Antuki: A Little Boy's Story

Chapter 8: Suffer the Children

A moment later, they were in a different part of the Second Heaven. Unlike the previous areas they had visited, this place had a strangely unreal quality to it.

"Are we in a painting?" asked Akio quizzically. The lines and contours of their surroundings reminded him more of a drawing than anything else.

"You're perceptive, little one," said the angel, smiling. "This is the Arts Department of the Second Heaven, where Satan's agents plot to use man's creativity against him."

Akio and Yoko watched silently as thousands of demons went obediently about their work. While the demons here were in the shapes of humans and animal-like creatures, they looked more like characters from an animated cartoon than actual living beings. The two friends knew there must be a mystery behind this but could not guess what it might be.

"Why do these spirits look so peculiar?" asked Yoko, puzzled.

"These beings," explained the angel, "take part in a unique form of demon possession. Unlike the conventional type of possession, where an evil spirit hijacks a human person and compels him or her to do what it pleases, these devils enter the mind of a human artist and present themselves as sources of inspiration."

"To what end?" asked Akio.

"Man is made in the image and likeness of God," the angel replied, "endowed with the capability to create. Since the devil lacks this power, he must use a human agent willing to produce creative works for him. The demons who work in this department have been tasked with injecting themselves into art, literature, motion pictures and other forms of entertainment."

"Who would enjoy reading about or watching such hideous creatures as these?" asked Akio incredulously.

In response, the angel waved his hand, and the scene around them changed. Instead of the Arts Department, they were now in a home on Earth, where a little boy was watching a television program. Akio didn't know what a television was, so the angel explained to him that they were observing a scene from the near future.

The little boy became more and more excited as the on-screen action unfolded. The characters in the show were endowed with supernatural powers, which they used to battle one another. To Akio and Yoko's horror, five horrible-looking demons emerged from the television set and entered the boy. When the boy's mother came to call him for dinner, he shouted angrily at her for interrupting him. This infuriated her, and she brought out a rattan cane to discipline him. There was no peace in that household that evening.

"The devil has gained a foothold in this young child's heart," said the angel sadly. "It'll lead his soul to Hell unless the Lord has mercy on him."

The scene around them changed once more. This time, they were in a dark video game arcade, where dozens of children and teenagers were engrossed in the gameplay. Akio's jaw dropped in amazement, as he'd never imagined that such technology was possible. Someday, people would be able to control events that happened on-screen!

The angel laughed to see Akio's sense of wonder. "Marvel not, child," he said warmly, "this technology came from Heaven as a blessing for God's children. However, Satan isn't content to leave any good thing alone, and he'll do the same thing with these devices that you saw him do with television. Observe carefully."

Sure enough, hundreds of demons erupted from the game cabinets, entering the players through their eyes and ears. Under the influence of these evil spirits, the young people spent hour after hour in the arcade, wasting their hard-earned pocket money. Eventually, the arcade closed, and the players were forced to leave, exhausted but still unsatisfied by what they'd just experienced.

"Do you see this, child?" asked the angel. "These virtual games are engrossing and addictive, but they're mentally and emotionally draining on those who play them. Unless the Lord protects them, they'll find themselves weakened and especially vulnerable to temptation."

Akio breathed a sigh of sorrow for these poor souls. He knew that if he'd lived during their time, he could just as easily have been sucked into their form of entertainment. He wondered what he could do to help them.

"How far in the future is this going to be?" he asked.

"In twenty years, dear Akio," answered the angel. Akio and Yoko nodded sadly, as the angel brought them to their next destination.

They were apparently much farther into the future now, as the game cabinets had since been miniaturised to portable hand-held devices. Akio could barely recognise the electrical appliances in this new house, everything was so newfangled to him.

The one thing that remained the same was human nature. They were observing a little girl now, as she happily button-mashed her way through a video game. Suddenly, the little device in her hand played a victory chime, and she threw her hands up in celebration.

"Yes!" she squealed in delight. "Yes! I've finally collected the last one! I did it, I did it!"

"What does she mean?" asked Akio in confusion.

"Keep watching," said the angel calmly.

Slowly, strange monster-like creatures started crawling out of the game device. They grew and solidified as they emerged, till eventually the tiny room was filled with them. Akio and Yoko immediately recognised these beings as the kind they'd seen running around the Arts Department and were mortified. The angel had been right – young children like Akio would find  enjoyment playing with these creatures!

Unseen, the small monsters joined the little girl in her dance. "We've got her, we've got her," they sniggered, mocking their unwitting prey. "She thought she came for us, when we really came for her. We did it, we did it, we've got her in our grasp."

"Angel, this is horrible!" cried Akio in revulsion. "What can we do to help her?"

"Peace, Akio," said the angel. "What you're seeing shall certainly come to pass, yet in the Lord of Hosts there is hope."

He began to quote the ninety-first Psalm aloud: "Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler."

"Amen," said Akio and Yoko in unison. To their astonishment, a magnificent golden shield appeared on each of their left hands, and a shiny gold belt materialised on their waists.

"The Word of the Lord is true," declared the angel, "and is more than able to protect you. Come, children, it's time for you to return to your own time and place."

He waved his hand once more, and Akio and Yoko found themselves back in their old room in Okayama. Pulling a warm blanket out of nowhere, the angel tucked the two friends in and gave them each a goodnight kiss.

"A gift from your Father in heaven," he said, explaining the mysterious appearance of the blanket. "Rest well in His peace."

"Wait, sir," called out Akio as their angel turned to leave. "You've done so much for us tonight, things we'll never be able to repay you for. Could we at least know your name?"

The angel turned back and smiled at them. "Give your thanks to the Father and the Son," he answered. "I am only Their humble servant."

"As for my name," he continued, genuflecting beside Akio's bed, "in Hebrew I am called Ruhiel, but in your tongue my name is Kamikaze."

With those words, he turned into a gust of wind and disappeared.