Collected Stories Read Online Free

to the Almighty, man was the lord of creation.’
    ‘So great was Jehovah’s love he gave gifts beyond price; the ability to speak over large distances, chariots that raced faster than the wind, magic wings that took man above the earth, and the power to hunt under the sea. And the children of man dwelt in fine houses, were clad in soft linen; white bread lay daily upon their tables, and Jehovah spoke to them every seventh day. And he spake thus:’
    “All that is upon the earth is yours, but all that is in the heavens is mine.”
    ‘Now it came to pass that Satan Atomo walked the earth in those days, and he whispered into the ears of men: “Why should you not go out into the heavens? The moon is bright, the stars are diamonds beyond price; go forth, and I will protect you.”
    ‘And men made strange chariots and they went forth into the heavens, and Jehovah struck out in his anger. He blazed fire and brimstone upon the earth, and He ate up the great houses, the chariots, the magic wings, and many men died, even unto three parts of men died.
    ‘Then the daughters of men, in their fear, took unto themselves the sons of Satan Atomo, and they did bring forth monsters.
    ‘And Jehovah brought down the moon, and it hovered over the earth, and His voice spoke from a thunder cloud. ‘Ye shall destroy all that is not born in my image.’
    ‘And all those that still followed in the ways of the Godly obeyed this commandment. They took the ugly, the monster-born, and burnt them on the altar, and behold the smoke of the burning was good unto the Almighty, and He did withhold His hand, and the moon fell not onto the earth, and some men lived.’
    Uncle Carl slammed the book closed with such force, Caroline jumped, then he spoke in the same awesome tone.
    ‘A thousand summers have passed, and rarely are monsters born, but when they are, the people take them into the temple and burn them upon the altar.’
    Caroline at first did not understand, then the man’s cold, expressionless stare relayed its message, and she whimpered:
    ‘I’m not a monster.’
    ‘Child, can you not see?’ The Uncle snapped out the question. ‘Put out your hand. Now I will lay mine alongside. Look. Mine is shaped by the Almighty, yours... Do not force me to describe what your eyes must see. Look at my face, then feel your own, the skin—the monstrous growth that covers your head. Can’t you understand that I feel sick in your presence, and I have gazed upon you for nigh on sixteen years. Think how that young man would react were he to see you as you are. He would hand you over to the temple elders for burning, as indeed I should have long since.’
    Caroline looked at the horror that was her hands with new eyes; the difference she had always known, and accepted. Now truth had been savagely thrust through the doors of her consciousness, and her body screamed with repulsion. She was more than ugly, more than hideous —she was the monster-born. A blot that should be wiped away, a loathsome fragment fit only for burning.
    ‘Why,’ she sobbed, ‘why did you not hand me over at birth?’
    ‘Our sin was great,’ the Uncle nodded, and a tear ran down his otherwise expressionless face, ‘but my sister was young, and much loved. She hid you until it was too late. If I had given you up, they would have taken her also, and my foolish, soft love overcame my sacred duty. We have lived in fear all these years, your Aunt and I. We felt that as Almighty Jehovah had withheld His hand, perhaps He understood, but who can calculate His mysterious ways? He struck down your mother, He burnt your father with a thunderflash, and we— and you, He has spared. But I dread lest you be seen.’
    ‘Forgive me,’ Caroline sat with lowered head, ‘my sin is great,’ but the tired man shook his head.
    ‘No, child, the sin is mine. I should have handed you over for burning, and you would not be suffering now.’
    He took up the book, and left without uttering a further