Mick sits down on the opposite end of the bed. Dominique’s skin tingles. She is unsure if she is excited or frightened, or perhaps both. She shifts her weight, uncrossing her legs, the pen held nonchalantly in her hand. He’s close enough to strangle me, but if we were in a bar, I’d probably be flirting …

“Dominique, it’s very important, very very important that we trust each other. I need your help, and you need mine, you just don’t know it yet. On the soul of my mother I swear I’ll never lie to you, but you have to promise to listen with an open mind.”

“All right, I’ll listen objectively. But the question still stands. Do you believe mankind will end on December 21?”

Mick leans forward, elbows on knees. He stares at the floor, pinching the bridge of his nose between both index fingers. “I assume you’re Catholic?”

“I was born Catholic, but raised in a Jewish household since I was thirteen. What about you?”

“My own mother was Jewish, my father, Episcopalian. Do you consider yourself a religious person?”

“Not really.”

“Do you believe in God?”

“Yes.”

“Do you believe in evil?”

“Evil?” The question startles her. “That’s a bit broad. Can you clarify that for me?”

“I’m not talking about men committing heinous acts of murder. I’m referring to evil as an entity unto itself, part of the very fabric of existence.” Mick looks up, his eyes focusing on her. “For instance, Judeo-Christian belief is that evil first personified itself by entering the Garden of Eden disguised as a serpent, tempting Eve to bite the apple.”

“As a psychiatrist, I don’t believe any of us are born evil, or good, for that matter. I believe we have the capacity for both. Free will allows us to choose.”

“And what if … what if something was influencing your free will without you knowing it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Some people believe there’s a malevolent force out there, part of Nature. An intelligence unto itself that has existed on this planet throughout man’s history.”

“You lost me. What does any of this have to do with the doomsday prophesy?”

“As a rational person, you ask me if I believe humanity is about to end. As a rational person, I ask you to explain to me why every successful ancient civilization predicted the end of humanity. As a rational person, I ask you to tell me why every major religion foretells of an apocalypse and waits for a Messiah to return to rid our world of evil.”

“I can’t answer that. Like most people, I just don’t know.”