Confession of Sins

"Run faster !! Go !!" The exclamation roars into my ears, forcing my feet to swing faster.

"FASTER !!" the same voice barks at me in the same time with the heat that worms on my butt out of stick hit. I'm trying ! I really am trying !! I shout inwardly.

A small boy is running beside me. "Come, chase me !" he says then winks at me before streaking to leave me.

"Don't be a snail !!"

My small feet immediately fasten their steps, not to chase the boy but to avoid another stick hits. The pain of the stick hit is replaced by the hurt of tree's twigs scrapes on my face. One of them even nearly pokes my eye if only I was late to close it. But my decision of closing my eyes is not a smart move neither. I couldn't see root of tree that stretches before me so my leg stubs on it.

My body is shaking and falling. When I open my eyes, ground is only few inches from my nose. I prepare my self to accept the hard bump on my face...

Tit-tit-tit-tit

My watch alarm forces me to wake with a snort. My eyes immediately open widely. My heart is still beating hard because of the dream I had. The same dream that I usually have almost every night.

In every dream, I was a little boy in a kind of military training camp in the forest. I'm not sure whether it is really a training camp. What I know for sure that in my dream someone always shouts at me while I try hard to run, crawl, frog jump, or things like that.

Tit-tit-tit-tit

My alarm is never tired to ask for my attention. "Yeah.. yeah.. I'm awake," I grumble, turning it off. My other hand uncovers the blanket from my body. I have to flush my sleepyhead with cold water and go to see someone.

After putting my helm on the steering, I walk through a wooden door that has a doom-shaped doorway. The room inside the door is very quiet, even the squeaking voice of my shoes becomes so loud.

An old lady who came right before me turns to me and gives me a dislike look. I nod my head to ask for her forgiveness. Still looking at me, the lady dips four of her fingers into a bowl hanging on the sidewall of the door then touches them to her forehead, chest, and both of her shoulders.

Because she still stares at me, I decide to imitate what she just did. Fortunately, after that, the lady just looks away and limps to a narrow alley that is a gap between two long benches, toward the most front row.

I step my feet to the most back row. With a little bow to give my respect to the big cross in front, I go inside the row and kneel down on a cushion. I fold my hands in a prayer position then touch my fist to my forehead. In this position, I can clearly scan the situation of the entire high-ceiling room.

Besides me and the old lady, there are only three persons in the room. Two persons are praying, the other one is busy with the altar. I glance at two doors in the middle of the left wall of the church. One of the doors is closed, while the other is open.

Dong.. dong.. dong.. 12 PM sharp. A man comes from the closed door with a listless face. The priest's job is finished, waiting for two hours inside the small chamber behind the door, in case there is someone who wants to confess their sin. Based on his face, it looks like today he doesn't have any 'patient'. The priest is in a hurry going out of the church from the sideway door, after—not to forget—making a cross sign with holy water.

Once the priest is off from my sight, I step out of the bench, again a bit bowing to the cross, then go to the door where the priest came from. I open the door slowly then enter it. Turns out it is smaller than I thought. The lighting only depends on a light bulb that is reluctant to work. There is only a chair that is taking all the space.

I sit on the chair, facing a robe that hangs on the door. On my right, there is a small window that is covered by a tiny wooden slide door. I slide the door until the window is opened a little bit. The window is a connection between this small chamber with the other small chamber. The window is covered by a mosquito net right until a centimeter below. The next chamber has more light than the one I sit in.

I glance at my watch. 12:06. The door of the next chamber is opened.

"You're late, Mr. Edison," I scold with a low tone once the man kneels in front of the small window.

"Sorry," he says, a little uncomfortable, then hands me a big envelope through the gap under the window. "That's half of our deal and the information you asked," Marcus Edison explains.

I only nod then receive the envelope.

"Two weeks, right ?" he asks me to make sure.

"Right, Sir. Two weeks from now," I confirm.

Marcus Edison sighs in relief. "That's good," he says. He then stands up and prepares to leave.

"Mr. Edison," I call him.

He turns to me. "Yes ?"

"Remember our deal," I say to him. I don't think I need to tell him the deal I was talking about.

Marcus Edison nods. "Of course," he says with a shrinking voice. "I'm.. I'm leaving," he says goodbye nervously. Having no response from me, he immediately opens the door and goes out.

I wait for another three minutes, to make sure Marcus Edison is leaving the church. Only then I stand up, intending to leave. But suddenly the door of the other chamber is opened.

Instead of leaving, I decide to sit back again. I can hear someone kneeling. A second later, the face of a woman fills the window. Reluctantly, I raise my hand to make a cross in the air.

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sins," her voice is filled with sadness and pent-up anger at the same time.

"Continue," I say shortly.

The woman sighs loudly. "Father, I.. actually I don't know if this is a sin, but I hate my father. I really hate him that I want to kill him," she says. A strange accent was shown in between her words. Then you come to the right person, I say inwardly.

"Why do you want to kill him ?" I ask her, unconsciously throwing the standard question to my new client.

"Because he .. he .." silence. The woman sighs then shakes her head a few times. "No, I can't. This is wrong," she says that I'm sure directed at herself. My eyebrows go together. Interesting woman.

"I'm sorry, Father. Can you just give me penitence ?" she requests. As I expected, she is discouraged. She must think herself is betraying her father right now. "Father ?" she calls once again impatiently.

"Pray ten times of Our Father. But instead of saying 'forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors', change it into 'forgive me my debts as I forgive myself'," I say then.

Her eyes stare at me as if going to protest. But then her eyes go wistful again as she lowers her head. "Bless me, Father," she says in tiredness.

For the second time, I move my hand, cutting the air in a vertical and horizontal way. After receiving my blessing, the woman stands and leaves.

I lean my back against the chair. I admit, I made a mistake. My penitence was spontaneous. Praying Our Father ten times will require two to three minutes. Then, based on the woman's attitude, she probably will add other prayers. I'll be locked here, I scold myself.

My watch is telling me it is 12:20. This is not good. The longer I am here, the more trouble I may have. There is a possibility of more people coming for confession. And, the priest could just come back anytime and catch me. I glance at the robe in front of me.

I open the door slowly. The silence of the church ambushes me right away. The old lady is still in her place. A woman kneels on a bench near the chamber. Her head is deeply bowed while her lips mumble in silence. She must be that woman.I turn my head to the altar. The man who cleaned the altar is not there anymore.

I walk as quietly as possible to the side front door. After making a cross sign, I let myself out of the church.

QUICK QUIZ:

Do you think Scott's dream has any meaning? What is it? Please leave your answer in a comment below ^_~