QUACK

In Which We Meet an Extraordinary Boy

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn, For they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, For they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, For they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart, For they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, For they will be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”                   

-    The Beatitudes, Matthew 5: 3-10

THIS CHAPTER IS FROM ETHAN'S POINT OF VIEW

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It sounds bad, I know, but there are days that I wish Jesus Christ has super powers. There’s no indication in the Bible that the things He can do are supernatural in origin, but it is implied –thus we are made to believe— that what Jesus does is divine. Stemming from an Almighty God, his father, per se.

I try to liken myself to Jesus –something my mother finds peculiar and strangely heart-warming— but I really wish he could do other cool stuff. Not that multiplying fish and bread and walking on water and coming back from the dead aren’t cool. They are. But I’m talking about comic book cool.

 I wish Jesus could read minds, and tell the future (He can to some extent, but not in the way that’s comic book cool.).  I wish He could do those things so that I feel like I can, too.

But more than anything, I wish that Jesus Christ can save himself from everyone that meant him harm. I wish that Jesus Christ didn’t have to put up with his enemies. I wish that Jesus Christ didn’t have to suffer for things that were not his fault.

I wish He could have done those things and more, so that I feel like I can, too.

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There are sixteen different kinds of squares on the patchwork wall in the multi-sensory room in Fort Hamilton High School: chenille, denim, satin, felt, silk, cotton, velvet, polyester, terry, velvet, corduroy, leather, lace, jersey, fleece, wool and the kind that looks like waffle.

There are forty fiber optic wires dangling from the hole on the wall, and they snake on the floor like, well… snakes.

The inflatable pool measures about five feet long and three feet wide, and holds about one hundred and twenty-seven plastic balls. And of that number, three of the balls are dented for some reason.

Tinsel and straw ropes and nautical ropes and strings of beads hang down from the ceiling. The bean bags (which aren’t really full of beans) are the color of the rainbow (well, sort of. I don’t think that indigo is supposed to look like this.), and the red and orange ones are leaking little Styrofoam balls. There are fifteen different throw pillows sitting next to the bean bags, some of them smelling suspiciously like bodily fluids.

The walls are covered with different Rorschach-like paintings in different colors, probably to offset the fact that the walls are just plain white. The ceiling is padded with those soundproof cork squares, and the floor is carpeted.