Aurora Book 1: Soitera

25. Amlio

I plop into my breakfast seat and stir food around my plate.

Armen sits at the end of the table and watches me. "Have you ever been to church?"

"No. I've heard about it though. That's where people study Amlio."

"They worship Amlio in church. I guess you could say they study him too. Let's go to church this morning. It'll probably do us both some good."

"What do I wear?" I'm in a bikini and shorts. Something tells me this isn't right.

"Harry, can you have someone get her a dress and shoes appropriate for church?"

"Of course, sir."

"Thank you. He'll get you something. Church goers generally dress nice."

"Like a gown? I have the one I wore to the first dinner."

"No. That's too fancy. And you'll need something more modest than that. You were showing a lot of leg."

"I thought I looked nice."

"You did. Just not for church. It was perfect for dinner, but not for church."

"Here you go. Let's see if this works." Harry stands behind me with a dress.

I jump up. "What the hell? Did you teleport it here?"

"She has a point. That was fast, even for you."

He chuckles. "Jack's designer sent a few different dresses and gowns for her. I'm supposed to send them back if she doesn't need them."

"I need them."

They crack up laughing.

I nod fast. "I need them all."

"That's fine." Armen waves at me. "Go try it on. Let's see if it'll work."

It's a short-sleeved blue and white dress. Nothing special about it. It goes to just below my knees. It's actually really comfortable. Then it came with matching blue flat shoes.

I run to the dining room and show them. "There aren't enough words to express how happy I am that these shoes don't have four-inch heels."

Someone grabs my hair.

"AAAAHHHH!" I run for it.

"SHIT."

Armen catches me before I get out of the room. I hug him, and he wraps his arms around me. "It's Cassie. She came in behind you and scared the hell out of you. You can look."

Cassie smiles. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I thought you knew I was standing there. Can I do your hair?"

"Yes." I let go of Armen and run to her. "Can you curl it?"

"How much time does she have Armen?"

"We need to leave in half an hour. You want to come?"

She shakes her head. "No. I would prefer not to burst into flames this morning. Let's see if we can get it curled."

I sit still and be as patient as I can. She puts big curls in it and pulls the front back.

"You're so pretty. Let me get a picture."

I stand up and smile.

"You are precious. Let's go before he starts complaining about time."

I run to the door, and he's standing there staring at his watch. "You seriously had 45 seconds left."

Cassie rolls her eyes. "I knew what I was doing. And look how pretty she is."

I turn around so he can see my hair from the back.

"That is very pretty. Good job."

We take the helicopter to the mainland and get out in a crowded parking lot.

"This is a lot of people."

"A lot of people like church."

"Do they drink there?"

"No."

"Can we sit by the door?"

"We can sit in the back. Close to the door."

I nod and nearly trip over my feet. "Is it a party?"

"No. You'll be fine. It's not a party, and it shouldn't get that loud." He pulls me with him by my arm.

"Good morning, Armen. We haven't seen you in a few weeks. Is everything ok? And who is this lovely young lady?"

I spin around and stare at the man in the strange outfit. I think he was talking about me.

"I've been busy with work. This is Aurora. I adopted her this week."

"That's something I didn't expect. God sure works in mysterious ways. Hello, Aurora."

"Hello." I move over and half hide behind Armen. I don't know what to think and everyone is moving all around me. It's very distracting. But nobody is loud. They're polite and kind. They keep talking and I keep watching everyone else. Then Armen pulls me inside.

We sit in the back row like he promised. Then he hands me a book.

"It's mine?"

"No. We have to leave them here. But if you want to look up something he's talking about, you can find and read it. The entire Scrolls of Amlio are here. Have you ever had a copy of The Scrolls?"

"No."

"I'll get you a copy. What do you know about religion?"

"Amlio is God. Bad people go to hell and good people go to heaven when they die. I know my mom is in heaven. But Amlio gets to decide."

"Yea. He rules over heaven and hell. He has to make those decisions. We need to try and live the way he says is good."

"What does he say about good?"

"It's all in The Scrolls."

"Why do people need church?"

"Amlio wants us to join together and worship him. Study him and learn about him. But it's also nice to be around people who believe the same as you. It becomes a community."

"Do other people believe differently?"

"Some don't believe at all. I feel sad for them. They don't have faith in something bigger. They think this is it. There's nothing after this. That's very sad to think about."

I nod. "Amlio made us. We're something else. This isn't all there is."

"Exactly."

Some people at the front of the room start singing. They're on risers and dressed alike. They sound good together.

"The church choir. They sing about Amlio and religion."

"I bet they practice a lot to sound that good."

The people right in front of us chuckle.

Armen winks at me and tries not to laugh.

After a few songs, the man from outside stands at a podium.

"Good morning everyone. You all look lovely. I love seeing your smiling faces. We even have a few new faces. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have recently moved to the area. They are excited to see what we're about. Did you want to introduce yourselves?"

A man stands up. "Thank you for being so welcoming. We look forward to spending more time here and getting to know everyone."

