The Sunset Limited(10)

The black drums his fingers lightly three times on the table and looks at the professor.





Silence.

Black Well. Wonder what this crazy nigger fixin to do. He liable to put the mojo on me. Be speakin in tongues here directly. I better get my ass out of here. He’s liable to try and steal my pocketbook. Need to get my ass down to the train depot fore somethin happen to me. What we goin to do with you, Professor?

White I need to go.

Black I thought you was goin to stay and visit with me some.

White Look. I know I owe you a good deal. In the eyes of the world at least. Cant I just give you something and we’ll call it square? I could give you some money. Something like that.





The black studies him. He doesnt answer.





White I could give you a thousand dollars. Well. That’s not very much, I guess. I could give you three thousand, say.

Black You dont have no notion the trouble you in, do you?

White I dont know what you mean.

Black I know you dont.

White I’d just like to settle this someway.

Black It aint me you got to settle with.

White Do you really believe I was sent to you by God?

Black Oh it’s worse than that.

White How do you mean?

Black Belief aint like unbelief. If you a believer then you got to come finally to the well of belief itself and then you dont have to look no further. There aint no further. But the unbeliever has got a problem. He has set out to unravel the world, but everthing he can point to that aint true leaves two new things layin there. If God walked the earth when he got done makin it then when you get up in the mornin you get to put your feet on a real floor and you dont have to worry about where it come from. But if he didnt then you got to come up with a whole other description of what you even mean by real. And you got to judge everthing by that same light. If light it is. Includin yourself. One question fits all. So what do you think, Professor? Is you real?

White I’m not buying it.

Black That’s all right. It’s been on the market a long time and it’ll be there a while yet.

White Do you believe everything that’s in there? In the bible?

Black The literal truth?

White Yes.

Black Probably not. But then you already know I’m a outlaw.

White What is it you would disagree with?

Black Maybe the notion of original sin. When Eve eat the apple and it turned everbody bad. I dont see people that way. I think for the most part people are good to start with. I think evil is somethin you bring on your own self. Mostly from wantin what you aint supposed to have. But I aint goin to set here and tell you about me bein a heretic when I’m tryin to get you to quit bein one.

White Are you a heretic?

Black You tryin to put me in the trick bag, Professor.

White No I’m not. Are you?

Black No more than what a man should be. Even a man with a powerful belief. I aint a doubter. But I am a questioner.

White What’s the difference?

Black Well, I think the questioner wants the truth. The doubter wants to be told there aint no such thing.

White (Pointing at bible) You dont think you have to believe everything in there in order to be saved?

Black No. I dont. I dont think you even have to read it. I aint for sure you even got to know there is such a book. I think whatever truth is wrote in these pages is wrote in the human heart too and it was wrote there a long time ago and will still be wrote there a long time hence. Even if this book is burned ever copy of it. What Jesus said? I dont think he made up a word of it. I think he just told it. This book is a guide for the ignorant and the sick at heart. A whole man wouldnt need it at all. And of course if you read this book you goin to find that they’s a lot more talk in here about the wrong way than they is about the right way. Now why is that?

White I dont know. Why is it?

Black I’d rather hear from you.

White I’ll have to think about it.

Black Okay.





Silence.





White Okay what?

Black Okay go ahead and think about it.

White It might take me a little longer than you to think about something.

Black That’s all right.

White That’s all right.

Black Yes. I mean they’s two ways you can take that remark but I’m goin to take it the good way. It’s just my nature. That way I get to live in my world instead of yours.

White What makes you think mine’s so bad?

Black Oh I dont know as it’s so bad. I know it’s brief.

White All right. Are you ready?

Black I’m ready.

White I think the answer to your question is that the dialectic of the homily always presupposes a ground of evil.

Black Man.

White How’s that.

Black That’s strong as a mare’s breath, Professor. Wouldnt I love to lay some of that shit on the brothers? Whoa. Now. Just the two of us here talkin. In private. What did you just say?