Shawn sat at his desk, trying to concentrate on his work.
His computer screen showed lines of code, but he couldn't focus.
Beside him, on the desk, sat the Bible.
Shawn glanced at it every few seconds, as if it were going to move on its own.
'Ignore it,' he told himself. 'Just ignore it and everything will be fine.'
But he couldn't.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The sound of the microwave snapped him out of his thoughts.
Shawn stood up, but before leaving the room, he grabbed the Bible.
'I'm not taking any chances,' he thought, carrying it with him.
He walked to the kitchen and opened the microwave, taking out a plate of reheated food.
He looked around.
There wasn't another Bible.
'So if I carry one with me, another one doesn't appear,' Shawn thought, confirming his suspicion.
But then, another thought hit him.
'Does that mean I'm going to have to carry a Bible around for the rest of my life?'
Shawn shook his head, frustrated.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered.
He set the plate on the table and opened the Bible, curious to see what was inside.
But when he opened it, his jaw dropped.
The pages were completely blank.
There wasn't a single word.
"What kind of absurd joke is this?" Shawn said aloud, flipping through the pages quickly.
But then, something happened.
Words began to form.
Shawn dropped the book suddenly, startled.
Bam!
The book hit the floor but stayed open.
And on the pages, in clear black letters, a message appeared:
[Do not be afraid, my son]
Shawn backed away, his heart pounding.
'My son?' he thought, confused.
His father was still alive. Besides, they were on terrible terms.
It was impossible for his father to contact him this way.
Unless…
'Is he dead already?' Shawn thought, feeling a pang of guilt.
He still hadn't paid back the money he'd borrowed.
Shawn reached for the phone in his pocket with trembling hands and looked for the contact name he had given his father.
[Grumpy Old Man]
Shawn took a deep breath and pressed the call button.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
And then, the call was answered.
"What happened?" his father's dry voice said on the other end of the line.
Shawn got nervous.
"Uh… nothing, Dad," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "I just… wanted to know if you were okay."
There was a pause.
"Yes," his father replied in a serious tone.
Shawn let out a nervous laugh.
"Ah, that's good."
Awkward silence.
"And you?" his father asked after a few seconds. "How are you?"
"Fine, fine," Shawn replied quickly. "Everything's good."
Another awkward silence.
"Well… take care, Dad," Shawn said, wanting to end the call.
"Alright," his father replied.
And the call cut off.
Shawn set the phone on the table and looked back at the book.
The message had changed.
[Hahaha, relax, son. Your father and mother are fine. It's just me, God]
Shawn froze, staring at the new words with his eyes wide open.