“Can you hear me?” said a voice of a rich, healthy, man. Isma’il was unable to see anything or do anything. He felt disembodied and disconnected from life. He couldn’t feel his arms, legs, heartbeat, or the air entering how body.
“Yes, I can hear you just fine.”
“Good. Now, before I let you venture off into the world, I would like to make sure of s few
things.”
“Such as…”
“Well, let’s start with an easy question. What is your name?”
“Isma’il.”
“Where were you born?”
“Constantinople.”
“What is the name of your parents?”
“I don’t know, I never had the luxury of knowing them. They died shortly after my birth.”
“Good, you are ready to take your place on this world.”
Slowly, Isma’il’s eyes started to open. First, all he saw was bright lights. Everything was a big, white, blur. After about two minutes of squinting until his eyes adjusted to his surroundings, Isma’il could finally see where he was. Lying on a wooden table, Isma’il could see a brick structure around him. Sitting up, he looked behind him.
A man wearing a strange metal armor stood before him. His eyes were unearthly. They seemed to be moving in different directions. Behind the man, Isma’il saw what he believed to be a
weapon. It was a staff, the same height as the man.
“Is that yours?” Isma’il asked.
“Not unless you would like it.” The man said.
“Are you offering, then?”
“Indeed,” He said, smiling.
Standing up, Isma’il felt a little dizzy. He took a step toward the staff. The moment he lifted his
leg, he fell over. Closing his eyes for impact, Isma’il felt a numbness engulf his right cheek. Opening his eyes again, he pushed himself up with his arms.
“What’s wrong with me?” Isma’il asked
“You’re body is adjusting to the gravity of this planet,” the man said. “You were made aboard a spaceship with no gravity. This is the first time you have had to be challenged with needing to stand on a surface.”
“Now you are speaking a completely different language. None of that makes any sense.”
“No matter, forget what I said.”
“Already done.” Standing back up, Isma’il took a few more steps toward the staff, and then began to feel himself fall over. Quickly, he forced himself to run at the wall so he could hold himself up. Crashing into the wall, he buffered the impact with his hands.
“You are much more persistent than my last creation.”
“What are you talking about now, now?”
“Don’t worry about it, you will know one day. Probably in about 600 years or so.”
“There is no way I will survive that long,” Isma’il said, grabbing the staff and putting his weight on it to help him stand.
“Soon, you will be introduced to a man who goes by the name of Na’im. He will explain to you everything you need to know.
“Why can’t you explain to me what’s going on?” Isma’il said, starting to be a little aggravated with how he was being treated by the man who stood in front of him.
“Why can’t you just tell me what is going on?”
“If I did that, you might mess up the human’s intelligence.”
“Again, not making any sense.”
“Everything will be a little bit clearer soon, I promise.”
The door on the other side of the room flew open. In the doorway stood a man who seemed to be about 21 years old. His skin was tan; his hair was long and dark brown. Oddly, his eyes were a golden color rather than the typical brown.
“Isma’il, meet your guide to humanity,” the man in the unearthly armor said. “He goes by the name Na’im.”
“My lord,” Na’im said, bowing to the man in armor. “It has been 1,440 years since I last saw you. I had a vision about two weeks ago of you telling me to come here on this very day and here you are.”
“I am no lord of you, Na’im. I only possess more advanced technology than you. You understand what I am saying?”
“Of course, but you are only being modest.”
Isma’il stared blankly at Na’im. He thought it was funny that he bowed to such a difficult man as the one in armor. Everything that came out of his mouth was vague and misunderstanding. He did not deserve to be treated with such love and affection.
“Good luck,” the man in armor said. “If you are able to get Na’im to discuss something besides his blind faith in me, you may learn quite a bit about this world and some of its greatness. He truly does know a lot about this world. Much more than anyone else, at least.”
Looking back at the vague man, he saw him smile. Then, a bright light engulfed him. Within seconds, he had disappeared from the room leaving Isma’il more confused than he ever
thought possible. How could a man just disappear into a bright light?
“Do you see the great power he possesses?” Na’im said in awe.
”I saw a man disappear in front of me. I do not know why, nor am I going to make assumptions as to how he did it. So, yes, he I saw great power, do I believe it is magic, which you obviously do, no.”
”You were just in the presence of a god and you do not care?”
”That man was not a god. He was just someone who obviously knows more than us. Can we change the subject to something else now?”
“If that is what you wish.”
“Good. So, that man said that you would explain everything to me. What did he mean by that?”
“You will find out soon enough.”
“What is that suppose to mean?”
“Ask me how old I am.”
“How is your age relevant?”
“Trust me. Ask me how old I am.”
“Okay, how old are you,”
“1,440 years old.”
“Yeah right. No one can live that long.”
“I was blessed by our god. He gave me the gift to live forever, to see the world for what it is and how it changes.”
“He is not a god.”
“Then explain how he has so much power.”
Isma’il did not reply. He did not have an answer. The man was not very descriptive of what or who he was, so Isma’il had no hard evidence that the man was not a god. Plus, the man in armor did a very good job of selling himself as a god with his fancy light trick that made him vanish. Then, Isma’il remembered some of the last things that the armored man had said.
“More advanced technology,” he said, “Like a wheel or a shovel. He has things like that only
more complex. That is how he gets his power. Besides, he basically said to me that he wasn’t a god.”
“No, that is him just being modest.”
“I don’t think so. I am sure he is telling us the truth.”
“You are entitled to your opinion, but I am sure he has blessed us both with the same gift.”
“The gift to live forever? Sounds more like a curse to me. Having to watch the ones I have grown fond of grow old and die while I continue to look young and keep a clear mind about the future just to be able to experience it? What a terrible way to live.”
“Either way, he was bestowed us with this ability and we must use it to our advantage. It is our god’s will.”
“Once again,” Isma’il said, now very frustrated with Na’im, “he is not a god!”
“You do not know that. For all we know, he could be.”
“This is not worth my time discussing with you.”
Na’im grabbed Isma’il by the wrist and pulled him outside. Isma’il followed Na’im. Grabbing a bow and arrow, Na’im winked at Isma’il. Confused, Isma’il stayed silent and continued to follow Na’im’s lead. The two men left the town. Once they were out of eye shot of anyone, Na’im cocked an arrow on the bow.
“Stand back,” Na’im said. “This is going to hurt a little bit.”
Isma’il took ten steps backward. Before he could even blink, Na’im had released the arrow. It was headed straight for him. Isma’il tried to get out of its way, but failed. The arrow struck him right in the heart. Isma’il let out a scream. The pain was so much more intense than he thought possible. Falling over, he pulled the arrow out of his heart. Suddenly, all the pain went away.
Looking up, he saw Na’im standing over him, blocking the sunlight from his eyes. Na’im was smiling wide. Happy that Isma’il did not die, Na’im offered Isma’il a hand to get back on his
feet. Isma’il took the offer. Standing up, Isma’il punched Na’im in the face.
“Are you insane?!” Isma’il yelled. “You could have killed me!”
“But I didn’t kill you. It is so nice to know that our god has been kind enough to bless another one of us insignificant mortals.”
“NOT A GOD!” Isma’il screamed.
“You still have no proof,” Na’im said smiling.
