Down Like a Yesterday Feel

Thematic content includes tragic details, reports of deaths, gun violence, animal attacks, stalking, and social discord.

Kiu was engulfed in a basin of sediment and mud that filled his curled hair, nose, ears, mouth, apparel, socks, hiking shoes–everything on him–except his eyes, fastened as fatality. The lake’s murky elements, too, crept into the small, circular punctures in his back, streamed lines of billowing blood. 

He had splashed in the lucent water, and his body sank onto the floor like a liquid drop in a sponge. Catfish and trout surveyed the area above the lake’s surface, where tiny stalks of elodeas and watermilfoils oscillated in dusty clouds goaded by the current.

He felt as if someone tried to rouse him. First, with a forearm grip, Kiu sensed his mire mucky posture to depart the dense muck to a glorious composition of light specks in contradiction to a noir canvas. 

A voice declared, “Kiu, awake.”

He hovered not far from an explosive firestorm that employed spun star sparkles. But his vantage point was odd. The man absorbed in the lake’s bottom and lay prone. Then, he was dragged onto space’s endless sea. Kiu was fixed vertically, feet upfront, head facing the east. A star cluster passage traveled horizontally from south to north. Startled, he stood as if peering from a Toronto skyscraper window. Instead of observing an active scene of autos and aphid-sized humans, there was a perspective of galaxies, perky particles, and dwarfs in the distancing cosmos.

 A transparent human figure, draped in a glistered robe and belted sash, showed momentarily, motioning to the right. The person was nearly impossible to perceive, like a liquid outline poured over an ice sculpture highlighted by multicolored luminaries.

The voice commanded, “Set forth on your journey.”

The invisible person flickered in the disappearance.

A few feet to Kiu’s right, a crooked road at least three people broad extended until there was no sight of it. The hilly pathway was uneven and had dips and bends. The features resembled Peyto Park’s refined rocky trails: crystalized gravels smoothed like a tabletop. The road turned wide o’er the planets and moons, yet the lane pointed in a single direction. 

“Who spoke to me? Hello?” Kiu spanned to note if that unseeable presence would reappear. 

No, it was merely himself. From the side, he stepped on the way and walked like a beetle creeping a Sitka spruce tree toward its lower trunk. 

“What is this? Where am I heading? Come on, speak again,” Kiu requested.

His left back rib blade flared in discomfort and under the floating ribs by the lumbar vertebras. He stretched back. Who poked me hard before I belly-flopped into the lake.

These weren’t pokes; the fingers described hole tears through the fabric, skin, and latissimus dorsi tissue. Kiu brought his hand in front, and the fingernails seemed doused in evaporating blood. He returned his arm to his rear and noted that the cavities somehow repaired themselves. The ache had ceased. 

Kiu found his wetness dried, the previous sod caked and dispensed like dust. Every dirt element exited him as a mist.

The voice issued, “Do not detour off the road.”

Kiu reasoned, “I might as well listen. There’s no other option.”

A great black hole, like a monitor screen, was before him on the left side. It played a video-like presentation of Kiu dining with his parents in their kitchen. That scene was a while ago, like yesterday.

******

“It is a wise decision, Son.” She said, placing her hand over his at the table. “I’m happy you rejected Andre’s business proposal.”

“Thank you, Mom.” Kiu acknowledged. “Too, Dad, I’m taking your advice to cease associating with him. Robin nagged me about it, but it’s protection from the Almighty.”

The father posted an affirmative grin and a quick hold on his adult offspring’s shoulder.

“That lady is good for you; she got your back,” he told Kiu. “Because you canceled your plans to meet Andre. What will you do for the afternoon; go see her?”

“Some solo hiking for musing.” He answered him. “It’s a hurtful disappointment how my once finest friend fell.”

Kiu’s chin dipped to the half-eaten lunch his mother prepared. He breathed a bit, and his eyes watered in disgust.

“Of course, Andre found you in an alley several years ago, suffering from an overdose.” Mother said, “He stuck with you throughout your recovery and aided your return to the congregation. Who could ignore his loving deeds for us and lots of others?”

