He's kneeling down; facing upwards while his palms were clamped close. I think he's having a talk with his God. Maybe there are several thoughts running through his mind; I can sense it because his eyes say it all.
Kneeling down, fervently praying; that’s what he’s always doing. It’s been two weeks since I
started gazing at him, I can’t let him out of my sight.
I found the sparkles in his eyes that I’ve never seen before. Glowing, just like the twilight’s
unending beauty. What’s his name? What kind of person is he? Is he suitable for me? Maybe not, he’s a Christian while I worship Buddhas. It’s terribly wrong... I can’t understand why faith caused this kind of chaos.
Kneeling; fervently praying "Lord, I don’t think of any reason why you made me side with you.
Even my vocation is also testing me. My life is in danger once. But Lord, it’s been two weeks since you took me away from that kind of life. I accepted the chance at choice, I answered Your call. If this path is not for me, then I will gladly leave. It’s my personal decision to go with you, and that’s my definition of FOREVER”.
He’s facing the mirror, water rolling from his hair down to his body. He talked to himself, “Let’s do this”
He glanced at the cloth he’s going to wear. It’s perfectly ironed, it’s white and long; it’s a cloth that represents his duty.
Memories from the past started flashing in his mind. It’s been a year since he left his own country to live with his family. Here he did what he really wanted; his parents set him free but it cost him danger.
He’s always home late, he drinks, he bonded with bad influencers, and he always disappointed his parents until he came to his senses. It’s been ten years since he started being an altar server. There’s a thought that made him continue serving until he decided to leave his course and go inside the ministry.
He shrugged, he continued preparing himself. It’s day one; he went outside his room while
wearing his cassock paired with a crucifix pendant in his necklace. He went inside the church; faces are turned to him. Some of them are Filipinos but there are Singaporean servers also.
The priest who’s in-charged in the ministry introduced him to his brotherhood. “This is Silas Tiueco, he will be one of us from today onwards”. They all greeted him and wished him a good luck.
He just nodded; his heart is raising. He hasn’t served for a long time now. They started having the usual activities in the church. Of course, it’s more of prayer and service.
Later that afternoon, he found himself facing the altar. With sincerity he knelt, “It’s day one
Lord. I’m still clueless why I’m here. Lead me to where I belong. Please make this work for me; I can say that I’m relieved by serving. It’s not much a challenge but I know that I’ll receive a handful” he prayed in his mind.
When he stood up, he saw someone peeking at the church’s grills. He went outside and saw
nothing; he shrugged and went inside to do his duty.
“Bro. Silas, 3 o’clock prayer time. Shall we go?” said Carl – the youngest seminarian.
Silas followed him. That place is quieter than his environment before. Their leader introduced him to the place.
“Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says there is a time for everything. Just like here, there is a
time for leisure, rest, prayer, meditation, and more. Once again, on behalf of the whole
brotherhood; I am Bro. Xavier Tang, welcoming you to our ministry”.
“It feels better to be here” Silas answered. “I think the younger seminarians are fond of you. Do you like bonding with kids?” Xavier asked. Silas nodded, “My mind is at ease when I’m with them. Just a few hours after I left home, I already miss my siblings”
“These young seminarians are decisive. They just graduated from elementary” Xavier shared. “I thought I won’t make it. But here I am, constantly enjoying the new environment. Maybe I started late, but I hope that is not a factor for me to fail in this field” he said.
Xavier uttered, “That’s alright. Some seminarians started older than you but some of them eventually left the ministry because they realized that the world outside is more enjoyable for them”
Those words attracted Silas. He can still turn back, but why can’t he? “I never thought that I will end up studying here. I am a frustrated pilot, a college dropout, and
a disappointment,” said Silas.
“I don’t think that you are a disappointment. It’s just that maybe, you’re just in a wrong place” Xavier answered. Silas nodded, maybe he’s right or maybe he hasn’t found the place that is
appropriate for him.
“What rules do you strictly follow here?” Silas asked. Xavier immediately answered, “You can’t curse, you should join in prayer or in the liturgy, you can’t mess in serving, you should wear your cassock in a proper way, and you can’t talk back negatively. You know what I mean, have manners, respect, and discipline yourself”
Silas’ eyebrows raised, “Can you enter a relationship?” he asked. “Oh no. That’s the number one rule. You can’t date anyone because you chose this vocation; you chose to serve and not to be in a married life. That’s a common misconception here in the ministry. If you want to be in a relationship, then have one with God. After all, relationships aren’t for intimacy or romantic purposes only, right?” Xavier explained.
“I once had a lot of girlfriends. I curse a lot, I pull pranks, I’m lazy, and I don’t pray much” he said. “That’s okay. Some of our brothers were inmates before. They had a change in faith; you can do it too. You’ll realize a lot of things while having this journey” Xavier uttered.
Two weeks later, the two got close with each other. They shared good companion. “By the way, how did you realize that you want to take this path?” Silas asked.
“Hmm… honestly, I don’t know. It’s not required for you to know the reason because you can’t think of it. You’ll just find yourself dedicated and devoted. It’s not a dream but for some reason, my heart chose this path. I thought I wasn’t thinking straight; I’m just a loner that came from a non-religious family” he answered.
“I think I felt the same when someone referred to me this kind of way” Silas asked. Xavier glanced at the wall clock. “It’s time to clean up now. I’ll water the plants and you’re in-charged to clean the seats inside” he said.
Silas stood up and went inside. While wiping the seats and changing the bible’s page for the next mass, he saw again something from the church’s grills.
He started seeing it since day one and he never missed to lose the person spying at him. After all, he is a spy in their camp. He went outside without anyone noticing. He saw someone standing at the right side of the
church. She’s still peeking as if she’s loving the view.
Silas walked near her while holding his necklace that keeps making small noises. He who’s a bully, shocked the girl who’s peeking at the church’s grills.“What are you interested about, Miss?” he asked when he caught the girl’s attention. The girl turned around and looked at him. Her eyes widened when she saw Silas in a near view.
“Uhm… are you serving inside?” she asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” he answered. The girl looked at him from head to toe. “Done scanning?” he asked that made the girl stop glancing at him. Silas knelt down and picked up the books dropped by the girl. One thing caught his attention – the book that says ‘Understanding the Buddhist Religion’
“Your looks spoke for yourself” he handed the books. “You’re a Buddhist. What are you doing in a Christian area?” he asked. She looked away, “I think you’re new here. I’ve never seen you before” she replied.
“I’m new here. But your action can be seen inside the church. I’ve been watching you peeking since day one. Maybe you’ve memorized my schedule now” Silas uttered making the girl blush. She is still looking away while hugging her books. Silas smiled and offered his hand.
The cross pendant was seen by her. “Hi I’m Silas Israel Tiueco, nineteen. How about you?” he asked.
She held Silas’ hand. It’s soft and it formulated butterflies in her stomach, “I’m Stella Zhou. Eighteen, Singaporean – Filo” she answered with a smile on her face.
DISCLAIMER
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, events and incidents are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The author does not mean harm or deliver any insult to any religious group in this story. The scenes in this story are pure fictional and are written for the dramatic purposes, they do not in whatsoever way stand as a proof for historical events.
Copyright ©2022 by @elseworthy
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