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Story
from Chelsea
SELLING
GOD
We
were too scared to disobey when our parents forbade
us to go near them. No one knew where they came from
though they spoke the native language and enough English
to paint a crude sign by the road. Since we were foreigners
living there, that was even more reason to mind our
own business.
They sat by the road every day beside a makeshift
table. On the table stood a row of glass jars, filled
with a translucent substance. The crude sign said,
Ten Ounces of God $1.50. The locals said the stuff
was flammable. Rumor had it that some local people
burned to death, having poured it over their bodies
during a ritual. A few foreigners like ourselves said
this was Godís punishment, and believed the ones selling
the substance would be next. They will be punished
for using his name for personal gain, they said.
We thought it took a lot of guts to sit there advertising
God like that, but we always walked on the other side
of the road a good distance away. We thought whatever
was inside those jars might be more than mere foolsí
play. The jars did take on strange shimmering colors
in the sun.
When we didnít see the people selling the glass jars
anymore, we didnít think much about it. We figured
they were somewhere else on the road, maybe further
down, and we breathed a bit easier. So few cars passed
this way it seemed likely they would move to a more
lucrative position. The real highway connected with
our road a few miles off. I never counted the miles,
and didnít care how far it was, since our parents
didnít travel much at that time. On our road were
barefoot women carrying bundles and babies, pickup
trucks, and old cars that looked ready for the junk
heap. There wasnít even a real town nearby, just a
cluster of shacks, a general store, and a bar with
a neon sign that was definitely off limits.
Sometime later, we heard that the people selling God
had been arrested by police. In another version, they
were seen bursting into flames. The only things agreed
upon were the strange smell by the side of the road,
and a strange glowing light that hung in the air at
certain times of day. But thatís not all. Something
happened to the birds when they came near. They seemed
suddenly confused. They would hover, then fly back
the way they came. Insects behaved strangely too.
When they flew too close, youíd have sworn theyíd
banged their heads against a wall.
Someone finally decided to rope off the area, which
to this day no one will go near. If not for the ropes,
we might have forgotten. As time passed and many things
happened in our lives, the ropes were always there
to remind us, even after the smell went away and the
birds and insects returned to normal.
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