Father remembered, “He was appointed an elder before me, a sterling example as a young man. Sadly, Andre lost his privileges, and it has been downhill since. We have striven to assist him for a long time, but it might be too late.”

“Dad, what do you mean? He still has a chance, right?”

“Let it be between us until the congregation’s announcement. Brother Wilkins and I met with Andre yesterday. And –”

“– And I know. Caution spread among the associates, darling,” Mom softly interrupted. “Andre set up an apostate video channel, challenging God and criticizing the congregation.”

The news stunned Kiu as a wroth wasp; the thirty-three-year-old stiffened in disbelief.

“I’m bewildered without awareness,” Kiu responded. I should’ve been the first to notice. I am sorry for bringing this harm near you.”

“The report is new; it stung us before our discussion with Andre. Unfortunately, he’s disagreeable and won’t buck an inch for rationality,” Dad explained. “Separating from this false chum arrived timely. Don’t be sorry; he chose his roadway.”

“Kiu, please take your hike.” His mother heartened him. “Return later. We’ll dine at a Main Street restaurant. Call Robin and invite her parents. Our creator will comfort us with the cuisine.”

******

“Are you certain about where we will spend our honeymoon?” Robin queried.

Kiu speaks in a spirit of happiness on his smartphone while holding a preferred hiking rod. He ascended on the trailed incline.

“You abandoned me with another tough decision. What’s your choice?”

She answered, “I told you.”

“It’s decided. We’ll fill our first days together there,” Kiu confirmed.

“Just like that, quick and easy, hmmm?” The prospective bride agreed, “I’ll search for travel bargains and update you this evening. Sounds good?”

The afternoon sun rays relished above the steward trees, partly isolated by the green leaves—their shadows cast on the hares and deer who spy on the human garbed in outdoor wear. Birds waved to one another via songs and chirps.

“I’ll tell you what’s good: cuddling Ms. Beautiful to savor your warm, cinnamon-sweet kisses.”

“Why do you make me blush?” Robin laughed, “My face is probably reddish-brown, lover.”

“Be ready for an eternity; more is coming for a woman who praises the supreme.”

Her responsive voice was heard on and off, broken sentences of a girl expressing affection.

He requested, “Sugar, we’re losing reception again. I’ll call you back.”

“Talk to you later, my beloved.” 

******

Kiu’s smartphone rang as if it were impossible to ignore, hailed from an unknown caller. He answered hesitantly, “Hello?”

The electromagnetic shriek of interference hollered as an enraged boar upset the linings of his ear passage.

“You were supposed to be the first one,” an agitated male shouted.

Kiu retorted, “I know about your apostasy. The deceitfulness pains me.” He finished, “Never call me ever.”

The detached audio forwarded afore Kiu could’ve disconnected without a rebuttal from his previous friend.

++++++

On his left side, Jupiter was hundreds of miles from the path. However, its close size gave the impression that it was a few feet from Kiu. The moons orbited to cast dark shadows on the planet. Inside one of the sphere-shaped black patches, a viewer presented a scene of a wooded post at a forest crosspath with arrowed signs pointed in the Apricot and Apple paths. On the circular screen, Kiu witnessed the back of himself, who continued on a chosen trail.

******

Two swift black birds landed on a decaying log that lay horizontally below Kiu’s camera eye. These grey-lavender creatures seemingly paused for his nearness. He placed himself in a prone position with the 200-millimeter miter zoom lens aimed at his targets. In the center of the viewfinder window, the species stared at him, then feather pecked and flapped their wings, chirping noisily. The eccentric behavior prevented him from pressing the button.

The phone vibrated. 

“Son, where are you? We’ve been trying to reach you.” The father’s speech registered a despairing tone.

“The woodland’s reception is almost non-existent, but is everything okay?” Kiu inquired.

“Use that app to send me your GPS location right away. I’ll transmit it to the police to help them find you.”

“Yes, it’s coming.”

An enormous dread passed through the signals into Kiu as a sour taste. He trembled slightly, responding to his dad’s directions.

“Kiu, listen. I need you to avoid every spot and trail you, and Andre went on together. Go off into the forest and conceal yourself, you hear?”

