THE AMERICA SITUATION COINCIDED MY STORY

My fourth book sci-Fi” NICK MORROW-AFER A HALF CENTURY A MISSING MAN RETURNS” was published in 2015 in the US. The chapter Four “ The loneliest Man on the Planet” coincides with the situation in the United States of America when a wealthy country with many ethnic groups is controlled by a strange religion and the domestic thugs are the robber with the paper-knife, they exploit the bush law to harm the people.  Its wealthy country shattered like the US Supreme Court, the thuggish judges, the rotten Congress and Senate.

Please read the story below:

(Hoa Minh Truong, author of 5 books)

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR: THE LONELIEST MAN ON THE PLANET

As the previous experiences show, the start to an unknown journey leans to the opposite position of the first sun rising, and Nick has applied this since leaving the mysterious cave, as he believes that way can be helpful in finding the way home.

In reality, the large region surrounding him should be home of the freed slaves from the Devil Range; certainly, they will welcome Nick as a great hero or angel if he contacts them at a city or village. On the other hand, he doesn’t want to waste the time on the way home.

The large basin creates the rivers resourced from the Devil Range, where it provides the fresh water for human beings to use for the multiple purposes such as cultivation and animal feeding.

After about a month, he escapes from the immense desert where the underground city is beneath, then he follows the region where the temperature seem less, and doesn’t scorch; nevertheless, the sand storm reduces his speed, and the wind has not much effect. He feels convenient about moving because the reserved food provided by Mr. Wayne’s family, actually his wife, Lily, such as the dried giant worm meat that tastes like dried beef, plus the dried fish, raw wheat, and fruit, it all ran out a few days ago. Now, for survival reasons, Nick has to find the food on the way like the hare, snake, frog, or some fish in the ponds or creeks. Mostly the scene is wild and melancholy. Certainly, there is nobody, except the immense wasted land with bushes, but it’s not like the jungle; he feels bored in the beautiful nature, the spectacle is like a painting, despite the temperature being cooler and comfortable.

A lonely stage comes from the mind. Nick does love to live in the peaceful state with a humble life like everyone, but unfortunately, he doesn’t have this. He can’t understand why his situation is like that, so many questions abuse his head, but they can’t be solved, the mysteries cover up anything, ever since he fell into an unknown place on a beach in Western Australia.

Every time he sees a crowded building appear far away, he tries to avoid it, and detours in the other direction. He passes at least ten cities and leaves many villages behind; mostly they are wealthy places while he sees large farmlands surrounded by the houses and buildings. Sometimes, he approaches the cattle farm, fruit plantation, or vegetable garden, but he shuns all and doesn’t come to the residents’ place, because the food is provided by the wild animals, and water is available in the rivers, channels, ponds, and creeks.

He walks since the first sun rises and rests when the moons are placed at the middle of the sky and takes some sleep, which is little rest for the preparation of the next walking day. The strong mind and will to go home excite and defeat the impatience, and then the boring time is convinced. The time can’t be counted on the journey while he faces the unknown destination, but he walks ceaselessly until he gets his purpose.

The end of the wasted-land areas and cities disappear behind his foot; now he touches a large muddy area, like a dead river. There are some ponds, and the other bank is recognized, but is not clear; the farther location is limited by a curtain of smoke, like fog.

There are herds of deer and wild buffalo found at the water’s edge. However, there are thousands of giant crocodiles, too, some he estimates are as big as an elephant’s size, and the length can reach about ten meters. The position is impassable because the hungry crocodiles could attack any animal or even a human being for food, and he sees there are some deer and buffalo that have been struggling with the crocodile’s jaw; it is a pitiful scene as the calves are eaten, as the bodies still shake.

Nick tries to find the nearest distance to take over the other bank, but actually, the phobia emerges in his mind while he sees the crocodiles display their sharp teeth and big jaws. A possible opposition has been found for taking over the large muddy area, but the distance isn’t safe, because the crocodiles are waiting for food anywhere else.

