2021 (8 page)

‘
Ay, I must be in the wrong hospital!’ he announced cheerfully ‘someone told me I was to serve young Master James here with the last rites!’

‘Father Mathews, look, h
e’s made a full recovery!’ smiled Alec’s mum ‘I swear it’s a
miracle
!’ she announced joyfully.

‘Ay, that it is
!’ smiled the priest cheerfully as Alec’s father came over to shake his hand.

‘Ay, and is that Master Ellis I
see sitting there?’ smiled Father Mathews as he gazed over at Tom. ‘Now is there no chance of my persuading you to come to my church every Sunday, Tom?’ he asked him cheerfully.

‘You’v
e got no chance, Father Mathews’ smiled Alec ‘Tom doesn’t go to
any
church, let alone your
s
’ laughed Alec cheerfully as Tom just looked a little embarrassed.

‘Ay, well, I guess a man can just as easily pray at home
as in a church anyway. Can’t he, Tom?’ smiled the priest cheerfully before turning his attention back to Alec again.

‘So young, Ale
c, you’re not dying after all. Now, how did that famous quote go: ‘the report of my death has been grossly exaggerated’ or something like that?’ Father Mathews laughed before Alec’s family told him all that had just happened.

After having
been up for best part of the night, Tom finally said a goodnight to his best friend and all his relatives, before with a very happy smile on his face he finally left to go home.

Father Mathews seeing him leave,
immediately said his own farewells and then quickly tried to catch up with him.

‘Ay, slow down, Tom, I’m not as young as I
used to be!’ he puffed.

‘Oh, hello, Father Mathews,
are you off home too, good news about Alec isn’t it?’ Tom smiled.

‘Don’t be shy, Tom, I know it was all down to you’ smiled the priest.

‘I don’t know what you mean, Father Mathews’ replied Tom
as he went to keep walking down the corridor, but Father Mathews stopped him.

‘Why don’t you
just admit it, Tom, you prayed for Alec didn’t you? There’s nothing wrong with you admitting that’ smiled the friendly priest as he now stood in front of him.

‘You’re wrong, Father Mathe
ws, it’s wrong to tell anyone what you pray for, even if what you say were true’ insisted Tom.

‘Why can’t you speak of this, Tom, are you afraid of something?’ queried Father Mathews.

Tom just heaved out a sigh before answering.

‘It is wrong of m
e to tell anyone about anything I do, I know that now, Father Mathews’ he insisted.

‘But what are you, Tom, are you
some kind of angel or something? As surely only an angel could save young Alec in there?’ smiled the old priest.

‘Aren’t angels
all supposed to be dead people, sitting around on clouds, Father?’ smiled Tom.

‘Are you saying they aren’t?’ puzzled the priest.

Tom now sat down on a seat as he seemed
to be pondering what to tell him.

‘Tell me what’s troubling you, Tom’ smiled Father Ma
thews as he sat down next to him and then spoke very quietly.

Tom just looked at him and then sighed.

‘
I believe angels are people who do good deeds, but can never tell anyone of the good they do, they also cannot help themselves in any way, not even indirectly. I know that now, Father Mathews’ explained Tom as he just stared down at his feet.

‘Then are you
saying you are an angel, Tom? Because personally I’m now absolutely convinced that you are’ smiled the priest.

‘I’m no
t an angel, Father Mathews’ laughed Tom.

‘A saint then?’ queried
the priest.

‘I’m definitely no saint
either’ laughed Tom ‘I’ve been in trouble loads of times’ he smiled.

‘You say, some people are able to help other people, I presume
you are talking through prayer, but they are governed by strict rules that say they cannot tell anyone about the good they have done. Have I got that right, Tom?’ asked Father Mathews.

‘Yes
, well, only
some
people,
certain
people’ nodded Tom.

‘But what happens if they do tell someone?’ queried the priest.

‘I already told you about that when I was very small’ replied Tom
now looking around at him.

