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SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO ME

Upon arriving at home, Joel and Marc were greeted with a letter of invitation stuck to their door. The letter stated that they were to be present, in thirteen bells, in front of the council. After they finished reading it, the letter turned into a small cloud and floated slowly away.

The following day Marc and Joel prepared themselves for the ‘debriefing’ that would occur. They questioned each other on what had been said and what had not at their meeting the day before. They tried to remember every move that Lucifer had made.

Peter came to their bungalow for a few centibells and suggested that they wear their golden robes. He also advised them to be careful of what they said in front of the council, for he found this meeting to be queer.

During their walk to city hall, neither of them spoke and neither looked at each other. Marc was in such a trance, that he walked through three clouds on the way, while Joel toyed with a chunk of cloud in his hands, packing it harder and harder.

As they neared the hall, a female angel, a Sorem, scurried towards them. She knelt down and brushed hurriedly at the bits of cloud on Marc’s robe, she frowned and took the cloud ball away from Joel, and whispered something about their follies. She then ushered the two boys through the doors.

They found themselves in an arena surrounded by angels, both Sorom and Sorem. They whispered grimly to one another when the two boys first entered the giant doors. The council angels looked back and forth, not sure who would begin. Then Mirash, a quiet and young angel, suggested telepathy which all the angels agreed to.

“Joel Howe and Marc Labonté,” began Mirash, “would you please face each other and hold hands. As you will discover we have already made a verdict concerning your future. Therefore, there will be no discussion of your views.” Mirash and the council then folded their hands in unison into the sleeves of their robes.

As Marc and Joel held hands the thoughts of all the angels poured through their minds as if they were thoughts of their own.

“We apologize for yesterday’s encounter with Satan…We needed to know exactly what he wanted…Hell…God Quest…You are infected now…We’re sorry…wanted…Him…He has sparked curiosity in you…infected…We can’t think of a proper solution…Lucifer…The best thing to do…Checkmate…Send you on a Quest for truth…For God…Apologize…Heaven…Somewhere deep within heaven…The cure…Too curious…God can help…Deep, deep within heaven…A remedy…God will help.”

“Go now,” Mirash was speaking out loud, “find God, find your cure.”

When Marc and Joel released one another’s sweaty palms they found themselves on a dirt road. An endless dirt road surrounded by fields of clouds. They were a taken aback at the disappearance of the council, the arena, and the whole city. They were wearing their normal white gowns and not the golden ones they had donned earlier. Marc sat down and muttered something about scaring an old man. Joel looked about and tried to analyze and map their surroundings.

“So we’re on a quest to find God,” summarized Marc, “Why isn’t He in Paradise with all of the angels? What do we do if and when we find Him? We’re suppose to be having the time of all our lives, instead they punish us for something they agreed to. Where in heaven could God possibly be?”

“I think he left Paradise sometime after the fight with Lucifer. Probably after the council was formed. It isn’t that bad, Marc. What would we be doing if they hadn’t assigned us this quest?”

“Always looking for a silver lining, eh Joel? Well grow up kid! Look around, do you see any silver lining on these clouds? Do you realize how gigantic heaven is? The only reason we’re here is because they didn’t know what to do with us.”

“You know, this kinda reminds me of ‘The Wizard Of Oz’. We’re Dorothy, and now we’re going to follow this dirt road.”

“No I don’t think so. Maybe I’m Dorothy and you’re Toto. I think this is going to be a really fun trip,” said Marc very sarcastically.