Which church do you belong to?

Oliver walked into the crowded room and anxiously look around for a seat. He took in the smell of colognes and perfumes mixed throughout the room as the music proclaiming individualistic messages of hope drifted into his ears. He looked towards the outstretched hands and saw the cries for hope. He felt he should be accepted here and yet, he never could. He finally drifted into the back row and as he took his seat he was given a glare as those around him took in his smell. They sang about how they were accepted and now they accept, but he did not feel accepted. He looked down at his mixed matched, rugged clothing that he found lying around the street. He realized he looked like what people here would call a bum from the streets who needs to get a job. Oliver reflected on his week and the four jobs he had worked and how when pay day came he felt he had been cheated of his wages. He did not get what he agreed to work for, but they could do that; because who would believe him?

As the words were sung all around him, Oliver found he could not sing them. He wanted to believe them. He was told he had to believe them, but he could not believe it. These people did not accept him. These people sang these individualistic songs one day a week and then neglected him during the rest of the week. They would not live out these songs. They were not real, but were completely fake. They’d shake his hand every week and immediately apply hand sanitizer as if he did not realize what they were doing. Today he could not handle it. Today he lost his cool. Oliver sulked back out of the room filled with inauthentic light and returned to the streets feeling more alone than ever. He left a room with the most people he has ever been with where he felt more alone than when it was just him.

With a look of dismay Oliver fumbled down the street. He noticed a deranged looking cat prowling through the streets as if it was hunting for something. He smiled and decided to follow the cat because the cat was like him. The cat was searching for something, but Oliver did not know what. He heard a chirp above him and as he looked up and saw the pigeon he knew this is what the cat was hunting, but then he noticed that the cat knew it was there and ignored it. This bird was not what the cat was seeking for it was not good enough. Squeak. Squeek. A mouse zoomed between his feet, but the cat paid no notice. It was still not what the cat was seeking. As Oliver followed this cat version of himself he realized that these three creatures seemed to be traveling together. They all seemed to be leading him somewhere. They seemed like his only friends now and yet they were only animals and could not speak to him.

    

How ironic is it that I would find friends among these creatures that are so unlike me, but I could not find friends among those who are like me. Those who claim to be friends of all. Who claim to love and bring hope?

The smell of smoke drifted to his nose and he looked up from the animals he was following. Up ahead he saw a fire pit surrounded by young teenagers who looked similar to him. They were all dirty, in ragged clothing, and laughing. As he walked closer he noticed they were eating together. They did not have much, but they had a loaf of bread and a small bottle of grape juice they were sharing. It was evident that they could not afford anything else and one could even argue that they could not afford these luxuries they had somehow acquired.

“Hey there friend, would you like to join us?” One of the boys around the fire inquired.

“Can I? You probably wouldn't like me…” Oliver said as matter of the fact, reflecting on every group that had ever rejected him.

“Nonsense! We accept everyone here at the fire pit!”

“How do I know that you don’t just want something from me?”

“You don’t but, why don’t you come, taste and see what this place is like? But first come eat.” The boy held out the loaf of bread to Oliver. For the first time Oliver was asked to come and join people to eat. He was asked to come and belong with people.

As Oliver sat down with the group and took a bite out of the loaf he felt at home for the first time in his life. He knew he would belong here.

Both of these places are “churches.” How often do our churches act like the first place and not the second? Who are the Oliver's in your life? 

Enter through the door

I have recently started a new story that will connect with my last. This one is from the perspective of two new characters, but intertwines with the other. This one is being written now, at the end of my Junior year of college. Enjoy!

"“Hey, glad you could make it.” I looked up to the smiling face of the woman I had just met. Brystelle sat down next to me as we prepared to listen to the symphony that our mutual friend Jackie was in.
            “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I see you returned my book already?” I inquired as I noticed the book filled with sticky notes sticking out of the sides. A few days before I had another encounter with Brystelle in her apartment and we ended up discussing theology. By the end of the night I was letting her borrow the most recent book I had finished.

            “Of course I did, I could not put it down! I hope you don’t mind but, I put sticky notes in it to respond to your underlined parts and notes you wrote in it.” Brystelle explained as she returned the book to me. I was shocked…no one had ever done anything like that for me; let alone had anyone ever read one of my theology books. What’s this girl’s deal? She must be incredibly smart. We sat there and chatted about the book as Jackie’s music played in the background until it ended. We talked all the way out the door and to the edge of campus. I finally looked up and noticed we were next to a white house with a fire escape ladder.

