Уолтер Мосли - Down the River unto the Sea

We were sitting at my table-desk drinking Irish whiskey that Gladstone brought.

After some small talk he said, “I hear that they made a settlement with you.”

“Maybe.”

“That guy Teegs is a trip, right?”

“Why are you here, Glad?”

“I know you feel like I sold you out, Joe, but the way I look at it I saved your life. I couldn’t have stopped them from doing something. I tried to tell them to pay you off then, but they said they couldn’t take the chance.”

“They were probably right,” I said. “Back then I was blue all the way to the core.”

“And you aren’t anymore?”

I took in a deep breath and looked at my friend.

“It’s okay, Glad. I get it now. Back then I didn’t understand. I thought I knew the rules, but now I see that the rules don’t cover every damn thing.”

My eternally smiling friend frowned a little then.

“You still wanna be in that poker game?”

“Sure I do. After all you did, I should let you win a little of that money. And you’re right, you did save my life.”

Late that night I put the memory chip into a reader connected to my computer. An icon appeared on the screen and I clicked on it. Immediately the image of A Free Man appeared. He was wearing a loose shirt of a yellow hue. His dreads were tied back and then piled up at the back of his head. His smile seemed to want to lift up off his face and fly around his head.

“Hey, babe. I went to sleep a condemned man and woke up in freedom. I’m in the bright sun and as happy as a man could be. I can’t tell you where I am or how I got here, but you and Lil Sugar have to know that I love you and we’ll be together as soon as I can make that happen. I will be in touch and if you need to get to me all you have to do is remember that North Blue thing we used to do.

“Hi, Lil Sugar! I know you’re there too. I love you and I never did anything wrong. Don’t listen to what they say. Your heart knows the truth.”

I felt that I was set free along with Man. It was a deep grinding feeling that hurt but at the same time felt like the hand of some momentary apparition of God.