A flash idea just appears: the skill can be applied for the harsh situation, lesson number four can be helpful, so he takes a deep breath and concentrates on the mind until it splits with the whole parts of the body and every part of his body becomes independent; therefore, the mind can control all by linking the nervous system.

The appliance is not hard, it is just takes a few minutes, and the job is done. His body becomes weightless like a feather, and the gravity is reduced by half. Initially, he throws a big stone for the crocodiles’ interest, and they react as if it’s the natural behavior for food hunting.

Now, in the muddy surface, so many crocodiles appear, their heads and jaws are already catching the animal or human being touched. It is not too late; Nick jumps as quick as he can, his foot just touches the crocodile head-to-head, and he goes on ceaselessly. The hungry reptiles don’t have enough time to react and bite, and Nick easily takes over the dangerous position in just a moment.

He feels quite confident after approaching the other bank of the dead river. Following the next scene is an immense area of wilderness, and the land seems infinite, as there are many herds of deer, buffalo, lions, and elephants; but the sizes are abnormal, most of them are very big as he saw before. Nick tries to shun contact with the animals, since his prime purpose is to get home, an unknown journey wrapped in homesickness.

Passing the immense area is not easy. He tries to keep the foot walking ceaselessly, but sometimes he needs a break for his tummy requires food, and actually, in the region are plenty of hare, fox, wild chickens, and ducks. Like the experiences before, he creates fire by using two colliding rocks, and the wild meat is barbecued. Catching animals is easy, since the almighty stick is able to convince and frighten all kinds of poisonous snakes, and his sleep is safe, as most of the deadly snakes stay away.

The trip has no destination, the time seems forgotten, but he keeps his routine for walking as strictly as before. He doesn’t care about his body; sometimes he sees his face is covered by a beard and moustache and his hair has grown when he occasionally looks at a pond’s surface, and realizes the journey is taking many months. However, he has a blade given to him by Mr. Wayne, and he keeps his hair trimmed and his beard shaved.

the next scenario is the mountain area, with hundreds of mountains with different height levels; some peaks reach up to a few thousand meters and are currently covered by the thick cloud.

The uncertain weather currently changes many times within a day, the temperature drops below zero at night, but rises more than fifty degrees Celsius at midday, and the gap is so far. The animals live here, but human beings don’t, and the area is total wildness, with no roads or paths.

However, walking ceaselessly into the immense region is only the hope for going home. The wildness area is passed over after a few months, and from far away, the buildings appear. Nick guesses this place has no freed slaves, because he’s gone too far from the underground city. Despite watching the buildings, he has to spend a day to reach there.

The city is like a ghost town, most all the buildings ruined a long time, mixed up in the bushes and trees, and the scene is no different from Angkor Wat of Cambodia. The new region has many wild chickens, pigs, goats, beef, buffalo, and those live peacefully.

Nick feels disappointed when he sees the dead town like it. The town is located in the large area, but he feels so lonely and tries to get out from the place as soon as possible. Most of the roads and paths have sunk into the bushes and grass, but some still emerge with ruined surfaces with gravel. On the other hand, the town is invaded by nature after the people disappeared a long time ago.

Walking along the town, he guesses it was a wealthy city before, but why was it abandoned? There are many solid buildings created with stone, brick, but no one lives there. He spends a few hours in a ghost town, but he has not gotten out yet. Suddenly, Nick sees smoke appear from a building located far away. A little hope rises in his mind, and he approaches the only place in town.

He’s excited to see it’s a solid house built with stone, and he comes to the main door to see what happens. There is an old man, with a long beard, and his head is hairy like a prehistoric man. He wears a leather suit; it’s probably made of an animal’s skin, probably cow. The old man is surprised when he sees the stranger, but a friendly smile hides under the beard and moustache. He says, “Welcome, welcome, please come in.”

Nick says some greeting words and then follows the old man inside. The house is so big, but anywhere paintings placed like a mayhem gallery. The old man asks, “Would you like something to drink?”

