Chapter 14: Fools(3)
2 weeks had passed, the two children found a house by the side of the road.
Seeing that their supplies were running out, the boy concluded that they had to search the house to survive.
The girl was hesitant to do so at first, she was scared that someone would be hiding in these houses and try to hurt them.
But the boy remained steadfast. If they wanted to reach the refuge city, they must first have supplies to reach that place.
"You hide somewhere, okay?"
"No! I'm scared."
"..." Looking at her tiny shivering form, he let out a mumble before grabbing her hand.
"Okay, but you must listen to what i say, okay?"
"Okay..."
The two sneaked past the open area and went to the backdoor. The boy looked around for a moment, the grabbed the doorknob and turned it.
Krk krk.
The doorknob was locked.
Seeing that, his eyes narrowed, then he turned to the windows.
The windows were glass panes and many bullet holes could be seen.
The boy stared at it, then grabbed a rock and threw it towards the window. The glass broke into millions of pieces and fell down the floor.
He carefully maneuvered his hands to not hurt himself and unlocked the window.
"Through here." He silently said to the girl and pushed the window frame up.
He climbed up and pushed the glass pieces carefully, before helping the girl climb up. The two landed on the floor and turned their heads to look at the room they were in.
Marble and tiles filled the entire room, a fridge and kitchenware everywhere.
It was the kitchen, how coincidental.
The boy swiftly went to the fridge and opened it.
The he searched through the whole thing, finding just the right amount for the two of them to survive for a few more days. With that, the boy turned to the girl and gestured for her to leave.
The girl nodded her head, and with the help of the boy, she went up to the window.
Just as she was about to jump, a nozzle of a gun was pointed at her. The girl froze in fear, before the boy immediately pulled her back in the house and ducked.
An explosion sounded out from within the house as screams of people gathered around the entire area.
The boy stared at the destruction, then to the girl in his arms that was shivering in fear.
"We should leave, now."
"Y-Yes!" The boy stood up.
Just as he was helping her stand, another explosion sounded out. The girl stiffened and her legs gave way. She fell to the floor on her knees as her face revealed a state of fear and disbelief.
"M-My legs… I can't feel my legs…" The boy stared at her, then scooped her up and gave her a piggyback, before rushing to the rooms of the house.
The man who held a gun to the little girl was stooped, "Children?" He muttered silently underneath his breath.
Then he turned to the man on the jeep.
"They are children, boss."
"Children?" The man asked, his eyes went wide.
He turned to the house and immediately issued an order to stop all attacks in the house.
He didn't expect that the two individuals that trespassed into their territory was kids. They should've been traumatized at what they had done. It was a miscalculation on his part.
He believed that the two who trespassed their territory were adults who might probably be spies from the enemy forces and he was afraid that they would send news that someone was amassing men to fight against them.
He couldn't have that yet; their territory was not prepared for war yet and they would only be massacred if they fought.
Even using bombs were very risky for them as it might alert the enemies of their location.
He made an exception today because he really wanted the two dead, even if they were innocent people.
He would rather kill innocents than to let his people die.
But if they were children, then everything changes. No matter how cruel and terrible the enemies are for invading their country, they were not so inhumane to use children against them.
"Find them! But don't hurt them!" He issued a command and the entire troops immediately went to work.
Meanwhile, back to the boy.
"Through here." A man gestured for them to follow as he opened a small trapdoor.
The boy stared at the man wearing a black robe. It was the priest.
The priest gave him a light smile, "We meet again, boy."
The boy only nodded his head and swiftly dragged the girl to the trap door.
When the two were inside the room, the priest immediately followed and closed the secret trapdoor.
The priest had black marks on his neck.
The priest sighed and clasped the cross on his necklace.
"Thank the lord."
The girl looked at the priest with a cautious gaze.
"I see you made a friend." The priest smiled at the boy.
The boy only nodded his head to respond.
The priest gave him a light smile, "You seem a bit brighter now than before."
"…."
"Well, that's good." The priest nodded his head, then he turned to the girl and gave her a gentle smile.
"Hello, little girl."
"H-hello." The girl muttered; a bit anxious.
The girl hid behind the boy and tried to stop herself from shaking.
The boy looked at her, then grabbed her hand and held it.
"She's in shock." The priest muttered. Then he remembered what the people outside did a few moments ago and let out a sigh.
"Violence will never truly solve the problem; it will only lessen it." He grumbled underneath his breath.
The priest went to the girl's side and held her tiny hands on his.
"Calm down." He first remarked, "Repeat after me."
"Lord in heaven... give us strength and courage to face this trial... You are the one and only God…..."
The girl stared at him with quickened breaths. She closed his eyes just like the priest and repeated after him.
"Lord in heaven…... Give us strength and courage... You are the one and only…."
Slowly, she calmed down.
The boy saw all that, and turned to the priest. "What did you do?"
The priest opened his eyes and turned to him, "I prayed."
"Prayed?"
"Yes, praying can do lots of things."
"Like what?"
"Well, praying can give you strength. It can calm you down."
The boy stared at the priest, thinking about his words. Then he remembered something from the past.
His mother had always prayed. Every night, she prayed without fail.
He really didn't know what she was praying for or why she was praying, but he just didn't care anymore.
Does prayer really do something?
If it does give one strength, then how could his mother not beat his father and could only be beaten by him each night?
If it doesn't do anything, then what is the point of doing so?
The boy couldn't help but ridicule.
The priest saw through his thoughts and let out a small smile.
"Praying does not mean you will gain strength. It not just that."
He then ruffled the boy's hair, "Praying gives us strength to move forward, to repent and reflect on ourselves. Each time we pray, it is an opportunity for growth."
He sat down in front of them as the two locked eyes for a moment before the two stared at the priest.
"Some will say that if you pray to God, and tell him your wishes, he would give it to you." He smiled, "But prayer does not work that way."
"Most of the times, what the Lord God wants to give you is infinitely better than what you prayed for. So, its best to thank the lord and ask him for strength and courage rather than riches."
"…"
"But why do people pray?" The girl raised her hand and asked.
"Why? Well haven't you already experienced it? What did you feel when you prayed?"
The girl gave it a thought for a moment. "Hmmmm..."
"I felt that everything was, okay?"
The priest smiled and gave her a pat on the head, to which she cautiously dodged in instinct.
"Prayer makes people feel strong, it gives them courage and peace. That is why people pray."
"Awhhh, I see." The girl muttered.
The boy stared at the priest, then with dark eyes, the boy asked the priest, "Then who is God?"
"…"
The priest was a little surprised at his question, but nonetheless, the priest answered.
"God is eternal, the one and the only, the Alpha and the Omega. He is our creator, the divine that loves us."
The boy stared at him, then he opened his mouth, "Then if God loves us, why would he allow us to suffer?"
"…"
"Why would he allow us to feel pain?"
"…"
"Why does he allow us to hurt others?"
"…"
"Why?"
The priest stared at him, then smiled.
"The Lord is loving, boy. He cares about you."
"But it seemed that he cared nothing about me because he let me suffer."
"…"
The priest looked at him, then looked up, staring at the ceiling. "Don't dwindle on the past, all the pain and suffering you experience today is only preparation for what you are destined to do in the future."
Then he smiled and patted his head, "Soon, when you're older. You'll understand what I mean."
"God would not just create you without a purpose, boy. Everyone has a purpose, its up to them to discover it."