It was a typical weekday of September, with the sky at its bluest and the sun at its brightest.

Alice’s walk to the church blessed her with several beautiful sights.

(Someone said it right, “Safar khoobsurat hai manzil se bhi” – The journey is more beautiful than the destination.)

(What you just experienced was the death of the essence of that quote that got glorified in the translation.)

Simple sights like flowers falling from a gulmohar tree, marking the most dramatic exit,

the half a dozen kittens struggling to pin down their mother’s playful tail,

the homeless child singing a folklore while assorting her collectibles on the sidewalk.

“Is she really homeless though? Does home necessarily have to be a four-walled structure?”, thought Alice.

The church had its usual business going- people coming in and relieving themselves of their emotional and karmic burdens.

“It’s so difficult to be a God, with people coming in and asking for things from you or blaming you for the misery in their lives,” thought Alice.

Just as things were about to get existential, Alice caught the sight of a woman. It looked like she was in her 50’s. She was bowing in front of “God”, praying.

There was nothing unusual about what she was doing. But something did seem out of the normal. Maybe it was the woman herself, or maybe it was Alice’s perception of the woman.

She was slender, radiant and looked content. Why was she here then? Maybe she belongs to a different breed of people who come to God to simply thank Them for everything.

She had long hair, not that long though; the length suited her height and physique.

For a moment there Alice forgot about where she was.

That woman’s aura seemed more pure and captivating than the supposed divine entity above.

Alice allowed herself to slip into that moment where everything was bright, where everyday was a calm sunny day in September.

Alice saw and thought about what it would be like to kiss the woman.

(Didn’t see that coming right? Neither did Alice.)

In a part of Alice’s universe, they were already kissing. It felt good (and safe).

Like a sudden fall, something in Alice snapped.

“What are you doing? You can’t be thinking about these things here,” said Alice’s conscience.

“Ok, Jesus aside, didn’t all the other Gods procreate? Didn’t they indulge in what I was thinking about? I am born human with an innate sexual drive. It is nothing but natural, right?” reasoned Alice.

There was a brief moment of silence till the church bells rang.