Giving Back to God

– As he brings the rock down on the rabbit’s head, he thinks about the story of Isaac and Abraham. His father had told him the story. It had to do with giving back to God the gifts he gave us, in sacrifice. In the story, God doesn’t take it back, instead he provides the sacrifice and is pleased with the heart of Abraham. He holds the bloodied stone above the fractured skull, and watches the body spasm as the muscles suffocate. He wonders what kind of heart he would have to have to please God. He wonders if his father had a heart that pleased God. The blood spills out onto the dirt below the small cage he trapped the rabbit in. He stares at it, watches it slowly seep into the soil. Not like water which quickly mixes in and becomes mud. The blood remains there on top, the way oil floats on water. Then, as if becoming something other than blood, it dissolves and stains the soil. The head has jerked a couple of times, along with the spasming of the muscles and the skull has splintered further. He’s almost impressed by how frail life is. All it took was one blow with the stone and it ceased. It was defeated and it fractured itself further with its death. A chill runs through him. The stone falls from his hands. It crushes the rabbit’s body further and with a crunch, the bone tears through the flesh and blood seeps from there also. The boy stares at it. He cringes. Tears fill his eyes. He holds his breath and turns blue. But his father is still gone.