“Yes, of course.”

“I have Mea leaf tea, cow milk, and cheese.”,

“Yes, please, I do love those.”

The old man loves his guest’s behavior; he enters inside the place behind the brick wall, where there’s a kitchen with the stove being warmed by firewood. Probably the house has not been cleaned up for a long time, so the smoke has built up and stuck everywhere. Nick doesn’t move after he steps in, he just sits on an old wooden stool and watches the scene, waiting for the owner to come back.

The time sways gently, but being bored at the first house he’s approached after the long time walking in the wild region, Nick has nothing to do, including going in the kitchen. He respects the senior as a habit from his youth, there’s a nice smell of tea plus the warmth of the smoke, and those attract the thirst after the long time he’s travelled into the different regions.

The old man appears with a tray, which contains two old ceramic cups, a brown pot, and a plate with a few pieces of cheese, plus a small cup of honey. He gently lays down the tray on the wooden table and then passes a cup to his guest. “Serve yourself.”

Nick pours the tea into his cup, adds some milk and honey, and then has a sip. “It is wonderful tea.”

The old man feels happy when an unknown visitor comes without warning, and he says, “What is your name?”

“My name is Nick, Nick Morrow, and you?”

“My name is Taylor Heywood, you just call me Taylor. Where do you come from?” Mr. Taylor asks.

“I come from a different place, not like this.”

Mr. Taylor is surprised. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I come from a planet with only one sun and moon, but here there are four suns and ten moons; the place is strange, but I don’t know what this place is.”

Mr. Taylor is still doubtful. “I don’t know yet, but now, you are my special guest.” He looks at the space ahead and then says, “It has been a very long time, probably up to fifty years—you are the first visitor to come to my house.”

Nick looks at the old man. “I am sorry, what do you intend to say?”

“Certainly, I am a lonely man here, and on this planet, there is nobody as lonely as me. My life contained so many events, but those are very interesting. I base it on the past that creates my belief in the present time, and I look to the future.”

Nick realizes the old man is not normal; he should be a great talent, but why did he choose the ghost town as a place to live? However, the mystery covers up his life; therefore, Nick doesn’t want to ask any more. Indeed, he just enjoys the wonderful tea. Mr. Taylor looks at the young bloke, and he should know what the young man thinks. “Do you know this town?”

“No, it is the first time I’ve come here.”

Mr. Taylor sadly says, “About seventy years ago, this place was a wealthy city, the people had lived peacefully, and the place excited many people from somewhere else. They came here and enjoyed the beautiful nature. You see the farmlands are abandoned, and animals became wild that presented a golden time, now it makes history. I am not a resident, but I came from a place too far, it should be ten thousand miles away. I came here to enjoy the beautiful scenario and share the wealth with the local people. My job was a painter, I am an artist, my clients came here to buy the paintings, and they wanted me to draw the portrait. Despite the fact that I didn’t work on the farmland, business, or anything else, the painting made money easily to pay the cost living. I was happy for choosing this place to rest for life.

“Unfortunately, one day, the town faced the terrible plague, and the mysterious disease killed nearly half the population, but I was lucky to still be alive; probably my body was able to resist the disease, so I escaped the death angel.”

Mr. Taylor sips a mouthful of tea, his face seems covered with the deep anguish that occurred a long time ago, which now wakes up occasionally when he meets somebody and tells the town’s historic story; it’s been hidden in the mind for so long.

The sorrow digs up the worst memories ever in his life, but instead, Nick doesn’t want to abuse the old man, while he reviews the passage of time and the unforgotten events that occurred in the town, but it is total anguish; Nick can read the terrible impact contained in the old man’s eyes. The silence spreads about for a few minutes while the emotions occasionally wake up in his mind, then Mr. Taylor continues to reveal the town’s story. “The following year, although the disaster wasn’t over yet, the plague repeated and became an outbreak, and of course more victims were added, then this continued the year after, the mysterious disease killed a lot of people, among them the talented doctors. The living residents were frightened of becoming the next victims, so they left the city. The town emptied, and instead, the cemeteries around the city and the household gardens still marked the horrible stage.”

