Tackling the Imperfection Dare

Day 4

A/N: A day late! Forgot to upload it last night. Working on Day 5 now ^_^

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Day 4. Write a scene in a church.

4: A Child's Prayer

Cecille stepped into the church. This was a daily routine of hers - to pray every morning at the small chapel on Birkway Street. The church was usually empty at this time, 6:30 am, so she was surprised when she heard a sweet tiny voice echoing through the church when she entered.

Doing the sign of the cross, she slid silently on the last seat at the back. The voice sounded like it belonged to a child, and she saw that the child was a girl kneeling at the first row of benches in front of the crucified figure of Jesus.

The child's voice was loud so Cecille naturally heard what she was praying about.

"Thank you God for helping Grandma recover from her heart attack. She's still in the hospital but the doctor says she will be fine. Mommy cried tears of joy the other day after hearing that,"

Cecille heard the smile in the child's voice as she said, "I knew you would help her."

"But right now I have another problem. There is this kid I go to school with, her name is Fawn. While I was biking through her neighborhood and passed her house I heard screaming and crying. I think her parents were hitting her,"

Cecille gasped, eye's widening with shock. She felt bad for Fawn and the praying child, for having to hear Fawn being abused by her parents.

"I wanted to call the police then, but I don't have a phone."

Compassionate, kind, and smart, too, Cecille thought.

"I'm not asking for a phone though. I'm asking for You to stop Fawn's parents from hitting her. I've passed her house twice this month right after school and I heard the same thing both times. I feel sorry for Fawn because she's such a smart and nice girl, but all her parents do is punish her when I know she's doing nothing wrong. God please help her family," she could hear the child's soft sobs, as if she was feeling Fawn's pain.

Cecille was so touched by this and didn't realize that tears were rolling down her cheeks, too.

The child's voice broke but was still loud when she continued. "I know that I am asking too much from you, but I really want to help Fawn. The sad thing is, I don't know any other way to help her other than pray to You. So I hope You hear my prayer and help Fawn. Amen,"

Wiping away her tears, Cecille smiled at the back of the little girl, who was just starting to get up. She was rubbing and swiping at her eyes as she walked down the altar towards the exit.

When the little girl neared Cecille, she stopped. "Did you hear my prayer?"

Cecille smiled softly. "Yes. I'll pray for Fawn, too."

The little girl smiled back. "Thank you. What's your name?"

"My name is Cecille, what's yours?"

"Tina,"

"That's a pretty name. Tina." Cecille said, trying the name on her tongue. She decided that it really was pretty.

Tina looked at her shyly. Only now did Cecille see the little girl's face. She was pretty, with blonde locks and fair skin. She was wearing the school uniform of Divina Elementary - a knee-length blue checkered skirt and a pristine white blouse - and a blue backpack hung on her shoulders.

Cecille checked her watch. "It's 6:40 am, Tina. You better get going if you don't want to be late for school,"

"School? Oh, right! Thanks for reminding me. Goodbye, Cecille. It was nice meeting you!" Tina flashed her a grin, long enough for Cecille to notice there was a gap between her two front teeth, before running out of the church.

"Bye," Cecille whispered, before kneeling down just as Tina did.

She initiated her prayer by doing the sign of the cross, then started to pray for Tina and Fawn.