Tainted Entropies

TEMPTATION.1

[March 27. Sunday. 15:56]

Deep in the garden of Eden, there once lived a man and a woman named Adam and Eve. God said that they were allowed to eat anything inside the garden, except for one thing:

The fruit of the tree that stood in the middle of the garden.

However, one day, the devil decided to disguise itself as a snake to trick Eve into taking a bite from the fruit that God so explicitly forbade them to eat.

Temptation and curiosity took over her as she reached for the fruit to take a bite. Finding it delicious, she took it to Adam.

The moment that they had swallowed its flesh was the moment that they realised they had committed the primal sin.

Guilty of their wrongdoing, they hid from God. However, Him being the omniscient God that He was, already knew what had occurred.

With this, they were banished from the garden, and were left to fend for themselves.

Adam and Eve were the first sinners of humanity.

And surely, they wouldn’t be the last.

Sitting on the pews that were reserved for Extraordinary Ministers and the rest of the church-servers, Kael stifled a yawn.

Father Gomez was still delivering his homily in front of the assembly, and there wasn’t much for Kael to do. Thus, he ended up watching the church-goers yawn, with their heads falling forward from time to time.

He wondered why the people still attended the mass, despite being obviously disinterested on the weekly sermon. Were they there only to show their faces, or were they there to ‘atone’ for their sins?

As his eyes drifted along the heads of countless people that faced the altar, a familiar face caught his attention.

Arthur’s pale—almost sickly—complexion, and the sombre look that accompanied it, made him stand out from the crowd. He was never one to sit on the frontest rows, and it surprised Kael to see his friend sitting on the nearest possible seat to his.

Kael’s gaze lingered on his face for a moment before it drifted to the person beside him.

That moment, Kael knew he shouldn’t have stared. Arthur was attending the mass with Inka, after all. How romantic.

Withdrawing his gaze, Kael shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts that plagued his mind. It was shameful, having to catch feelings for a person that was as forbidden as the fruit in the Garden of Eden. And it was also shameful that he was thinking about it in the House of God.

He knew he could never surpass a woman, and he wouldn’t even dare dream of it.

The choir started singing as Father Gomez prepared the gifts. A few of the altar-boys also assisted him, including Kael, who was in charge of distributing the Host to the assembly.

One by one, the people who were just yawning on their seats a few moments ago, stood up, ready to receive the Holy Communion.

With a chalice on his left hand, and the holy bread on the right, he said: “the body of Christ.”

“Amen,” replied the woman before receiving Communion and walking away, her footsteps as light as a feather, as if conscious of her surroundings.

Kael continued without mistake as the procession of people started to thicken at the back. As always, the last mass of the day will always be the most packed, for people would most likely be free at such time.

However, Kael was surprised when he saw Arthur emerge from the procession to receive the Host. He paused momentarily before regaining his composure; he lifted his hand and offered the Host.

“Body of Christ,” he said, staring into Arthur’s eyes that bore through his soul. Truly majestic, as if it was something that would be considered a rarity. It was as if he was staring into the full-moon itself in a cloudless night sky.

“Amen,” replied Arthur before parting his lips.

In return, Kael pursed his lips as he placed the holy bread into his mouth. He nodded curtly, trying hard not to give out any reaction that could result to him being scolded by the nuns that stood nearby.

Kael inhaled sharply when Arthur finally took his leave, and continued to distribute the Eucharist to the assembly until the procession of people thinned, and eventually disappeared.

Silence enveloped the whole church as the assembly kneeled and repented for their sins, and only the sounds that could be heard throughout the cavernous cathedral were those of tree branches swaying along the calm and gentle breeze, and the birds chirping outside.

Minutes after, the priest spoke, blessing the assembly, saying a few words of acknowledgment, and officially ending the mass. Crowds and crowds of people were ecstatic as soon as they stood up and walked towards the exit.

They can finally stop pretending, Kael thought to himself as his eyes followed Arthur while he walked side-by-side with Inka.

She truly was a perfect match for him. Well-mannered, good in academics, and God-fearing? The combination was already rare, for most of the youths in their generation didn’t really care about God nor religion anymore.

Suppressing his mischievous grin, Kael walked casually to the vestry to change his clothes and collect his belongings, while avoiding the eyes of his fellow church-servers. When the crowd of people was already far behind him, he broke into a run! He needed to catch-up to Arthur, lest he would go home alone.

When he arrived outside the courtyard that connected the side of the church to the convent beside it, his jaw dropped.