Mr. Taylor continues after have another sip of tea. “I chose this place for the rest of my life, and now, I am the only resident, although the city was abandoned long time. Certainly I am an artist, I devote my whole life to art, it is my last enjoyment.”

Nick says, “I have no doubt about your career; certainly, you must be the famous painter, when I just came to your place, for here are the paintings being displayed everywhere, and all are valuable and beautiful.”

“That is right, I am a famous artist, but the time passes, and now people consider my masterpiece became history, although my paintings don’t make money in this ghost town; on the other hand, I don’t want to make profit by selling the paintings. However, I do love to paint; it is my life. I don’t want to go anywhere, as this place is marked by so many memories. I can’t leave the abandoned city as the others did; death or life are nothing significant to me. I’m concerned that everyone has to die, the death doesn’t discriminate with the rich, poor, powerful people, the king or beggar, all are in the same situation, nobody can live forever, as the death is inevitable. Therefore, the life carries its significance, if not, the life is no different from the animal.”

Mr. Taylor tips a fresh smile, and the thick beard and moustache wiggle while a light wind blows from the open door through to the room. “I have no worries about food, as there are plenty of cows, chickens, goats . . . and the wheat and fruit farmlands are wild. When I feel hungry, I just go out to find the food, and the job is easy. Actually, the paintings used to be made with the natural colors taken from the tree’s substance, the panel was made myself with the tree’s fiber, all are available and free. So I have not needed to go somewhere to find them, or someone to help; I live without a link to society. I feel comfortable here, and I don’t need anything. My life is enough and actually, I don’t have to pay taxes. The anarchy situation is here, the freedom absolutely respects myself. Of course, I need no government abuses by the law, and I hate the bureaucratic system. There are no police, prison camps, or armed forces, there is only me and nature.”

Mr. Taylor feels very happy, as it’s been a long time since he has seen anyone and had someone to talk to, but Nick is a special guest. The old man seems to need to reveal things about his life, and then he begins to tell the unforgotten memories hidden for a long time in the talented artist’s mind. His terrible life was buried for a long time, and now it needs to be released.

“In the old days, a young couple lived in a country called the Identity Nation. Mr. Paul Heywood was born from a low-class family; his parents died in a fatal accident when their cart fell into the abyss, and he became an orphan when he’d just turned ten years old.

“A close relative took care of him, but the family didn’t have enough money to pay for the teenager’s education, and he had to leave school to work on a small farmland of the relative. The time passed, he caught up to his adult stage, and Paul fell in love with a poor family’s girl. They promised one day to get married and set up the stable family like the normal dream. After fifteen years of working hard, they had saved enough money and finished the dream life with a simple wedding party. The couple had seven children, the elder son was Taylor, behind there were four younger brothers and two sisters.

“They transformed their life by opening a restaurant in the capital city of Identity Nation; his wife, Ruby Heywood, was very good cook, plus the hard work, so the Golden Tiger Restaurant excited the customers in town. They were very happy and continued to serve the food to people in the capital. Obviously, Mr. Paul sent all children his to school, and he understood his bad luck life when he was an orphan.

“Among the children, Taylor was the smartest boy, but he did love the art, despite his family wanting him to be a medical doctor or the other best social career as a teacher, the ruling master, public servant . . . . Therefore, Taylor waived his parents’ interests; he used a lot of time for art, so his room was like a pocket gallery.

“Taylor became the well-known artist in the Identity Nation. He made plenty of money, but he didn’t want to sell the masterpieces; instead, he considered the art was priceless, the paintings reflected the emotion and spirit of the human being. Nevertheless, the painting carries the soul of the artist, it can’t be exchanged for money, but sometimes he gave them away for free to the concerned people who recognized the true valuation of his work. In reality, he didn’t need to sell the paintings, because his family income could cover up the living expenses. So, he worked for the family business and used the spare time to create the masterpieces.

