The Preaching of Time – Complete Short Story (Fiction)

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CHAPTER 1 – THE FORGOTTEN LABORATORY The year was 2030, and São Vicente do Sol — a mid-sized Brazilian city — lived between futuristic skyscrapers and old buildings that resisted progress. Among them still stood the former campus of the Municipal University, closed since 2021 due to lack of funding and successive administrative changes. The place, once full of students and activity, had now become a territory of echoes, dust, and oblivion. Jonas Nascimento, a 34-year-old IT technician and a devoted volunteer at the small church “Light of the Way,” received a strange call on a Tuesday morning. A city hall employee reported that lights had been seen flickering in the abandoned building, accompanied by intermittent noises coming from equipment supposedly turned off. — It’s an electrical failure, for sure — Jonas said as he accepted the job. But deep down, he felt something different. As if that visit to the campus held some purpose. Arriving at the building, he found rusted gates, broken windows, and weeds overtaking everything. The main corridor smelled of mold, with old papers scattered across the floor. At the back of the building, a metal door locked with a broken padlock caught his attention. A small sign read: “Temporal Experiments Laboratory – Department of Advanced Physics. NO ENTRY.” Jonas, with his calm faith and involuntary curiosity, smiled. — It doesn’t hurt to take a look… — he murmured. Inside, he found a large tarp covering something that took up almost half the room. When he pulled it away, he jumped in surprise: before him stood a metallic cabin with thick glass doors, heavy wires, and a panel with dozens of buttons. It was impossible not to be impressed. The cabin looked like a mix between a space capsule and a retro phone booth. In the center, a digital panel lay dark. A worn label read: “Prototype: Chrono-Transversal Machine. DO NOT OPERATE.” Jonas, with no real intention of activating anything, began examining loose wires, trying to understand the source of the reported noises. He touched a side panel… and the cabin awakened. Colored lights turned on. A growing hum filled the room. Air spiraled, pulling papers, dust, and — before Jonas understood what was happening — his own shirt. — Hey! Wait! — he tried to hold onto a table, but was dragged into the cabin. The door closed by itself. The panel glowed. “Temporal Destination: 1500.” — What?! No, no, stop! STOP! — Jonas shouted, pressing buttons at random. But it was too late. The floor vanished. The sound disappeared. Light became everything. And then… nothing. CHAPTER 2 – THE WORLD THAT WAS NOT HIS Jonas woke up feeling damp earth beneath his hands. The sky, an intense blue — more intense than any sky seen in 2030 — hovered above him. The air smelled of sea breeze and fresh leaves. The sound of birds echoed almost excessively, as if they were singing for the first time in history. He stood up slowly. — GOD… where am I? In the distance, he saw smoke rising from a campfire. He approached. A group of men, all wearing rustic clothing and armed with spears, were speaking in old Portuguese. — Who goes there? — asked one of the soldiers. Jonas raised his hands. — Peace! I… I won’t hurt anyone! The soldiers examined his clothes — jeans, T-shirt, modern sneakers. To them, that was stranger than magic. — Where do you come from, stranger? — asked the captain, eyeing him suspiciously. Jonas took a deep breath. There was no easy answer. — I am Jonas. A man of GOD. The soldiers made the sign of the cross. — A preacher? — asked the captain. — Here, only those authorized by the Kingdom may preach. Jonas frowned. — What year… is this? The soldiers glanced at each other. — The year of Our Lord fifteen hundred — one of them answered firmly. — Lands recently reached by the Portuguese. Soon they will be colonies. Jonas froze. He had truly gone back in time. CHAPTER 3 – THE FIRST CULTURAL SHOCK The group took Jonas to the Portuguese camp, where leather and wooden tents mixed with improvised crosses and rudimentary altars. Priests, soldiers, and sailors moved about as if they were building the world itself. Jonas tried to explain that he wanted to preach love, kindness, and mercy. But his manner — and his “modern words” — aroused suspicion. — Your way of speaking is strange — commented Father Estevão. — And those clothes… I have never seen anything like them. At first, Jonas was tolerated as a lost and confused man. But whenever he tried to teach something, he was interrupted. One afternoon, Jonas read aloud a verse he knew by heart: — “Therefore, whatever you want others to do to you, do also to them…” The captain interrupted him: — This is dangerous. If you preach equality between natives and Christians, you put the established order at risk. — But we can all be children of GOD! — Jonas insisted. — Not all recognize the true GOD — the captain retorted. — And that gives us authority to guide them. Jonas realized then the magnitude of his mission. And the obstacles he would face. CHAPTER 4 – BETWEEN TWO CULTURES When he was taken to a nearby indigenous village, Jonas was struck by its beauty, organization, and customs. Circular huts, children running freely, vibrant body paintings. He tried to communicate, but the language