The Man He Never Was by James L. Rubart

Author:James L. Rubart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2018-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

“Can I get you water while you wait?”

The woman smiled at Toren as he sat in the lobby of the massive building. No name on the outside. Nothing on the inside. No literature to give him a clue to what this place was, and all the woman standing in front of him would say is that someone would be with him shortly. But he knew this was where he’d been. And when he’d asked to see the person in charge, the woman hadn’t seemed surprised or asked for a reason.

“No thanks, I’m fine.”

Another fifteen minutes went by before she showed him into a large room. Nothing about it stirred memories. Not a problem. He would get them from whomever they sent to talk to him. After another ten minutes, a door at the far end of the room opened and a man passed through with a walk that made it seem like he was floating above the dark acacia wood floor.

He glanced at Toren and smiled gently, then fixed his eyes on something above Toren’s head. Toren knew this man, didn’t he? His thick dark hair was streaked with gray, his eyes gentle and piercing at the same time. He walked past Toren and went to the floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at the massive land bridge a quarter mile away.

“Hello, Toren.”

Toren stood and took a few steps toward the man. Toren knew him, was certain of it, but that certainty was the only thought he could hold.

“I know you, don’t I?”

The man turned, his hands clasped behind his back, his voice soft as he lifted one hand and held out his palm as if caressing the view beyond them.

“Do you know that this land bridge is the foundation of my work? At least metaphorically speaking. It is the perfect symbol of the bridge between the old man and the new man. Simple. Iconic. Yes?”

Toren looked at the formation.

“Can you see how the rocks on the left are harsh, unforgiving, a vertical face that would be difficult to climb? And then we see the rocks on the right. Beautiful, the slope easily accessible if you want to reach the top, and smooth. One side the good Dr. Jekyll, the other so clearly the nefarious Mr. Hyde. Inspiring the way nature would give us this image, don’t you think? Certainly a gift for those seeking true change.”

“Who are you?”

He turned and strolled toward Toren, his hands clasped in front of him now, his gaze like that of an adult extending compassion to a child.

“In complete honesty, I’m delighted to see you, friend. But also surprised.”

“Why? What is this place?” Toren motioned with his hands. “And again, who are you?”

The man extended his hand to the chair Toren had been sitting in. The woman who’d greeted Toren reappeared with a tray bearing a water pitcher and two glasses. She set it on a nearby table and left them.

Toren sat down, and the man sat beside him so they both faced the view of the land bridge.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.