Monday morning the suicides continue. Hospice and palliative care workers wake up to the horror of seeing their patients dead in myriad ways. A former pilot in Norway shaped and then taped hundreds of paper airplanes to her body before jumping out of a 4-story window. Another patient in Taiwan took a 250-mph joyride in a stolen sports car and slammed into a 17.8 meters high crystal shoe. Glass and bone fragments scattered everywhere.
On Tuesday and Wednesday long term and urgent care patients in hospitals followed suit. In anticipation of this catastrophe hospitals hired additional staff to keep their convalescents safe. It didn't help. The death toll rose.
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Upon returning to Heaven Gabriel fills Metatron in on xyrs findings including the address of Los Amigos, the Dominican restaurant xe discovered in xyrs travels. “Their mangu is divine,” Gabriel says and rolls xyrs eyes back.
The fact that sufferance could be missing from the formula of the cosmos is bad. How it could be stolen is inconceivable. After much deliberation it is determined that the only being in the multiverse conniving enough to pull this off is Hermes. Gabriel heads to Mount Olympus to pay The God of Thieves a visit. Metatron stays behind to keep an eye on the progress of Earthly events. “Bring me some corn when you get back if you don’t mind.” Metatron says looking down on the planet.
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Gabriel finds Hermes tending to one of his favorite commercial activities: corn trading. The accused sniffs, eyes and samples his field of maize consisting of 1,148 million thousand tons of crop. A blur moves through the field, stops, turns and appears in front of Gabriel as xe is about to enter the farm.
“We don’t get why you'd risk rousing ”-bows and raises arms-“but we know you did it Hermes.” says Gabriel.
“Guilty as charged! Invented fire yes, the alphabet yes, dice, yes. The list of objects I inspired goes on and on so yes. I want credit. What is it exactly that I did this time?"
“Stop playing games, the only being capable of stealing anything from heaven is you. Give us Sufferance back so that these humans can stop killing themselves. It’s the end of times down there. You know ” -bows and raises arms- “ wants to be the only one credited for something that cataclysmic.”
“Now that you mention it. Back in the day when my dad fought and lost to the giant Typhoeus he could have used a Sufferance charged lightning bolt to weaken the Titan and set him straight. Perhaps I should have stolen it then and saved him from the embarrassment of losing his guts.” Hermes scratches his chin.
“So it wasn’t you?”
“No. Also if Sufferance is the problem why did the hospital people die after the criminals? And The Republic of Chad, still chugging along as always, is reported to have the most pain-stricken and sad people in the world. Why are they still alive?” Hermes smiles and strokes the feathers on his sandals.
“Perhaps you are right. ”
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Gabriel returns to Metatron, hands him a bushel of corn and reports the bad news. Metatron puts the data into a celestial computer and concludes that there is a 99.999% chance that Hermes is telling the truth.
“So if all we needed to do was plug it into a computer why didn’t you do this before letting me go out there?”
“One, because if I do that for every hunch you get we’ll be here forever since there are literally an infinite number of factors that keep the earth in balance and people alive as we understand it. Two, because I wanted to make some popcorn tonight.”
“Your popcorn may have killed another 100,000 people. Gabriel bows and raises xyrs arms- “and Mother Ashera are coming in a month. This must be resolved before the planet is wiped out.”
As Gabriel and Metatron discuss where to focus their efforts next an emissary summons the two and directs them to the throne room. They freeze and stare at each other with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. As they get closer to the chamber Gabriel rubs the nape of xyrs neck and Metatron starts taking shallow rapid breaths. Giant doors open. When they enter,’They see two high thrones, and their appearance is like ice, and their roundness is like the shining sun, and their borders are cherubim. And from underneath the thrones flow forth rivers flaming with fire, And they are unable to see. Upon them sit the Great Glories; Their garments are like the appearance of the sun and whiter than abundant snow. No angel could enter into this house and gaze on their faces because of the splendor and glory.’ (1 Enoch 14:18-21)
With the timbre of a trillion supernovas their summoner speaks,”How have things gone since Ashera and I took leave?”
Gabriel and Metatron glance at each other. Metatron speaks. “You know all that is, that will be and that was. There is nothing I can share that is news to your all seeing eyes.”
The Great Glories nod and wave them away simultaneously. Gabriel and Metatron leave. Double doors 10 light years in height close behind them.
“Do you really plan to say nothing about your mistake and why we got back here an Earth month early from our vacation?” says Mother Goddess Ashera.
“No, they love thinking we are perfect and telling them the universe is in turmoil because I accidentally took something to the void will be devastating. Technically, it's your fault since you were rushing me to get out and besides, I put it back already.” says the King of Kings.
“And the deaths, you want to act like nothing happened?”
“Yes. Wouldn’t be the first time. Humans have poor memories and populate like rabbits. I am sure they’ll be back to their old ways in no time.”
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The deaths stop on Thursday October 7th 2021. This is the first time in two and half weeks that suicides have ceased on a day other than Sunday. For a year fear keeps people out of jail, prisons and detention centers. Research towards preventive care therapies and treatments rises 1000% nearly eliminating the need for hospital stays. The world improves as people with criminal intent act compassionately even in private. Scientists are finally incentivized and rewarded for curing diseases instead of symptoms. It is good for a while until people once again forget the horrors of those two and a half weeks. In two years prisons once again fill to capacity and research funding that focuses on cures for diseases dries up. Hospitals overflow with patients. The world returns to normal.
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On the second anniversary of her husband's suicide September 27 2023 Angela Kyle opens a drawer and pulls out a letter and reads it.
September 20, 2021.
Dear Angela,
I miss kissing your head and feeling your fuzzy hair on my cheeks. You never stopped believing in my innocence. Your love and God’s endless gift of hope have kept me resilient in the darkest times. I will never lose hope and promise to keep it until my last breath.
Love,
John Kyle
“But you did lose hope John and it's okay. Something tells me it wasn’t your fault. Rest in peace my love,” she whispers and kisses the envelope.
The End
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