‘O
h, I see’ nodded Father Mathews now looking very serious ‘oh, I definitely see that now’ he added as he remembered Tom’s terrible description of Hell.

The old priest now
paused for a moment as he seemed to be trying to take all this information in.

‘But if these people who secretly help people, possibly
‘living angels’ as you suggest, cannot actually
tell
anyone of their good deeds, then they may be subject to unfair persecution as people are not even aware of all the good they do. Am I right in suggesting this, Tom?’ asked the priest curiously.

‘Yes, tha
t is the curse’ nodded Tom.

‘You believe it to be a curse?’ smiled the friendly priest.

‘What else would you call it when you are unable to help yourself in any way?’ replied Tom firmly.

‘
Umm, I guess so’ nodded the old priest ‘but how can you know all this?’ puzzled Father Mathews.

‘I
don’t know?’ shrugged Tom ‘I just
do
.’

‘Ay, you’re a puzzle
all right’ smiled Father Mathews. ‘I swear to the fact that you saved poor Alec in there. Ay, you did a fine thing there even if you aren’t allowed to claim any credit for it’ smiled Father Mathews.

The priest
then just sat there for a moment.

‘Ay, you couldn’t ask the big man upstairs to provide me with enough money to replace my old le
aking church roof could you?’

‘No, I’m not allow
ed to pray for anything involving money, I’ve already learnt that one’ smiled Tom.

‘Ay
and I just knew you’d say something like that’ laughed the old priest as he got up and just smiled at Tom.

‘Well, if you won’t come to my church or help raise funds for its repair, I guess I’ll be on my way. I’m missing my beauty sleep you know’ Father Mathews joked as Tom just smiled at him.

‘Yes, I thought if I kept my good looks I might marry a super model one day and cause a huge scandal in the Parish’ the old priest laughed ‘now you can’t arrange that for me can you?’

‘Hardly’ laughed Tom as he just smiled at him.

‘
Ay, you’re a puzzle indeed, young Tom, that’s for sure’ Father Mathews then smiled.

‘I’ll tell you, that was a mighty fine thing you did in there today to be sure. God bless you, Tom’ smiled the old priest making the sign of the cross before finally going on his way.

Tom just remained there
for a while before he then slowly made his own way home.

When Father Mathews returned to his church
later that morning he found a letter from the Vatican waiting for him there. Mrs O’Mally had read the postmark and shoved it into his hand the moment he walked through the door.

‘Ay, Father Mathews
where have you been? You’re
late
! It’s from Vatican City!’ Mrs O’Mally told him, nudging his arm ‘maybe they want you to be the next Pope?’ she joked.

‘I shouldn’t think so, Mrs O’Mally seeing as
they’ve only just elected his Holiness Pope Paul VII’ he smiled.

‘Go o
n then, open it!’ she insisted impatiently.

‘Isn’t p
ost supposed to be private?’ smiled Father Mathews.

‘Not to
me
!’ replied Mrs O’Mally as she eagerly watched him rip open the envelope and then read the letter inside.

‘Well, what’s it say?’ she asked eagerly.

‘They just want us to notify them if we witness any miracles’ he informed her.

‘Oh, is that
all
?’ she groaned.

‘Well
now, what did you expect, Mrs O’Mally, them to offer me a job in the Vatican?’ he laughed.

‘
Miracles
!’ she scoffed ‘like there would be any miracles happening around here!’

‘Well I have to disagree with you there, Mrs O’Mally
, as I think I may have just witnessed one in our local hospital, only last night I’ll have you know’ he informed her with a cheeky grin.

‘Really,
Father?’ Mrs O’Mally asked looking surprised.

‘
Yes, it was a boy in the hospital’ he explained ‘he was expected to die, but he then inexplicably recovered.’

‘Oh, is that
all
?’ Mrs O’Mally winced.

‘
Now, is that not a good enough miracle for you then, Mrs O’Mally?’ he smiled.

‘Well, I thought y
ou were going to say something a bit more exciting than
that
!’ she complained.

