America's King of Poetry

Chapter 28 Horses

It was pitch black behind the door, and the figure of the old priest melted into the darkness behind the door.

Arthur hesitated for a moment, but stepped into the door, as if entering a deep sea without a ray of light.Arthur walked into this boundless darkness, but there was no fear in his heart.After coming to this time and space, he is no stranger to any strange things.He took a few steps forward, and the crisp footsteps echoed, and he was indeed in an empty space.

Where is Keguang?Why is there no light?Are the large stained glass windows of the church covered?It's too dark here too.

Arthur thought to himself that there must be light here.

With this thought, a candle suddenly appeared in front of him, opening a hole in the darkness.The orange light ball drove the darkness outward, and the light ball approached Arthur. It turned out that the haggard old priest had lit a candle.He was blind, and of course the candle was lit for Arthur.He touched the chair and walked all the way here. Arthur looked at the illuminated place through the weak candlelight, and felt that there seemed to be something strange.

The old priest walked up to Arthur, and the old voice echoed in Arthur's ear again, "Follow me, follow me."

Arthur couldn't tell for a moment whether the voice came from the old priest's mouth or from somewhere else.The old priest turned around holding the candle and walked slowly forward.He was wearing what should have been soft-soled shoes, and they walked on the church floor without making a sound.Arthur followed behind the old priest, making a "da da" sound under his feet.

Arthur's eyes gradually adapted to the darkness. With the help of the bean-like lights in front of him, he vaguely saw the dome of the church above and the surrounding chairs, and he always felt that it was different from when he came in the morning.At this moment, the old priest stopped, and he raised the candle in his hand upwards. Arthur looked up at the place illuminated by the candle, which was a stained glass window of the church.

A white horse is painted on the stained glass window, and immediately sits a man with a bow and an archer. He wears a golden crown on his head, and the bow and arrow in his hand points into the distance.Naked men and women prostrate at the feet of the white horse, and they bow down to the knight on horseback who shoots arrows.The painting skills of this painting are exquisite, and the horses and characters are lifelike, as if they are real people.

Arthur couldn't help looking at it, but he thought in his heart that the stained glass window he saw in St. James' Cathedral in the morning didn't seem to be like this.

After seeing this one, the old priest walked to the side, came to the second glass window, and also raised the candle upward.There is also a horse painted on this flower window, which is a red horse.Compared with the handsome white horse, the red horse is taller and more majestic. Sitting on the horse's back is a strong, naked-chested man holding a big sword in his hand, with a beard and hair like a horse's mane.At the feet of the red horse are corpses of various shapes. They either had swords stuck in their bodies, or were missing arms and legs, and they obviously died in the war.

This window grille exudes a violent and bloody atmosphere, which makes people dare not look at it. Arthur took a few glances and then looked away.

After finishing the second side, the old priest took Arthur to continue walking to the side, and came to the third glass window. There was still a horse painted on this side, a black horse.Compared with the two handsome and handsome horses in front, this black horse is skinny, with only a pair of big and bright eyes.Sitting on the horseback was an old man who was very old and hunched over, as if he was about to fall off the horseback at any time.At the feet of the black horse are also corpses, but these corpses are all skinny and obviously starved to death.

There was a tragic look on this flower window, and the more one looked at it, the more sad it became, and Arthur felt like crying.

At this time, the old priest took back the candlelight and led Arthur to the fourth glass window. When the light illuminated the fourth window, a chilly air rushed over his face.Arthur saw that a skeleton horse was drawn on the fourth window grille.The gray horse bone is terrifying, and under its feet is a piece of white bone, shaped like hell.But the one sitting on the skeleton immediately was a short man with a red robe covering his face.Judging from the figure, it seems to be a child, but in his hand is holding a sickle that is bigger than the body.

Bright red blood dripped from the blade of the sickle, and the red robe became the only bright color, which was particularly dazzling in the gray picture.

Arthur stared at the little man in the red robe, feeling a little familiar, an indescribable feeling.At this time, the old priest turned around and looked at Arthur with his gray eyes without eyeballs. He walked up to Arthur slowly, took Arthur's hand, and gave him something.Arthur took it and saw that it was four playing cards!

"Who are you? Where did these playing cards come from?" Arthur asked hastily.

The old priest didn't answer, he retreated back to the glass window, murmured and murmured, and his voice echoed in Arthur's ear again:

"...you made a lament for the king of Tire...I set you on the holy mountain of God, you walked among the fiery gems...the covering cherubim of the covenant, out of the fiery gems I have taken you out...Therefore I sent fire out of you and consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the earth before the eyes of all who behold it."

The old priest read for a long time, and Arthur could only feel the voice rippling back and forth in his ears, but he didn't know where it came from.When the old priest finished reading the last sentence, the candle in his hand fell to the ground, and the flames spread to both sides, and the fire ignited instantly, illuminating the four glass windows!The flames came so fiercely that Arthur was forced back again and again by the heat wave. The sudden flames burned off a little bit of his hair and eyebrows, and the old priest was already engulfed by the flames.