barrier was real. The young woman Arani, curious and intelligent, approached him. — Are you the man who speaks with the sky? — she asked, mixing rudimentary Portuguese with words from her language. Jonas smiled. — I speak with GOD. But GOD speaks with everyone. Arani frowned. — Does HE speak our language? Jonas thought, moved. — HE speaks the language of the heart. From that moment on, Arani became his friend and cultural bridge. She taught him words, customs, symbols. Jonas, in turn, taught about compassion, respect, and faith — not imposing, but sharing. The Portuguese did not like this. Especially Captain Albuquerque, a rigid man, convinced of European superiority. — Do not trust them, preacher. They are savages. Jonas always replied: — Savages are those who wound without listening. But those words put him in danger. CHAPTER 5 – THE SOLDIER DUARTE Among the Portuguese, Jonas found an unexpected ally: Duarte, a young soldier who carried a heavy soul. — I don’t want to hurt the natives — he confessed one night. — But how can I refuse orders? Jonas spoke with him at length, night after night. He talked about conscience, moral courage, inner peace. Duarte began discreetly protecting him, warning him whenever he sensed hostility growing among the officers. — The captain does not like your influence — Duarte said. — He believes you are interfering with control over the natives. — Controlling was never preaching — Jonas replied. CHAPTER 6 – THE CONFLICT OF TWO FAITHS Tension increased when Jonas tried to prevent a severe punishment of a native accused of disobeying Portuguese orders. — There is no reason for this! — Jonas shouted at the captain. — Let me speak to him! — I have spoken. Your mercy is weakness — Albuquerque replied. — Mercy is human! — Jonas insisted. The captain pushed him. — Careful, preacher. Heresy can cost a life. Jonas then saw the cultural abyss separating his modern values from the harshness of the 16th century. One night, Arani told him: — You speak of love… but these men of the sea speak of force. Why are those like you different from you? Jonas felt his heart tighten. — Every time has its shadows. I come from one where we still struggle to overcome them. Arani touched his hand. — Then perhaps your GOD sent you here. Jonas did not know if it was true. But he began to believe there was a purpose. CHAPTER 7 – FAITH IN THE CROSSFIRE For months, Jonas walked between the two worlds. He helped the natives tend to wounds using basic modern hygiene knowledge. This drew attention — and suspicion — from the priests. — How do you know these cures without medicine? — Father Estevão asked. — Knowledge from where I come from — Jonas replied. — And where do you come from, after all? — they insisted. Jonas avoided the truth, fearing being labeled a wizard or heretic. But suspicion grew. One day, a soldier found metallic pieces of modern technology that Jonas kept in his pocket, remnants of the time machine. — What is this? — asked the captain. — Just scrap metal… — Jonas tried to disguise it. But the captain did not believe him. — This is not of this world. Who are you really? Jonas knew: his time there was reaching its limit. CHAPTER 8 – THE STORM AND THE MACHINE One day, a devastating storm fell upon the coast. Lightning struck the beach like swords of fire. Amid the chaos, Arani ran to Jonas. — Come quickly! Metal things from the sky fell near the water! Jonas ran. And there, on the wet sand, they found twisted pieces of the temporal cabin. A lightning strike had probably activated the dormant system, bringing fragments of the future back. Among them, the cabin door emitted a faint light. The panel blinked. Jonas knelt. The opportunity to return had arrived. Arani watched him with sad eyes. — Will you leave us? — I do not belong to this time… — Jonas replied. — But you will always be in my heart. Duarte appeared, breathless. — Go before the captain arrives. He wants to arrest you for witchcraft. Jonas embraced his soldier friend. — You have a good heart. Never let the world harden it. The sea roared. The wind lashed. The cabin door pulsed with energy. Jonas entered. — GOD… guide me back. A flash enveloped him. The world disappeared. CHAPTER 9 – THE RETURN AND THE LESSON OF THE CENTURIES Jonas woke up in the same abandoned laboratory. The fallen tarp, the intact silence — everything as before. But he was no longer the same. He staggered out of the building, breathing the air of 2027 in astonishment. The streets, the cars, the people… everything seemed simultaneously familiar and strange. After living among natives and soldiers of the 15th century, the present felt noisy, impatient… and lacking human connection. At church, no one believed the story he told. But Jonas did not mind. He knew what he had lived. He knew the value of every life he had touched. And he knew that faith, courage, and compassion were greater than time. From time to time, at night, Jonas looked at the sky and smiled. And he wondered: Did Arani and Duarte still tell stories about the “man who spoke with GOD and came from the future”? He hoped so. THE END Watch the short story here
Also watch the testimony about my daughter's cancer and how God made it disappear: Here

Praying for you and family.

With love in CHRIST,
Missionary Helper Freitas

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