Imagine this: You’re on the early shift at the bar . . . you’re cleaning and setting tables, and preparing for the lunch rush. The front door swings open—and four men quickly stumble in as if taking refuge.

Taken aback, you study their faces. One is a kind-faced Asian man with a shaved head, another looks as ancient as the hills with shocking white hair and beard, and the other two, well, they look awfully familiar. If you were a betting person, you would put down money that they were Jesus, Moses, the Buddha and Mohammed . . . but then again, this is Sunset Strip, so it could just be reality TV.

Meet Crystal—a waitress who ends up in just this predicament. What seems like the beginning of an old joke turns into the conversation of a lifetime.

THE GIRL WITH THE DOVE TATTOO—a tale about religion, violence, peace, and identity. A new story by Brian D. McLaren.