"What a strange dream!?" I thought to myself as I got up from bed early in the morning. I remember seeing myself in a temple, glistening with a pure holy aura. There was no speck of dust present and I saw my new friend suspended in the void. The voif was filled with a myriad of colours and I couldn't help but gasp at the beauty of it. My body suddenly became warm as my attention was drawn away from the colourful lights to those eyes that contained eternity.
"Tony Storm, I now appoint you has the janitor of the eternal sanctum!" He said to me and then I woke up. In the form of a dove His beak never moves when he speaks. But that wasn't what was strange, "what is a janitor?!" I asked myself over and over again. "Good morning mom!"
"Tony good morning, how was your night?"
"It was fine mom! How was yours?"
"It was fine Tony!"
And that was when it happened, mom Immediately dived into those books at her front. I could tell something was off but I wasn't sure until I noticed those thick round eye glasses on her face. "What are you doing mom?"
"I'm checking for the meaning of a word!"
"Oh!" I said until I froze as though a bolt for lightening struck me from the blue.
"Are you okay Tony?" My mom asked me giving the 'are you okay?' look on her face.
"I'm fine mom!" I answered her with a melancholic expression, "do we have an extra dictionary in the house?"
♣
Blowing off the dust on the cover of the dictionary. I sneezed a few times as I flipped open the ancient looking book. "Janitor!.... Janitor!.... Janitor!...." I muttered as I searched for the word. "Found it!" I did a little victory twirl in my head before digging out the 'treasure chest'.
"A janitor is one who keeps a place clean."
"That's all.." I sighed for a moment but glancing at the ancient looking dictionary that was most likely older than me, I wondered what more I could expect. "Sigh!" It was only a week later that I understood how important my job was. My friend gave me one of the most important but least appreciated jobs.
I was in the bus on my way home that evening when the radio began to sing a song.
It was a strange song from what I could tell, but the words were strangely familiar. As I blinked my eyes thinking of were I had listened to that song, I noticed I was no more in the bus but the temple I dreamt of a week ago. The whole place still looked the same but something was different. I could see a speck of dirt in a corner of the temple. At first it was not noticeable. But over time it became to increase.
"Where's this coming from?!" I asked myself. Looking up I could see that my friend was staring at me intently. "Do you know where this dirt is coming from?"
"It's you that allowed all this dirt in here!" He answered me only leaving me more confused, but just for a moment. "The dirt is coming from outside but you allowed it in here! As the janitor it is your duty to prevent dirt from entering in here!" He answered but I could tell He wasn't happy.
"But what is causing all this dirt?!"
"That song you are listening to! Don't you have a earpiece to plug our type of song into your ear with?!"
"I don't!" I sighed, "guess I have to watch dirt keep piling in the temple!" I said out loud. "It's not as though I can tell that guy to stop playing that song..."
♣
And that was how I watched dirt fill at least one fifth of the temple before I got home. "Huff! What a janitor I am. Messed up the temple on the first month of duty!"
"Tony! How was your day?"
"It was fine mom, I got 15 marks out of twenty in the class assessment!"
"That's great son, but you still need to work harder!"
"Ok!" Breathing out slowly I sat on the chair letting my thoughts wander for a moment, "mom please I need a earpiece!" I knew the difficulties we faced after dad left but I just had to ask.
"Why do you need a earpiece Tony? Is there a cool kid with one?"
"No mom! I know things are a little tough, but the Holy Spirit wants me to have one. So, I don't stain myself with worldly songs!"
"You've grown up my boy!" Smiling at me left me stunned for a moment. It wasn't like my mom never smiled, but today's smile was different. "Give me a moment!"
"One!. Two!.. Three!..." I counted silently until mom came out of her room.
"Here you go!" She stretched out her hand holding a pair of earpods that I only saw during television commercials.
"Mom! Thank you so much!" I turned around in a twirl leaving my mom choking a good laugh.
"Actually Tony, these were yours from two years ago!"
"Two years ago was when I was in the underworld!" Shaking off the dark thoughts, I smiled as I held those pair of earpods like though they were the only thing in the world. "Finally I got a janitor gear!"
"How do I take out the thrash in this place?"
"It's very simple, just put those earpods into your ear and turn on our kind of music! "
Immediately I put the earpods into my ear and I began listening to our kind of music. By 'our kind of music' I meant gospel music. It was so beautiful. The words were full of cleansing power. Erasing the lure of the world on my soul. Back in the temple, the dirt were been erased gradually. And those weren't the only changes, the light even became brighter.
"You still have a long way to go janitor Tony!"
"Yes boss!" I couldn't help but smile.