HIS SECRET SIN

I am so used to waking up before the sun rises every Sunday morning to get my siblings ready for morning mass that it has become a part of me that I no longer require the services of my alarm clock, which I usually set at 4:30 a.m. every Sunday and 6 a.m. every other day. I blinked my eyes open and looked towards my window, which I had left open last night because the weather was warm. The sky was still dark, though the greyness of dawn was beginning to take over from the darkness of the night. My body shivered a little as the gentle breeze sipped in from the window to caress my lean, hairless chest. I sat up on my bed and made the cross sign before standing up to get the rest of my day going. Today being Sunday, my family skips the usual morning prayer, preferring to do the prayers in church. My family are known Catholics, generations back up to a decade generation, and I grew up knowing no other religion except catholicism. I made my way to my praying table where the statue of Jesus Christ was nailed on the cross and that of Mary, his mother, holding him as an infant with other Catholic symbols scattered all over the small table and knelt on my knees to pray. My dad built that table for me when I was ten as a birthday gift. That was when I was told about their heartfelt desire for my future. They want me to be a priest. I was a good boy who loved my parents and my family and believed in my heart that my parents knew what was good for me. So I accepted the gift with a wide, proud smile on my face and then promised my family that I would become a priest and make them proud. My father grinned at me with such a proud look that I felt like I was walking on clouds. My praying table was not the only gift I received. I also got my very own adult Bible. Before I was only allowed to use the kids' Bible, which is made up of only the New Testament, but now I am being told that I can access everything an adult knows about the scripture, and I am so eager to begin. After thirty minutes on my knees, I stood up, said the rosary and our Father, and then bowed to my waist at the Jesus cross before I headed to the bathroom to start my day. Morning mass is at six thirty, and I am very aware of how hard it is to get my siblings up, so I forgo my shower, only washing my face with cold water, which helps me wake up some more. I then cleaned my teeth before I set out to my siblings' room to get them up. It was already five o'clock, and my parents would be waking up any moment from now. The first room I entered was Julia's. She was my thirteen-year-old sister and the only girl in the family out of three boys. Her sleeping lump was thrown diagonally across the small bunk bed, her legs thrown wide in the opposite direction while she snored softly. Julia has her room not just because she is a girl but also because she doesn't know how to sleep. Growing up, when we still had to share beds, I always woke up on the floor because she kicked me out. I was such a heavy sleeper that I never noticed the difference between the floor and the bed. " Hey, Jules, " I tapped her lightly on the shoulder. " Go away, " she grumbled, hitting my hand off while she got comfortable on the bed. I smiled down at her cute sleeping face. My sister is really beautiful, though she took most of her features from our dad, his light green eyes and dark brown hair. Her small heart-shaped face is a gift from our mother. I looked down at my snoring sister and knew exactly what to say to get her moving. I leaned down so that my mouth was directly at her. " Mum is coming, " I whispered. The reaction was brisk. Julia's long limbs nearly maimed me as she flew off the bed with her eyes wide, screaming," I am awake. " I laughed at the panic-filled look in her eyes. The sound of my laughter made Julia calm down and realize that our mum was actually not coming. Those green eyes narrowed at me as she glared daggers into my skin. " What the hell, Dan! " she screamed, sounding irritated. I lost my smile. " Language, young lady, " I scolded in a stern voice. She blushed and looked away. I shook my head at her. " Go wash up; we will soon be leaving for mass, " I told her with a kiss on her forehead before walking out to wake the rest of my siblings. I'm not too fond of it when Julia curses. Where she gets it, I don't know because no one in the family does. Julia is like the little rebel of the family who is just transitioning from childhood to teenhood. Every parent's horror, especially when she is a girl. The horror teen skipped me because my parents told me that I never gave them any issues. I was the perfect child during my teen years. Not that I am done with it; I am eighteen. My parents wanted to space their children by three years. So when two years passed after they had me and they decided to have another, the Lord chose to hold out on them. Maybe he was trying to teach them that he alone decides when to give a child and when not to. But he later had mercy and