“Some artists in the area were jealous of his talent because they lessened the interests of the people. One day, when Taylor had just come back to his room after working at the family restaurant, he discovered a dead body of a female. This was Ms. Laura Windsor, his close neighbor and also his fiancée. They had loved each other for at least five years and were waiting for their wedding day, which would be celebrated the next year.

“He was shocked by his fiancée’s dead body, but immediately the government guards appeared, and he was under arrest for the murder conviction. This famous artist, Taylor, became the willful murderer; he was sentenced to twenty years in prison, despite that he was innocent. His parents couldn’t help, the judge’s power was absolute right, but sometimes they engage the wrong justice. On the other hand, the justice system shouldn’t be trusted, because the judge is a human being, like anyone, and the judge just executes the career like any job. Nevertheless, the judges make a profit from the people’s harm, and they live on the anguish of others. The society gives the judge’s career too much power, and mostly their character is as arrogant as the noble class.

“The court has many levels, but the higher level is the opportunity for the dishonest to make money, the poor people can be victimized by the wrong justice, and actually, the wrongly convicted have no money to appeal while the rich one can use money to buy justice.

“Mr. Taylor became the victim of a terribly wrong justice case, and he was trapped by some jealous artists in the capital. Surely, the blind justice killed his life and destroyed his future. His psychological wound has never healed.

“The Identity Nation was founded about four hundred years ago, and this country has the large territory that estimates to be four million square kilometers. The nation’s population is combined of 168 ethnic groups and each occupies a region and has self-administration.

“According to the constitution, every ethnic group elects a representative, the so-called national council. The national leader is chosen from among the representatives, but the leader is like a puppet; the most important issues are decided by the majority members in the national council, and the ballot can be bought by money or the powerful elements inside, including bribery, black mail, terrorism, or intimidation. The black power is hidden behind the curtain of freedom’s title. Everybody knows the wrongdoing, but they can’t change the fake freedom’s situation because the black power blankets all the country.

However, there were many ethnic groups united together in shadow, and they created the rivals. Those wings have often fought against each other with the ethnic interest conflicts. The Identity Nation was not unified as the tittle’s constitution was written, but it was divided into 168 tiny nations. The political blockage has remained for hundreds of years; no one can solve the big problems, and the shattered country is hidden under the title identity.

“Among the ethnic groups, there are the people who currently are aggressive to the others with their religious involvement that becomes a solid wall to protect the greedy ethnic group. The Three-Genius-Faces religion dominates the power in the Identity Nation. The followers absolutely believe their symbol is the only God in the universe, the Genius has three faces with significance: the black face symbolizes the time in the past, the white face is the present, and the green face is the future.

The extremely religious followers promote themselves as the God’s representatives on the planet, they are proud like the super intellectuals in the nation, and they teach to everyone who wants to return to heaven after death. The Three-Genius-Faces followers proclaim themselves as the super intellectuals, so their speech and beliefs are never wrong. If someone talks or opposes the religion, they are condemned as evil, then the Three-Genius-Faces religion criticizes them, and they fight against those who have different beliefs.

“The Three-Genius-Faces religion has existed in the nation a few hundred years, but they expanded the population by polygamy, a cultural tradition, so the man can marry however many women, especially if they have assets or power in the community. Most of the religious leaders had more than ten wives; actually, the wealthy men could have dozens of wives. Moreover, the males and females who came from this ethnic group could get married to the other ethnic groups, but they were forced to be Three-Genius-Faces religion followers, so this ethnic group expanded the population and powered the nation.

“This ethnic group started as a minor population, but after a few hundred years, they became the largest population. Inside the ethnic group, there were many extreme organizations, they were based on the religious teaching; the preachers propagated the social hatred to the followers, it called it their God’s bible, and this ethnic group caused murder or intimidation to the other ethnic groups everywhere.

