“That’s four in a row, now!” Sam hasn’t had this much fun in months. It might be the first time he’s smiled since his wife of sixty years passed.

“Impressive, Samuel. I thought I had you that time. Silly mistake, but you recovered nicely.”

“Well, thank you, sir, you’re too kind,” Sam agreed, he thought he was a goner. He too thought that rookie move was the end. “Shall I rack ’em up for a 5th?”

“Certainly. I don’t mind losing to a great conversationalist, and you’ve got at least thirty more years of stories to tell. The picture you paint, you clearly love your wife. I know you miss her, but before you know it, there she’ll be.”

The two old men reset the board for game five. Sam made his first move.

“Oh, come on,” annoyed, a third figure chimed in. “You’re letting him win!”

“Samuel, do you mind giving me a sec?” He tapped Sam on the head and he was back sleeping in the coma ward. “OK, we’re alone, can I help you with something?”

“This is cruel. He’s been in a coma for weeks. Why don’t you just take him already?”

“Gabe’s a bit backed up at Ye Ol’ Pearlies. Besides, look at his smile, Samuel is fine here, for now, dreaming of his wife, children and grand kids.”

“But he’s a sinner. Cheated on his wife, you know? And – “

“Don’t I always?”

“Ha ha ha,” but the sarcastically evil laugh never fazed Him. “There you go again. Such hubris!”

“Knowledge is hubris? I have no sense of superiority or ego in this matter. I just know. I always do.” He lowered His chin, glancing over the top of His glasses, emphasizing a second time, “Always!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Always so defensive. Did he not know how this worked after so many years?

“That Wall Street mess? That kid was yours. Driven by revenge he ruined hundreds of lives. He killed, stole, dealt drugs and more. He had quite the rap sheet upstairs. He would have died that night. Rival gang members had a hot tip.  Instead you gave him seven years as a millionaire power broker. Is that your idea of torture? Making the dealer an addict, with a million dollar expense account? More like winning the lottery for these folks. You’re the one that’s slipping.”

“Get out of my mind.” He always thought the old man was slipping.

“That’s your thing, manipulating. My thing is free will. But you are so predictable, you do/say the same thing to me, every time. Are we done?” God gestured.

“What was that? Brushing me off, like a peasant? Are we done?”

“I was moving my knight to K4. I’m playing game five as we speak. And I don’t treat anyone like a peasant. All equal under my eyes, remember. That’s where you went wrong. Jealousy is such an ugly trope for you. Worse, you spent years conspiring against me, one bizarre antic at a time, while always looking for my approval. So needy.”

“I don’t need you!”

“We BOTH know that’s a lie, but then again, you’re thing!”

He was getting agitated at Him.

“You are so annoying, ALL the time. So rude, too, you play chess while we chat.”

“I multitask well. As they often say,” gesturing to the humans in the room, Sam and his attending nurse, oblivious to the supernatural conversation. “I’m everywhere at once.” He thought that was not entirely true but one of the few concepts they grasped that did not alter His intentions.

“Why don’t you play me?” He thought he could lure Him into a distraction.

“Chess?”

“Sure!”

“Because you cheat – poorly. Maybe if you got better at chess – or cheating – I’d take the time. At least then you might be interesting.” He has been trying this dance for years, many millennia. Has He ever taken the bait. Temptation? Again? It’s been two thousand years since the desert. Why now?

“You think I can’t beat you?” Confusing ego and arrogance for confidence, he always thought he was His equal.

“I could let you win, but I already do that daily, assuming that’s how you interpret me not intervening. Perhaps, I should have locked you up and thrown away the keys years ago. But you keep things interesting for them.”

“You don’t get it. Your boy took three hundred years to take over Rome. My guy took over America in three hundred days, supported by your followers.” 

“I give more credit to the internet.”

“See, there you go again, belittling everything I do!”

“Merely providing perspective.” 

“You can’t ignore me any more. You have to deal with me.” He was the oldest baby on earth. “And you stole that one from me.”

“Lucy? She was yours? Just because they named her after you? She never bought into that cult of yours. In time of need, she called for my help. She was wise beyond her years. She humbled herself. She knew she was in over her head. She prayed. I heard. And now she is a vessel for the coming, well, you’ll see.” He wasn’t ready for what was coming. He still thinks he was responsible for the last purge. 

John’s Revelations was so misinterpreted. Fear, arrogance, ignorance – everyone interprets the world from their context. No one human, nor most higher being, sees the full picture. Most are horribly wrong, but it suits their needs at the time. It’s what they need to believe to survive the day, their life on earth, heaven or hell.

“What have you done? What are you planning?” As a creature of the night, he certainly hated being in the dark.

“Me? Nothing. I plan to do what I always do. I’ll watch. You might want to start thinking more long term. You never know what tomorrow will bring. No matter how hard you try to micromanage your victims, things are rarely truly in your control.” 

Turning to His opponent, He whispered, “That’s checkmate, Samuel. You played an excellent game. Consider yourself one of the lucky ones. Martha is waiting for you on the other side.”

With that, the heart monitor sounded off its monotone alarm.

“How about we drop our game and just go for a walk? Just walk, and talk, without any games. No pretense. No agenda. Just the two of us, like the before times.”

“Ha! I’m not falling for your tricks. I’ll go out the way I came.” And with a snap, he was gone.

The snap was just flair. Lucifer always had to have flair. Always overcompensating for – something. 

If He wasn’t patient, He would be sad. But His hope is eternally famous.