Escape: Heaven’s Temple

TRAINING KIDS

The whole church was filled with noise when the voice of an old man was heard. The crowd even cried to Emery's surprise. She was familiar with the voice of the old man who spoke. She was sure that was the one who talked to her yesterday. But she did not know where it was now. They just heard his voice even though the old man did not use any kind of device.

“Our Lord! The Lord is here with us!” most people shout. Emery frowned again at what she was hearing.

"Give us a miracle, our Lord!"

"Please come and meet us, Lord!"

“I believe in you, our Lord!”

Everyone continues to worship the statue above Emery. Others are still crying as they kneel and bow their heads.

Why are they crying just because they heard the voice of an old man? Who exactly is that old man? How can he give a miracle to the people here?

Emery was confused in her mind and she did not know what the answers to all her questions were. She knew that no one would answer her if she asked the nuns with her.

“The announcement will finish here. Thank you for coming today. I hope that I will see you again tomorrow, together with your kids,” said by Sister Anasha again.

Everyone stopped crying and worshiping the statue. Once again Emery marveled at them.

The speed with which they obeyed Sister Anasha's every command. It seems that they are not just nuns here and they have high positions which why they were respected by these people.

One by one, they exited Heaven’s Temple even though they still couldn’t take their eyes off Emery. Emery even saw Kate's mother who was also looking at her and almost crying. From the first time, she saw that and to this day the woman’s reaction is still the same.

“Let's eat, Emery,” Sister Chloe called to her. She supports her to stand up from her seat.

“Why are their questions only about me? I heard again about me as their hope,” Emery asked Sister Anasha. Exactly all the people who were there were also gone out.

“They just got curious for seeing a kid here for the first time. That’s why they were asking about you. Don’t mind them,” the nun answered.

“You heard what Sister Anasha said earlier, didn't you? Kids like you give luck to adults. That's what the people here earlier mean abot their questions," Sister Chloe added.

But Emery is still not convinced. At a young age, she seemed to think deeply about what people were saying to her.

They ate and until Emery fell asleep, she was just thinking about the reactions of the people earlier when they saw her. It seemed like that was the first time they had seen a child like Emery. The next day, the children were taken to Heaven’s Temple. Most of its members are parents and have children. About twenty-five of the children were also there.

Again, Emery was in the foreground. She looked at each of the children in front of her. She saw that almost everyone there was her age. Others look a few years older than her.

“We will have some lessons with your children here in Heaven’s Temple for the mean time. You can bring them here and leave them afterwards. Then just fetch them here after the training hours. Is that all clear?” Sister Anasha asked the children's parents.

“How about their foods? And how many hours are they required to be here, Sister?” a woman asked.

“The foods are all from us. We will not leave your children here. We will guide them even more to regulate their growth. They have to be here by eight in the morning and we will be finish by four in the afternoon,” the nun answered.

“The children are also on vacation at school now so it is better for them to be here. They don't waste their time just by playing games during their vacation.”

“You are right, Sister. So it’s also good that they’re here so we know that they’re safe. We as parents who are here today still have to work hard so that we can give something to our Lord,” replied by one parent.

"That's right, the day of sacrifice is approaching again so we need to think about what can be an offering to the Lord," added by another parent.

Offer? What do they mean by that? Do they need to offer to the Lord that they call?

Emery is confused again thinking now. She approached Sister Chloe to ask. “Sister, why do they have to make an offering? What is that for?” she asked.

“That is the way on how they thank the Lord for His kindness,” she answered. “Oh, is that why. The members of Heaven’s Temple are really kind,” Emery commented.

“They are kind because our Lord is also kind to them. When you grow up, you will better understand what I mean.”

That’s what they always say that I wil understand everything better when I get older. It's still a long day but I can't do anything but listen to them.

Emery didn't answer. When the children's parents left, the program that Sister Anasha wanted to implement began. “Introduce yourselves first here in front of Emery here will lead all of you,” Sister Anasha said.

