A fictional story…maybe.
– They say he’s Jesus!
– Yes, I heard it too! Is it true?
– I don’t know, but look how many people are around him!
– Let’s get close to see him!
The two passersby elbowed into the crowd around a beggar who, sitting with a dirty dog beside him, looked at his bare feet. He was a beggar more in the Big Apple, but then, why had the rumor spread that he was the Messiah? It started two weeks ago, with a Twitter from President of the United States of America, Donald Trump:
The next day, the whole country witnessed millions of homeless arrests. No one knew where all the poor wretches were being taken. The ghost of Nazism had settled in «the House of Liberty» without anyone knowing how to stop such madness. After a week there was not a single beggar on the streets of America.
And then he appeared, out of nowhere. A young black man in his thirties with a beard and long greasy hair, bare feet and a black t-shirt full of tatters where you could barely read a motto almost erased but full of strength. «Enough!» But what most caught the attention of everyone who crossed his way were his eyes, of an indeterminate color, between green and orange. Those who were lucky enough to be witnesses of his gaze explained that they had felt an immediate relief in their soul, as if they had released themselves from a great weight and that since that moment they had lost the fear to live, to less importance to the weight of their decisions.
The young black man was always accompanied by a dog of the same color, hairy and dirty, which reached the level of his knees, a calm and patient being. When the adults approached to touch their master, the children did the same with the animal, without at any moment the animal lost its nerves, letting itself be touched by a dozen hands at the same time. The two made a painful couple if you did not stop to observe them well. If, on the other hand, you approached them, you felt that, in their own way, they were special. In addition to their ruinous appearance, they both had another common feature: no sound came from their mouths. People did not know if maybe they were both dumb and maybe that was why they made such a good pair. The mute man and the mute dog. Dirty man and dirty dog. A black man and a black dog. Both challenged the great president, the Nero of the new Rome, in an uneven struggle. Finally, the rumor came to President Trump.
– Where is the clown arrested?
– He’s free, my president.
– What does it mean? A homeless free in my country? Why don’t you arrest him?
– The police don’t dare. They fear that if people do, they will be thrown over and unleashed by a new chain of riots throughout the territory.
– But he’s just a fucking beggar! How scary?
– The FBI has advised against his detention. They also think that it can be negative.
– Fuck the FBI! Tomorrow I want that nigger in my office!
– Sir, may I advise you that …
– Stick your advice up your ass, Deputy Secretary! Shut up!
The White House commanded an entire army to arrest the young man whom many called «the new Messiah.» They forced the crowd that always surrounded him to get away and cordoned off a security perimeter. Suddenly a helicopter appeared in the sky and landed in a square near the street where the young man was sitting on the sidewalk. A man jumped out of the helicopter still in motion. He had white hair, was tall and of strong build. In the left area of his broad chest, in his gray uniform, lined up a dozen medals. The man approached the tramp, stopped a few paces. The young man looked up from the ground and looked into his eyes. General Adler hid as he could the shudder that that look had caused him. He was a hard man, capable of hiding fear, pain or insecurity. In this case, the feeling that invaded him was that of shame, he did not know why but suddenly he had felt disgust for himself, not only for doing what he was doing, also for having done hundreds of actions in his life of which now he was deeply ashamed. He swallowed spit and was strong enough to say a single sentence, a sharp command.
– Get on the helicopter.
The young black beggar got up without arguing and followed the old military man to the aircraft. The official did not look back, did not dare to suffer again the scrutiny of those eyes. That’s why he could not see that the dog was also with them. No one stopped it because the general gave no orders. Surely, if he had been braver, he would have noticed the animal’s presence and would not have allowed him to climb the helicopter in any way. The fact is that the young man got on the helicopter and the dog too. An hour later they arrived at the Oval Office. The president looked out the window, his back to the newcomers.
– Leave us alone, Adler.
As soon as he heard the door close he turned, and what he saw shocked him. A black guy, with a painful presence, lying on the carpeted floor and leaning back against the wall, one knee raised and his arm resting on it. Beside him was a pulpy dog, as black as its owner, sitting on the hind quarters and staring at him. The look on the animal was hostile, and Trump felt more angry than ever. It made him want to kill him with his own hands.
– What does this dog here?
– Who can forbid me to go wherever I want?
– Does this dog talk?
– Everything is possible in this country. Even a monkey becomes president.
– You’re a cheek!
– And you say it?
– But who do you think you are to insult your president?
– I didn’t vote for you.
– Of course not! You are a pooch!
– And you‘re an asshole. Do you think you are superior to me?
– This is absurd!
– You’re absurd.
– And you have nothing to say? Trump said to the young man. «He’s my pet, he does not speak,» said the animal.
– What? Your pet?
– Evidently. I’ve had it since I was a puppy, I fell in love with his little eyes. Have you ever seen anything like this?
Trump was going to reply to the dog, but he made the mistake of looking at the young man. The guy stare his look at him. In the eyes of that boy, the president saw scenes of war, missiles that fell on big cities. Suddenly he found himself wrapped in a fire that froze his soul. From the cold flames appeared giant hands wielding daggers that were nailed to the body of the president and then disappeared with the same speed with which they had arisen. The pain was unbearable, in the back, the belly, the chest, the legs, the arms, even in the eyes. He fell to the ground in terror and crawled blindly to escape the fire and daggers. Hands grabbed him and others began to slap him. Trump opened his eyes and saw that those hands that held him were those of his bodyguards. General Adler was the one who slapped him.
– I’m fine! I’m fine! Stop slapping me!
– What happened to you, Mr. President?
– I don‘t know. The man… his eyes…
– He’s gone.
– Gone?
– Yes, President. We came in when we heard her cries for help. You were alone, crawling around …
– Forget it, Adler! I don’t want anyone to know what happened. Agree?
– I do, President. We will find the beggar and make him rot in a dungeon until the end of his days.
– No! No! Forget it. Do not look for him.
– Who was that man, President?
– That man? No one. But the dog...
– The dog?
– The Devil, Adler. That dog was the fucking Devil and he came to tell me a future.
– The future, sir? What do you mean?
– He thinks he’s going to fuck me but he has no idea. He wants to play … and I want to play. I know who he is, but he doesn’t yet know who I am. I’ll show it to him and the whole world. I will show him that he’s wrong about me. And the president’s laughter thundered throughout the Oval Office.