scene of the prophets saying their words

  While their breath froze in contact with the air

  Added to the intensity of their speeches.

  The crowded streets paid no attention to them, but

  I could not rid myself of the forecast.

  The only vision that provided me with comfort

  Was the amount of food we were collecting.

  My worrying decreased every time

  I gazed upon my storage space and

  Saw the mass amount of food.

  I slept well each night knowing

  That I would easily be able to feed my customers

  Throughout the duration of the storm and amid the aftermath.

  The salvation of the citizens was my main concern.

  My preparedness would be felt by them

  In their time of need.

  With every turn of a new day

  The weather turned for the worse.

  It was not so much the temperature,

  Rather the wind that made the outside unbearable.

  The wind would barrel through the city streets

  Striking everyone within its path.

  It was relentless and unlike anything

  The city had experienced before.

  It spared no one from its chilly persona

  And weaved its way through every street

  Like a snake through a grassy field.

  The cold only added to my concern

  That the prophets were correct.

  I found myself paying more attention

  To them as others passed me by.

  I desired more details and a scheduled time frame,

  But they could offer me none.

  Each sermon brought about new clues

  Regarding the blizzard and I was there to collect them.

  I became fascinated with the topic and

  Even showed up on the streets

  Before the prophets would appear.

  I noticed that I was even defending them

  When the crowd would insult them.

  They spoke of a never ending snow

  That would fall from the heavens, blanketing the city.

  They said we must fear the blanket as

  It would suffocate us and conceal us from the region.

  Others balked at the idea, but I did not.

  I knew they were telling the truth;

  I knew they were only trying to help us prepare.

  I was going to make sure that I heard their words;

  That Beelzebub and I were going to be ready.

  We owed it to ourselves, our livelihoods and

  Our customers to be well prepared.

  With that day’s knowledge

  Embedded within my mind,

  I told Beelzebub the latest news.

  I spoke of how we needed to

  Deliver the food to citizens of the city

  Prior to the blizzard.

  He was hesitant in his approval of my plan.

  I asked what he was concerned about and

  He said that he worried about his own safety,

  Which was something that I never thought about.

  His small pause escorted me down a path

  I never knew existed.

  A path of self-conservation and salvation.

  If we gave away all of the food,

  Then how would we possibly survive the duration

  And aftermath of the storm?

  His point made me reorganize my whole outlook;

  Take more of a selfish glance at myself.

  I looked to the stockpile of food and

  Realized that we could survive for several seasons

  After the winter had vanished.

  If the prophets were indeed correct in their words,

  Vegetation and animals would cease to exist.

  The outcome would prove to be more deadly

  Than the storm itself.

  We would require as much food as possible

  In order to survive.

  I could not sacrifice my hunger,

  Face possible starvation

  For a crowd of people

  Who chose not to believe the prophets.

  Beelzebub and I worked hard to collect the extra food,

  We should be able to do with it as we see fit.

  My tumbling of emotions were

  Obviously was written on my face

  As Beelzebub smiled at my confusion.

  He added that seeking personal salvation

  Would not make us bad people;

  The others chose to not listen to the warnings of the prophets.

  He said that we could not change the fates of others;

  That we were only in control of our own actions.

  He was correct in his words.

  I could not alter the fates of those who did not believe.

  It was not my task to work for the welfare of others and

  Spend my thoughts in order to prepare them.

  I could tell that my partner was no longer concerned

  About not having food for others.

&nbs
p; His brief moment was all I needed to change the course

  Of my ship and all the cargo that was on board.

  We could not simply stop the selling of our products,

  But we could reduce the quantity

  That our customers were purchasing.

  We could ration the amounts that we brought

  Out of storage and placed within our storefront.

  It was determined that we would

  Tell our customers that the food levels

  Had decreased due to the winter season.

  Over the next few days, we implemented our plan and

  Sold low quantities of food to our customers.

  Some became irate when informed

  That they could not stock up for the season,

  I told them that anything was better than nothing.

  We made sure to keep our main storage area

  Hidden from anyone entering into our store.

  My tolerance of people walking out

  With food was decreasing

  As I viewed a bundle of food equal

  To a day of survival after the storm.

  I felt like I was selling

  One day of my life away with every customer.

  Beelzebub had the same thought.

  He came up with the idea to lessen

  The quantities within the bundles.

  We did not think anyone would notice

  The reduction and we were right.

  They were just happy to receive the food.

  Each day the weather got colder,

  We matched the decrease in temperature

  With a decrease in the amount of food.

  Later in the days, we would not replenish

  The storefront with food.

  We told people that we had none left.

  After the store closed,

  Beelzebub and I would eat to keep up our energy.

  The once clear skies turned to a dark grey.

  The snow started out light and was

  Quickly absorbed by the ground.

  By the end of the day,

  There was a light coating of white coloring the streets.

  Beelzebub again showed signs of hesitation,

 

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