“The Three-Genius-Faces religion became the most fearsome of the nation because they had the power, and actually, the country had the high-class element, it was the ruling master, and they were trained from the national academy and practiced the career in justice with the arrogant judges, who were money lovers.

 

“The most ruling master served for profit; they didn’t care about fairness or justice, but the private pocket was the number one purpose. The ruling master widely influenced the nation, the society, and they could transform the wrong to right, black to white. Moreover, most judges came from the ruling master’s background, and they had the same interests and protected each other.

 

“The citizens in Identity Nation hated the judges and the ruling masters because they were dishonest, and then the people placed the nickname ‘the robbers with a paper knife’ on them. The powerful elements and wealthy persons could use the money to buy justice, they just hired a high level of ruling master, and the grave offense was waved. Sometimes, the victim was upheld as the defendant.

“The murder case of the famous artist, Taylor, was misted; he was convicted of a crime that he had never done. It was a grave wrong case and false justice, despite the fact that his family spent more than 100,000 Socs to hire a ruling master. However, someone paid the higher bonus, and then Taylor had to pay with his life for twenty years behind bars.

“His parent’s business faced problems; it was about five years after Taylor was imprisoned. One dark night, the restaurant was set on fire by someone, including the house, and the valuable paintings were completely destroyed. His family was in peril, the assets were lost, and they returned to the low class as before and started the life from ground zero. His younger brothers left this shattered nation after the family disaster, the younger sisters went to somewhere else, and actually his parents died by illness, mostly depression, which affected them for many years.

“After twenty years in jail, Taylor was free as the law is concerned, but he had no relatives there, and he felt the nation was not good for living with so many unfair problems. Actually, the nation had changed badly, the ethnic groups carried the religion, and the Three-Genius-Faces religion took control of all the country, with temples set up everywhere. He fled ten thousand miles, took over many towns and cities, and at last, he found this place for the rest of his life.”

Mr. Taylor looks at the space ahead, and he says with a low voice, “I spent an unfortunate life, and I was a victim of the thugs by an unknown person who raised the peril to my life and family. However, the bad luck didn’t give up; I have been suffering the pain again that has spread alongside my life forever.”

Another sad story began. “One day, it occurred a long time, a family came here, there was a beautiful girl who moved into the city, she looked like Laura who was the only lover of Taylor, his fiancée was killed by someone, and the murder case had never been solved. The psychological pain had never healed since Laura’s death; the twenty years behind bars added up the terrible memories, but actually, Laura was never forgotten.

“Every day, Taylor currently waited for a girl who wore the purple dress to sit at a small family’s jetty, where she washed the clothes or did some housework. The distance from Taylor’s place and her position was just a small river.

“The image of the girl’s purple dress woke up wonderful memories. Coincidentally, Taylor’s youth stage had been revived by Laura. But, the time was invalid, he was as old as her parents, so the old artist didn’t dare tell the truth about his heart; instead, he kept his love deep in his mind. From when the girl appeared, he seemed to forget anything, including drawing the portraits for some customers to pay for the living costs. The artist Taylor also discovered his memories were reflected by the beautiful girl, and he often stood at the window and then looked for her with every movement at the jetty.

“However, sometimes the girl did not appear, and Taylor seemed lost in the passion, he felt bored, and the life was negative. Actually, in the evening and at night, he completely lost track of the girl, and he felt his life had fallen into a big hollow. At last, he had the bright idea of painting a masterpiece; then he placed it in his bedroom, so Taylor never lost her image, and on the other hand, Laura has never disappeared from his life.

“Every day, he stood at the window and watched the girl until she finished the job, then he went back to the bedroom and continued his enjoyment with the image of the painting. The wonderful period just existed about a year, until the first plague outbreak killed the total family, and he was never caught up in the wonderful scene again. He knew the girl’s family was gone forever, but he didn’t go to her house to see because he wanted to remain with the beautiful image forever in his mind. However, every year on April 3, he went to her ruined house to pay commemorations, with her whole family buried in the backyard garden, and he placed a wildflower at her grave to pay the respect of living people. He has never forgotten that day.”

