Divinity's Divinations: Chapter 4 – Right in Front of You

Chapter 4 – Right in Front of You

The sun is finally starting to set on this long day of mine, and I’m ending it with Jess holding my arm and walking down the long boardwalk of Sapphire City. Noticing how quiet we are, I say, “I’m sorry that I haven’t said anything in a while. Just got a lot on my mind.”

“That’s fine with me because my Heaven is being with you.”

“Right, and you’re probably not going to leave my side for a while then.”

“I don’t need to leave your side at all! I can be like this for the rest of my life.”

That might actually be a benefit for what I’m planning next.

As Jess and I walk by Testardo’s family casino, we see none other than Duraturo, the brother of Testardo and Regina and mayor of Sapphire City. “Ah, there you are, Bonaventura. I heard you humbled my brother like always, and even ended on a draw with my sister.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor. Would you like to play a game of Divinity’s Divinations with me as well?”

“That’s exactly why I was out here searching for you. It’s Divine Providence that we met like this. Let’s find a table out here to play on.” We find a table, and even while starting to play, Jess hangs on me.

“Uh, Jess. I can’t exactly play like this.”

“Of course you can. Besides, I can act as your good luck charm.”

“Miss, please give him some room to breathe. Plus, you’d put me at a great disadvantage if you give him your luck.” Jess lets go, and we start our game. We flip a coin, and Duraturo goes first. Meanwhile, a crowd gathers to place bets on who will win.

“Let’s start big with the Parents modifier. Using this and its Up effect, we both use a modifier of yours or mine of my choice. Hmm. I think we’ll use this one.” Duraturo flips over and picks my Prisoner modifier, and the Up effect is revealed. “Can we use this one? You may make us use another.”

“Let’s use the Prisoner. I want to see how interesting things get when we use it.”

“Very well then.” Duraturo uses the Prisoner to force one of my modifiers to be face down, and I do the same to him. Unfortunately for me, he picked the Penitent modifier to be face down, so that could cause some trouble. “For my second move, I shall flip over the Vocational modifier, its Up effect stipulating that you must give me a card from the top of your deck or play a card of higher value on my field than the card you play every time you play a card. I choose to use this card for myself.”

“Your modifiers’ effects are pretty brutal and wordy. Tell me. Is there another reason why you want to play with me?”

“I’m merely playing this wonderful game for the same reasons you and many others are. I need some direction in my life and to get a better picture of myself. From the cards that I’ve played, you see that I’m very commanding and try to both benefit my opponent, but not give them more advantages than me.”

“The automatic win condition of my Dealer is to benefit my opponent and myself three times, and I’ve already benefited myself twice and you once. Speaking about my cards, you must know that the family and the religious are the pillars of society. Without good families, priests, nuns, and consecrated laity, the power of the government would falter and fall into chaos. Yes, I’m beginning to see what God is trying to tell me. Ah. Before I forget, I play a seven, ten, and five, and end my turn. I’m trying to go for the automatic win and have the game set for me by the second round as my brother told me to do.”

“I swear, he can give you and your sister advice that will make you win, but he can’t do the same for himself when he faces me.”

“That’s what we admire about him. He’s always thinking about others rather than himself, and only thinks of himself if it can benefit other people. I have to copy that mindset, especially being the kind of man I am with the position I have.”

“I have a lot to live up to, Mr. Mayor. I think I’m going to need a miracle to win this, so I flip over the Divine modifier, get the Up effect, and give you three cards from my deck: a three, a five, and a one. Because I did that, the Lovers modifier activates, thankfully giving me its Up effect, so I’ll hand you another three. I play a five, give you a five from my deck, play a seven, give you an eight from my deck, give you a nine, and hand you a ten from my deck. I don’t think you know how insane my score can get since my Dealer multiplies my round-ending score by seven for each time I’ve given cards, and so far, I’ve given away cards on five separate instances. My Dealer’s automatic win may be forfeit, but my ending score might be in the hundreds of thousands. I think it already is if my math is correct.”

