“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Everywhere you go…”
A PARK BENCH, SOMEWHERE IN NEW YORK, EARTH-RPGC:
The afternoon was cold.
A young man sat in the bench, arms and legs spread apart, with a look of dissatisfaction on his face. He looked to be in his early 20s, and had long, wavy hair. His eyes were curious- one was green, one was blue. He wore a Metallica T-shirt and black jeans.
He looked bothered about something.
Suddenly, a figure approached him. He looked at the stranger out of the corner of his eye, and almost coughed aloud when he realized it was an old man in a black robe, with a white collar.
A Catholic Priest!
Now, he didn’t have anything in particular against religion- but nothing going for it, either. He looked away, trying to pretend he hadn’t noticed the man approaching. Secretly, he hoped the man would just keep walking along.
No such luck. The priest sat right next to him.
The young man sat up straight, so as to give the old man more room. But he still wouldn’t look straight at him. Please, don’t talk to me he thought. Don’t talk to m-
-“Nice afternoon isn’t it?” the old man said in a pleasant voice.
The young man cursed silently. The LAST thing he wanted to do right now was to talk to a Priest. He limited himself to nodding, and continued to stare straight ahead.
-“Is something bothering you, my son?” the priest asked.
The question made the young man grit his teeth. Dammit, can’t you tell I don’t want to speak to anyone right now? he thought, Nosy priest!
-“Are you, perhaps, pondering a turning point in your life?” the old man asked.
That comment caused the young man to turn around in surprise, and (unintentionally) stare at the priest. How’d he know that? Was it so blasted obvious?
He saw the old man’s face. He looked positively ancient, with a withered face, and completely white hair. His eyes were lively, however, and ice blue. And his smile was wide, and charming.
-“If you need someone to talk to, I’m the right person” he said, his smile widening.
The young man turned away. “Umm, no thanks, Mister-”
-“Father Luke” the Priest said.
Oh great, now he’s telling me his name the young man grumbled mentally. He knew a sermon was coming soon. He decided to walk away, but before he could stand up, the old man continued:
- “Now, I understand, you young people today, are not used to speaking about your problems, much less with religious figures. But consider this” he said, in a very sweet tone, “If you feel you can’t talk to those you know, then why not talk to a stranger- someone you might never see again in your life? Besides, anything you tell me, I will never tell anyone. You have an old priest’s word on it.”
The young man stared at the priest again, weighing the meaning of his words. Despite himself, he had to agree that, yes, he needed someone to talk to… and hell, why not a priest?
Besides, he seemed like such a charming little old man.
…What the hell, he figured.
He sat back, relaxed, and said, “…Okay.”
-“What is your name, Son?”
My name? Now THERE’S a good question the young man thought. He had gone by many names.
Rountree. Cybercompost. Loki. Genericangstyposter. And more. Most of them meaningless. Oh, he knew his REAL name- but little else about himself. His life was largely a mystery, even to him. Yet somehow, he knew what his name was, and that is was his “true” name- yet, he rarely could bring himself to use it, at least with others- as if he could not bring himself to share his true self with anyone else
Or at least, he couldn’t in the past. That had to change, he told himself.
“…Ken” he finally responded.
-“Very well, Ken” the old priest said, smiling even more, if that was possible. “What is troubling you?”
For a moment, Ken hesitated. Then he pointed ahead of himself, to a house on the other side of the street.
-“See that house?” he asked.
The priest nodded.
-“Well, the woman I love lives there.” He then stopped talking.
The priest smiled.
-“Are you going to ask her, “The Question?” he said.
Again, Ken stared at the man. He IS good, he thought.
-“It’s OK, Son” Father Luke said, “Marriage is something I also deal with.”
-“Umm, well, I am not exactly going to ask her to marry me…” Ken mumbled.
-“Oh, so you’re going to live together? That is OK, too.”
Ken stared at the priest in surprise. He didn’t expect THAT comment from a Catholic Priest!
The priest almost laughed. “Now, I HOPE you will consider marriage, of course. But, NO marriage works without love. And if living together is what it takes to make sure that you love each other, then I’m all for it.”
Love? Oh, Ken loved her. Of that, he had no doubt. In a way, that WAS the problem.
Their love was of the Burning Passion kind. The kind that neither of them could really explain. It went beyond looks, beyond compatibility, beyond sex- they just LOVED each other, in such an intense way, that neither of them could think straight when they were with each other- only ABOUT each other.
It had been a totally unexpected thing, to find her, and to discover how deep their love was. Did he want to marry her? To be together forever with her? YES!
But, did he really want her? What was this passion that brought them together? Will it be enough to ensure their happiness? Or will it drive them into doing crazy things? Are they really compatible? What if they just make each other miserable? Oh, if only he knew more about himself, maybe he wouldn’t have so many doubts. All he knew was that he was no normal human- neither of them was- could there be happiness, for such as them?
-“Cold feet are a natural thing” the priest continued. “Do not feel ashamed of it. When you live with someone, you have to be willing to sacrifice some of the freedoms you had as a bachelor. You simply, no longer live just for yourself. You have to consider her happiness as well.”
Father Luke took a deep breath, and then continued. “I know you must be thinking: is this the right thing to do? Will we be happy together?”
“But the thing is, Life is never a certain thing. Not even about love. Yes, you may be happy together. Or, you might be miserable. There is, however, only one way to find out.”
-“…Trying it” Ken said.
-“Indeed” the old man continued. “Go to her, my son". If your love is meant to be, you’ll soon find out. And if not, well, at least you will have the chance to try. That is more than many people in this world, ever get.”
Ken nodded. Father Luke was right. Why was he so afraid? He’d been thru worse things. Faced evil itself, indeed, in his adventures with RPGC. Surely, living with someone cannot be worse than that. Can it?
He stood up. He turned to the old man, and actually smiled.
-“Thanks, Father” he said, sincerely. “You helped me make up my mind.”
Luke smiled. “May God be with you.”
Ken nodded, and walked across the street.
He reached her house. He knocked on the door.
“Come in!” he heard her voice say. His heart leaped.
He took a deep breath. He opened the door, stepped inside-
[SPOILER]-AND IMMEDIATELLY FOUND HIMSELF FALLING INTO A DARK ABYSS!!
-“WHAT THE HEEELLL!?!!” Ken screamed, as he tumbled into the nothingness!!
His scream was so loud, it could actually be heard across the street!!
Where Father Luke, still sitting in the bench, continued to smile-
…sinisterly.[/SPOILER]
NEXT: What the hell was all that about? Maybe you’ll find next episode.
Or maybe not. 
You will, however, see more RPGC characters show up!
(Again, sorry about the shortness of the chapter, folks. I’m still writing these in my breaks from work. But, I’ll soon have more time for longer episodes, promise!!)
