Blessed People

There was something about sneaking out of the house while my wife slept that made me feel like a criminal.

I knew that she’d thank me forn it later, but keeping her in the dark sent a chill up my spine.

“You’re late.”

I jogged over to an old brick warehouse at the end of my street panting, waving my hand dismissively at the man leaning against the building with a cigarette in his mouth and a cap that sat so low you couldn’t see his eyes.

“Sharon took a while to go to sleep tonight.” I replied.

“Hmph” the man replied, flicking his cigarette on the ground and stubbing it out with his toe, “I don’t know why you don’t tell her you’re just meeting a friend.” he growled.

“She wouldn’t understand.” I said. “She’d think I was having an affair. She likes to imagine the worse, sometimes. But I know that what I’m doing is for the best, but heck. I didn’t even know what was going on until you recruited me, Mac.”

“Let’s go in.” Mac said, pushing himself off the building, and opening a door to the right of him. “You know they don’t like it when I'm late.”

Nodding, I stepped inside the old warehouse, and the sight in front of me knocked me for six.

It always did.

         Hundreds of people were standing in front of me with their hands raised in the air, stomping their feet and cheering.

         The energy was palpable.

Goosebumps raised the hair on my arms. Mac left me and I quickly ran over to join the crowd, raising my own arms to the sky, cheering and stomping my own feet.

         A familiar warmth engulfed me, and I felt myself smiling, happiness radiating from every fibre of my being.

         “Friends!” Mac called from a podium at the front of the room. “We are here because we are looking for a better life!”

         The room cheered louder.

“We are here because we know we are capable of amazing feats!”

         The room cheered again.

“We are here because our friends, our families… us! We have seen what we’re capable of, and we are ready to become our best selves!”

         The room exploded in cheers and stomps.

My own throat was burning as I tried to scream louder than the person next to me.

         Mac held up his hand and the room fell silent.

         Sweat was dripping from my brow, my skin tingled and I felt more alive than I ever had before.

         This was my third meeting. I’d been sceptic as first, especially when Mac told me to come alone, to not bring my wife and kids.

         ‘The knowledge you’ll be receiving is not for the faint hearted.’ Mac had said. ‘Embrace it yourself first, and then introduce your family to it.’

         I’d only met Mac twice before, his wife worked with Sharon and they'd annoyed me because they were always stealing looks at each other like they knew something no one else did.

         Three weeks ago Mac turned up at my office under the ruse of needing help with an insurance claim.

         I know, I’m an insurance broker. Nothing interesting here, right.

         And it’s true.

         Until now, I never saw myself achieving anything out of the ordinary. But Mac’s proved me wrong. I'm capable of anything and everything I set my mind to.  He invited me into this secret group of hand selected people to encourage them, lift them up, brighten the world and show them that they are capable of anything.

         I looked up at the podium once again, Mac took off his cap and threw it into the air.

         This was my favourite part.

         Mac lifted his face and opened his eyes as wide as he could.

         A large screen switched on behind him so everyone could see the miracle.

         Macs eyes were a kaleidoscope of colours, flickering underneath the lights of the warehouse.

         “I’ve seen!” Mac said. “I’ve been shown the way! I’ve been gifted the power of sight. And I’m here to show you!”

         The room cheered once more.

         “We need you!” Mac continued, raising his hands to the sky. “You are our life source. You are our engine! Without you, we cannot spread the message like we need to!”

         The room began to file into a single line, starting from the podium and winding throughout the room.

         One by one, everyone dug deep into their pockets, pulling out wads of cash and throwing it into a fire pit beside Mac.

         As the notes hit the flame, it would turn a vibrant blue, and the person who had thrown the money received a blessing.

         Mac touched their forehead with his finger, marking a straight line from the top of their hairline to the bridge of their nose.

         “We are one!”, he said, as he marked them.

         The first time I came to this, I asked the person behind me why we were all throwing money into a flame.

         “We need to rid ourselves of our earthly ties to receive the biggest blessing of all!” she’d said. “The more we rid ourselves of, the bigger the blessing!”

         It seemed a bit dodgy to me at first, but I tried my luck, throwing in a ten dollar note, watching the flame turn blue and receiving Mac’s marking on my forehead.

         I can’t explain it, I was on a high for the next hour!

         The next week I tried a fifty dollar note, basked in the blue flame, received my marking and experienced the high.

         This week I came with a wad of hundreds, ready to throw them into the fire.

         “We are one!” Mac called to me as I approached.

         “We are one!” I called back, throwing the money into the fire pit, basking in the light of the blue flame and received my marking from Mac.”

         The high hit me straight away this time.

         A smile that could rival the Cheshire Cat graced my face, and I waited for the rest of the group to receive their blessings.

         Mac marked the final person, raised his hands in the air one last time and called “Watch as we become the Blessed People!”

         The room filled with cheers once more, and the doors opened, allowing people to stream into the night.

         Dizzy with my blessings, I rested against the brick wall of the warehouse, revelling in the fresh air.

         I closed my eyes, the marking on my forehead tingling with the blessings that I had received.     

         The last of the group dissipated into the night, and I stood at the side of the warehouse, unawares of the people to the right of me.

         A husband and wife, stealing into the night, a large bag of cash under arm, throwing an empty bottle, a pair of gloves and some old contact lenses into the drain at the side of the road.