Chapter 4 : Happenings

"I expected so," said I almost spontaneously, as if my tongue were on its own accord. The pastor looked at me his brows wrinkled as he fixated his eyes on me.

He closed his eyes as he took a sigh and uttered his last prayers for his father's peaceful aboard before he said, "Well then," he began. "I shall see of father's last rites, Rose, take the two the church, and wait, I've got some catching up to do."

Rosalia nodded. We followed her back into her car as the doctor walked up to the pastor. "It's sinister." Said Rosalia.

"What is, Rose?" asked Nat, almost in tears, "I can't take all of this, please tell me."

"What I believe is that there is something not right with Justin," she began. "For some reason, it feels as if God has abandoned him."

"Oh for fuck's sake!" I said, instantaneously enraged. "Please say something that makes sense!"

"No description of color can aid a blind man in anyway, Justin."

"Just stop it!" I began. "I have absolutely no problem if you want to mess with my mind and play around with yours cryptic riddles all day, but now you're making Nat cry! And that's one the one thing that's pissing me off!"

"It's okay, honey." Said Nat as she gently held my hand. "I'm fine as long as you are, and besides do you have any other explanation to all the trouble that's been going on lately?"

"What do mean by  'other'?" Asked I as we got into the car. "We have no explanation at hand now."

"We do." Rose barged in. "You just refuse to accept it!" Her voice getting more stern with each passing moment.

"What does the doctor say to you?Some sleeping issue, mental problems?" She began. "NONSENSE! I call it IGNORANCE"

"Ignorance? Leaving your entire existence up to the actions of an entity, who might not even exist? Praying instead of actually working to make a difference and make the world a better place? And you call progressive studies ignorance!?" I growled.

"You're progressive study and logic, which, in fact is just hellish temptation is what doomed Eve in the Eden and all of humanity with it!"

"Oh! There you go again." I began. "Ever heard of Darwin?"

"No mortal can match His choices, no soul in existence can unravel His miracles. Those people you speak fondly of are merely the misguided pawns, who have brought misfortune and confusion to all of us by questioning God!" She replied.

"Do you still want to go at it?" Asked I. "A man lost his precious last moments, which he could have spent with his dear ones instead, just for the sake of this superstitious shit!"

"Hold your tongue, young man." She growled as she slammed on to the breaks as I noticed that we had arrived. "You shall wait with me for the pastor! Least heed the warning of the man who left!"

I turned my face away in an irrational disgust that I had suddenly developed to even the mention of God and religion, it was as if there was someone, no, something, whispering to my subconscious, feeding it with the so called 'blasphemy'. An unusual anger surged through me as if commanding my body, my very self to voluntarily erase from existence any trace of faith from where I stood.

Rosalia commanded us to get off and follow her, slamming the door hard as she left. I could hear soft whimpering as I got off, only turning around to find that it was Natalia.

I looked down on the ground in shame. Amidst my irrational wrath against religion and all the weird happenings of the day, I had forgot about the one who was dealing through this mess single handed, carrying me through this strange unison of death and disease.

I caught hold of her just as she was about to start sobbing. She looked up at me for a split second, as a sneaky tear ran down her cheek.

"Why do you do this to me?" she said softly, still whimpering, gasping for air as she did.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," I gently whispered into her ear as I got back in the car, grasping her within my arms. "I'm sorry."

She started sobbing frantically as she clenched me in  a deadlock, holding me as tight as life itself, as I felt all my irrationality drain away. The storm slowly faded as Natalia finally looked me in the eye, calm at last. She quickly placed her left hand on my cheek, gently caressing my face as she leaned in, yes closed.

I followed. Holding her right hand with mine and supporting her waist with the other as she leaned on to me. I hit the door behind me as she yet again closed in. Moments later, she retreated only to fall right back into my arms, her head resting on my chest.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too, sweetie." Said I as I gently kissed her forehead.

I felt the gradual discharge of the destructive negativity that I had been accumulating, with each moment that Natalia stayed in my arms. The surge of her love that I felt running through me helped me calm down, as I noticed Rose walk back to us from the church.

"Are you going to..." She began.

"Just a second Rose," said I. "We'll be right there."

She smiled. Just then her eyes narrowed as she gazed into the far distance behind us. She placed her hand on her forehead, partially covering her face as if nauseating. She grabbed on to the open door in front of us as she said, "Go in. Now!"

"What's wrong...?" Nat began.

"Just go!" Said she.

The both of us rushed out as she slowly limped towards the church's main hall. Natalia turned around to go help her in, only to be greeted by a stern open palm ordering us to rush inside. We followed. She came in soon after, breathing heavily.

"What's the matter, Rose?" Asked Nat.

"No time.Listen! I'm fine. Do not go out of this hall under any circumstances, not even if Charlie asks you to!" Said she as she collapsed unconscious.

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