“Yes, but what happened?”

In flowing, rapid words, the father expounded Andre discharged a shooting rampage launched with the killer’s household. Kiu’s close comrade Billy fell victim, and so did Brother Wilkins and his little girl. Andre sought to slaughter Kiu’s parents, who escaped. The murderer tracked to exterminate other friends. The elders alerted all congregation members, and the authorities notified the public.

Overwhelmed, the hiker fell to his knees, his tears puddled in the path.

“We’ll have our grieving period, but now, Kiu, act, spare yourself for us and your bride. I love you, son.”

“I love you too, Dad, Mom, Robin—everyone. I will listen and stay alive for you.”

“Good man.”

Kiu dashed forth Apricot Trail to the side into a web of steward trees, disappearing into them. He quieted his steps, stopped walking, and kept cautionary surveillance, hoping the police or forest rangers would arrive.

++++++

Kiu was caught in an inundation of phenomena about how he survived the thermosphere’s intense environment, as was usually known in science. He was not near the layer’s exit. For a reason, a man just ahead sat on a motionless asteroid, positioned like Kiu had walked the road, yet suspended off the pathway’s right. Once Kiu was there, the familiar gent holding his cane waved.

The hiker asked, “Grandpa, why are you here?”

Spacious aurora bands swept in the rear of the older gentleman, and blue, teal, and sea green outlined him.

“Taking a rest stop; I’ll eventually be on my way. By now, you’re aware of your destination.”

Kiu was stuck on words, speechless.

“The creator returns your soul from above to below, and the same is true for me,” the grandparent explained. 

Kiu acknowledged, “You were alive when I was –”

“– When the enemy snatched my grandson. I did not last too long after you departed.” 

Kiu requested, “Let’s finish this journey together.”

“Go in advance of me,” encouraged the senior. “The elders trained you to assist in establishing a global paradise and accept a leadership role. Furthermore, Robin awaits your entrance.”

******

The rigged bark relaxed Kiu, who was sitting against a tree. The sounds of the forest were heard, which was okay with him. The device vibrated, and Robin had summoned him.

“Sweetheart, please now, get rid of your phone.”

“Robin, why?”

“Andre shot Bill, Brother Wilkins, and Chrissy while in the ministry. He broke into a house to shoot Zerah and her student during a Bible study,” She related. “For sure, he’s using the GPS app to locate us. I passed it to the brothers; they’ll warn your parents.”

“You’re my lifesaver, I treasure. Be safe,” expressed Kiu.

“You’re precious, my knight. Dish your phone. We’ll sync in no time.”

Kiu erected himself, drew his arm backward, and swung it forcefully forward to toss the smartphone overhead, almost a half-foot football field distance.

A wild breeze of sizzling air hissed by his forehead, and he felt a burn above his ear lobe. Feeling it, his fingertips revealed blood. Subdued piston sounds proceeded, twigs cracked, and broken leaves floated toward the trees’ bases. A furred creature plummeted yards before Kiu with a bullet puncture in its ribs. Andre’s not far. He was using his rifle silencer.

Kiu’s fright welled like an overfilled cup. The sweat beaded and wet the clothing around his neck. The pops of gunfire issued. Andre removed the silencer. Kiu bolted and bobbed in the trees’ hinds as he proceeded, forsaking his backpack. Crowded foliage offered an opening like a circus ring; Kiu leaped through it, rolling upon the broken trigs, debris, and fallen leaves. He peeked from behind the bushes to perceive the hunter’s loom. The helicopter was detected instead and broadcasted inside the hiker’s range.

Kiu raced to the air vessel’s audio. He goaded through a mass coppice of bushed foliage, where a rock-strewn ledge overlooked a lake. Elevated above it, a thick canopy of leafy branches cast long shadows. A police helicopter was sighted, and its details became sharper, which ballooned Kiu’s relief. 

He rushed to the ledge’s edge and waved wide—a bullet barrage discharged, shattering the woodland’s tranquility. A spray of feathered flocks burst from the canopy’s greenery, breaking stems. The lake beneath experienced a substantial wallow, tailed by droplets and ripples. 

