THE GATEKEEPER

In Rivera’s philosophical novel, an eternal gatekeeper must confront a tormented soul who unravels his own buried history.

A man named Firone Monse arrives at eternity’s threshold in a state of pure fury, unleashing a relentless cry—“Call Him, call Him, call Him!”—a metallic and violent sound that spreads like “vehement ice-colored stripe[s]” across the void. Peter, the gatekeeper who has watched these doors for centuries, immediately senses that this arrival is unlike any he has ever faced. Firone’s presence floods the space with “dense…pestilential…vicious” images that crash into one another as Peter attempts to read his life. The story moves between Firone’s earthly history and Peter’s own buried memories. Firone’s life is characterized by cruelty, power, and an all-consuming love for a woman named Almanza Randall. His relationship with her brings both tenderness and escalating violence, and Rivera vividly captures the contradictions of their bond. Firone’s desperate presence forces Peter to relive episodes he has spent eternity trying to erase, including his time as a fisherman: “His fishing net… broken too many times. His feet that remained always dirty.” Rivera reframes the biblical Peter not as a serene apostle but as a man who carried insecurity, jealousy, and guilt into the afterlife. As the confrontation deepens, Firone’s shouts do more than disrupt the peace—they destabilize the laws of the afterlife itself, forcing Peter to question why he is expected to judge humanity when he is still tormented by his own betrayals. Rivera uses this tension to ask larger questions: Why must someone who “betrayed himself three times” act as guardian of eternity? Is forgiveness possible without understanding? And why does suffering sit at the core of divine purpose? The writing is intense, metaphor-rich, and often philosophical, but the emotional center remains clear: a confrontation between a soul consumed by violence and a gatekeeper who has never recovered from his own.

A raw, imaginative, and unsettling exploration of guilt, judgment, and the human longing for redemption.