My eyes are getting a little used
to the darkness because of how long I’ve been in it. The Church of Light
teaches that if this happens then the darkness is infiltrating our heads and
will take over our heads to make us do horrible things. I highly doubt the
church’s teachings now because of Gioioso and my experience of being in the
dark so far. Despite being lost and alone in these abandoned dark sewers, I’m
doing fine, and nothing has hurt me. Oh! A ladder! Finally, found a way out.
Huh? This ladder leads to a vent. I
see little bits of light coming out of grates. I can see into people’s houses
from the grates. The light hurts my eyes a bit from being in the darkness for
so long, but I can still see what’s going on. What would be the use of these vents?
Is this one of the ways the authorities know if we’re happy or not? I can hear
someone else in the vents with me. It could be a spy for the authorities so I quickly
crawl to around the corner and peek my head out to see who it could be. Hopefully, it’s Gioioso.
I can hear them crawling this way,
but I can’t see far into the darkness. I’ll have to wait until they pass by
the bits of light coming through the grates to see. When they do pass by the
light, I can see that it’s definitely not Gioioso. What the heck is it? It
looks like a deformed person with smiles and eyes all over their body.
“I see you,” it says.
That’s my cue to get out of here! I
crawl as fast as I can without looking back. These vents are a maze that’s
confusing to get around. I’m surprised the people in the houses don’t hear me rustling
around in the vents, but then again, I didn’t notice anything when I was on the
other side. In the darkness, I can see and hear more noises coming my way.
There must be more of these things in here. If there’s a way in for these
things to come in, then there has to be a way out. The only difficult thing
about it is finding it. This place is so confusing that I’m not sure if I’ll
ever-is that Gioioso?
“This way, Allegro!” he says.
It is him! I follow him to a vent
that we slide down. It’s a long slide down that drops us off in what looks to
be a messy house. This house is lit by dim lights that I can better see Gioioso’s
appearance. He really does have a band of thorns around his head that appear to
dig into his eyes. His smile is wide and stuck in place like the adults with
wrinkles in his face due to his smile. Gioioso wears a cloak that seems to be
hiding scars and more wrinkled skin that suggest something painful must’ve
happened to him.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you
faster, Allegro. I didn’t expect there to be so many of those surveillance slaves
in the vents today, but I should’ve expected it because of the upcoming parade.
Again, I apologize.”
“I understand. Where are we?”
“The lower city. A place that you
haven’t heard about or seen until now.”
Gioioso opens the door and beyond
it, I see a massive city with houses hanging by support beams. Below the houses
is a large drop into a large body of water with ships floating on it. Even though
people are smiling here, their smiles look natural and they have varied expressions
on their faces. This is all so refreshing to see despite its poor appearance.
“Wow. This was underneath the city
this entire time?” I ask.
“Yes. We’ve managed to stay safe as
long as we give the city above a share of the resources we get.”
“The authorities know about this
city?”
“They do and charge a hefty price
so we can keep our freedom. As you can see, we can barely keep the lights on,
and our houses are made of scrap. There’s also a rule that if we’re discovered
outside of here then that person has to be handed over for punishment for the
others to keep their freedom.”
“Has that happened recently?”
“Not so, but it’s bound to happen.
The authorities want more slaves in their prisons to mine resources for them. Some
of the unfortunate ones become the surveillance slaves you saw in the vents. You
didn’t know it, but this is where most of the city’s riches come from. The water,
building materials, fish, and so on.”
“We were taught that these
resources came from far away farms and mining sites. I guess that was only half
true.”
“Take off your mask. You don’t need
it anymore.”
“Oh, that’s right. I’m so used to
having it on.”
Once I take the mask off, I realize
how used to it I was when I had it on since the only time we’re allowed to take
it off is at bedtime.
“How does it feel?”
“It feels so freeing being without
it.”
“You ready to experience more?”
“Yes, please!” Gioioso leads me
through the hanging city across bridges and elevators. Along the way, I see more
of the hard workers and people that I didn’t expect to be so happy working in
these conditions. “How do people enjoy being here? No offense. It looks
difficult to get by with so little.”
“They are fulfilling the role they
were made for by the Lord. Money and safety are nothing compared to doing what’s
built in your nature.”
“I see. So, that’s why they don’t
mind the discomfort of it.”
