Messiah is late
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When Arshak entered the room, his sister opened her eyes. She looked at her brother, smiled lightly. The boy swallowed his anger and went up to the bed. The priest immediately stood up and gave his place to the boy.
“Hi, Ani,” whispered Arshak. “How are you?”
“Fine,” meowed the girl.
“I have brought interesting books for you.”
This time her smile was truly happy.
“What has happened? Mother says you don’t feel well.”
“I am fine.”
Arshak cast a cold glance at the priest. He could feel that he was starting to get angry again.
“Then why is this man reading a prayer?” the question was addressed more to the black-dressed man, who tightly squeezed the torn Bible in his hands.
“So they keep silent,” whispered Ani with trembling voice.
“They?”
“The Dragons,” there was horror in Ani’s eyes.
Tremor went through Arshak’s body. He looked again at the priest, barely kept himself from hitting him. They will make this child crazy.
“What Dragons, my dear Ani?”
“Under the ground. They are complaining. Crawling. They are annoyed by the noise, by the trains… they don’t like that clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety-clack.”
The girl’s eyes were in tears.
Arshak tightly hugged his sister. Looked at the priest.
“Don’t worry. I will kick the dragon out right away.”
Chapter 2
The Priest
And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and saide vnto her, Weepe not.
And hee came and touched the beere; and they that bare him, stood still. And he said, Yong man, I say vnto thee, Arise.
And he that was dead, sate vp, and began to speake…
The priest looked at the believers. They showed indifference. They were deep in thoughts. Some were asleep. Even the old neighbor’s eyes were closed. Boredom. The priest closed the book. His breath faltered. He failed the “Bible Readings” again.
…
The ears of the big dog lying at the porch were swaying along the noise. His nostrils widened from the sigh of the wind. His eyes followed the passers-by.
It was quite hot summer. When walking, people kept their mouths open. The dog’s muzzle was always closed. People’s clothes changed the color from sweat and dust. The dog was always as white as snow. His skin was so soft that when touching it you would fall asleep. It was beautiful.
Gampr has been living in that small town for already a year. None of the locals had heard him bark yet. As large and muscled as a lion the dog spent the whole day lying at the porch. The dog was always wearing a white sleeveless shirt made of thick fabric. His owner dressed him. But why, no one understood. But the neighbors were ashamed to ask, as Gampr’s owner was the priest.
A year ago, on one rainy day, the almost-forty-years-old man entered the yard with his dog. Everyone respected him, but tried not to attend his sermons. The priest was not able to talk persuasively. It was irritating people. And as a rule, people became more demanding at church.
Unlike the priest, Gampr interested everyone, especially children. Many of them would come to the priest’s place with different excuses to see the dog. Gampr was indifferent. He was neither barking, nor licking. Ani, the neighbor’s daughter, also loved the dog very much. With the other neighbor, papa Torgom, she came every week to help with the priest’s garden work. The neighbor papa was snowy-haired and silent like Gampr. While he checked the priest’s saplings, the girl sat in front of Gampr on the ground and watched him.
Suddenly Gampr raised his snout. He saw the master.
“Ani, have you come to see your friend again?” asked the priest. Passing by Ani, he gently stroked her head and went into the house. It was hot. He was tired. He would sleep.
The girl understood, that papa Torgom had finished his work and was waiting for her outside. Keeping her eyes on the dog, she put a step back, ran out and took papa’s hand.
…
In the evening the old neighbor came again to help the priest. He was silent during working. He was silent during the dinner as well. Then he decided to speak. He was nervous and worried.
The whole night he was thinking what to say, how to say. But now the words were fleeing and the thoughts were scattering.
“Father,” he stammered. “I have been thinking a lot… I think, you must give up the dog.”
The neighbor looked at Gampr with fear. The dog was indifferent.
“You were telling that you have found him in the mountains. Let’s take him back. What do you think, Father?”
The priest sighed.
“I have neither a wife, nor a child. Without the dog I will stay alone…”
“You won’t,” the old man got excited. “The priest will never stay alone. God is always with you.”
The priest looked strayed at the dog sitting at the corner. He wanted someone other than God to be with him.
Gampr liked his muzzle self-complacently. The priest was looking at his blue, crystal eyes and as if in the mirror could see a strange man. He was reserved and silent, he could hide Gampr’s secret under the knitted woolen shirt. He was able to rescue what he did not understand. The priest had never seen such reflection of his own merits. He knew that in general whoever the man looked at, whatever he looked at and wherever he looked at, he saw himself. Previously, the priest looked at his son and could see the father. But then, the father-priest reflection diminished. It then disappeared.
The priest constantly repeated in mind, “The world is a mirror for men.” And the simplest mirror is the pain. Here, everyone’s reflection is beautiful. Even the most villainous person is weak in front of the pain. The bigger the pain-mirror, the weaker and more helpless is the man. And the pain of the weak becomes smaller; it is easy to forgive the weak and it is difficult to judge the weak. He came to his senses. He understood that his thoughts had begun to progress in a wrong, apocryphal direction. He took a breath. He looked at the dog sitting under the window guarding the silence like Sphinx. He restrained.