Joan sat on a park bench, watching the children running, laughing, playing.
They all looked so happy. But her recent experiences with Rocky and Adam made
her wonder how many of them weren’t. She stared at them, thinking about Adam,
and asking herself how she could never have noticed.
She was vaguely aware of someone coming up to the other side of the bench and
sitting beside her. A quick sideways glance told her that it was God.
“I don’t want to talk to you.”
He shrugged. “So don’t.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Joan reflected that God certainly didn’t
seem angry, or even disappointed in her behavior, but she had already begun
regretting her outburst on the bus the other day. She wondered what would happen
if he ever did get angry with her.
She continued to watch the children. She really hadn’t wanted to speak with
God when He had arrived, but His presence was causing her to form questions.
“Why can’t I see anything?” she asked tiredly.
“You can. You can see just fine.”
“That’s not what I meant. I thought you were omniscient.”
She could hear Him smile. “I know. And you can still see just fine.”
Joan turned to look at Him. “But I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did. You saw exactly what you had to see. You just weren’t looking
for it.”
“But…Adam’s my friend. Shouldn’t I have…I dunno…noticed?”
“Didn’t you?”
“Well…Grace and I saw that he…didn’t like November. But I didn’t think to ask
why.”
“Do you think he would’ve told you if you had asked?” He asked calmly. Joan
frowned.
“So…I’m not a completely flaky friend?” God just raised his eyebrows in an amused
sort of way. “You can see just fine, Joan.” Then He stood and walked away.
Joan continued to watch the children at the park.
END.
return to Tales
of Arcadia