More than Five Questions

Who

Who are you?

I sit in a chair in a sweltering room. Looking down, I see the restraints.

Next to my head, a bright light shines. Across a table, five shapes, one with a giant bulbous head, patiently wait their turn. One is dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt. He leans forward, his head cocked to one side, and he loosens his tie.

“Who are you?”

“I’m innocent. You got the wrong man.”

He places his fingers under his jaw, and he gets a troubled look.

“But please answer my question.”

“Look, I didn’t do anything, detective.”

At first he sneers, but it seems that the expression is meant for himself. He leans the other way and lifts his eyes upward as he thinks. His head then comes to rest at an exaggerated angle, tilted back on a relaxed hand as he smiles and looks back into my face.

“But who are you?”

“Who am I? I am nobody, I swear.”

“You aren’t carrying any identification with you. Isn’t that odd?”

“It’s still a free country, you know.”

He sighs but smiles wanly, and then leans back in his seat.

The second dark form stirs. Around his neck I see a white collar. He acts calm, and his eyes look warm when he asks with a smile,

“Who are you, my son?”

“Father, I am a child of God.”

He withdraws and makes a sign.

The third man takes a turn. He clears his throat, and he appears deeply concerned.

“How are you feeling today?”

“Me?” A short laugh escapes my lips.

He scribbles something on a pad, and then looks back up.

“Right now I feel a bit restrained. How about you, doc?”

He studies me carefully while several of the shaded forms behind the table shift in their seats.

“Do you want to talk about it? It might help us to understand you better.”

I glance down, looking from one rope-bound arm to the other, and then stare back into his uneasy eyes. I hear someone cough.

He slowly fades, taking his notes.

The big head turns slowly to the others. No one speaks, so he leans forward into the circle of light. His eyes are immense, cat-shaped and glowing. He has no ears, and his mouth is severely pinched. A tinny voice, unreal and mechanical, probes into my mind, yet his lips never part. He sways like a chameleon as the question swirls in my brain.

“Who are you?”

“I’ve been waiting a long time to ask you the same th…”

A searing pain shoots immediately through my entire body. This is no one to toy with, I can tell.

“I am one of 6.5 billion humans.” A whirring sound is followed by two clicks and a chirp. The giant head retreats into the dim shadows. The room stills.

A weasel of a man in an expensive suit rubs his hands next.

“We are very interested in you. Won’t you tell us who you are?”

“I am no one, like I told that cop. Didn’t you hear?”

He laughs nervously as he taps a thick sheath of documents on the table.

“Yes. Yes. Of course. But there is so much more to cover, you see, and we’d really like to -- you know, flesh this out further.”

“It’s all there in my file. Take your time and read it.”

“Ha-ha. That’s a good one. Yes, it is. But if I could get you to sign several of these forms…”

He slides the papers across the desk, and while adjusting the silk knot on his tie, he glances down at his gold watch.

“I don’t think so.”

His beady eyes dart from side to side.

“I am sure we can work with you here. We have all the latest…”

“Look. I am tied up right now.”

The man in the nice suit tugs at his cuffs and nods a comprehension.

“Sir, we can get you out of that. Piece of cake.” He pulls out a cell phone.

“You don’t understand, do you.”

“Um...” He holds the phone in midair.

“These are my bonds. I put myself in this chair, and I volunteered to be here. Anymore questions?”

What

What are you? I am a thinking, eating, napping, loving, hating, hoping, praying, waiting, playing, writing, throwing, catching, knowing, wondering, energetic and lazy sinful human being. Where Where are you? I am ensconced in my cave at the edge of the swamp. Further than that, I cannot say with certainty. I have studied this side of the puzzle from an early age, and I asked myself the same question. My nose, it lays in front of me. My feet are down there. The top of my head is above me, and the back is in back. Where am I, indeed. When When are you? When? What kind of question is that? Why Why are you? Well, why not, I say. But you should really ask the One who knows, for only He will give you the right answer.