“I’m okay, Mrs. Taylor. I just came here…Well, to be honest I’m not sure why I came here. I guess, I was in a mad rage, and I wanted God, to know just how pissed I was at him.”
Her head drops a little, and I expect her to scold me for my disrespectful comment. But when she looks at me again, her expression is quizzical.
“You were pissed at him? Does that mean you have reconciled your feelings?”
“As good as can be reconciled tonight, but I do believe he has shown me my path.”
She smiles slightly.
“That’s wonderful Fin. What are you going to do?”
“Leave…I’m going to take the early exit exam from school and sign up for military service.”
Her smile dissolves instantly and is replaced by a panicked expression.
“Fin, I don’t think that’s a good idea. You know better than most kids your age, the President, is not a good person. Who knows how you will be treated? Not to mention, our country could end up at war if the, United Nations, goes against the wishes of, President Liu. She will not let Agrisin fail. Our countries economy would be too vulnerable if it did.”
“I understand your concern Mrs. Taylor. After spending most of my life trying to avoid Lui’s, pseudo orphanages, it seems counterintuitive to volunteer to be in her army. I can’t explain how, but I know I am supposed to do this. I’ll never be some loyalist to Lui. She does not fool me with her talk of patriotism and prosperity. I know what she is about, but she offers something I need.”
“What could you possible need from her Fin?”
“Training… Mrs. Taylor, the world is about to fall apart at the seams. I know there are people out there that I am meant to help. I need training to do that, and if I go into the military, they will pay me to train.”
Mrs. Taylor pulls me into a hug and nearly squeezes the life out of me. I can feel her warm tears soaking through my black t-shirt. Her words are slightly muffled, but I can still hear them.
“You be careful Fin. You can always come back if things don’t work out. You know we all love you, and we wish we could have done more to help you over the years.”
“I know. It is no one’s fault but his.”
She looks up at me with tear filled eyes that are engulfed with sadness so deeply, that I can’t bear to look her in the face. So, I look up to the stained-glass window behind her. I am struck numb for a second, as I see the depiction of a great warrior angel pinning a demon down with his sword. My heart starts beating wildly. I recognize the angel in the stained glass. The window is beautiful, but only a pale comparison to the real thing. Still, I can’t stop staring at it. I look at sword he is holding, and my chest is filled with a burning ache. My fists clench at my sides. Suddenly, my mind is filled with the image of the woman in the forest again. I can feel her fear as she runs. I can’t see her face or who is after her, but I know I have to help her.
“Fin, are you alright? Your face has gone pale.”
I look back down to find Mrs. Taylor looking at me perplexed.
“I’m fine, but I better get going. Now that I know what I am supposed to do, I have this overwhelming sense of urgency to get started.”
“Wait just one-minute Fin. I have something for you.”
She runs to her office and is back in less than two minutes. First, she hands me a small wad of cash, and then she hands me a picture. I look at the cash, and I am about to refuse it. Then my eyes land on the picture, and I stagger back a step in shock. It is a picture of my dad and mom holding me when I was a baby. I have only seen one photo of my mom. My dad kept it hidden in his closet. One day he caught me looking at it and crying, and he flew into a rage. He snatched it and set it on fire in front of me. He said I didn’t have the right to cry over her, that it was my fault she was gone.
I don’t know what to make of this picture. My dad looks so clean cut and normal. He looks happy, they both do. We look like the perfect family. I look up at Mrs. Taylor in need of an explanation, and she readily gives it.
“Your dad…He wasn’t always what he is now. They used to come to this church. Your father, Joel, was so in love with your mom. It was like he lived and breathed just to see her each day. Your mom, Olivia, was exactly the same way about you. From the second she found out she was pregnant; she was in love. She told me before you were born that she could already feel how special you were. She said that you were going change the world.”
I watch as Mrs. Taylor takes a deep steadying breath before continuing.
“Olivia found out she had cancer in her first trimester, but she hid it from your father. He found out during her third trimester and begged her to start treatment. Your mother was so fierce
