Coffee break

The night was dark and snowing. This was unusual, since it never snowed at that time of year. An old man was walking slowly through the deserted road. His hair was pure white. He wore a white check shirt with black pants and was deep in his thoughts.

Suddenly a door opened from nowhere and a young man stepped out. He wore a black tuxedo. He looked smart and had mischievous look in his eyes.

“I hope I did not took you by surprise?” asked the young man.

“No one takes me by surprise.” replied the other.

“Yeah, I forgot. So it’s been long, since we last met. Nice dress by the way.”

The old man preferred to keep mum. So the other one continued.

“I suppose the hotel is nearby. I hate walking.”

“It’s just around the corner.”

After walking for some more time the old man turned and started climbing a hill. The other one followed reluctantly. As they reached the top they came in front of an old hotel. It was so old that the roof could have collapsed at any time soon. It was empty apart for the keeper. The old man entered the front door followed by the youth. They choose a seat towards the far end corner.

“I would have chosen a more comfy hotel.” complained the youth.

“I like to keep my choices simple.” replied the man.

The keeper took their orders. Both of them settled for coffee. The coffee was served and they took their first sip.

The coffee is pretty good pondered the youth.

“I’ve other things to attend to. So let’s get straight to business” said the man with some serious look.

“I too have schedules to keep.” Snorted the youth.

“I don’t like you interfering in people’s business. It’s high time you put a stop to it.”

“C’mon, not the old argument. How many times do I have to say, it’s not me who goes to them. They choose me over you.”

The old man knew it was partly true. Most of the people chose evil instead of good, though they never knew it. People had started to lose their ability in choosing between right and wrong. They could not differentiate between good and evil. But he was not ready to give up.

“Don’t give that to me. I know how you manipulate them.”

“But I always give them choice.”

“You better keep that choices with you.”

The youth was losing his coolness. He knew, soon there was going to be an outburst. He started to talk.

“It’s funny how we both like Indians. You like them since they worship you more than any other people in the world. I like them because they are ready to slaughter each other in the name of yours. And I especially like their leaders who never forgets to remind them, about their communal votes. If one group support Hindus, the other starts supporting Muslims. There are others who are not interested in religion. They starts to group people on the basis of workers and owners. Anyway these leaders keeps them separated. As the separation between communities increases the chance of violence also increases. So I suppose, I like Indians more than you do.”

The old man was silent. So the youth continued.

“Even though we are far different we have something that keeps us attached. You are the creator of all. You created the world, its people and animals. And most importantly you created me. Since everything you created have some of your traits, I should have some goodness in me.”

“Shut up. You are crossing the line.”

The youth did not heed the words and continued.

“Everything came from you. Nothing is created without you. That means I inherited evil from you. Since I magnified that evilness more than anyone, people call me devil or Satan. But the actual creator of evil is not me, it’s you. So”

“ENOUGH” the power in his voice was unquestionable.

The devil could see true wrath in old man’s voice. When the man talked his voice was firm.

“If you would ever try to manipulate me, you would know what my true power is. I kept quiet the whole time, just to know how much you would brag on. Now it’s time I talk and you listen.”

The devil never opened his voice since he knew the wrath of god. He surely had crossed the line.

“I don’t differentiate people as Indians or Chinese or Hindus or Muslims. For me they are my greatest creation. You told me about the choices you give them. Actually it’s not you but me who give them choices. It’s this freedom of choice, that make my creation different from others. It’s what makes them human beings. My greatest token of love to them is this freedom. If you were in my place, there wont be any choices in them. So that puts an end to the question, who loves them more?”

The devil was listening closely and the god continued.

“Now let’s come to India. I don’t disagree with you. It’s all true. But there are leaders who are different and they exist in every community. Through them I would unite people and will achieve peace. People might say peace cannot be achieved. But there are still who believes in peace. This hope is the greatest weapon they have against you. You could never take over, until you destroy this hope. And I would make sure, to stop you whenever required. You are not the only one who can interfere with people. Better keep that in mind.”

The face of devil grew darker and darker with each sentence. But he was afraid to talk.

“And never try to manipulate me. I am not only the creator, but also the destroyer.”

By that god finished his cup of coffee and stood up to leave. The devil was quiet the whole time. His pride was hurt and he knew he couldn’t do anything about it.

“I pay your bills too.” Saying this god went to pay the bills.

As the god paid the bills he looked at the keeper.

“Work hard. You will surely be rewarded.”

After that he stepped outs and started walking, never looking back.

As the god departed, the devil, who never once shifted from the seat, stood up. He straightened his tuxedo and having a last look at the keeper slowly stepped outside and started to walk.

Since both his customers parted, the keeper started cleaning their table. Suddenly he saw a purse with full of notes, under one of the chairs.

As the keeper was deciding whether to keep the purse for himself or give it to the police, the devil had climbed down the hill. The god was still standing there. They looked at each other for blink of a second and disappeared.

The game was still on.

__END__