‘Ay, happen I’ll have a word with God and ask him to make something a bit more spectacular
happen for you next time’ he chuckled.

‘Ay
and you shouldn’t be taking our Lord’s name in vain, Father’ she reprimanded him.

‘Ay, that you’re right
, Mrs O’Mally’ he smiled as he waved her goodbye as he gently shoved her out the door of his office.

*

A bit later as he sat at his desk, Father Mathews pondered on whether he should report
Tom’s miracle to the Vatican.

He had witnessed Tom apparently bring life back to his best friend who by all medical accounts should have been dead and now lying in the hospital’s mortuary.

Father Mathews was absolutely certain Tom had made Alec’s cancerous tumour disappear, but he was a little less certain whether he should report this incident to the Vatican.

After a good deal of thought though, he decided it was
his duty to report anything he saw. So he contacted the man whose job it was to investigate any reported miracles in both Great Britain and Ireland.

Mr Raines
was an expert when it came to investigating whether a reported miracle was a hoax or not. So far, he had proven all reports made to him to be no more than just mere hoaxes or misunderstandings. It was therefore with some scepticism that Mr Raines greeted the report of Tom’s miracle given to him by Father Mathews.

Mr Raines
personally visited Father Mathews and after speaking to both Alec’s doctor, his surgeon Mr Hudson, and Alec’s nurses at the hospital he soon became convinced that this was the very man the Vatican had been searching for.

Raines had been informed by Cardinal Greco to specifically track down the man in the Van
Gogh painting and he was now positive that Tom was
that
man.

Raines himself had a photograph of the young man’s face in the Van Gogh painting and when he spied Tom himself he was astounded at their striking facial similarity.

Raines
immediately contacted Cardinal Greco to inform him of the news.

‘Are you
absolutely certain this man fits the description I gave you and the face on the painting?’ questioned the Cardinal.

‘
Yes, exactly’ replied Raines ‘but tell me, Cardinal Greco what
is
this painting?’ he asked curiously.

‘You don’t need to know
about that, Mr Raines’ replied the Cardinal ‘tell me, what miracle did this boy actually
perform?’

‘He
cured another boy his own age who was dying of cancer’ replied Raines. ‘He definitely fits the description you gave me’ he assured the Cardinal again. ‘He’s facial features are remarkably similar to the man’s in the painting. Tell me, has no one else found anyone, anywhere else around the world?’ asked Raines keenly.

‘No, no one’ replied Cardinal Greco
.

‘
Then he
must
be your man. So, now I’ve found him, what do you want me to do?’ asked Raines curiously.

Cardinal Greco gazed outside a window as he paused for a second.

‘
I believe we have no choice other than to eliminate him’ he then whispered down the phone as he peered all around him to ensure that no one in the Vatican could overhear him.

‘Pardon me, Cardinal?’ queried Raines ‘
I thought you said you wanted me to ‘eliminate him’ for a minute there?’

The Cardinal took a deep breath as he closed his eyes as he considered what to do again
, then he confirmed what he had just said.

‘I do!
’ he then whispered ‘no, you didn’t mishear me. That was what I said’ he repeated. ‘I feel we have no other choice but to do this.’

‘
But you cannot be serious about this, Cardinal Greco?’ queried Raines ‘I mean, this is unprecedented, I am loyal to the church, but to ask me to arrange something like this? Exactly what has this man done?’ now queried Raines.

‘You don’t need to know
that’ muttered the Cardinal.

‘Well I’m afraid I
do
if I am to try and order something as heinous as
this
!’ insisted Raines.

Cardinal Greco paused again before answering.

‘We believ
e this man to be the Anti-Christ’ whispered Cardinal Greco.

‘The Anti-Christ,
Cardinal Greco, you can’t be
serious
?’ asked Raines.

‘I’m
being deadly serious’ replied the Cardinal ‘he has the power to destroy the world if we do not destroy him first!’ he told Raines firmly.