Short Fiction

Holy Connections

Shazia Omar

When sad-eyed Betty typed some key words into google search, the results were not what she expected. The first website suggested was on faith, of which she had none. Nonetheless, she browsed through the site and came upon a prayer that brought a smile to her lips. She whispered it several times and found in herself the strength to cope with the miscarriage she had suffered earlier that week. For the first time since the accident, she pulled herself out of bed and made her way to the pub where she was a barmaid.

“God, we've done it!” said Michael, when God entered the room, this time in the form of a young man dressed in torn jeans and a t-shirt.

God gave him a patient smile. Michael was eternally trying to create channels that would allow human beings to communicate with Him, so they could “realize His magnificence” and “devote their lives to His worship”. But God didn't really care about all that. “You don't give up, do you, my beloved?” he said. No matter how hard He tried, God couldn't convince His archangels that their efforts were unnecessary. He had created Earth to entertain Himself, a garden to stroll through and observe, out of curiosity, for amusement, not the need to be worshipped. It didn't matter to Him whether or not mankind knew the Truth and thanked Him.

“It's a masterpiece of science, Allah!” exclaimed Gabriel. “You'll love it!”

God nodded. Indeed He would love it. He loved everything Michael and Gabriel came up with. His darling angels toiled without rest to invent this and that, in the hope of enlightening humanity. First they came up with messiahs, then holy books, then television. All attempts to get a message across. Of course, humans found every way to misinterpret their signs. Religious wars, oppressive political systems, meaningless reality shows. No doubt, Lucifer had a hand in their misunderstandings. God smiled inwardly. That Lucifer, he really knew how to lead people astray.

“It's called a search engine,” added Michael. “It's an addition to the internet we invented a few years ago.” Michael's wings fluttered in excitement as he explained the workings to God. His halo reflected the sun directly into God's eyes and made Him squint.

“We call it GOOGLE, Lord,” explained Gabriel. His blissful, child-like face disguised the true genius of his being. He was God's most innovative creation. God thought for a moment perhaps He should endow a few others with that sort of creative capacity, and instantly, all around the world, hundreds of baby artists and scientists were born.

“Knowledge and wisdom will be at everyone's fingertips,” said Michael.

“The possibilities are endless,” said Gabriel.

The two of them fell into an excited chatter about collaborative social spaces that could help people connect to their higher purpose. God noticed that they were absorbed in their own activities, so He slunk out of the room. The building where they had set up their workshop was a dingy four-storey in north London. Not far from it was a pub called Heaven's Gates.

God made his way to the pub. As he walked, flowers bloomed and birds chirped divine love songs. At the pub, He found a teary barmaid polishing her nails. “Are you ok?” God asked gently.

“What's it to you?” she replied and turned her back to him. Despite the music, God could hear her whispering something to herself. It sounded like a prayer.

Shazia Omar is a member of Writers Block. Her novel 'Like a Diamond in the Sky' was published by Zubaan, India.