He was a normal citizen with a clean criminal record. He hadn't been out of business before, other than asking the police for directions. Cops came to him, wearing uniforms slightly wet from the rain.
"Mr. Baran, right?"
"Thats me. Is there a problem, officer? I went through the red light once or twice today. My customers were in a hurry. I did not know that I was causing enough problems to come to my house."
Officer replied, "Stay calm. It's not about the red light."
Baran was a little embarrassed that he was suddenly excited. The cops didn't care about the red light. Why did they come anyway?
"Is that so? Well, I'm relieved. Why were you looking for me then?"
"You're an Uber driver. There were a report that complained about physically abusing one of your passengers. You have to escort us to the police station."
''What? I didn't harass anyone! ''
He would n't have physical contact with any of his clients. He wanted them to send the fee to his bank account, not by hand. In fact, this habit earned him good comments and rates in the uber app.
Who should be report him?
He was someone who had no enemy. It could not be said that he had got so many friends. He was one of those roasted in his own oil.
Or were the woman who report him? Did she notice that he was constantly looking at her from the mirror?
He felt guilty.
"You don't tell who report me, would you?" The cops shook their heads. He thought so. "Let's go then."
When they got into the police vehicle, rain started again. Drops were falling fast on the top of the vehicle and rattling. One of the policemen sat next to Baran. The two of them were sitting in front. On the way, the police asked him for his ID. Police entered his credentials on the tablet he was holding and looked to see if he had any track record.
As Baran thought, his record was clean. He put his identity back in his wallet. The rest of the road passed in silent. The police station was calm. There has been a situation like the events have decreased recently.
They took him into a room and told him to wait until the authorities arrived. They offered hot tea for him to drink, but they didn't give him sugar. He drank unsweetened tea without question. His palate was dry. He was nervous. He looked at his watch. Ten minutes had passed and nobody came.
Didn't they have the way to forget him here? Of course they would come.
Maybe there was an incident in the neighborhood and they were busy stuffing the vagrants into the jail.
After half an hour two men entered. They weren't wearing police uniforms. They were in their daily clothes. But their faces were more serious than the cops. He felt tense. He swallowed. The man put the file in his hand on the table.
"We're coming from MIT, Mr. Baran." They showed their identities. "Has anything changed in your life recently?"
"Like what?''
"Like going to hell?''
These guys knew!
"You… You guys know. I was really relieved. Yesterday I was in the subway… I went there, it was horrible. There was a woman in that carriage. I thought she was dead, but she got into my car today as if nothing happened. I tried to talk to her but it seemed like she didn't remember yesterday. The first time I thought it was a dream when I died and came back."
"The first time? How many times have you been there?"
"Two."
"Why did you decide to go again? Nobody wants to go to hell a second time. Is there something that drives you to go there?" This time the other man spoke. There was a real surprise in his voice.
"I… I'm looking for my brother. To find out how he died. I think I can find him in Hell."
"You seem sure of that. So your brother is in hell. What if he is in heaven?" The man was not kidding. He was serious with his question.
"That fool wouldn't deserve to go to heaven. Which of us do we deserve? Of course, this is something that God will decide, but… I don't know, not many people believe that Hell exists." The man interrupted.
"Until you see it with your own eyes."
"Exactly. If hell is exist then heaven is exist too?"
''Right. Heaven is exist. It's like hell."
"Have you been there too? I mean Hell?" They shook their heads.
"What about heaven? How is it there?" The man sound clear.
"I've never been there. I don't want to go either."
"I don't understand. Everything seems so pointless."
"We are here for you to understand. Calm down. We will tell you. Not everyone can see what you have experienced. The woman you just mentioned did not actually experience any of what happened yesterday. Only you did. They went to where they were going by subway. You were never there. You were there, but they did not see you. You took the same subway but traveled to different worlds. "
"I'm still having trouble understanding. What do you mean they couldn't see me? I could see them."
"This is because there are cracks in the world. These cracks appear from time to time. Not everyone can see them. Those who see them have terrible memories. Let me tell you that most people who go there for the first time do not want to go the second time. But people like you are very few. Our job is to find people like you."
There were too many information. Baran could not handle them in one time. Scratched his forehead.
''Who are you people exactly?''
The man replied like a robot.
''We are MIT as I mentioned. And now, you are a part of our organization.''