2021 (5 page)

‘No, I’ve learnt my lesson
now’ Alec smiled.

T
hat night after school, the two boys began to discuss it as they sat in Tom’s bedroom.

‘I’ll be honest, Tom, when you said anything you prayed for would come true I didn’t
really believe you. I definitely believe you now though’ Alec smiled.

‘Well I never actually said anything I prayed f
or would ‘come true’ only that my prayers definitely get answered’ Tom corrected him. ‘All my prayers
do
get answered, but not always in the way I want them to, I’ve learnt that much.’

‘Don’t you realise though, Tom, you have an amazing power at your fingertips? Why,
you could pray for ‘world peace’ or an ‘end to all starvation in the world’ stated Alec as he began to get excited.

‘You sound like a Miss World contestant
now’ joked Tom.

‘No,
Tom, I’m being
serious
’ insisted Alec ‘you have been given an amazing gift!’

‘A gift or a curse?’ queried Tom.

‘What do you mean?’ puzzled Alec.

‘Alec, I’ve been afforded the chance to help others
, but not ever myself, I’m not supposed to even tell anyone anything about this. So even if I do something good only
I
will ever know about it and if I make a serious mistake, I face a fate literally worse than death itself! Is that not really more of a curse?’ Tom pondered.

‘I guess when you put it like that then maybe it’s not so good
after all’ nodded Alec. ‘But hang on a minute, you told
me
that you’d prayed for
me
?’ queried Alec ‘I thought you said you couldn’t tell anyone?’

‘Yeah
and look how well that turned out’ smiled Tom.

‘Yes, you’re right about that’ laughed Alec
. ‘Gosh, I didn’t think she’d really come onto me like that, I really wasn’t ready for that’ smiled Alec.

‘Yeah, I noticed’ chuckled Tom.

They both paused as they gave the matter some more thought.

‘I still think it’s an ama
zing gift you have though, Tom’ insisted Alec ‘the good you could do for people’ he suggested.

‘I
can’t imagine it’s just me who can do this though, Alec’ pondered Tom ‘I just thought maybe everyone is secretly doing this?’

‘No way, d
efinitely
not
!’ stated Alec firmly.

‘It’
s too much power for any one person to have though, Alec’ questioned Tom ‘surely no man should control so much power even if it is for good?’

‘I don’t know
, I just wish I had it’ Alec disagreed.

‘No, don’t wish that for yourself, Alec, the consequences if you get it wrong are simply unthinkable’ Tom shook his head.

‘Why can’t you just pray for no one to starve or something?’ queried Alec as he sat there
looking deep in thought.

‘It sounds good,
Alec, but you don’t know the consequences’ replied Tom.

‘What do you mean the consequences?’ queried Alec as he gave Tom a curiously look.

‘It’s hard to explain, Alec,
it’s like; if your dad’s in his car and he stops to let someone out of a side turning.’

‘Yeah
, so what’s wrong with that?’ puzzled Alec.

‘Well nothing really, the guy he let’s out is obviously very pleased
. The bloke in the car following him though, who is already running late for his important meeting, isn’t very pleased at all, especially as your dad letting someone out of a side turning is making him even later.’

‘Serves him right, he should have left earlier’ commented Alec as Tom
just laughed.

‘Can’t you see though, Alec, everything you touch effects everything and everyone else in ways you can’t possibly imagine or predict’ suggested Tom.

‘Oh
I still think you almost have the power of a God, Tom, if everything you prayer for is always answered’ disagreed Alec.

‘That’s the point
though, Alec, I’m
not
a God’ answered Tom as he suddenly slumped down to the floor and looked very depressed.

‘I’m sure the nightmare I had was showing me what could happen to me if I get
this stuff wrong, so maybe I shouldn’t do it anymore?’

‘It seems such a waste though?’ argued Alec
‘you must have been given this gift for a reason?’

‘Waste or not
, I can’t risk getting another one wrong’ commented Tom seriously.

The
y both just sat there for a while.

‘Do you believe in angels, Alec?’ pondered Tom.

Alec just looked over at him.

‘Is this a catch question?’ he replied.

‘No, I’m serious
, Alec’ replied Tom. ‘Most people think that angels are dead people who fly around with wings on their backs and sit around the clouds.’

‘That’s right isn’t it?’
pondered Alec ‘I mean, I haven’t exactly seen many when I go shopping or anything, but that’s how they’re supposed to look isn’t it?’ questioned Alec.

‘No, not really’ answered Tom
. ‘I believe angels are really people who secretly help other people but they cannot tell anyone the good that they do and so no one ever knows the good things they have done.’

‘That sounds a bit of a bum deal’ smiled Alec as Tom
just laughed.

‘Yes
, especially as they can’t ever do anything to help themselves and they are often persecuted’ insisted Tom.

‘But how do you know all this stuff, Tom? Did your dad tell you
about it before he died or something?’ queried Alec. ‘I mean, you can’t have got all this stuff from going to church as you don’t even go?’

‘I
don’t know?’ puzzled Tom ‘I just
know
stuff somehow’ Tom smiled.

‘If
angels are really alive, is that what you are then?’ puzzled Alec.

‘
Me an angel, that’s a joke, anyway even if I was I wouldn’t be able to tell you would I?’ smiled Tom.

‘
Oh, I’m getting a headache now’ groaned Alec.

Tom had never told any of his friends about this before and he now sat there wondering if he should have
even told Alec.

Ale
c though, just sat there still deep in thought.