++++++

The crooked path bent between the peaks of mountains, sliding onto the earth’s even level. The destruction of what was once a modern civilization manifested. Huge, undissolved hailstones resided scattered on the dented surface. Buildings crumbled and scorched, communication poles snapped like toothpicks, and the streets were faulted with huge cracks, as if earthquakes, storms, and typhoons had struck the region. 

A lovely woman adorned in an ancient toga told Kiu, “It must have been God’s judgment day versus humankind opposing Him.”

She retold how Emperor Nero sentenced her to the arena fronting the lions with her faithful companions. Idol-worshipping kinfolks deceived her for money and social recognition among Rome’s elite. The treachery torn her more so the beasts.

Kiu was refreshed by his encounters with the former Roman citizen and fellow returnees sharing the narrow, twisted road. They were from every era in human history. The rear of Billy’s head was a long way ahead. He’ll get there before me.

A bulky cloud overcast a mountain’s summit opened a preview of a courtroom. Numerous individuals from his and district congregations gathered in the audience. Others' support for his parents, surviving colleagues, and fiancée stirred Kiu’s compassion; his eyes watered.

******

A defense team member whispered in Andre’s ear and gestured her hand to unruffle him. The lawyer glanced at the judge to assure him not to anticipate another disruption from her client.

“Ms. Robin Pearl Teafeyeo, you may present your statement,” invited the judge.

She gripped the podium, her arms stretched from the microphone, and her chin pressed against her silk, flower-embroidered blouse. Tears teemed from her cheeks, absorbed in the clothing. A lady bailiff brought her handkerchiefs.

 Robin said, “Thank you.”

She swayed the wiry, lustrous hair from before her forehead and spoke: “Your honor, the jury, and those present, the loss of loved ones we’re suffering is profound beyond explanation. Each person’s worth is greater than the gold earthwide.”

She relaxed her arms and came close to the microphone to say, “I grieve dual fatalities—one of my brothers and sisters, senselessly murdered by the second loss, who selected the loser’s role.

A man who once spared my future husband’s life has seized him from us.

A man who shepherded the flock God assigned him became their hireling and a wolf.

He did not destroy our hope that has sunk like an anchor in this planet’s core.

A king eons ago testified, ‘With someone loyal, you will act in loyalty.’”

Robin wept, and Kiu’s mother rose to embrace her from the side; they held hands into one under the microphone.

Ms. Teafeyeo resumed, “Kiu was trustworthy and caring. He put people before his interests.

As a Shulammite girl confessed, Kiu is an individual who I yearn to sit under the shelter he’ll build for us in our everlasting garden.

My friend lives in my heart, and he and all the victims are safe in God’s memory.

I will greet them not long after today, but their murderer was excused from causing any more ruin. O’ joy for the heavens and earth.”

Andre’s tongue erupted in despicable language only serpents could decipher. Yet the verbal attack had zero impact on Robin’s speech as if the angels dulled the opposer’s sharpness. Nonetheless, the judge had enough. He instructed the defendant to be gagged and restrained, with orders he stayed to listen to the remaining victims’ statements.

“What was that? Did someone say something?” Asked the judge.

A defense team member had, in error, murmured, “Thank you,” expressing respite.

++++++

As Kiu continued, the land was progressively reconditioned lot by area with marvelous landscapes, fountains, and remarkably designed buildings. Fine-looking groups performed to plant florals, foliage, and trees and install residential features. The road became straighter.

Applause sounded ahead of him, and Robin clapped and cheered in the distance. His parents were definitely among the welcoming party, and they aimed to spot him. Robin hurried on the path to hug Brother Wilkins, who held his daughter’s tiny hand. 

Robin lifted Chrissy and joyously swung her in a circle, playfully kissing her neck. The little girl giggled, rotated to Kiu, and pointed. Robin came to her knees with Chrissy and wept with ecstasy. Brother Wilkins and a woman who resembled Tamar, King David’s daughter, assisted her stand. Robin ran to Kiu, and the people entering cleared a middle space. He beheld her emergence and took gusto strides to be within her fond embrace.

End