DECEMBER JANE

Laori: Lost

I stood among the people of Keystone Catholic for as long as I could remember. I had missed two Sundays precisely; both were days I was down with the flu. My soul adored the way the priest sang his words. When he called the attention of the crowd, they all followed him in perfect waves of gesture.

But that was the problem. I loved the Church, and I loved its word. It left me bored.

The voices of the church choir echoed against the walls to close off today's service. Not many others in the pews did, but I always sang along. The song seemed to pass me by in the blink of an eye, and then the preacher was dismissing us for the day. My parents left, but I held back for a little. I typically waited to leave until everyone else had gone before I wandered off. Forest walks after service are a ritual to me. About a month ago, I found myself lost. Luckily, there was a girl who helped me back to the main road. She was probably the strangest person I had ever met. Half of her face was covered in burn scars, and I'm pretty sure she was blind in the eye on that side. They looked recent. I wondered what happened to her, though she didn't seem too fond of sharing. I tried to invite her to town so that maybe I could rope her into coming to Keystone. She didn't seem to be open to that either. It wasn't likely I'd ever see her again, which was a bummer. I found her quite interesting.

As I hung back in the church, I listened carefully to the closing music for the service. James, the preacher's son, played piano to open and close gatherings every Sunday. He was pretty incredible. I loved listening to his performances.

One of the last people to walk out from the front row bumped into my shoulder. I looked at the person to find that it was Jolene, a girl I had known since I was in preschool. She was probably at home for a break from college like I was. I rarely saw her around anymore.

"Still eyeing the freak?" she mocked. I shoved her away. "I'm not eyeing him, Jo. He's just a small-town prodigy and I enjoy his--"

"He's built like cream cheese on celery, and you're about as naive as a lost cause," she interrupted. "Just go home, Laori."

She walked off before I could argue with her. No, I wasn't eying him. He wasn't the type I'd be into. I didn't even know if I was into guys at all, but that wasn't something I'd tell the church.

I lost myself in his playing for so long after Jo left that when he abruptly stopped, I was shaken from the slam into silence. Not sure what to do, I stood for another moment, taking in the church as if I had never seen it before. Lights fractured behind the stained glass windows, scattering across the dust that floated in the air.

James turned his attention from the piano and stared directly at me. I froze. His eyes were something everyone around here talked about. Gray eyes out in these parts were almost non-existent.

"You stayed again," he said.

That was the first time I had ever heard him speak. I figured he could talk, but it still surprised me. His voice was monotone, cold, sharp-sounding.

"Oh, well, yeah," I panicked. "I just like hearing you play." The words came out so awkwardly from my mouth that I wanted to punch myself in the teeth. James stood up and began to file the sheet music on the piano back into some order.

"You stay after every service," he said. "You're more fond of it than most."

"I guess," I responded with a shrug. "That's their problem. They don't know what they're missing."

He placed the sheet music under his arm. "But you're aware of the rumors about me?" he asked. I nodded. The poor guy had tons of dirt thrown on him about being the spawn of the devil on something else ridiculous. None of it made sense.

"And yet, you care to speak with me now?"

I laughed under my breath. "Of course I do. Rumors are stupid."

He said nothing as he stepped off the stage and walked down the center aisle. I stepped to the side to let him pass. When he walked by, he turned his head to me briefly.

"Try not to get lost," he said. Without missing a beat, he walked out of the main space and into one of the rooms in the back. I watched him as he disappeared beyond a door that clicked behind him.

Try not to get lost.

I slowly walked to the exit, still glancing at the door he walked through. He was pretty observant, then. He had watched me leave. It wasn't comforting to know, but it was something I knew now. I can't believe I didn't notice him before. Did he follow me out the main entrance, or did he see me through the window?

I shook it off and tried to forget about it. It was my time to get lost again, anyways.