Mr. Taylor recounts the true story and then says to Nick, “My life has been spent facing so many events, I feel like a disabled man since I became the victim of the blind justice and the legal system in my country. Therefore, I do love the paintings, so I have to live for my hobby, the last enjoyment of my life; if not, I would have committed suicide a long time ago, probably I would have killed myself while still in jail, and being an art lover is the only motive for my life . . . . Do you want to see her?” Mr. Taylor asks.

“Yes, would you mind showing me?”

“Please follow me.”

Both men enter inside, Nick sees the paintings placed everywhere, the artist Taylor must be a great talent, his masterpieces should be valuable. Nick has general knowledge about the famous and well-known paintings in the world, he keens the art of Van Gogh, Monet . . . but the paintings of Taylor are very interesting. Mr. Taylor breaks the silence while Nick enjoys the paintings.

“My young fellow, please come with me.”

Nick walks behind Mr. Taylor, who stops at a window and then points a finger. “There is my life’s symbol; unfortunately, it is gone forever.”

Nick glances his eyes to the scene, the jetty seems to disappear on the narrow river’s stream, but some poles still remain, but most all are rotten, and behind there is a ruined house. Nick can imagine a girl with the purple dress sitting on the tiny jetty; it would be wonderful.

Suddenly, Mr. Taylor breaks up Nick’s imagination. “Now, you are going to see her.”

Nick follows Mr. Taylor to his bedroom where there are paintings crowded like a mayhem gallery of a lazy artist, but the biggest painting is located opposite his bed. Mr. Taylor says, “That is my lover forever.”

 

Nick enjoys the most interesting masterpiece and then says, “It is wonderful; I have never seen a painting like it.”

Mr. Taylor exposes his pleasure while he receives the emotional words from somebody else. “You are the first person to see my special painting; since it was born in the quiet, no one can see it. But today, you are the special one.”

Nick looks at the painting as his heart recognizes the talent of Taylor that can be only in the world. Unfortunately his life has been hard, he’s faced so much bad luck, and he has lived as a forgotten man in the society, of course, only on this planet. The world has too many evils; the dishonest live with the good people, so society currently is faced with trouble. In this case, Mr. Taylor is the innocent victim of the power abuses and the blind justice.

Both men stand for a while in front of the painting, and suddenly, Nick asks, “What is your religion?”

“Nothing. I have not trusted any religion in the world, unless God.” Mr. Taylor explains. “Under my view, religion is just like the super political party, without military force, but it is the super commander to the most armed forces in the world.”

Nick is surprised. “Would you mind telling me more?”

Mr. Taylor smiles, and his beard and moustache move. “All the religions are good, the founders are human beings; nevertheless, when the religion is born that reflects a social stage, it is suitable for a period, but when the civilization upgrades, the religion is ousted by the day, and some aspects of the Bible written shouldn’t reflect the present society. Of course, religion always needs to be renovated.”

Nick listens to the strange idea about religion.

Mr. Taylor continues, “The other religious disaster, when it was born a long time ago, then it became the myth, the religion was diverted the wrong way, when the core followers concerned themselves like God’s representatives. They proclaimed themselves to be the boss of the religious temple, and most were arrogant. The religious leaders were not God, despite how they talk, behave, and worship like the founder, but they are not. The leaders are human beings, and they are in the same situation with everyone. Therefore, they are powered by the religion and endorsed by the followers, and then they become snobbish. The most conflicts come from the religion involvement.”

Mr. Taylor continues his concern about the religion. “God is the only creator and eternity, the universe, including the planets, are held in the hand of the Creator. Nobody knows what God looks like, but the religious founders promote themselves as the representatives, they imagine the face of God and the artist paints God as their religion believes, so on the planet, the face of God is imagined as three portraits, like the God of the Three-Genius-Faces religion. For me, I just believe in God.”

