Escape: Heaven’s Temple

THE OLD MAN

What if they caught me listening into their conversation? I’m scared right now! What should I do?

Emery didn't know what she was going to do. But she had to act like she wasn't listening to what they were talking about.

“Oh, this is not the comfort room. My pee is about to burst out,” Emery immediately said. She hurried out the door and immediately went to the bathroom. The way was clear to her now because her spirit was also wide awake. When she got to the comfort room, she entered a cubicle. She closed the door and peed in the bowl.

Later on, the lights keep on turning on and turning off. Emery stood up and flushed the bowl while her gaze was on the ceiling. She thought that there might be a light defect so that's what's happening.

She heard a loud bang from the door’s cubicle where Emery was right now. Emery was shocked and screamed because of that. “Who’s there?!” she shouted.

“Our hope, are you there?” asked by a woman. Her voice was strange and Emery barely knew how she would feel now. Only now did she feel so scared. The light in the comfort room went out completely so she couldn't see anything. The whole comfort room was dark.

"What do you want from me?" Emery replied. The woman kept on slamming the door and trying to open it by force. Emery wanted to cry in fear.

“You’re our hope. I only want a miracle from you,” the woman replied again.

She’s creeping me out! Her voice is not normal like a normal person. I hope Sister Anasha will come and help me again here.

Emery no longer knew what to do. She could not get out of the cubicle because she had already seen the woman's foot under the door. The woman was not wearing anything on her feet. Emery was even more frightened as the door shook harder. She tries to open the door and she can't.

“Leave me alone! Help me, please! Is somebody there?! Please help me!” Emery shouted. She hoped that someone would help her right now.

“Our hope... you’re our new hope. Miracle! Miracle! Miracle!”

What if she is not a human but a ghost? What if ghosts are real? Mom, I’m scared. I need you right now.

“Ah! Stop it! I am not your hope. I am just an ordinary kid!” Emery cried. The women kept on shouting and saying things repeatedly. Emery covered her ears and the moment that the women opened the door of the cubicle, the lights went back on. She saw the woman’s face and she cried more because of the looks of the woman.

“Rebecca! What are you doing to her?!” Sister Anasha came inside the comfort room. She quickly pulled the woman named Rebecca, who was about to attack Emery. "Get out of here and go to your room, now," Sister Anasha ordered Emery.

Emery didn't hesitate and immediately ran to her room. She quickly rubbed herself into the blanket. She was still scared because of the look of the woman she had seen earlier. She didn't think the woman's eyes were so red and could barely know where she was looking.

Why are people like that here? This isn’t the first time I’ve experienced something like that. They always say that I am their new hope. How did I become their hope? What do they expect me to do for them? I don’t even know how I can give them a miracle.

"Emery, are you okay?"

Sister Anasha reached out Emery and she saw how scared the kid was. She tried to calm Emery down from crying. She hugged her tightly. “Shh, you don’t have to be scared anymore. Sister Anasha is here.”

“Why do they always say that I am their hope. Over and over again, not just one person has told me that. Sister, what do they really mean? How did I become their hope? What can they get from a child like me,” Emery asked confused.

"Maybe they can say that because they think you're lucky. You know you're the only kid living here, don't you? So they think a child like you is lucky,” Sister Anasha told her. But Emery did not seem convinced by what the nun said.

“Was it a person in the comfort room earlier or is it a ghost? Why does she look so scary? Her eyes are very red and the bottom of her eye is also black. I was horrified when I saw her face.”

“She has trouble in sleeping, which is why her eyes are like that. Another reason is that she had just lost her baby, so she often cried in the comfort room. Maybe when she saw you enter the comfort room, she thought you were her daughter. Just be patient if that's how she reacted when she saw you,” Sister Anasha explained to her.

“Sister, this is the first time that I was scared like this. Maybe they will do worse to me next time.”

“I will not leave you. It won't happen to you next time.”

That night, Emery was completely asleep. Sister Anasha had left her when she fell asleep. In Sister Anasha's mind, Emery would not have heard the old man talking to her. If only Emery had heard it she would not have understood what they were saying.

The next day, Emery woke up. She didn’t know if she would come out of her room or not. Especially and she was still afraid that maybe an old woman would come up to her again and say weird stuffs. Sister Anasha entered her room.

“It's good that you're awake. Come and I will bathe you in the bathroom,” she said. "Really? Will you come with me today to take a bath?” Emery's face lit up with excitement when she heard what the nun said. Smiling, Sister Anasha approached her and then supported her upright.

“Yes, so that you won't be afraid either. You just really need to get used to the people you meet here, Emery. You should not be afraid of them. I will assure you that no one else can hurt you while you’re here.”

Emery nodded, “All right, Sister Anasha. Maybe I'm just not used to experiencing something like that. That is why I will try to get used to it and not be afraid of those I meet.”

“You’re really a good girl, Emery. Come and I'll bathe you so we can eat.”

When Emery finished tidying up, they went to the dining area. They did what they always do before starting to eat. When they finished Emery said goodbye to the nun.

“Sister, I would like to go around the church now alone. Is it okay?" she asked.

“Are you sure you just want to be alone? Do you want me to call Kate so you can play with someone today?”

Emery shook her head, “It's okay even if I'm alone now. Kate and I will play tomorrow,” she replied. But in her mind, she just didn't want to see Kate’s mother for the mean time.

The nun just smiled and let Emery go. "Just don't go to the ones I taught you that you can't go to, okay?" reminder again of the nun. Emery nodded, "I won't go there, Sister Anasha."

Emery left and went inside the Heaven’s Temple. No one else was there and she did not see anyone praying like the ones she sees every day. She thought it might be too early so people weren’t here yet. To this day, she still cannot understand the prayers she memorizes.

Maybe when I get older I will only understand those prayers.

She came to the very front and looked up at the Lord whom the people with her referred to and worshiped. She felt even more frightened when she saw it up close. The eyes of the statue seemed to be looking at her and following her every move.

“Why did the Lord they call look like that? It's very different compared to the statues I saw before,” Emery said to herself.

“That was made to let people know that they should have fear to our Lord. That face will make them suffer if they disobey everything against the Lord.”

Emery was startled when an old man's voice spoke behind her. She didn’t even realize that someone was behind her. She looked at it and saw the old man walking away from her immediately.

"Wait, who are you?" she asked. She remembered that it was the voice that she heard Sister Anasha talking to last night.

She could not see the old man's face because it was turned away. She was also wearing a nun's robe so she could not see the appearance of the old man’s back. The old man stopped walking.

"You will meet me soon."

He left and Emery immediately ran to where the old man was walking. But she did not know which door the old man entered. She wanted to find out where the old man had gone but in that place the nun forbade her to enter.

Who is that old man?