“I’m well aware of that. Testardo also told me that going for a Dealer’s automatic win condition is the best way to play the game, so that’s what I’m trying to do.” Duraturo and I draw cards and start the next round. He flips over the Royalty modifier. With its Down effect, he puts down a ten and a nine on my playing field from the top of his deck. “Do you accept these cards? If not, I’ll have to exchange one of them with another from the top of my deck.”

“I’ll gratefully accept them.”

“Very well then. Moving on. The Chief modifier is next. Its Up effect will let us play a little game.” Duraturo and I shuffle our hand and playing field into our decks, and we draw four cards. “Do you want to exchange your cards with mine?”

“I’m good.” When we show each other our hands, it’s revealed that I have the higher scoring hand, so I decide how the cards are played on the field. I give myself a nine, a ten, an eight, and a five, and give Duraturo a three, a nine, a ten, and a nine.

“Here we go. This’ll be my final move, and since I am a Politician, I might as well play one. The Down effect of this card is long to read, but it counts as one that benefits me as I take cards from your deck that you won’t know the total value of and have to exchange the same number of cards to get them back, or I can simply keep them. Your choice, if you think it matters.”

“Ah, it doesn’t matter. I admit defeat since you’ve fulfilled your automatic win condition.”

The crowd around us disperses, sad at my loss, while others are happy they won their bet that I would lose. “Thank you for the quick, and yet, exhilarating game, Bonaventura. You would’ve surely won if I hadn’t been so blessed by how the cards turned out. I think I’ve learned what I’m meant to do.”

“Yeah? And what’s that?”

“To continue on the path already set before me. I’ve had my doubts about whether I should continue being mayor, and whether I should run for governor or help Testardo with the family business, but this card game has made me realize that I’m exactly where God wants me to be. Thank you again, Bonaventura. I wouldn’t have figured out the obvious without you.”

“Happy to be of service, Mr. Mayor.” If only it were that easy for me to figure out what to do. I still have lingering doubts, but I know I’m being pushed to a singular solution that should be just as obvious for me.

“Go for it then!” the clown says as he appears out of nowhere like usual. As I’m about to complain about him scaring me again, I see that everyone around me is frozen.

“What’s going on? Did you do this? Who even are you?”

“You should know by now, if the three faces on mine don’t give it away. You should also know what I want you to do. I told you while you visited me in the adoration chapel.”

“Okay then. I think I get what you’re saying, but it’s hard to believe, not just who you are, but also what you want me to do.”

“Oh, ye of little faith. To get rid of those last bits of doubt, I’ll do you a favor and remove them by playing the same card game you’ve been playing all day with you.” The clown spits out a coin from his mouth, and we call it. He goes first, and a bunch of cards appear before him. “Ah! Don’t draw any cards yet. My Prank event card automatically flips itself over at the beginning of the game. Its Up effect says we can’t draw cards this round, but we can draw the cards next turn. Don’t feel too bad about not drawing cards because my next modifier, the Joy and its Up effect, allows us to draw five cards. Don’t feel so good, but now, the cards five to ten are valued negatively.”

“What kind of trickster deck is this? Your Dealer also dictates that the cards one to four are valued negatively and the player with the lowest score wins, so if any of my multipliers go off, I can get a high negative number and lose the game, but win it.”

“It’s called the Joker deck for a clown like me. It’s made for fun! Besides, you shouldn’t worry about how silly this game is. Tell me…”

Suddenly, all the color in the clown’s face and clothes is gone. He starts to bleed from his head, chest, feet, and hands. “What’s the one thing you should worry about? What’s the only serious matter that exists in the world?”

I feel something tightening around my head. My hands and feet feel pierced, my side feels cut open, and my body feels like it’s sweating to the point where I feel like my blood is going to be pouring out of every part of it. “Uh. Sinning against God is the only thing I should worry about, and the salvation of souls is the only serious matter in the world.”

“…correct…You have spoken wisely.” The clown plays a three, a four, a seven, a five, and a two, and ends his turn, his faces still stuck in his eerie and bleeding form.