“Smoking on such a place! Have you gone mad?” he scolded Joaquin as soon as he was within earshot.

“You were taking so, so long!” said Joaquin as soon as he flicked the metal cog of his lighter. Soon after, a dancing fire appeared from it, lighting the cigarette that was wedged in between his lips.

“Aren’t you going to stop him, Art—” he paused, “really?” He glared at Arthur, who was also taking a drag from his already lit cigarette. He shook his head in disbelief and started walking towards the road to lead them out of the courtyard. He’d be the only one punished if someone saw them smoking there. It would only add to his punishment for running away from his duties.

When they arrived at the roadside, almost all of the vehicles that were parked were slowly driving off one by one. Kael stole the cigarette from Arthur’s lips and took a long drag from it. “Holy s**t, I can’t stop myself from yawning every time Father Gomez opens his mouth,” he ranted, “and the nuns still scare the living s**t out of me! I’m literally twenty years old!” He shook his head before returning the cigarette to Arthur.

“Then quit! Easy peasy,” said Joaquin as he flapped around two skateboards as if they were his wings.

“It’s not that easy peasy, you dumbass.” Kael dropped his own board on the ground and rested his right foot on the deck. “You know Father is going to beat the hell out of me if I try to quit.”

Joaquin rolled his eyes before tossing Arthur the other skateboard that he was holding. “Alright. Go be a priest, then.” He laughed mockingly before hopping on his skateboard to perform tricks on the almost empty road, and eventually leaving the two of them on top of the hill.

Kael once wondered why his father wanted him to serve even though it didn’t really suit him, but he later realised that it wasn’t for his sake, but for his father’s.

The Angeles family was quite known to be a deeply religious family in their town, never missing a Sunday mass, always donating to the church, doing things for the community . . . everything.

And so, he was forced to serve the church to continue keeping that image. Shallow as it may seem, but it really did help their family gain so much influence on the church, and the people who go there.

“Where’s Inka?” Kael asked, side-glancing at the person beside him before looking straight at the scenery before them.

Their province was surrounded by chains and chains of mountains, which blocked the setting sun from view. Yet even though the sun was partially blocked by the mountain range, golden rays of sunlight still managed to touch their surroundings, leaving different shades of gold on everything it touched.

The large cathedral that he served stood majestically on top of Tagpuan hill. It had been there for hundreds of years to the point where it looked like it was a part of the hill itself.

“She went back to the city with her friends,” replied Arthur, “you sure you don’t want to come with me to the party?”

Kael rolled his eyes before mounting his skateboard and pushing his foot on the asphalt road. “Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to attend. I have a date with Aliana, remember?” He sneered before performing tricks as they descended the hill.

It wasn’t really because he had a date that he refused to come along the party, though. The truth was, he didn’t want to go through a night of trying to stomach the view of Inka being all lovey-dovey with her boyfriend. It always made him feel uneasy despite being surrounded by couples most of the time.

“Then at least let me drop you off at the city,” said Arthur before looking up at the sky.

Seeing this, Kael followed his line of vision. The leaves on the arched branches of the canopies above them provided a large amount of protection from the glaring sun. However, there were instances where sunlight seeped through the leaves, creating an illusion that it was raining gold.

“Sure.” He nodded, sucking on his protruding right canine teeth. He didn’t know what to say next.

Luckily, though, it seemed that Arthur had more things to talk about.

“Mor’s been pressuring me to make moves on Inka lately,” he said, shaking his head from disappointment.

“And what did you say?”

“Well? What was I supposed to say? I agreed, of course.” He scratched his head, obviously annoyed by the thought of his mother forcing him into taking his relationship with Inka to the next level. “As if I’d tell her that ‘Mor, I only want to f**k around here and there. Please don’t make me marry Inka.’ You think I’d dare say that?” He snorted in derision.

Kael was about to say something when they finally reached the base of the hill. Seeing that Joaquin was waiting at the curve of the road, Kael laughed. “Why do you look so annoyed?” he asked the boy who was sitting on his own skateboard as they passed by him.

“You took so long!” he shouted before following close behind them.

“Not our fault that you were itching to go down the hill, though!” said Kael as he looked back to converse with Joaquin. “You going somewhere?”

“Yes, you motherfucker. Mama’s already fuming mad because we’re supposed to leave at five! And it’s almost time!” He tapped furiously at his watch.

“Then why didn’t you go first? You didn’t need to wait for us, though,” said Arthur, who was currently holding his phone against his ear. “Chill, Mor. I’m on my way home—yeah as if they would care if I wasn’t there yet. I’m not the birthday girl, am I?” He rolled his eyes before sighing. “Yes, I will.”