‘That was just amazing what you made happen to me, Tom’ he smiled. ‘Anyone who can make sexy Sarah snog the face off ugly me
must
have been given this power for a reason surely?’ he queried.

‘
I might have been, Alec, but maybe I just don’t know quite what it is yet?’ Tom pondered.

Then he looked over to Alec.

‘
Don’t tell anyone about this will you?’

‘Tell anyone?’ laugh
ed Alec ‘half the school already think you’ve won the bloody lottery or something, so bribed gorgeous Sarah to kiss me’ commented Alec as they both looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

‘What I don’t understand is you don’t even go to church
’ commented Alec ‘so how come you got into praying in the first place?’

‘Don’t ask me’ shrugged Tom.

‘Are you
sure
you couldn’t just pray for me to become a millionaire?’ smiled Alec ‘just a little millionaire maybe?’

‘No
, definitely not!’ chuckled Tom.

‘Spoil
sport!’ grumbled Alec.

20
^th
November 2020

Vatican City, Italy.

I
nside the Sistine Chapel the Cardinals have gathered to elect their next Pope.

On this particular occasion, the usual one hundred and twenty Cardinals were forced to be reduced to only one hundred and eighteen, after two Cardinals had been declared as ‘too ill’ to travel.

The crowds
had gathered outside to see whether the tradition of smoke would appear white or black.

Black would indicate
that no decision had been reached, whereas white would denote a new Pope had been duly elected.

The huge crowds waited with baited breath until white smoke
slowly began to appear from the chimney stack and they all began to celebrate ecstatically that a new Pope had now been elected!

The bel
ls of St. Peter’s Basilica rang out as the Photo-Deacon of the College of Cardinals appeared out onto the balcony.

‘HABEMUS PAPAMI
!’
he suddenly cried out.

(
We have a Pope
!)

The crowd
s all cheered happily!

Shortly afterwards, the n
ewly elected Pope with the chosen name of Pope Paul VII made his own way onto the balcony and joyfully waved to all the crowds before delivering his Apostolic Blessing to the City of Rome and the rest of the World.

After the new Pope’s address to the people, he waved the crowds goodbye before he was led away towards a suite in the Domus Sanctae Marthae that had been set aside especially for him.

Two Cardinals, Cardinal Greco and Cardinal Moretti had offered to show the newly elected Pope around.

So they now lead the way through the corridors as they showed his new Holiness toward his quarters.

The newly elected Pope Paul being a lover of fine art however
, made his way quite slowly as he took this new opportunity to admire the Vatican’s many fine art exhibits.

He
stopped dead in his tracks however, when he discovered a painting with only its back facing out from the wall.

‘Tell me, Cardinal
Greco, Cardinal Moretti, but why does this particular painting have its painted surface pointed toward the wall, is it a mistake?’ asked the new Pope curiously.

‘I’m afraid,
Your Holiness, this a painting we do not speak of’ commented Cardinal Greco as he tried to rush the new Pope quickly passed it.

‘But why is that?’ puzzled the new Pope as he m
erely stood still in front of the painting as he refused to budge.

Cardinal Greco now seemed to take a deep breath before looking over towards Cardinal Moretti t
o answer.

‘This painting
is believed to depict the Anti-Christ’ replied Cardinal Moretti meekly.

‘Then I would
very much like to see it’ replied the new Pope.

Both C
ardinals Moretti and Greco just looked at each other.

‘Are you sure, Your Holiness? W
e have many other fine works of art in the Vatican that we can show you?’ suggested Cardinal Moretti.

‘No, maybe later, I’d just like to see this one
first, I’m curious about it’ smiled the new Pope.

Cardinal Greco nodded his head to Cardinal Moretti and so
between them they carefully turned the painting over so it was now face out from the wall.

The new Pope just stood there and studied
the painting carefully.

‘The man who stands
there in the centre, is that lightening coming from his fingers?’ he asked curiously.

‘No one really knows, Y
our Holiness’ replied Cardinal Greco.

‘He certainly appears to be killing people’ nodded
the newly elected Pope Paul.

‘Ye
s’ replied Cardinal Moretti thoughtfully.

‘Tell me,
if you believe this painting depicts the Anti-Christ and it displeases you so much you feel you cannot bare to even look at it, why do you keep it hanging on the wall? Why not simply remove it?’ asked the new Pope curiously.

Cardinal Moretti and Greco look
ed at each other again before Cardinal Moretti volunteered to answer.

‘It is believed to be the last ever painting by the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, Your Holiness.’

‘Really
?’ puzzled the new Pope staring at the painting as he now studied it more closely. ‘Yes, it certainly looks to be the work of Van Gogh. I don’t ever recall seeing this one before though?’ queried the Pope.

‘No, Y
our Holiness, upon Vincent’s death, believing the painting to depict the Anti-Christ and it also to be a sign of the artist’s illness and insanity towards the end, it is believed it was deliberately hidden away.’

Cardinal Moretti looked over towards Cardinal Greco as he wondered whether he should explain any more
, but Cardinal Greco discreetly nodded his head, so Cardinal Moretti continued.

‘The painting
was finally discovered and seized by the Nazis during the Second World War, Your Holiness. Hitler himself once treasured it believing it to hold hidden occult power. Winston Churchill himself later secretly donated it to the Vatican after British troops discovered the painting at the end of the Second World War. Only Winston Churchill’s own close relatives and select members of the Vatican even know of its existence’ explained Cardinal Moretti as he paused for a moment.