I don’t have a good feeling about this game or what’s happening. I play the Prisoner modifier, and with its Up effect, I prevent one of the clown’s modifiers from being used.

“That’s a shame. That could’ve helped you win the game.”

Ignoring the clown’s words, I flip over the Fool next and get its Up effect, so I play a ten from my deck. For my last modifier, I play the Worker, get its Up effect, shuffle my hand into the deck, draw another five cards, and play all of them: a ten, three, five, two, and one. With my turn and the round over, we draw four cards.

The clown silently flips over a modifier, and all the color returns to him. “The Two-Faced modifier is next, and its Up effect dictates that all the Up effects of modifiers used after this have to use their Down effect. If that isn’t confusing enough, I activate my Fiction modifier. I flipped it Up, but its Down effect activates, and now when a modifier is flipped Up, you have to use its opposite effect, so you always have to use the Up effect. I place two threes and end my turn.”

What’s the point of this game?

Come on. I can’t let that bother me. I play the Divine, and because of the clown’s modifiers, I have to give cards. I go through the motions of the effect. The Penitent modifier automatically activates; I give a card again. The Lovers modifier activates, and I give a third card, securing my victory. I place whatever cards I have left to fill the playing slots and end my turn. “That’s it. Game’s over.”

“Ah, great work! Your nickname should be Israel from now on.”

“Seriously, who are you and what do you want?”

“You already know the answer, but I’ll force you to accept it. My last modifier is the best hint at my identity. Let me ask you first, what is often misrepresented, men seek, and are fearful of?”

“…the truth…”

“That’s it.” The clown flips over his last modifier, the Truth. With its Up effect, cards one through five have their regular value. “Why are you afraid of the truth? After playing all these card games and talking to your friends, what have you discovered your life’s purpose to be as of right now? I know you figured it out after your game with Duraturo and it was there from the start after your game with Testardo.”

“It’s…um. To live my life as I am right now and marry Jess. I guess I’m afraid to accept it because it feels like an answer I don’t want.”

“Such is life, and yet, you must humble yourself as always to find fulfillment in it. Do you hate your life as it is? Do you hate me for revealing it to you?”

“No. No, I don’t hate it or you, and will do my best to accept it with joy and thankfulness, my Lord and God.”

“I know you will, my good and faithful servant.”

Time resumes to normal, and the clown disappears. Who would’ve thought I would play a card game against God and that He would appear as a clown to me? Does He do that to other people? Maybe He did so because others don’t take Him seriously or because I didn’t. I'd better improve on that, regardless.

“Are you okay, Bonaventura? Did that defeat against Duraturo really hit you that hard? Want me to go beat him, physically or through a game, for you?”

Composing myself, I say, “No, not at all.” Not wanting to hold back what I should’ve done any longer, I get on one knee and use the ring in my pocket to propose to Jess. “I know you’ve been waiting for this, so here it is. Will you marry me, Jess?”

Jess seems overjoyed at first, then her expression sours. “Now you ask me after so many times of denying me? Even today, you denied me marrying you, but now, you want to do it? What changed?”

“Nothing did. I just had to realize the obvious and do it. Please, forgive my constant rejections. This card game has made me realize that what I’m supposed to do and where I’m supposed to be is right here, where I’ve always been. If God wanted me to be somewhere else with someone else, it would’ve happened by now, so-”

Jess takes the ring and slips it on her finger. “Yeah, we better get married before you end up with someone else! I do!” Jess and I kiss, a little too long for my liking, to the point where I have to push her away. Now, she’s clinging to me even more, and I must have lipstick all over my face.

Passersby who saw what happened congratulate us on our marriage and tell me it should’ve happened sooner. “Yeah, it should’ve,” I admit. It took Divine intervention and a whole lot of card games for me to realize it, but I’m glad that I did, and thank God for it. From now on, I won’t be as hesitant to accept God’s will, appreciate what I have more, see the value in the here and now, and pray and hope to be better in the future. May Providence, who guides fates and decides the winner of games, ever mercifully be in my favor. Amen.

 

The End