Emery was shocked again, “What do you mean that I will lead all of them, Sister? I am just a kid and I don’t know much,” she confusedly said.

“You’re living here in Heaven’s Temple, that’s why you will be their leader. You will guide them about this place and about what we were always praying everyday.”

Emery sighed and just let them. The kids introduced themselves one by one in front of Emery and the nuns. Emery could barely remember the names of the children there. She smiled when she saw her friend, Kate. She waved slightly at Emery so she waved back as well. The latter who introduced herself was a child with a disability. She is a special child and she is also the oldest of them all. She’s thirteen years old. She can talk but she can’t understand everything.

“Hi! I am Angel and I want to be friends with all of you!” the kid shouted. Some kids laughed because of how she introduced herself. "Ew, why would we be friends with you?" one girl told her.

“Yeah, we are not that friendly with someone like you,” a boy added.

Angel suddenly became sad after hearing what they said. She understands it and she can tell by their faces that they doesn’t want to be friends with her. She was about to cry when Emery suddenly talk.

“What’s the problem with her and you don’t want to be friends with Angel? She’s a nice girl. All of you must be friends with her. I am telling you this as your leader starting from now,” Emery said seriously.

The nuns did not expect Emery to say that. They could not have imagined that the child they got was so brave and intelligent. Even the other children were amazed at what Emery said. Emery seems to have the power they fear. Angel smiled again and ran closer to Emery. She now knew she had a friend because of Emery's demonstrated authority over everyone.

“If I caught any of you bullying Angel, I will punish you. Do you understand?” Emery said once again. Everyone nodded at her then fell silent. She noticed that the nuns smiled at what she said.

"You really are a leader," Sister Anasha praised her.

"What a brave and nice girl," another nun added while looking at Emery.

“Let us all start our first training. You should remember that this is our Lord and all of you must pray to him everyday. Do not do evil things because our Lord will punish you. Today we will take you around Heaven’s Temple and you will need to remember everything we will teach,” Sister Anasha explained to them.

Some nuns also introduced themselves to the children so that they could get to know each other. Then they followed them. The areas taught to Emery then were also told to the children who are with them now. As well as places they can’t go to or entrance. When the tour was over, the nun again asked them what each place inside Heaven’s Temple was called. Next they ate their lunch and then began to teach a prayer. Each day they had to memorize a prayer. The nuns did not pay much attention to Angel because they knew that it was difficult to teach and did not learn immediately.

When they finished that day, the children were allowed to play in the garden. Kate approached Emery. "You were good earlier and you defended Angel," Kate praised her.

"It's nothing. I just did what I had to do. It's a pity because it's Angel. They didn't do anything bad but they didn't treat Angel well,” Emery said.

“Thank you for what you have done earlier, Emery. I don’t have any sister but can you be my sister?” Angel said and looked at Emery. “Sure, I can be your sister! Kate here is also kind and she can be your sister too.”

“That’s great! Hey, I have many sisters!” Angel happily replied.

“Why do you want to be friends with someone like her? She’s a special child and her mind is not stable. What if she will hurt you in the future?” the girl named Steph said. She was the one who bullied Angel earlier. She was with the boy who also agreed to not be friends with Angel and some kids with them.

“I already said earlier that no one could bully Angel. I told you guys that you will be punished once I caught you saying or doing something bad about her,” Emery said. Steph smirked, “Why would I be afraid of you? Our training was already done, so that means that you are not our leader anymore. You can’t order us when we were outside the Heaven’s Temple,” she confidently said.

“I don’t care about that. My point is, you shouldn’t bully her. She’s too innocent and she’s not doing something bad to you.” Emery explained to her.

“How come you were the new hope? I will do everything just to prove to everyone that you are not the right hope for them. I will be the new hope and not you,” Steph added and walked away with her friends.

What? Even the kids know about me being everyone’s new hope? What is really going on? I am so confused right now and I don’t know who will I believe on. Is being the new hope something special or what?