The Route Through The Pink Sun

 

A lone man stands on a mysterious, narrow dirt road at twilight under a surreal pink sky. The road is lined with a dense, dark forest and ritualistic sacrificial items on the ground. In the distance, the dim headlights of a single car approach through the fog.

The Invisible Protector

It was the last day of 2025, and Murphy planned to spend it in the house of God. He was not a churchgoer and had never been in a church throughout the year; he had viewed pastors as con men in suits. But on that last day of the year, he vowed to enter the house of God to thank Him for the kindness and mercies he had seen.

He remembered a time he visited a town for the first time. It had been a rough journey to this place, which was so isolated he guessed it was off the map. He was told to be in the town before 8:00 PM, but due to circumstances, he didn't reach it until 11:00 PM. He had no one to call, and the bus driver told him there were no motels in town.

He was thinking of sleeping on the roadside, but God had a plan for him. A Good Samaritan appeared out of nowhere and asked, "Who are you? And what are you doing outside at this time of night?"

"My name is Murphy. I have a business deal tomorrow and I was told there is no motel where I could stay. I'm new here and I was thinking of sleeping outside along the road or in a corner."

"That is not a good idea," the woman said. "In this town, things happen. I mean bad things."

"I'm not sure I can change my situation," Murphy said. "I don't know anyone and there is nothing I can do."

"That is true, but I will never let a bad thing happen to you. You seem to be a nice young man and the Spirit led me to you," she said.

"The Spirit?" he questioned, looking around with his heart beating fast. "You can communicate with spirits?"

She laughed. "Not those kinds of spirits, but the Spirit of God."

"Who are you?" he asked her with a little tremble in his voice.

"My name is Melissa and I'm the wife of a pastor. My husband is out of town and I had a vision where a voice said, 'Go to the first street on your right and you will see a young man wearing dark pants with a red stripe. Give him food and shelter and make sure his needs are met.'"

"But I have not done anything good to get the attention of this voice," Murphy replied. "I'm just me, a young man struggling with life's challenges."

"I understand, but when the Spirit calls, I answer. Pack your bag; let me host you tonight and you will be on your way tomorrow."

That was how he had been housed, fed, and given directions to his destination.

Now, Murphy sat there on the hard bench of the church hall, reflecting on what the Good Lord had done for him. Thinking of his challenges, he remembered another encounter. He had to collect something important for his career and was told the office had relocated to a remote village in another isolated place. He wondered why everything had to be relocated right when it was his turn. It sounded sinister, but he had no choice; if he wanted to progress, he had to go.

On the day he went to the village, he noticed he was the only one in the vehicle. Another thing he noticed was that his car was the only one on the road. Piqued by curiosity, he asked the driver, "Do other vehicles use this route?"

"No," the driver said.

"What?" he exclaimed. "But why?"

"You can see this is a lonely road. It is very dangerous—not from highwaymen, but from the supernatural. I wasn't going to drive this route today, or tomorrow, but something touched my heart to carry you to your destination. Even I can't pinpoint what led me to you."

Murphy recalled how the woman had been led by the Spirit, and now this man was saying something similar. He had never believed in chance encounters. "Why is the route empty?"

"Look at either side of the road and tell me what you see," the driver said.

Murphy peered out the window. The road cut through a forest so dense he couldn't see past a few inches. "Just a dense forest," he said.

The driver laughed and told him to look down at the road itself. Murphy peered out and then hurriedly pulled his head back into the car, eyes wide and breathing hard. He could tell the driver was observing him in the rearview mirror.

"What did you see?" the driver asked.

"I saw sacrificial items. There is blood and fetish items all over the road."

The driver nodded with a sigh. "This stretch of land is dangerous because people go missing. The answer is in that blood on the ground. Only the Good Lord knows what happened to them."

Murphy remembered how he started sweating. He knew right then that a supernatural being was looking after him. "But what have I done to deserve this level of protection?" he wondered. As he sat in the church, a slow worship song by Don Moen began to play: God Will Make A Way.

Tears came to his eyes. He remembered asking the driver, "How will I get back?"

The driver had been kind. "I will wait for you until you are done." But when it turned out the paperwork wouldn't be finished that day, the driver said, "I have to go back. I have done my part."

"How will I find a car to take me back?" Murphy asked.

"That I don't know, my friend. People who visit here usually retain their drivers until they are finished."

The driver left, leaving Murphy with uncertainty. But it turned out another person had been contacted to provide for him. He had been housed and fed; it was like a dream. The next day, he hurried to the road to find a car. He walked for five hours and not a single car passed him.

As he walked deeper into the forest path, he saw the ritual sacrifices again. To access this village, one had to pass through a cemetery to be "judged by the dead." Custom said the dead protected the village and judged visitors to ensure they committed no atrocities. He didn't want to think of the rituals he had undergone or the concoctions he was forced to drink to see if he had "evil inside."

He remembered how the sun wasn't yellow in that forest, but pink. He remembered the giant snake that appeared and how he had run. He knew his invisible protector was there. Then, a car came out of nowhere. A woman was at the wheel; she stopped and beckoned him over.

"Get in the car now. It is not safe for you to be walking this road."

He hesitated, backing away. "Who are you?"

"My name is Polly, and I was asked to take you out of this place."

"By who?"

"No idea. The Spirit leads and I follow," was her reply.

He entered the car, and they never spoke another word as she drove him away.

Polly dropped Murphy off at a safer location along the main road. The moment he turned back to wave, the car was gone. He stood there, stunned; it hadn't even been a few seconds, yet the road was completely empty.

A man was standing on the opposite side of the road where he had been dropped. Murphy hurried over and asked, "Did you see the car that just dropped me off?"

The man looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What are you talking about? There was no car. You just walked into view from right over there," he said, pointing toward the path Murphy had just come from.

"Wait! You mean I walked here? I wasn't dropped off by a car?"

"That’s right," the man insisted.

Murphy let out a long whistle as he walked away, his mind racing. Had he entered another dimension? Why was he being protected by these total strangers?

A voice brought him sharply back to the present. The preacher stood at the pulpit, his voice echoing through the church hall: "Pray for the goodness the Lord has done for you. Pray that it continues into the New Year, and thank Him for His mercies."

Murphy sat there, racking his brain for what to say to the Lord who had been watching over him. He wondered if words were even enough to appreciate such goodness. He sighed; he had never been a man of prayer and didn't really know how to start. Finally, he closed his eyes and let his emotions guide him:

"Dear God,

 I have never known You, and I haven't even thought of You—and yet, You have been protecting me without me even knowing it. I have been a sinner, yet Your mercies have been upon me. I am grateful. I promise to live a better life this new year. I give my life to You and will serve You, because what You have done for me is beyond extraordinary. Thank You, Lord. I will be better Amen."

Author’s Note: Many times, we face situations that we think will be the end of us, only to come out the other side without knowing how we survived. Believe it or not, the supernatural is all around us. The grocery clerk could be watching over you, or the guy selling hot dogs on the sidewalk might be more than he seems. The key is to be genuine and live a fruitful, purposeful life.

This story is part fiction and part real-life experience. These are encounters I had while visiting a remote village to investigate a cholera outbreak. Beyond being a writer, I am also a Microbiologist.

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