blessed them with another child two years later—a beautiful, precious girl who was the apple of her father's eyes. My dad might indeed be strict, but when it comes to Julia, he is like a teddy bear wrapped around his little fingers, which is why she gets away with many things. But my mum thought. She and Julia are like oil and water. To put it bluntly, as I have already demonstrated, our mum scares Julia. Maybe because she never let her get away with any of her s**t. Our mum is five feet four inches tall, but when she is angry, she is seven feet tall and scary. Even though I am her favourite, I am a little scared of her. I walked into the twins' room. Joshua and Caleb are fraternal twins whom my dad decided to name after the two brave heroes who delivered the Israelites from the surrounding nations filled with Giants. Joshua and Caleb's story is a favourite of my dad because where others saw an impossible task, they saw a surmountable obstacle and believed that the God on their side could turn any situation around. When I was six and my dad was telling Julia and me this story as our bedtime story, I asked why he loved it so much. He had told me the story of when he was growing up. He had been an unruly child, stubborn and rude, and fell in with a bad crowd. You get where Julia and Caleb get their genes. Everyone in the community judged and condemned him, telling his parents that he wouldn't amount to anything, but his parents never gave up on him. They kept up with their prayers, hoping and believing that God would one day transform their only child. And he did. My dad is a happily married man blessed with a family of four children and has one of the most successful department stores in town. That night, even though I was still young, I learned from his story never to judge anyone, no matter how bad I think the person is. If God hasn't condemned a person, who am I to do so? So, growing up, I learned to accept people no matter who they are. I started with Joshua. Even though he is ten, he sleeps so lightly that he wakes at the slightest touch. Yes, my parents got their spacing right on the third try, even though it came in double. They always say the third time is the charm, right? I shook his slender shoulder lightly. " Wake up, Josh. " His eyes opened, and I stared into two pairs of coffee-brown eyes, staring up at me clear-eyed as if they hadn't been asleep a second ago. Josh is a light sleeper and also a morning person who wakes up coherently, unlike the rest of us humans. " Morning, Dan, " Josh greeted before turning around to make his bed. Joshua is like me—the perfect, obedient, polite child. " Morning, baby brother, " I returned with a light smile before turning toward the blonde lump on the bed. The last on the list is Caleb. If you think Julia and I are heavy sleepers, Caleb puts us to shame. I have outgrown my heavy sleeping days because of my responsibilities and school. Julia wakes at the threat of our mum. Caleb. That is a tug-of-war that is about to begin. " Let me, " I heard behind me and turned to see Joshua beside me. Despite my seniority of over ten years, the boy is as tall as me. All my siblings inherited our father's tall genes except for me, who is a male carbon copy of our mum at five feet five inches. Yep, I am a short guy with brown eyes and blonde hair. Boring. I looked up at Joshua with a grateful smile. As his twin, Joshua has a way of getting Caleb up. Though it is still not easy, it would take less time and stress if it were to be any other person. I walked back to my room to change my Sunday attire. I chose blue jeans with a black and red striped shirt that I tucked into the jeans and held to my waist with a black belt. I donned black leather sandals and combed out my blonde hair, which just fell to my shoulders. I know I might need to cut it when I become a priest, but for now, I wear it long. I packed it up in a neat ponytail, making sure that no strand was out of place. I buttoned my shirt to my neck and used my perfume. My mum helped me pick it out. I took one glance at the short mirror hanging off the wall of my room, then picked up my Bible and my rosary, and I was set to go. My siblings always tease me that I take time with my appearance like a girl, but I usually ignore them. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look good. When I came out of my room, my siblings were already waiting in the living room. " You look beautiful, bro, " Caleb teased from his seat on the couch. I guess Joshua succeeded in getting him up and in record time. " Thank you, " I curtsied. It was all wrong that my siblings burst into laughter, and I joined them until we heard the footsteps of our parents. All laughter died, and we took on the appearance of the perfect children. " Everyone ready and good to go? " Dad asked as he walked in. " Yes, sir, " we all chorused and got to our feet. " Morning, Dad, Morning, Mum, " we greeted as we piled into my dad's SUV van and drove off to church.