God and Duo
" Is there more than one God, Miz Garcia ?" He first
asked me .
" I beg your pardon ?"
"Is there more than one God?" he repeated. "From what
I've learned in history class, there are at least 4
that were mentioned. According to the book, The
Muslims have their Allah, some sect has this Jehova
and the others--"
" I got your point, Duo. " I took a moment to
formulate my answer . " There is only one ( as far as
I can recall and figured out ).The people you have
mentioned also worship the same god as of ours. They
just call Him in another name."
" Why?" came his next question.
Great. How am I supposed to answer that ? Okay let me
try this track......" Its like this - to you, you call
me Miss Garcia, the other teachers call me 'Winnie ' (
Winona is my real name, get it ? ) and the younger
children know me as Teacher Winnie. Even though all of
you call me in different names, you are all referring
to only one person, which is ME. I guess, you call me
by a name that makes you feel comfortable with me.
It makes me look good in your eyes, more
approachable. " ( I know its a lousy one, but that's
the only thing I can think of at that time and
besides, I'm not a Religion teacher either.)
"Oh. I see. " Was his only reply.
I sighed in relief, I feared he wouldn't be satisfied
with it . Answering his questions is like taking an
entrance test. The simpler the question, the harder to
interpret it. (Quite a paradox, isn't it ? But in my
opinion there is no silly or easy question for a
child. What ever question he has reflects his mindset
and his outlook on the world around him . )
His third question raised a brow. " What does your God
look like?"
That caught me unawares. I had a sneaking suspicion
his questioning is a lot more than it seems. So
carefully , I probed him ," Why are you asking? I
thought Father Maxwell and Sister Helen already told
you that?"
His answer is simple ." They explained it very well. I
just want to know if their picture of what God is also
the same thing with other people. Ordinary people like
you."
Is it ?
Hmmm. I have to ponder that for a while before I took
him on. My eyes darting from the open door just in
case someone was hovering near it. ( You can never
tell if someone is eavesdropping in . I cannot
understand why gossip is so commonplace around here )
A tug on my sleeve broke my checking for eavers (short
for eavesdroppers ) .
"Well ?" he persisted.
/ He can sometimes be annoying if he wanted to . (memo
to me - ask Father Maxwell for some tips on how to
handle a pesky Duo ) /
" Okay, okay." I shrugged him off lest he tore my
sleeve from his constant tugging." Before I answer
your
question, tell me first what God is to you . "
" According to Father Maxwell and Sister Helen's ?"
I shook my head. "No Duo, according to you."
That made him silent . ( He is in his thinking mode
). Getting his opinion in such delicate matters is
important to me as air and water. That's the reason I
know what's inside his skull better than the
psychiatrists or guidance counselors around this
school.
After a minute or two, he spoke up- in a resigned,
confused voice ."I don't know what God is yet."
I was speechless. I've never heard that tone before .I
looked at him more closely this time. Gone was the
smart aleck kid that I know of. This boy before me
looked so insecure and afraid. What happened to him
before that created this sudden change ? I am now
starting to regret this .
Before I can say anything else, he walked away from me
and went to the window, making sure to hide his face
from my probing. "Before, before I was found and taken
in , I didn't know that there is a God. When Father
Maxwell started telling me about HIM- I couldn't
accept it, couldn't even believe it. He said that God
is kind and makes people happy. Then why did HE took
Solo away from me ? He's my only friend .He was the
only one who protected me from the other gangs and
kept me warm . He can make me laugh when I'm sad and
lonely at times.
When I said that to Father Maxwell, He just smiled at
me and said something which made me think more about
what God is. He said 'Whatever God does, there is
always a good reason behind it and its for the welfare
of the person
concerned.' I've also talked to Sister about it and
its the same thing with her . "
He stood there for a moment, then continued on, "
That's why I need your answer, Miz Garcia. I want to
believe them but, but...they're with the church and
they're working for HIM so I needed someone -someone
whose not "closely related" to HIM or "serving Him"
to tell me what HE really is. Like you"
This revelation somehow affected me in some way, made
me closer to him than before. I couldn't put it into
words yet how I feel right now, but I know that this
will be one more reason why I stuck up with him
through out this school year.
I came to him and patted his head affectionately. I
don't know if my answer will be a good thing, but
I've got a hunch it will be . So I plunged on, not
looking at him. " My God is the same of your
guardians, Duo, but a little bit more. My God is all
knowing-HE knows each one of us intimately and the way
we think of our selves. HE is also compassionate. If
HE feels our pain and sadness , HE comforts us to the
best that HE can . HE's the Great Helper-helping us
with our burdens and troubles ,making it easier for us
to bear . And lastly, HE's the best Listener in the
whole universe. HE never gets bored to whatever you
say to HIM and HE has the time to listen to all of us
without getting impatient or mad . "
I faced him again .Looking for a sign that he
understood what I was trying to tell him.
Nothing.
Last attempt. If this doesn't work, I don't know what
I'll do next..." Father Maxwell told you that
whatever God does, there is always a good reason
behind it .You told me that HE took Solo from you (
I'm suspecting this Solo kid is dead already ) .
Okay, I'd be the first one to admit I don't know
God's thinking or why HE took your friend away from
you, but I am sure of one thing, Duo, if Solo didn't
die, you will not be taken in by the Maxwell Church .
You'll still be living on the streets ,cold and always
on the run ( from what, only God knows ). HE doesn't
want that to happen because HE loves you and HE knows
that you deserve more of life, so HE gave you "them
-Father Maxwell and Sister Helen " as a replacement
for Solo ( Damn ! Did I said that correctly ??!! ) .
HE thinks that they can provide you something better
than just food and a roof . HE gave you a family ."
( I'm stretching it and I am running out of words,
but I have to try something ).
I looked at him again to see if any of my babbling
sank in. What I saw made me cry in relief.
The Duo I know of is back. And his smiling again.
He finally got it. He UNDERSTOOD .
" Thank you. Miz Garcia. You don't know how much your
answer means to me." He reached up and kiss me on
the cheek.
And like the whirlwind that he is, he was gone from
the room in a minute .
I was about to congratulate myself for doing a fine
job on Duo when I was startled by a whistle coming
from the school proctor .
Then belatedly, I remembered something very important
.
I forgot to inform Duo that he still have 30 minutes
of detention time left.
~~~end~~~
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