Chapter 28: Chapter 26: At the church

There are many traders outside the church’s front garden selling what looks like offerings to the gods.

Some sell flowers while others have assortments of foods and others tiny figures of the gods.

Next to them is a line of beggars. Their existence looks like it is mostly ignored.

We head towards the front gate of the church, where two guards stand.

“Business?” one guard asks in a gruff voice.

“Awakening of this fellow,” Ralph answers while patting my shoulder.

The guard looks at me than Ralph and says, “It ain’t free, kid.”

In answer to his response, Ralph shakes the pouch on his belt, which creates a sound of coins shaking.

“Good, go on in.” the guard moves out of the way to let us through the open gates of the church building.

Inside is huge from my tiny body. It looks as if the ceiling reaches the sky.

We are in an enormous hall that looks to be at least the size of two football fields.

People around us head toward the sides of the hall where there are gigantic statues of the gods sitting upon their thrones.

The easiest to recognise is the stone statue of Zeus with a lightning bolt in hand and another hand grasping the chair he sits on.

Ready to strike in mere seconds if it takes his fancy. The biggest and the one furthest at the back.

People lay flowers and fruits on the statue’s feet.

There are benches in the middle of the vast hall with some people sitting on them.

Ralph looks around, still holding my arm.

It seems he found who he was looking for. We headed towards a man in a white robe.

“Excuse me, can you please guide us to where awakening is held?” Ralph asks the man.

The bald man in a white robe looks at us, annoyed.

He looks at us up and down before answering, “The awakening isn’t free. Now tell me, who let you brats in?”

Ralph is angry at the man in the robe tone. Ralph answers, “We have money.” as he shakes the pouch on his belt.

“Oh, is that so? I must apologise.’’ The man’s attitude took a complete U-turn.

“It’ll be 2 gold coins.” the man in the white robe says

Ralph takes out 2 gold coins from the pouch and was about to give them to the man when suddenly, out of the blue, another man comes.

“Priest Silus, you won’t be taking advantage of these kids, would you?” The new man says as he stands between us and the first man.

“I would never. These fine fellows were just giving money towards the church”

The new man turns and looks at us. “Kids, how much was he charging you for awakening?”

“2 gold.” Ralph answers.

“How do you answer to that?”

The first priest, annoyed, looks at us and the new priest and walks away with a hmph.

The new priest, an old man with grey short hair and eyes which hold kindness as he looks at us, I can feel the warmth emanating from him.

“Apologise for that lads, he gets passionate about collecting money for the church.”

I and Ralph could only nod at such a horrible excuse.

“Since you want an awakening, I’ll be happy to guide you. Oh, I haven’t even introduced myself. I am priest Sian.”

We both nod.

“So the fee for the awakening is 1 gold coin, and are you the fellow who will do it?” He asks me and I just nod.

“Do you know your birthday as the awakening doesn’t happen if you haven’t passed the 6 years of age and the money will be nonrefundable.”

Ralph looks at me.

“Perhaps it’ll be better to come next year as awakening can happen anytime after 6 and you won’t lose any money.” The priest continues.

I guess this is for people who don’t remember their birthdays.

“No, it is my birthday today,” I say to Ralph and the priest.

“Good, it’ll be a gold coin.” Priest Sian says with a smile.

Ralph takes out 1 gold coin and hands it to the priest.

“Well, you can take a seat in the prayer hall. I’ll take this fellow for awakening.”

“But..” Ralph tries to protest.

“Don’t worry, he will be safe. I will bring him back to you.” the priest puts his hand on Ralph’s shoulder as he says it.

“Let’s go, little fellow.” We turn from Ralph and I follow the priest.

I turn to see Ralph sitting down on a wooden bench placed on the floor in the middle of the hall.

“That is a nice flower you have,” He says as we walk through the massive hall.

I don’t respond.

We enter a corridor and turn to reach a room.

It is a small room with wooden benches placed along all four walls. They have left the area in the middle of the room empty.

There is a closed-door at the other side of the room where a couple of priests stand. There is also a desk and chair where they stand.

There are other kids my age standing around nervously and others sit on the benches.

All of them alone.

“You can stay here for the time being as the awakening will begin at noon, when they call to line up be sure to do that. When they ask for your name, be sure to give your real one.”

Real name?!

Do I have to say, Lionheart?!

