THE GAME, THE LEDGER and THE TRAIN

 Mr Johnny Christen and Mr Lou Cifer met on the first Sunday of each month at twelve noon, at the old railway station to play The Game, everything else on their agenda was put on hold.  No matter where in the world they were the first Sunday was kept free for The Game.  Nobody seems to exactly remember when it started  but if the truth be known it has been going on since man came to the conclusion that he has a soul and that it is worth protecting or fighting for but the funny thing is nobody has ever seen this so called 'soul', but Johnny and Lou seem to think it's worth playing The Game for, and besides they get the chance to catch up on events and compare notes, not that it really matters to them, for  they are just playing out another Game devised by man himself from his own little Mind.

The railway station was of simple buildings in highly polished black granite that you could see your own reflection in that black stone and never seemed to have aged with time.  In fact everything was in black granite, even the crows that sat in the trees seemed not to move and looked bigger than normal crows also had the appearance of black granite and eyes as white as marble that looked beyond you to some far off distance that only they could see into.  

As for Johnny and Lou , well .... they stood out in all of this .......

this reflecting black polished stone ... made quite the elegant pair too, for they took pride in their dress and how they projected themselves especially towards each other. Weakness in spirit was not on the agenda at any time of the day or night for they were always watching for the weak link in each other, to see who could break who, but till now they are on even footing and it seems it will always be this way.

Johnny Christen was dressed in all white. A white that gave off a glow that seemed to shimmer like a mirage in the distance, shoulder length blond hair that he now liked to tie back in a ponytail fashion and tied with a blue ribbon that matched the colour of his eyes. Eyes that were so deep you felt you could swim in them, eyes that were hypnotic and yet gentle that when you looked into them you seemed to drift into his body and felt to be part of him, but that was Johnny, 'all for you'.... His features were soft and skin that looked like polished ivory you felt you wanted to touch, tall, and carried himself gracefully as if his feet never touched the ground .... You remember that story about Johnny 'walking on water', there might be some truth in it after all.  

Mr Lou Cifer, as he liked to be called, what can you say, Lou Cifer was the original Playboy, dressed the part and  played it to the full. A real killer of a looker, a women's man and a man's man, the glorified all rounder.  Changed his suites as often as he said his name and that could be a thousand times in the day. Nothing on the dull side for Lou, bright colours and shoes to match his small feet, you would think he was walking with stilts, but for today it was red, his favourite colour and before entering the station it was canary yellow. He was the real chameleon in more ways then one. Tall with jet black hair in lose curls that made him look, well for the want of a better word, almost angelic. He had sharp and rapid movements in his walk you would think he was trying to catch flies, his features were more on the angler side and his skin always had a tan, just like fresh brown toast. His eyes were like looking into two big black holes that you could see your own reflection in if you dared to look into his eyes and when standing near him his body odour always had this smell of sulphur where as for Johnny he smelt like a blooming rose garden all the time. When Johnny and Lou stood side by side, and that was not very often, they looked like the hard and the soft version of the same person, but that's where it ended. Their intentions and their way of doing things were totally different, complete opposites, the black and the white, the good and the bad situation of all that's known. The Yin and the Yang of the human race.

The station master looked like a station master that you could see in any railway station around the world. Born for the part, looking busy, saying little and only when he was spoken to, his expression alert while walking about wrapped up in his own thoughts and importance, but everything was kept to a strict time table right down to the time he would permit himself to pee. You had the impression he never relaxed and that he was the same in his time off, or did he have time off ?.

Johnny and Lou were now seated on wroth iron chairs each with their own initials on the back in gold leaf scripted letters at a marble top table in the design of the chess board. The station master appeared from nowhere with the chess pieces and the all important Ledger under his arm which no Game could start without.  After arranging the pieces on the board the station started to fill in with people as if there was some kind of end of season sales on.  People of all colour, size and age, women children and men. A whole cross section of the Human race, the good and the not so good the strong and the weak, nobody was spared for they all ended up here in the station but one thing you noticed, apart from the station now quite crowded, were they all had the same expression on their face's, that of fear and being lost and not knowing what to do next or more to the point what was happening or where they were going. They were here now and there was no going back. 

The station master, Lou and Johnny paid no attention to the 'lost souls', now piling in at a fast rate and even though the station looked to be full to capacity they were still coming in but were no more then twenty feet away from the table and never seemed to cross over that invisible line and all looking in the direction of the station master and his Ledger, even those at the back who could not see what was going on were looking in the same direction. In his business like way the station master opened the Ledger and the Game was now in play, neither Lou or Johnny looked at each other or spoke a word nor the station master at them but all eyes were on the board. ''Mr.Christen and Mr.Cifer if you please'' ... The Game was in full play.

Johnny in his shimmering white suit was totally calm in his expression and Mind. Where as Lou, who now had a ultramarine blue suit on with matching shoes had one thing on his Mind and that was to win at all cost, for each chess piece gained and lost was the value of souls in grate numbers and it all went into the Ledger. There were no mistakes made here, because the Ledger was the final written word on one's one and only 'soul', ... so The Game decides onto what page your name goes into The Ledger. For all time.

As always Lou played black and Johnny white and once the first pawn was moved out to do battle The Train appeared not too far from where they were playing. This was no ordinary train, it was known as the 'Mystery Train' though it had only two destinations, and everyone knew that, up the track and down the track. No diversions and no stops, once on you could not get off and you had no idea if you were going up the track or down, only when the train stopped did you know where you were. It was truly the real 'Mystery Train'. It was made from crystal that glittered in the light  while it stood idle in the station and it's reflection in the polished granite was dazzling. When it was moving it made no sound and you saw nothing outside when it entered the tunnel just the light at the other end that was coming towards you, at the 'speed of light'.  It was always full to capacity but everyone had a seat, it wasn't thought fair that one should stand on their last journey no matter how you played out your life. For life is not a matter of chance, it's a matter of choice.

It was twelve thirty and the Game was in it's final stages of play, Lou was on the winning end, it was his time now and knew that the 'Train' was his, just two more moves and the Train was full and the station empty of it's 'souls', some knowing that their ticket on the 'Train' was paid for somewhere in their past. The Ledger now closed and the train was entering into the tunnel on the down track. Lou Cifer feeling quite pleased with himself and looking at Johnny through the black mirrors that were his eyes said,  '' J.C. this is my time now, temptations are like spiders webs, if some poor weak soul comes up against them, it is caught '' .... but Johnny Christen  looks at Lou with complete calmness and says,  '' And into deeper darkness fall those who follow, but a stronger one can break through and get away ''.

Mr Johnny Christen now in his black mourning clothes, and Mr Lou Cifer changed back in his red suit stood up and without further words passing between the two, walked out of the station. With the ledger squeezed tight under his arm the station master walks back to his office to wait for the next Game and for the Ledger to come out again, and more souls to show up for the 'Mystery' train ride of no return.  

When passing the sign board on the wall that nobody seems to pay any attention to when they enter the station, and never did and probably never will, he stops and looks at the twelve inch high letters in gold that looks in keeping with the black granite, and reads it out at the top of his voice for all to hear, but there is nobody about, not even a left-over-lost-soul. Even the crows have gone.

  
    One becomes good by good action, bad by bad action .   

I will see you all at our appointed Time in the railway station .........