Forbbiden Fruit

Chapter One: The Scale

There's a set in the balance of good and evil while there is purity, the wicked will tempt it.

Evil takes many forms. Drugs, gambling, money, drinking, knowledge, the list goes on. Pick your poison.

For others there's a bar called The Red Apple.

This is why I question the good and
evil.

When get to the bar there is always a elderly man that goes out every night on the corner of an abandoned church where the grass is high and looks dead, and vermin hide.

The church itself looks haunted. Old white cracked paint showing the ugly wood underneath, windows broken and graffiti almost all over.
He dresses up in a black suit with shinny black shoes and holds a Bible in one hand and a rosary in another and speaks a verse from the book and goes on about in his own words.

I have nothing against someone's belief, but religion in general scares me so much.
What people do for a book that's lost in translation is terrifying.
But, that's not why I find it ironic though.

The old man, he's blind. His eyes are pale blue like a corpse and he has an ugly scar on one side of his face that starts from the temple to the tip of his chin.
God took something from him, and he still stands by him.
What a cruel yet beautiful way to devotion.

No one knows why he does it. Some say he's a drunk or some religious goon trying to tell us he's high and mighty. Other's however, say he's seen the devil himself and made a deal with him. What could be so essential that you'd give your soul to the devil?

On the other side of the street is a liquor store where prostitutes do business.
The air fogged up with cigarette smoke and the smell of cheap perfume mix together.
Some of the ladies give the old man a hard time while the others go to him for a prayer.

I never will understand why they would go to him.
I don't understand why he bothers to pray.

It makes me think is there really just good and bad, or is there something deeper than that.

Anyway, I come down this way for a drink with my closest friends almost every night or after work, so none of this is new to me.
We're a couple of regulars.
Tonight we met up after a month without seeing each other.
A lot happens when you're busy.

When you are in front of the bar, there is a big glowing neon red colored apple sticking out from the corner of the building and a dark alley right next to it. It's so deep you can hardly make out what creeps in the dark.
Walking in the place looks untouched by the outside.
It's a comfortable atmosphere. Something like a shiny penny on the floor. It stands out.

The color of the inside is ruby red and a few chipped paint marks by the dartboard hanging on the wall. The tables and booths were like a polished of mixture milk and dark chocolate and polished. On the ground level there is a view of a window.

The drinks behind the counter brought more warmth to the room. The way the light shines on them they make the room look like it's covered in gems. There is always classy jazz music to fit the vibe.

As always I see the usual people here.
The old woman that sits just a few booths, behind ours, the two big business men that sit and talk at the open bar, some guys by the pool table and the owner of the place chopping it up with the others.