‘Do you believe?’

‘Not sure… I mean not really in the traditional sense. But there is something there.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘Well like Jesus the disciples, their adventures, the 10 Commandments etc. That’s all from a previous time. And for sure people have taken advantage of that.’

‘Like people starting wars over beliefs’

Tom laughed ‘yea exactly, like religion and Jesus is supposed to be all forgiveness and acceptance, but only with the caveat that you believe in what I believe.’

The friends laughed together and gathered their thoughts staring out to sea.

‘One thing they did right though was to build their churches in the most beautiful spots’

‘That is true, I mean look at this place’ they both twisted around staring at the picture perfect pirate cove, the mountains descending straight into the ocean, the sunlight dancing on the crystal blue sea and the horizon a perfect horizontal line contrasting the arc of the bay.

‘It’s pretty.’ Tom regathered his thoughts. ‘But sometimes things seem to match up. Like you have some thoughts about life, there is some clarity, but you can’t express yourself and then you hear or read something and there you have it, your thought is clear. I think that is God.’

‘Like he shows up when you are in need’

‘Yea spose so, but it doesn’t have to be ‘in need’ as such, just some clarity. Next day could be all burry again, but something in the world spins right for you. Even if it is for just a few moments.’

They sat again in silence, thinking as a seagull landed on the pier.

‘What about the Virgin Mary and all the metaphors’

‘Look people always got to have a battle and something to fight for, to believe in. So before it was God, now it’s fame, celebrity, that’s the new idol. It was probably like that with the Bible, first it was kinda well intended, then people took it too literally and lost the point of it all. I mean the 10 commandments aren’t a bad set of morals, just a little outdated. And a celebrity is just a character that grew out of a talented individual. It’s not bad to have a role model who is talented at something.’

‘So God is like the Spice Girls’

They burst into laughter. ‘No no no, that’s not what I meant, that’s messed up I am not sure who was the talent behind the spice girls. No, look there is an energy in the world that makes things happen and there are good people who should be admired. God and Jesus are… somewhere in between that, somehow… somewhere.’