“You’re getting it.”
“I’m starting to see the truth you’ve
been talking about. Despite their freedoms, do you think some of these people
wish they could be back on the surface?”
“Yes. Many try to
convert the people on the top to come down here or try to make changes there through the system that's in place.”
“Ha. There’s a fat chance of that
happening.”
“But they still try. Wouldn’t you
want to help others see the truth?”
“I guess.”
“What about your parents or any of
your friends?”
“Hmmm. I don’t know if I ever want
to go back up after knowing the truth of how the city operates.”
“You’re going to leave those you
love ignorant and worried about you?”
“Are you trying to guilt me into
going back up after convincing me to come down here?”
“That depends if you’re called by
the Lord to go back. I’m just mentioning some things that you should be
thinking about. I can’t force you to make a decision. It’s your call.”
It’s my call, huh? I really don’t
want to go back up. At the same time, I don’t feel that it’s right to keep the
people I know above in the dark about this. Hmm. This thought keeps circulating
in my head even though I don’t want to think about it now. Gioioso takes me to
what looks to be a makeshift church. It has images and statues crudely made with
metal, but appear to be made with love nonetheless. In this church are other people
that look like him that went through similar tribulations that he did and some
normal-looking people. They look at us as we enter with friendly looks on their
faces.
“Friends, I’d like to introduce you
to Allegro,” Gioioso says to them.
They all say hi to me and introduce
themselves. What surprises me about them is that not all their names mean joy,
happiness, smile, light, or a variant of any of them. Usually, people are named one
of these things to further emphasize happiness and light. They then talk to me
about the truth and the Lord. Everything then begins to make sense to me. The truth
about light, darkness, truth, happiness, and love. It all originates from the
Lord who is truth and love.
My understanding of God gives me a
basic idea that the others use to help expand my comprehension. Since God is truth
and love itself, He is who I’ve been after this whole time. The authorities
that focused on feelings of happiness and financial stability are short-sighted. Feeling happy and having a comfortable amount of wealth is secondary
to living out the role you are made for. Living for love is life’s true goal.
Not happiness. Even though people suffer and die for this, it’s worth it
because of their love of God and everyone who they try to help.
“Is there anything else you would
like to know?” Gioioso says after our long conversation.
“Yeah. How can you see with that band
around your head? Doesn’t it bother you?”
“It’s a sort of visor that I can
see through. I keep it on as a reminder of my past and as a form of penance for
my sins and the sins of others.”
“I see.”
“Now that you know the fundamentals
of the truth, what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to help you.”
“How?”
“I’ll work down here. Whatever job
you need to be done, I’ll do it if you give me the right training.”
“Is that what your heart is telling
you to do?”
“Yes.”
“What about the people you love on
the surface?”
“I think we can convert them with
the right time and ideas.”
“Are you going to be the one to do
that?”
“In time, I will.”
“What about right now? You know
that people only have so long to live and every sin cuts time off.”
“Well…what do you think I should do?”
“That’s a question you have to
answer.”
“I think I should go up to them and
try to convince them as soon as possible, but that sounds like a rash idea.”
“If that’s what you’re called to
do, then you should do it. It hasn’t been that long since you were last on the
surface. If you hurry now, you can rush back home and tell them you were with a
friend. You wouldn’t be lying to them.”
“What if I get caught?”
“Then trust in the Lord. You trusted
Him to get you this far and He hasn’t let you down.”
“Okay…okay. I’ll do it.”
The people in the church cheer for
my decision and praise me for making it. Before I leave, I receive absolution
for my sins. Gioioso leads me out of the underground city and to a vent.
“Is this really the only way out?”
I ask.
“Yes. I did tell you the authorities
want more slaves.”
“That’s encouraging.”
“Just remember what you’re supposed
to do.”
“Be careful and trust in the Lord.”
“You got it. Here’s a map to find your way around. There are markings in certain parts of the vents to help you know where you are. I’ll be praying for
your safety.”
“Thank you for everything.”
“It was my pleasure. Hopefully, we’ll
see each other again soon for a celebration.”
“I hope that’s the case.”
I climb up the ladder into the
vents and begin my way back home. Here’s hoping that this doesn’t go badly, but
I have a bad feeling about it for some reason.
No comments:
Post a Comment