The flames dispelled all the darkness, and Arthur realized that this was not St. James' Cathedral. The decoration inside was completely different. No wonder there was a strange feeling just now. Where is this place?I can't control that much, the fire has already burned over, Arthur ran to the door, the flames had already ignited the stools, walls, and canopy.

Arthur felt the heat wave behind him, speeded up, and rushed out of the door all at once!After rushing out, he looked back and found that the entire church was on fire, and this was not St. James' Cathedral. The bell tower of St. James' Cathedral was domed, but this one was a steeple church.The Gothic spiers shot straight into the sky, thick smoke billowed, and the flames shot up from below until they reached the cross on the top, and the entire church was engulfed in flames.

Arthur looked at the church and the raging fire that he had never seen before, and felt dizzy, his eyes were dark, his eyelids drooped uncontrollably, and he felt that he was going to pass out.

"Boom~boom~boom~"

At this time, several loud bells rang, Arthur suddenly woke up, opened his eyes, and found that he was still standing at the door of the church.I looked at my watch. At six o'clock, the sun had already set, and the bell tower of the church struck six times.Looking up at St. James' Cathedral, it stands safe and sound in front of you, with red brick walls and green bell towers, which are ancient and beautiful under the reflection of the setting sun.A few ravens flew over and landed on the cross on the dome of the church, quacking twice.

Is it a dream?Arthur couldn't tell whether this was a dream or reality... He returned to his motorcycle, recalling the scene just now, thinking.He suddenly remembered something, looked at himself in the rearview mirror of the motorcycle, and knew it was not a dream.In the mirror, he saw that some of his hair and eyebrows were burned off by the flames, the ends of his hair curled up, and a small piece of his brow was missing.

He hastily dug into his jacket pocket, and sure enough, he found four cards.

A 3 of diamonds, a 4 of clubs, a 6 of hearts, and a J of spades.

……

In the evening, in New Jersey, the Abramo family finished their Good Friday activities and headed home in a luxurious villa in Ridgewood, Bergen County, Northwest New Jersey.Here, like Nassau County on Long Island, is a wealthy area of ​​the New York metropolitan area, one in the west and one in the east.Because the price is cheaper than Long Island, many non-rich and gold-collar workers in New York live here, which is called "the bedroom of New York".

The Abramo family participated in the Via Crucifixion in the morning, had communion at St. Peter's Basilica at noon, and ate alba white truffles and caviar at the expensive high-end restaurant "Nino's Belizemori" for dinner. The meal cost tens of thousands of dollars.But Abramo didn't feel bad at all. He was very happy today, in a good mood, and he was humming a little tune on the way home, which was Andy Williams' Raindrops keep falling on my head (raindrops kept falling on my head).

Daughter Paula sitting in the backseat obviously had some complaints, and said, "Dad, can you change the tune? You've been humming all the way, and none of the notes are accurate."

Abramo laughed happily, and his wife Connie, who was sitting in the co-pilot, turned her head and said to her daughter in a serious tone: "Paola, don't be rude to your father, don't you see that he is very happy today? He usually can't sing, although I don't know what he is humming..."

Hearing what his wife said, Abramo hummed even louder, and the car was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.But Connie noticed that her son Angelo, sitting in the backseat, was not very happy with his stern face.After Abramo drove the car to his home and parked the car, Connie winked at Abramo and pointed to her son who got out of the car.

Abramo understood his wife's meaning and nodded. After getting off the car, he waved to his son Angelo and told him to come over. He put his arms around his shoulders and said, "Hey son, what's on your mind? You've been unhappy since you had the Holy Communion. If you have any dissatisfaction, you should speak up instead of making your mother worry with a straight face, you know?"

Angelo glanced sideways at his father, pursed his lips and said nothing.He is not the same as his father. Luca Abramo is tall and burly, with silver-gray hair and a stern face. He looks like a boss.Angelo inherited more from his mother, a little short, with a freckled nose, curly chestnut hair, and the eyes that most resemble his father, wolf-like eyes.

"Angelo, what's the matter? Don't you like the truffles and caviar at night? Do you know how many children can't spend so much money on food for a month?" Abramo has a quick temper, and he can't keep up with three nice words. Once his son doesn't respond, he gets angry and raises his voice.

Angelo curled his lips. He has long been used to his father's temper, just like the clouds in the sky. He doesn't know when it will rain, and he doesn't know when it will clear up.As a son, Angelo often couldn't see through his father.Or all sons in the world are like this. Before a certain age, they can't understand their father.

"Dad..." Angelo finally spoke. The two of them stood by the swimming pool in the courtyard. The moonlight reflected in the dark blue pool water. A gust of wind blew by, and the moon was blown into wrinkles. "I... I heard that you are a mafia. When you were in the Way of the Cross today, were you meeting someone from the gang? That black-haired man."

Angelo's words made Abramo's anger disappear, and his face immediately became embarrassed. He licked his lips, shook his arms around his son's shoulders, and said, "Angelo, I will personally send you back to school tomorrow. I will stay in New York for a day. How about we go to Madison to watch the game at night?"

"Dad~" Angelo dragged his tone, he knew that his father was changing the subject again.

"Knicks, against the Miami Heat, I'll call and book tickets right away, OK?"

(End of this chapter)