            “Wow, I didn’t even realize where we were walking!” I exclaimed. “I didn’t even realize this ladder was here before.” I was shocked as Brystelle took my hand and gestured toward the ladder. She wanted to climb it and explore what awaits us above, so I hesitantly followed her. It did not take long to see that it led to what appeared to be a trap door.

“Want to see where this leads?” Brystelle asked excitedly ready to plunge into the unknown. Recovering from being burnt by the unknown I was hesitant. I looked into her coffee brown eyes with uncertainty clouding my face.

            “I’m not sure if we should go down there Bristle…” I warned as I horribly pronounced her name.

            “Call me Stelle, it’s easier. And don’t worry Trevor, I’ll keep you safe if you’re scared.” She teased back at me. Who is this girl? Why is she so adventurous? Before I could voice anything else, as if she was reading my mind, she assured me, “I once had fears to go on adventures…I once felt held back…but that was before I saw the light…well it was a light that was lighter than white with a tint of blue in it. I was not sure where it came from but it filled me with the desire to live life and adventure.” There was something about Stelles’ story that inspired me to want to enter the trap door. I decided to jump out on a limb and follow her lead. She opened the trap door and we saw a tunnel that was beckoning us in with a familiar feeling. There was something within us that knew we should enter. I took Stelles’ hand and walked into the great unknown beside her.

As we walked further into the tunnel I smelled the strong aroma of coffee. It appeared to be all around us but we were not sure where it was coming from. After a while we could no longer see the light from the door we had left open. It was during this realization that I noticed we were nearing two doors that had a strange light coming off of them. One was blue and one was red. Both seemed to have this strange aroma of coffee fluctuating off of them. The blue said “This way” and the red said “That way.”

            “Which should we enter? The blue one?” Stelle inquired but, I had a strong desire to enter the red one. I was not sure what it was but, I felt like I needed to choose that one. “I feel like we should go through the red one.” I explained as I reach towards its handle. Before Stelle could say anything to stop me, my hands felt the cold door handle surrounded by red paint. I went to move the handle and felt a tinge of pain. The more I turned the handle the more the pain increased. Finally after many jolts of pain the door opened and a dark fog came out around us. It circled around Stelle and through her blonde locks this way and that. Within the next moment it was gone and I noticed a stairwell.

            “Trevor…I really think we should go through the blu…” but I cut her off by saying, “You chose to enter the trap door now it’s my turn to decide where we go next.” Stelle shrugged and agreed to go along with my rational as we entered the stairway together. Down, down, down they went until we reached another door. This one was metal and appeared to slide open.

            “Shall we continue Stelle?” I asked as we analyzed this new door.

            “Our adventure has only just begun Trev. I am sure you are dying to know what’s on the other side aren’t you? Embrace the unknown. It was easy enough for you to choose the red door so what makes this one any different?” With that encouragement I opened the door and walked into a tiny room with a bit of light shining through the cracks of a wooden door.

            “What is it with all of these doors?” I whispered to Stelle, unsure of what would be on the other side.

            “Let’s find out, Trev.” Stelle replied as she pushed open the sliding door. We walked out into a white hallway with what appeared to be puddles of blood on the ground.

            “Where are we Stelle?”

            “I have no idea Trev. What is this place?” Before we could talk anymore we heard the voice of a women scream, “Winston!” Following the sound of the voice we saw a blonde women in a white nightgown standing in more blood across the hall from us. She did not appear to notice us but before could do anything we saw a guy run with her and the two of them ran farther away from us.

            “Maybe we should head back?” Stelle suggested this time but, as she turned around to leave she saw that the door had closed and locked. We were stuck in whatever weird place this was.

            “Stelle, what’s wrong?”

            “The doors locked, Trev. We can’t get back out.” As she explained this the hallway lights turned bright red and we heard a loud voice announcing that there was a security breach and all personnel should report for duty. They said something about it being a code #300.

            “Stop! Who are you? How’d you find us?” I looked up to see a man wearing a white cloak, holding a staff, standing in front of us. I nervously looked at Stelle who was looking at me. We were unsure of what to do next. Before we could answer I saw Stelle fall to the ground.

            “What? Sto…” I felt a sharp, cold pain on the back of my head and I blacked out."

