The God Next Door читать онлайн

What if God is one of us? An ordinary guy who, like everyone else, takes the bus, the subway, or the car every day. Or maybe he prefers a bicycle or a motorcycle? What if he looks no different from any other person? What if you've met him many times before, strolling around the city, just passing by? Or maybe he's your neighbor? You never even thought about it, right? Meeting him would raise a multitude of questions for anyone. What would you ask? Perhaps: What is the meaning of life? Is there Heaven and Hell? What awaits us after death?

What if he, too, has his own flaws, habits, and desires? Then what is he like? What does he look like? Where does he live? What name did he choose for himself? Or maybe God is a woman? What does he do? Perhaps he's a billionaire living on his own island. Or an ordinary manager, doing routine office work. Or maybe he's a doctor, saving lives every day?

When you consider the possibility that God might live among us, your brain will continually generate more and more questions, which inevitably require logical answers. To alleviate this barrage of questions accumulating in your head, I'll begin my story. But where to begin? Hmm ... I think I know...

A small, gray room with shabby furniture: a bed, a nightstand, a wardrobe, a desk, a chair, and a clothes rack. Bright yellow rays of sunlight filtered through the faded blinds and the long-unwashed window. At such moments, you could discern the tiniest dust particles floating in the air, as if swirling in a dance. The absolute silence was broken only by the ticking of the wall clock.

A tall, slightly thin man of about thirty stood in front of the window. His bright blue eyes, casually tousled dark hair, strong chin, and small beard gave him a charismatic air. He was dressed in a white shirt, black pants, and dark shoes. Walking over to the coat rack, he took off his lonely coat. Putting it on, he walked out of the apartment into the common hallway and locked the door behind him. In the hallway, a girl nearly knocked him over. A short, slender blonde of about twenty-four was pulling a child's bicycle out of the neighboring apartment. Not noticing the man, she accidentally bumped him with her back.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Please excuse me," the girl began to apologize, realizing she had offended someone.

“It’s okay, everything’s fine, you’re not to blame for anything,” the man answered calmly, making it clear that nothing terrible had happened.

“Come on, I’ll help you,” he smiled at the stranger with some kind of alluring calm.