Maybe I should have just told him the truth. Instead, as I hesitated, I launched into a farcical imaginary dialogue. Alwadi, this is a Japanese god. Yes, this stone that I’m holding. Surely you believe in such things as stone gods. It’s called the Sword of Heaven and supposedly a piece of an ancient sword is embedded inside. A broken sword. But don’t get me wrong. It may be broken but it’s powerful. How powerful? You should have seen what happened in Florida! Anyway, I’ll place it in the water—right here between the islands, the islands your people call the dagger and the heart.
Do you get the symbolism? Dagger and heart? You do? Oh, good.
But there’s more. This will bring peace to your land. It will end war. Maybe it will even rid you of your dictator Marcos. You’d like that, right?

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