HeIr condition

Pedro walked outside and stood in line at the well. When it was his turn, he pumped the water and hurried to bend underneath it, cooling himself as the water gushed down his face. He then did it a second time but filled a bucket and hurried back to the shade.

“Mom,” I wish we could be like the rich people in the air conditioning,” he said to his mom as she portioned out some bread and beans for him where they sat with a few other families under a covered porch next to their church.  It was a hot summer, and all the people there had to work hard to stay safe in the heat.

“We can’t be rich because the city is making people betray each other to keep a job,” his mom said.  Some people even got the mark of the beast on them so they could be scanned for the technology feeds.  “That will not be me and my family.”

Pedro ate his beans hungrily and looked back at the bucket he brought with water. His mom handed him another cup of water before he could start drinking straight from the bucket.  In the distance, he saw the city buildings with shiny mirrors and could not stop wishing he was inside.  But then on one side of a building, he saw a glint of light reflecting right at his face.  There was something hovering in the air, surrounded by clouds.  He looked behind him at the other part of the sky and saw a man in bright white clothing descending on the clouds.  The earth around him shook a little, and the people all around him started to lift up from the ground. 

“Mommy!” he shouted.  

“Don’t be scared,” she said.  “This is it.”  The people still under the roof and tents maneuvered out into the open as they slowly rose toward the sky.  People all around them in the other outdoor areas were floating up in the sky as the robed person summoned them with love and kindness.  

“It’s the rapture!” he heard an old man say. Pedro felt love and peace as he let himself float upwards like when he swam in the river.  Only there were no reptiles to worry about. He gazed at the buildings in the distance, shiny and still, surrounded by a blank space in the people filled air.  

He wondered if anyone should tell the people in the air conditioning what was happening.

His mom saw him thinking and held his hand as the people rejoiced, flying towards the clouds. 

“They made their choice,” she said. Pedro felt a cool breeze wash over him and he did not worry about anything ever again.