I’ll be doomed.

“You can’t lie here. I’ll be by that door with the other priests. You will get instructions about the awakening later,” he taps my shoulder before walking towards the other priests waiting outside the closed door.

I look around, trying to figure out what I’ll do.

Shit, shit, shit.

Fuck.

I see kids here and there but don’t register them as I am in my own turmoil.

While I try to figure a way out, I hear a cry.

A cry of a little girl.

It snaps me out of it.

I look to see a tiny figure in the room's corner furthest from the closed door.

Everyone is ignoring her.

I found myself walking towards the crying figure.

It’s a little girl, her back turned towards me.

She sits on the bench with her knees up and her hands covering her head.

I look towards the priests who seem to chat among themselves except for one.

The one who brought me priest Sian.

He walked half the room’s length towards me and now stands with a smile on his face.

I wait.

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It seems he doesn’t plan to come any further as he gestures with his hand to go on.

I look towards the crying girl.

She wears a little white dress. Black pigtails poke out of either side of the head.

I put my hand on her shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

She stops crying for a second before looking at me, baby blue eyes looking back at me and a cute chubby face.

Suddenly she jumps at me.

Her strength is higher than mine as I stumble backwards, but she pulls me into a hug.

She holds onto me and starts crying again.

I don’t know what to do.

What would mother do?

I put my hand on her head and start stroking and put the other hand on her back.

As she won’t let me go and my strength is not enough.

I make the hug tighter.

She stops and looks at me.

I want to squeeze her cheeks because she looks so cute.

As she looks at me, her eyes are swollen from the crying and her snot leaking from her nose, along with drool around her mouth.

I give her the best smile I could.

She pulls me closer and buries her face in my chest and starts sobbing and, like that, several minutes pass by.

Her sobbing has stopped, and she just stays hugging.

I enjoy the feeling, but I must ask her why she is crying.

“I am sorry.” Her little voice.

“It’s okay. Are you feeling better now?” I ask.

“Yes, thank you,” she answers, still in my embrace.

I pull her out of the embrace and look at her face.

The eyes are still swollen. I wipe the remnants of tears from her face.

She uses her dress sleeve to wipe her nose. “I am sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. Can you tell me why you were crying?”

She looks away from me. I see the tears glistening in her eyes again.

I pull her into a tight hug. “You don’t have to say it if you do not want to.”

“Thank you,” she says with her tiny voice.

“We can stay like this for however long you want.”

“They said nobody will want me.”

“Who said that?” I ask

“The other kids, they said if I do not have a strong power, nobody will want me. I would have to be in the church forever.”

“How can they not want you? You are so cute”

“Huh?!” She pushes me out of the embrace.

“You think I am cute?” she asks with a slight tilt to her head.

“Cute,” I whisper.

Her face is red now.

“Well, sure, I think you are cute,” I say and ruffle up her hair.

“Hey don’t mess up my hair.”

“Sorry, you are just so cute.”

Her face red again, she turns away from me, trying to hide her face.

“So cute,” I say, trying to see her face.

“Stop saying that!” She hits me in the stomach.

Oh, she is strong. I bend over, holding my stomach.

“I am sorry.” She says.

“It’s my fault. Let’s sit down.” I say.

We sit on the bench side by side.

“Does it hurt?” she asks.

“No, I am strong.” I lie.

“So, do you live in the church?” I ask her.

“Yes, I live in the church with the other kids and the priests look after us.”

“What about your parents?”

“I don’t have any.”

“I am sorry.”

“It’s okay, I am used to it.”

“So you don’t like it there?”

“Yes, the other kids are always playing pranks on me.”

“Did you tell the priests?”

“Yes, they don’t believe me because I am one and they are many.”

“You could just hit one of them, perhaps the leader, just like how you hit me.”

“They would just laugh, as I am not strong. I couldn’t even hurt you.”

“Oh, you are strong. I am just stronger for my age. If they come at you again, just hit one.”

“But I will get in trouble.”

“Don’t you already get blamed for what they do? This way, they will know not to come after you again.”

“Okay, I’ll try that.”

I see her keep taking glances at the flower on my shirt.

“Do you like it?”

“It is pretty.”

I take it off my shirt and put it in her hair.

“But.”

“It looks prettier on you.”

Her face red again and she says in a tiny voice, “Thank you.”

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