Suddenly, Mr. Taylor asks, “When you buy anything, where do you go?”

Nick doesn’t seem to understand what Mr. Taylor wants to say, so he has to answer with the mechanical behavior by response. “Of course, I have to find the cheapest price.”

Mr. Taylor claps his palms. “It is right, the belief is the same, but I have to choose the God that is the better way to follow than any religion on the planet. Likely, I have to buy the product directly from the maker, not wholesale or retail. The religious founders are not God, like a wholesale, it is my concern, what do you think?”

“That is right, I agree with you,” Nick says.

Mr. Taylor shakes his head. “I suspect Laura was killed by an extremist of the Three-Genius-Faces group; they kill the other people, but name the God that is only their God, not everybody’s God. On the other hand, they impose their God to the people, its wrong concern is not acceptable, but the Three-Genius-Faces religion does and continues to abuse the people. They have succeeded by violence; if someone opposes against them, who would condemn it as the insult religion, then they are punished by law in the Identity Nation. Moreover, the ruling master, plus the greedy money judges, are accomplices with the evil religion. That reason I fled my country and came here, it is the best place, but unfortunately, the plagues destroyed the wonderful one.”

“Now, we come back to our lounge room and exchange some stories,” Taylor proposes.

Both men have tea, cheese, and oat cakes, those made by Mr. Taylor; his life has been isolated outside the society for a long time, but he chose it for the rest of life. Mr. Taylor told a lot of his life stories and the experiences, and then he says, “You are my special guest, you can stay here however long you want, and I will look after you. There is plenty of food, and certainly, I need nothing, that is enough for my life, despite the fact that I have lived lonely. But I have the image of Laura, a painting of the girl with the purple dress, that is my only point to live.”

Nick says, “Thank you very much for your kindness, but I have to find the way home; therefore, I will stay here a couple of days.”

“That is fair, I don’t want to impose any ideas on everyone. I always respect the freedom and the person’s concern.”

Nick enjoys the food and receives the precious experiences from the respectable artist, but the farewell day is inevitable, and Mr. Taylor leads Nick to his treasure, a stone store built next to his bedroom where there are plenty of the precious stones, gold, and jewelry that he collected from the deceased families in the city. Nick doesn’t need them, but he recognizes the incredible treasure that is valued up to multiple billions of dollars. If he lived on the earth, he would be the richest man in the world.

Mr. Taylor shows a special part, that is the store of note, but it is like the wasted newspapers; however, its valuation is estimated at multiple trillions of Socs. Mr. Taylor proposes, “You can take how much you can; I collected those and stored them here a long time, for me, money is nothing. Sometimes I burn the notes for my stove.”

Nick shakes head. “No thanks, I don’t need it.”

Mr. Taylor says, “I think you must need some; you have to pay for the trip, and it is estimated at ten thousand miles away. Actually, you must cross over the Angry Ocean.”

Nick asks, “What is it?”

“The Angry Ocean is the most dangerous maritime route on the planet; most are mountain waves, including the monster waves that emerge sometimes, those can sink down any boat or liner. However, there is only the Ben and Family Company; the business has been there more than one hundred years, and they know a mysterious maritime route that is safe and calm. But every three years, they just have one trip, the fare is not cheap, and it can cost about 200,000 Socs for each passenger. Before I paid that fare, but now I don’t know how much. I was lucky, after I was set free from the jail, the friends and somebody gave me about a half million Socs, so I have enough money to pay for the fare. I think you must need the money.”

Nick listens to him and takes a full leather bag of the money, and he feels so confident about the unknown journey. Mr. Taylor gives away a strong and special horse, it has three ears and three eyes, and it can run nonstop for ten days, can abide any bad weather and can go without eat and drink for a month without problem. Moreover, its speed can reach seventy miles per hour.

He leaves the ghost town in the early morning with the horse and some reserved food. Mr. Taylor accompanies his guest with his horse for a few kilometers, and then they say farewell to each other.

(thedawnmedia.com)