by Joshua Laack
Chapter 21
Sunday morning dawned bright and clear. Sunlight streamed through the open blind and pierced the dust motes hanging in the air. The dust glimmered and reflected the light. Andrew lay there for a moment, marveling at the beauty of the light dancing. He glanced at the clock by his bed and yawned. It was a little after eight.
He stretched and climbed out of the bed. He felt a bit of disappointment that the room was empty, but he knew that he would see her soon enough. He still wasn't sure about going to church, but if that's what she wanted, that's where he would go. He smiled. How strange it was to have someone in his life that made him so willing to change everything at the drop of a hat.
Another thought came to him. Even though he wasn't sure that he cared to go to church since he didn't know what he believed yet, he no longer felt the aversion to it that he had before. It made a great deal of sense to him that if his demon had been one in the biblical sense, then it would not have wanted anything to do with church. That would explain his longtime aversion to going.
It was also possible that some of the thoughts that the demon had given him to think had survived the death of their originator. That was a scary thought. What parts of himself, what fears and doubts were his and which ones belonged to his past. It seemed that even though the present had changed, the past might still have a hold upon him.
Andrew decided that in addition to his desire not to waste any more time, he would also try to find the things that he didn't want to do or was afraid to do. Some of them might be the fingers of the past and he was determined to find and eradicate all traces of that foul beast from within himself. The task was a daunting one considering that he had eighteen years worth of doubts and fears and thoughts to dredge up and consider, but regardless of the time or effort it took, he was going to be himself. Today that meant getting in the shower so that he was ready to face his doubts at church.
The water felt nice and as he washed, he felt little bits of his old life slip off and swirl down the drain. Andrew knew that it wasn't quite that easy, but everything seemed so much more hopeful for him that he imagined that it was. When he stepped out of the shower, a shiver ran through him from the sudden change in temperature. At the same time those little sparks that were always with him now shifted within him. The cold feeling dissipated, leaving him warm and comfortable. He frowned.
What was that? Did the sparks within him have more power than the pleasant euphoria at Johari's touch and the destruction of demons? Maybe it was only his imagination, but even the act of thinking about the power seemed to make it jump within him. Andrew wasn't sure that he liked that idea.
While it wasn't the darkness, this was something else that had taken up residence in his body that wasn't him. The fact that it had done nothing but protect him or make him feel amazing was reassuring, but still, now that he was trying to become himself for the first time, would this get in his way as the darkness had done? Andrew sighed. It was a question that would have to wait for another time just like so many other questions that now floated around in his mind.
Back in his room, Andrew sorted through his clothes, trying to find something nice for church. He wished that he could wear the clothes that Johari had gotten him. Those would surprise his parents. Almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he felt her behind him and the barest breath of air from his window caressed the hairs upon his back. He turned and smiled.
“Hello there,” she said. “Nice outfit.” She grinned at him as Andrew's face turned beat red. He was still in only a towel. He gripped the towel tighter to make certain that it would not betray him. Her grin widened and to Andrew's surprise, he was able to find a deeper shade of red and he put it on in lieu of the clothes he didn't have. “That shade of red is cute on you.” Johari laughed and pointed to the clothes that she had laid down on his bed. Then she vanished.
Andrew trusted that she was gone and wouldn't try to peek, but still felt a little uncomfortable lowering his towel. He dressed as fast as he could. When he was buttoning up the shirt, he spoke to the air.
“I'm decent now.” And then she was beside him. He turned and looked at her for a long moment. She had chosen a much more toned down blue dress than the one she had worn to their first big date. She still was stunning, but managed to look more modest in this one than she had in the other. Her fingertips reached out and straitened the shirt collar.
“You look nice Mr. Marks. I am going to grab the car which I parked close by. I will see you again in a minute.” She vanished again. If she kept this up, Andrew felt that he was going to get mental whiplash from all her abrupt comings and goings.
No matter how hard he focused, he couldn't see her move when she vanished or appeared. As he thought about that, another thought came to him. Even after he knew what she was, she had been careful not to show much of herself to him, but over the weeks since, she had loosened up and seemed to be much more comfortable around him. As much as some of this supernatural stuff still frightened him, he was glad to see her being so open with him. He would deal with all the strange she could throw his way if it meant growing the connection between them.
The doorbell rang and Andrew was jolted from his thoughts. He rushed out of his room and down the stairs. Halfway there he realized that he hadn't mentioned anything to his parents about this morning. His dad was already at the door by the time he reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Good morning Josephina. Come on in. How are you doing this morning?” At this moment, Andrew came up behind his dad. “Oh, hi Andrew. You didn't mention plans. Where are you two off to?”
“I forgot to tell you. Josephina wanted to go to church with us.” John's eyes widened, but he didn't give any other indication of shock at his son's words.” The short pause did give away John's attempt to absorb this news.
“That would be wonderful,” he finally said, smile spreading onto his face. “I just need to grab your mother, and then we can go.” He disappeared into the kitchen and Johari smiled at Andrew as they both heard the flurry of whispered conversation echoing out into the hall.
“Forgot to mention it I see.” Andrew nodded.
“Sort of. It was too late last night and I didn't get up in time this morning to talk to them before you got here.”
The four of them climbed into Mary's Camry and they drove to the church building. Andrew's parents went to a local church called Grace Communion. It was a small church, but that was nice because it was like a family. In fact, it was so much a family that Andrew was shocked and surprised. Even though it had been years, many of the different members remembered him and welcomed him back with open arms, literally. He felt that he gave out more hugs in the minutes before church than he had in his entire life.
Johari, or more accurately Josephina was welcomed as well and she seemed to flow right into the atmosphere of worship surrounding the place. She commented to him about it as they were finding their seats for worship to begin.
“I feel like I am home with real family. This is exactly what He had in mind when He started the church. People loving Him and loving one another.” Andrew felt the same atmosphere in the air, but he didn't know what to think about it yet. With the demon, he felt like he was dirty when he was at church. Now he felt as though all the evil had been cleansed from him. Maybe he could appreciate the house of God as it was meant to be. With a smile on his face he stood with his family and the girl he was coming to care for more than he ever believed possible. Together they sang songs of praise and worship to a God that Andrew was just beginning to believe in.