Podium man smiles. "You know what? I'm torn. I had the entire morning planned out, and now I don't think so." He throws his papers in the trash can. "But I'm still torn. I'm being pulled in two different directions with this sermon, and I'm not sure which way to go. Let's have the choir sing again. Maybe I'll get touched with some divine wisdom in the process."

The choir runs back up and sings a song.

Then he takes the podium again. "Thank you for that. It was lovely. You know, a few simple words or seeing something you can't explain, can change a person. Something simple can change your heart or your soul. You may not understand it right away. But it changes something inside you. A lot of people find their faith that way. I remember a young man who was heavily into drugs. He was on a terrible path. Then one day, he came to church. He said an angel spoke to him. He was a believer just like that. He never did drugs again, and he never missed a day of church."

A lot of people hold up their scroll books and say something. It's kind of confusing.

"How many of you in this very room have ever seen an angel?" A few people raise their hands. "It seems they only come to us if we are really in need. I, myself, always wanted to meet Amlio. I have prayed to meet him. Please come and visit. Come now. We would love it." He pauses cause people are laughing. "One time, I thought he did come to see me. I was in my house at night. All of a sudden, the windows started shaking and lights were coming in them at weird angles. I ran outside in my pajamas and robe. I was ready to meet Amlio and fall to his feet. Sadly, it was just Armen's helicopter landing."

Everyone cracks up laughing. Even me.

"Don't get me wrong. I was happy to see Armen. He was delivering some things for the church. But I was so disappointed he wasn't Amlio. I really thought he was finally coming to see me that night. I know he'll visit someday though. I have faith in that."

I lean into Armen. "Can I go pee?"

"Yea. The door is right there in the hallway. I can see the door. You can go."

We're in a box room. It seems to be in another box. The hallway goes all the way around it, I think. I go the way he pointed and find the bathroom. There are other doors down this hallway too. I can't look though. I have to pee.

When I'm done, I find blood. This is a very bad time. Of all days. Of all places. This couldn't have come at a worse time. I have no idea what to do. I put some toilet paper in my underwear and wash my hands.

A lady gives me a hug. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"I started, you know. And I don't know what to do."

She gets into her purse and hands me a pad. "There you go. It's happened to me a few times. I learned to never leave home without them."

"Thank you. I guess I should do that too."

"You going to be ok?"

"Yes. Thank you." I get it on and go back to Armen.

"You alright?" He stares at me for too long.

"Yea."

Now the podium guy is talking about angels and letting people share their stories. It's fascinating, but no angel ever came to visit me. I could have used one or twelve.

After it's over, we go outside. Armen roams around talking to people. I cling to him for a while, then I sit out of the way on the steps. The people are really nice. I'm not frightened here.

He sits beside me. "What did you think about what he said?"

"It was hilarious when he thought you were God coming to visit him." He laughs. "Other than that, I wish angels would have come to save me."

"Maybe they did, and you didn't see them."

"I guess. Maybe they helped my garden. I wouldn't be surprised. That thing is amazing."

"Oh, hello Armen. How are you?" The girl that gave me the pad is looking at us weirdly.

Armen jumps up so fast I nearly fly off the steps. "Hi, Lilah. It's nice to see you. This is Aurora."

"Aurora, what did you think of the sermon today?" The podium guy shows up and helps me stand up.

"It was hilarious when you thought Armen was God." I crack up laughing again.

"Yes. Looking back, it is funny. At the time, it was so disappointing. Will you two be joining us for our feeding the hungry lunch?"

"YES." I fall down a step.

Armen grabs me without looking away from that woman. "Be careful."

"Sorry. I slipped. We're going to feed the hungry now."

He finally turns to me. "I usually just give them money for that."

"But we're not doing anything anyway." I push my bottom lip out.

The lady laughs. Armen turns to her and smiles.

Podium man nods. "Lilah, this is Aurora. She's Armen's adopted daughter."

"Oh." She looks so shocked.

"They're going with you to feed people now. Don't let him get lost. Aurora will probably be fine."

I crack up laughing again. That guy is so funny.

Armen goes back to staring at the woman. "Is it ok if she helps?"

"You both can." She smiles and touches her hair.

These two are very into each other.

I bounce between them to get them to look at me. Cause they're not going to do it on their own. "You should come to dinner."

"Oh, I can't impose."

"You're not. You saved me. You have to come to dinner. It's to say thank you."

"We would love to have you for dinner, Lilah." He turns to me. "How did she..."

I put my hand on his mouth.

Podium guy walks by again. "I may like him better like that."

I lose it. He is freaking hilarious.

He winks at Armen. "There's nothing better than the sound of a child's laughter. And some kids think I'm funny."

Armen nods. "Will you join us for a thank you dinner, Lilah?"

"Of course."

I bounce again. "Do you have dietary restrictions?"

Armen smiles. "She's been around the help too much."

Lilah smiles at me. "No. None of those. Thank you for asking."

"You're welcome."

"Do you want to walk to the community building with me? It's four blocks."

"You don't have to lie, Lilah. Nobody wants to walk four blocks in heels. I can barely make it to the next room when I have them on."

Armen looks at her feet then laughs. "Yea, let's take the helicopter."