The Hand In The Sky

It was the ramblings of one that seemed no less short than crazy. The man's thoughts coincided with his words, and out of his mouth came a myriad of incoherent matter, jumbled together as he sat in an interrogation room.

''I saw it! It was there, in the sky, big lights, a hand putting things in place!'' He cried. He struggled to break free from the handcuffs that restricted his movement.

Smiles around the room were sympathetic and eyes looked to the floor to avoid the association with the mans hysteria.

''I saw it!'' He pressed on. ''You think I'm crazy?''

Met with silence, he was lead away and placed in a big white room with padded walls and a secure lock.

''Do you think we should have at least heard him out?'' The Senior asked the Commanding Officer. ''There have been like reports of similar sightings''.

''The guys a nutcase'' The Commander replied, ''and I will have nobody undermine the operation that is currently in place. See to it that he is sedated and no word is heard from him again''.

The Senior stood staring. ''Sir?'' She stammered staring at her Superior.

''Get rid of him immediately.'' The Commander ordered, avoiding her eyes as he walked away briskly.

********************************

The Commander was akin to the big bang theory, a staunch believer that the anatomy of man came into existence by the chance of the cosmological theory of atoms and gravity meeting together and producing what is known as earth life today. He dismissed the question when asked by a reporter, ''But where did gravity then come from?''.

Instead he pursed his lips, ended the press conference and refused anymore questions.

Back at the office the Senior was quiet. Her thoughts ran back to the life of the crazy man that was no more. ''You OK?'' She asked the Commander.

He responded with a grimace and a forced smile. ''Too much to think about, too much to deal with.''

Not long after the order to end the life of the man that proved a hindrance to him in his pursuit to discount the existence of God, the Commander had strange images invade his mind at night. Dreams and visions of a voice that spoke deep into his heart. A voice that made him question his theological views.

He realised now that the order to end the life of the man that he had dismissed as crazy had been a grave mistake. The 'hand putting things in place' that he had been told of, he himself had seen. Notices of sightings from others continued to flood in. Sky News and CNN Breaking News coverage were inundated with calls.

''Reports have just come in that a great hand in the sky has been seen placing and aligning stars and constellations into the heavens.'' the newsreader relayed. ''The firmaments are submissive to It's command, and the heavens have opened it's mouth at It's word.''

It was world wide knowledge now that ''the hand'' truly played a part in the creation of the world. No theological viewpoint could explain the obvious intervention of evidence over rationale.

The Commander sank to his knees and sobbed.

''What is the matter Commander? The Senior asked. ''Surely these new revelations prove to be a stepping stone to propel the notion of a Creator that we rejected? Though the existence of a Creator is not what we sought after, as least we have a sound explanation of the world we live in.''

The Commander with his head bowed low, cried. ''I weep,'' he said, ''because instead of due judgment in taking the innocent life of another and rejecting the existence of this...this'' He faltered. ''MY Creator''. His voice broke.

''I was instead shown the mercy and grace of His hand. I prepared to receive pain and punishment, as we so clearly see daily around the world, this being the reasoning for my rejection of one such as He. I thought He was the author of famine, natural disasters and economic meltdowns, even death. Expecting the latter, instead my life has been spared.''

''Commander?'' The Senior replied, ''I don't understand.''

''It was not just a hand Senior,'' he continued hoarsely. ''it was an all consuming being that came to me, and spoke to me.'' The Commander explained, ''He presented Himself to me as Father and called me His son. He told me that whosoever believes in Him shall not die, but instead have everlasting life.''

The Commander raised his hands and held them up to the sky. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, seemingly consumed by an invisible force as tears rolled down his face.

''Commander?'' The Senior asked taken aback by the emotion of her Commander. ''What does that mean for the life of the man that we called crazy? He tried to tell us of this and we dismissed him.''

The Commander smiled a genuine, thankful, grateful smile. ''My Father told me that I was forgiven for my error when my heart brought it before Him, for this, a burden has been lifted from me. Before he was lead away the man leaned towards me and he whispered something.''

The Senior was intrigued, consumed by the immense heat and the warmth of the love that seeped from the core of her Commanders being.

''I did not understand it then,''whispered the Commander. ''But it makes sense now.''

''What did he say?'' The Senior asked.

He simply said, ''It's OK, I believe''.