Minutes later, the three of them dispersed. Joaquin lived in another street not far from Kael and Arthur’s, while Kael’s place was only a few houses away from Arthur’s.

“Give me fifteen minutes,” said Kael before rushing to the gates of his house. He picked up his board and entered the front door, only to be welcomed by his brother, Karlos, who was playing videogames on the television. “You didn’t attend the mass?” he asked while taking his shoes off.

“I already attended the mass with Mom earlier this morning—why the hell are you in such a rush?” He leaned back on the couch to peek at Kael. “A date?”

“Yeah. And why are you still here?” he asked. “You weren’t invited to Inka’s party?” He picked up his things and walked swiftly upstairs.

“What party?” Karlos sounded so shocked. “Bring me along with you!” he shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

“Uhm, no, I don’t want to? What are you, a child?” he mocked, shaking his head in amusement. “Stop simping for the girl, she already has a boyfriend, as you can see!”

Yeah, tell that to yourself. Stop simping for Arthur since he’s already got a girlfriend. Kael rolled his eyes before slamming the door shut. Well, at least I have self-restraint. Not in a million years would I dare tell that dumbass that I like him.

After throwing his board under his bed, and his shoes on the shoe rack, he went to take a quick shower. He hated smelling strongly of incense when going out. It made it more apparent that he was a church-server—which was the total opposite of the image of him that his acquaintances see.

Wearing a graphic white shirt that was a size bigger than him, and a pair of beige chinos, he crossed the street to got to the Nylands’ residence. He was about to open the gates as if he lived there when someone called his name from behind.

“Kael! Haven’t seen you in a while, dude!” Arcane greeted as he pushed himself off the driver’s seat of his car to give him a high-five.

Returning the high-five, Kael replied. “Don’t be dramatic. It was just a few days.” Kael rolled his eyes as he smiled fondly at the guy.

Arcane was Arthur’s older brother, yet their personalities seemed to have been swapped in their mother’s womb; since the older Nyland ended up being so giddy and cheerful while the younger one looked as if his will to live had been seeped out from his soul ever since he emerged from his mother’s womb.

“A few days of doing tiring stuff, yeah. Imagine having to canvas so many materials that can’t be found locally.” He rolled his eyes before regaining his composure. “Are you going to Inka’s party, too?” he asked.

Kael shook his head and chuckled. “I have a date, so I can’t attend.” In all actuality, he really did not want to attend.

Arcane gaped at him stupidly before laughing. “A date! Mikaela Angeles has a date! I thought you were the type to sleep around, though—”

“Oh, shut up. I’m not marrying. It’s just that Ali’s an interesting character.” It was true, though. Ali was interesting for the reason that she once bargained to be his cover as long as he also pretended to be her boyfriend whenever they needed to. It was a good deal though Kael never thought of such things before she brought it up.

How Ali found out that he was attracted to the same s*x, Kael didn’t have the slightest idea—except for the fact that she once said that it was because of her ‘gaydar’. Kael also had no damn clue what the hell it meant.

“Alright, then. I’ll drop you off, too, since I’m also going to the city to meet up with the band.” He wiggled his eyebrows before pausing and snapping his fingers as if he remembered something. “Right. Why was Arthur’s car sent to the shop to be repaired, though?” he curiously asked, rubbing his chin and resting his elbow on the roof of his BMW.

Kael’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “His car’s being repaired? Why?”

“Dude, that’s what I was asking! And the guy had the nerve to make me his driver for tonight!”

Before they could continue their conversation, Arthur appeared from the gates, wearing a button down shirt and slacks. “Let’s go. Mor is being annoying again.” He opened the door and immediately entered the passenger’s seat.

Kael and Arcane shrugged at each other before they, themselves, entered the car to drive off the town.

“Your car’s being repaired, Art?” Kael asked, trying to coax out a confession from Arthur’s mouth. “I don’t remember it having any problems, though. What happened?”

“Accident,” he said before pursing his lips.

Seeing this, Kael shrugged and decided to no longer pursue the topic, since it might annoy Arthur even more. And an annoyed Arthur will never be good news.

“Guess whose house I’m designing this year,” said Arcane as they ascended the mountain that separated the town of Tagpuan from the lively Solomon city, which sat just behind it.

“Don’t care,” replied Arthur as he rested his cheek on his knuckles and propped his arm on the windowsill.