The first time Vlad heard God speak, he was staring at a puddle while sitting on a bench in Brooklyn Bridge Park. He was not sure if he was hearing God, who spoke in Vlad’s native tongue, or if the words were being delivered directly into his brain. The fact that the puddle rippled every time he heard God seemed to indicate that it was actual, audible speech, but it could also have just been the coincidence of frequent gusts in a breezy place.