all powerful

One brick in, followed by another and another and another…Day in, day out, the same routine. Roger looked at the sky. It was an uncommonly hot day. The sun was shining so bright. ‘Strange!’ He thought. ‘The sun is so red. Innit John?’ John looked at him. ‘As red as my face after a good night drink. Are you coming to the pub after?’. ’Nah!’ Said Roger. ‘Suit yourself!’ Said John and continued working. But Roger kept on looking at the sky. He was hypnotised by the sun. ‘Oi!’ Roger came out of his comma. ‘What!?’ ‘I don’t pay you to be lazy!’ Roger looked at his boss. What a knob! He absolutely loathed him, but he paid well. Much better than others in the industry.  

 

The day passed and Roger went home. As always, he prepared his dinner, ate and sat at the porch. ‘Uncommonly hot night’ Roger thought. He looked at the sky. A shooting star! Roger smiled, closed his eyes and made a wish. The same one he always did. To be able to get away from this miserable groundhog life…

 

The next morning, he woke up. It was Sunday and he was going to visit Mr. B. He was Roger’s friend. An old man of questionable background as weird situations kept on occurring when he was visiting. One time Roger thought he saw wings hanging from Mr. B’s back. But he paid little attention. After all, after a few drinks, anyone can have wings!

 

‘Mr. B? Mr. B?’ Roger was knocking at his door. Mr. B opened the door. ‘Oh well hello Roger! Please, please come in lad. Right on time as always. Grab yourself a beer from the fridge. Come join me.’ Roger sat down. ‘How are you Mr. B?’’I am good. I am good. And you lad?’ ‘Ok. Same old. Absolutely nothing new.’ This was always his answer. They continued chatting, ate and in the evening Roger went home.

 

Another week started and another week passed. Roger kept on feeling odd. It was the sun again. Or maybe the sky. Or the surroundings. He couldn’t tell.

On Sunday he went to Mr. B once more. He knocked and shouted but Mr. B wasn’t answering. As he was about to leave, Mr. B opened the door. ‘Quick. Quick lad. Come inside. It’s just dreadful!’ Roger looked at him in question. ‘You must prepare yourself lad. I am about to tell you something very important!’ He pulled Roger from the arm. Now Roger was a big lad and was really impressed. ‘Strong for his age. What on earth is he eating?’ Roger thought. ‘Sit’ he said and placed Roger on the chair. ‘Mr. B what got into you?’ Mr. B looked at him. ‘I have something to tell you lad. And you must hear what I have to say very closely. Do you understand? We need to act swiftly, before everything is lost!’ ‘What are you talking about Mr. B? Before what is lost?’ ‘Have you been feeling weird lad? Have you been looking at the sun?’ Roger’s eyes opened wide. ‘Wh…’ Mr. B sat just across him and snaped his fingers. Suddenly the room started falling apart. Mr. B was falling apart. Roger looked at his hands. He was falling apart. And then darkness.

 

Roger opened his eyes. Where was he? He was in a room with stone walls and no floors. Just earth. Grass, flowers and a tree? In the middle of the room… He got up and walked to the window. He was on a tree house? ‘Wh…What?!’ Roger said. There were lots and lots of other tree houses around. This place must have been a village. He looked up. The red sky! Where was he?

 

‘How are you feeling this fine morning lad?’ Roger jumped! ‘Mr. B? What are you doing here? What am I doing here? Where are we?’ ‘So many questions’ said Mr. B smiling. ‘Would you like some breakfast? Are you hungry?’ ‘Ah…yes’ ‘Come let’s go downstairs and I will explain everything’. They walked down a spiral staircase and found themselves in a room that reminded a very old kitchen. There were plants everywhere, everything was made of wood and there were crystals everywhere. ‘Where are we Mr. B?’ ‘At the centre of the earth lad, of course’.

 

Roger froze. ‘I am sorry…what?’ ‘Let me make you some coffee and prepare some breakfast for you’. He started preparing everything and setting the table. In the meantime, Roger was just lost. Looking around. Not sure what to do with himself. He went to the window again. ‘What the…’ He jumped back. ‘Giant Spiders!! Mr. B, there are giant spiders here’. ‘Calm yourself lad. They are not spiders, there are my people. Your people. Come. Sit down. Let’s eat’. They sat down. ‘Planet Earth lad, this planet, or as we call it, Realtra is our home. Your home and mine. Our people live in the centre of it. We keep the balance and ensure order so this planet and its animals can thrive. Those creatures up there, the humans, need us’. ‘But…but Mr. B, I am human. I am not YOUR people as you say’ Mr. B smiled. ‘Oh, but you are lad’.

 

He got up and took off his shirt. Large spider legs started appearing. He had six. Roger couldn’t move. ‘Mr…B…please! Don’t hurt me!’ ‘Hurt you? What are you on about lad? Get up!’ Roger got up. ‘Take off your shirt’ Roger looked at him in amazement. ‘Take off my shirt? Why?’ ‘Just do it' And so he did. Roger felt his back aching and being uncomfortable and then he saw. He also had legs. ‘Mr. B!!! What’s going on? I am also a spider?’ ‘Spiders are amazingly creative creatures with a very high IQ you must know…Although you are not proving my point right now. But anyway, you are not a spider. Those legs are for us to be able to travel deep in the centre of the Earth and also climb to our houses. What did you think those white marks were on your back? We are called Realtreans of the Earth. Each planet has its own race and Earth has us. We all are responsible for the safety of our planet. But now lad you need to focus. Let me explain to you. Not sure of you noticed but your legs are white and mine are black’. ‘So? Don’t you…we come in different colours?’ Mr. B eyerolled. ‘No, we do not. Very few of all races all over the universe have white legs. They are called all powerful ones’ Roger thought he was in some kind of bad dream. ‘Mr. B…is this a dream? I am a bricklayer. I don’t have spider legs. I am dreaming...innit?’ ‘Afraid not lad. You are very much awake. Let me tell you another story’.

