I am riding an old-fashions train.
It is wartime.
I am a spy.

Soon after we pull out of the station
Bandits attack
They come in through the front
Of the first car
Near where I am hiding
Trying to be inconspicuous

They are oddly peaceful
They gather some trinkets and leave
They don’t seem to notice me

The train restarts
The train guards erect an elaborate
Barrier at the front entrance
Of our car

I am impressed
Until I start walking back through the train
And notice none of the other entrances
Are similarly barricaded

Then I realize
The whole thing was staged
False attack
Fake bandits
False sense of security

The guards must be in on it
Gain a little extra cash
But not so much it scares people off

---

Another guard appears
A mad doctor
He singles me out to harass

The other guards try to stop him
The leader points out how brave I was during the attack
Nothing helps

The doctor stands so close me
He almost bites my nose while yelling

The thing is
He doesn’t know I’m a spy
He just took a disliking to me

So I…
Am okay with the abuse

For if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God, this is to be commended.

1 Peter 2:19