Chapter 4
The blinding golden light faded back into the cool twilight of the city street, leaving behind a profound and ringing silence among the gathering crowd. The pedestrians who had moments ago rushed past Arthur now stood frozen in a tight semi-circle, their eyes darting between the old man, the worker in the gray apron, and the heavy leather duffel bag resting on the concrete. No one dared to reach out; the sheer impossibility of what they had just witnessed commanded a deep, instinctive reverence.
Arthur slowly exhaled, his hands trembling as he rested them on top of the leather bag. The canvas and leather felt unnaturally real beneath his calloused palms, coarse and heavy with potential. He looked up at the spot where the glowing figure had stood, but the pavement was empty, save for the lingering warmth in the air and the faint scent of rain. The kind worker stood a few feet away, his mouth slightly open, his gray apron fluttering in the light breeze as he tried to process the boundary between ordinary reality and the divine.
From inside the donut shop, the cashier pressed his face against the glass door, his expression a mix of shock, envy, and deep regret. He had denied a simple plain donut to a hungry man, only to watch that same man receive an infinite blessing from the heavens. The contrast was a bitter pill to swallow, and the cashier slowly stepped back into the shadows of the counter, unable to meet the eyes of the people outside.
Arthur turned his attention back to the present moment. He knew instinctively that this money was not meant to be hoarded or squandered on transient comforts. It was a burden, a test of character, and perhaps a bridge back to a life he had lost long ago. He looked at the kind worker, who was now slowly stepping forward, his hands raised in a gesture of cautious wonder.
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"Is this... is this real?" the worker whispered, his voice trembling slightly as he stared down at the zipper of the duffel bag.
Arthur gave a slow, solemn nod. "It is real," he replied, his voice carrying a newfound resonance. "And it belongs to a much larger story than any of us know." With great effort, Arthur hoisted the heavy bag onto his shoulder, the strain visible in his tense muscles, and stood up from the ledge, clutching his box of donuts in his other hand.