 

‘Once upon a time there was an all powerful who simply fell in love. So, he kept on going in the surface to spend time with the person he loved. And then a miracle happened and she was pregnant. She gave birth to a boy and this boy was named Roger. After his father’s human name. We honestly never thought it possible, but there you were’. Roger’s eyes opened wide. ‘You knew my parents? My real parents?’ ‘Why, yes lad. Your father was a bricklayer on Earth. Just like you. All powerful ones make the best bricklayers as they are the ones who designed this city’. ‘But this city is full of tree houses’. ‘It is! But have you noticed lad! The way you form the path in between bricks is the same as the shape of this village? And it’s the shape of the heart of this place! Earth! You lad, are one the very few all-powerful ones left. That is why I came to get you. We need your help!’ Roger didn’t know what to say. So much information in such a small of amount of time. His head was about to explode. ‘Let’s go for a walk lad. Some Earth air will do you good.’ Roger looked at him. ‘oook! How do I wal…oh ok!’ He didn’t expect it to be so easy. Felt like he was doing it his whole life.

 

They both went down the tree house, inside the deepest tunnel and to the centre of the Earth. Roger was awed by the surroundings. He always liked nature and that is why he was living outside the city but this, this was beyond anything he has ever seen before or even imagined. ‘It’s beautiful Mr. B!’ ‘It is lad. Now listen to me. The balance of this place is very fragile. We need your energy and skills to ensure that this planet doesn’t collapse. Only you as the all-powerful can restore balance. Only a bricklayer would know what to do’. ‘But I don’t know what to do Mr. B’. ‘Come!’ said Mr. B smiling. They entered a room. At least that’s how Roger would describe it. And he saw bricks. Lots and lots of bricks. But those bricks were transparent and filled with some kind of moving energy. He looked at Mr. B. ‘I think you know what to do lad’. And indeed, he did.

 

One brick in, followed by another and another and another…Roger was doing what he did best. He was laying bricks and filing the gaps with earth. He continued and continued until the whole place was now done. His whole life energy was invested in putting those bricks together. It felt like he always knew who he was. And then he saw it. That red colour, just like the sun, slowly moving from his arms and going through the path of the bricks and into the centre of the Earth. The whole place just lit up. ‘Wow! I did know what to do after all!’. ‘Well half of the job is done. Let’s go back to the surface now’.

 

Roger looked at him. ‘Half the job?’ ‘Yes lad. Now we need to go up and channel the energy to heal the planet and its beings. They are not right in their minds. The last two years have been full of depression as the planet itself was suffering. That’s why I was preparing you. For this moment’. ‘Preparing me?’. ‘Yes. I was the one who found you as a boy lad. Your mum passed shortly after your father. They loved each other so very much. And I took you in and made sure you are with a good family that would understand your creative nature. And look at you! They did an amazing job’.

 

Up on the surface everything was quiet. It was very early in the night and everyone was sleeping. ‘Prepare your legs lad. We have a lot of work to do’. He gave Roger earth from the centre of the planet. ‘Run lad. Run and spread the earth everywhere’

And so, they run and run and spread the earth and when they were done, they were very content. ‘Well done lad. Now let’s go home’. Mr. B and Roger went back to the centre of the Earth. ‘Now lad you need to return to your house. Take this pendant. It belonged to your family and it your key to this place. You will be able to come back here when you want’. ‘But Mr. B…I want to know more’ ‘Another time lad. Old Mr. B needs to rest’. He snaped his fingers and Roger just passed out.

 

He woke up the next day feeling a bit odd but curiously happy! Next to him on the night stand there it was. The pendant. He couldn’t believe it. ‘So, everything was real?’ he thought. His phone rang. It was his boss ‘I don’t remember you taking a day off. Get your lazy legs to work’ he hung up. Roger looked at the time. He was very late! He went to work and started his shift. One brick in, followed by another and another and another…Roger looked at the sky. The sun was shining so bright. And the sky was so blue. ‘What is it with you and the sun man?’ Roger looked at John. ‘Nothing wrong looking at the sun, innit!’ Roger snapped. ‘Alright man, it was just an observation’ john walked away.

 

After his shift, Roger went to Mr. B’s house. It looked abandoned. He saw a neighbour. ‘Sorry miss! Do you know where the old man who lives in this house is?’ ‘He passed last night. The funeral was today. Did you know him?’ Roger’s eyes filled with tears ‘Something like that’. The woman looked at him and then went into her house. Roger took his car and started driving home. He couldn’t believe it! He would never see Mr. B again. What about his questions? What about Realtra. He pulled over to the side of the road and started crying like a little boy. He knew Mr. B for many years. He was his only friend and he considered him family. He took a few deep breaths and continued his journey home.

 

He parked the car and opened the front door of his house. Mr. B was sitting at the table with a cup of tea and a giant book in front of him. Roger’s mouth opened wide. ‘What it is lad? You act like you’ve seen a ghost! Make yourself some tea and come sit down! We have so much to talk about and so many nights still to do. You didn’t think we have finished!? Did you…all-powerful one!’