A World without Coffee

This story was written while I was in a Psychology class where we were learning about different psychological diseases during my freshmen year of college. Enjoy!

"I toss. I turn. Running. Running. They're coming to get me. I hear creatures. What are they? I'm soaking wet. Why? How? I run fast. My eyes fly open as I jet up to a sitting position. I look around, scanning my surroundings. Oh, I'm back in my room. My tiny, white, square, brick bedroom. It was only a dream. As I get up I notice I'm shaking and covered in sweat. I lift my hand up to wipe sweat off my forehead and then stop. That's not sweat on my hand. It's blood. What? What did I do? I look around the tiny room. All I saw was my bed, a shelf with a sink attached, a cup of coffee, my door, and...blood smeared all over the ground by my door. Did I sleep walk again? Did I kill someone? I couldn't have, I never have before. It must be mine. I washed my hands and searched my body for cuts. There are none. I sneezed and got a whiff of the delicious smell of coffee. It draws me to finish the half cup of coffee on my shelf. As I finish the last drop I am filled with paranoia. Someone wanted me and my coffee. No. I bought this myself from...that market. They can't have it. 

I think back to that market and remember that beautiful girl offering me my first cup of coffee. I remember when the government outlawed coffee while I was such a young lad who had no idea why such a thing would be forbidden; all I knew was that the nuns of my orphanage were distraught by their new law against coffee. Why would it be illegal? The beautiful girl asked me. She said her name was Coco, which I thought was an odd name, but once she convinced me to take my first drink I didn't care. My only care was buying as much coffee as I could. She said to tell no one...That's when the nightmares started. I'm always being chased.

Knock, Knock. I jump. "Can I come in? It's Master Kompf, your alarm went off. You're not supposed to be awake yet." Master Kompf? Why is he here? Normally security or the nurses come to check up on me...He must know I took the coffee. I have to leave this community. I've been here too long. I thought back to when I left the orphanage in search of my parents only to find this odd little Monastic community that took me in as their own. They've been so lovely, but now that I broke one rule they'll be after me. Why? I remember the blood on the floor and that was on my hands. Maybe it's more than just this illegal coffee...Maybe it's what I did. I need to run. The door is my only way out. 

“Brother Jacobs, I am coming in.” I think fast and hide behind the door. It opens slowly and Master Kompf walked to the bed. “Where are you Brother Jacobs?” Behind his back I slip out the door, shut it and locked him in. I now love the locks on the outside of the doors in this community. I have always wondered why they were there since the doors are never locked, but now I am thankful for them.

Bang! Bang! Bang! “Brother Jacobs! Let me out! Security Breach! Someone!” Master Kompf banged on the door. I noticed a puddle of blood on the hallway floor, followed by three different trails of blood. What happened here? I have to get out. I run to the door.

“Winston!” shouted the one voice that could stop me in my tracks. The one girl who I never could have expected to see again. Sister Margaret. My best friend Julianna, whose been missing for a year. I turned around slowly to see her, looking worn out, in a white nightgown, blonde hair going this way and that. Her bare feet were covered in blood along with the tips of her gown. She must have walked on the blood paths…where did she come from? “There are guards out that door! Follow me, I know a better way out!” I looked at her, back at the door, and then at her again. Before she went missing I trusted her with my life. I ran towards her and we darted back into the one of the blood filled hallways. Blood splashed to and fro, but we kept running in fear that the security would find us sooner or later.

Julianna stopped at a dead end. A wall. What? She took us to a dead end…for what? To get credit and rat me out? Is that why she disappeared? As I was thinking this, she crouched down and opened up a little hatch I had previously not seen. “Get in!” I turned around, saw the security just as they approached the hallway we were in, and then back at Julianna and entered this unknown hatch.

It was a dark pathway once she closed the cover, but we went through the pathway hurriedly knowing any second we would be followed again. I followed Julianna near her in order to see her silhouette in the dark. We went around many twists and turns until finally we reached another small door. She opened the door and we both crawled out onto the fresh, soil outside the Monastery.

Julianna grabbed my hand and led me farther away from the Monastery without even a goodbye to the community we had both live in for so long. I turned back for a brief second, saw the Monastery gates open and the security rush out. It appeared we had exited from the side of the building and they were not able to locate us yet, but if we did not make it out of there soon they would see us.

That is when something hit my head and I blacked out.