♰ᕈᒪᗩﬡTᓰﬡᘐ ᔕᙓᙓᖙᔕ

Story Time

I ended up searching my room for about 2 hours. I basically emptied out my entire closet. I searched my drawers and under my bed sheets. I went back over to where the coffee table was and searched one last time. If it's not over here, I'll give up. I looked under the trash that was piled on top of it and looked under the whole table. No luck. "Waah where are you hiding!" I cried out loud as I laid down on the floor exhausted. Just as I was about to give up I looked over to my left and I saw it laying there under my bed. I face palmed my forehead, disappointed in myself. Adrian you idiot. I reached under the bed and hugged my phone happily. I'm so glad I found it. I don't think I would ever get a new one knowing my parents. But that wasn't the only thing I found.

I wasn't quite sure what I had just discovered. My phone was laying on top of large cardboard box. But I'm not aware of what's inside. I turned my head curiously and reached for the box. I slid it out from under the bed. It was surprisingly heavy. On the side, 2007, was written in black marker. "Odd...", I said to myself looking all around the box. I took a pair of scissors from the coffee table and slit the top of the box so that I could open it up. At last I peeked inside. I was in awe.

It was my old attire and things from my first communion, back in second grade. I let out a long breath. Wow this goes way back. I carefully took out the white poofy dress that I wore. It was still in good shape and perfectly clean. I set it aside and searched the box for more. This is really exciting. It's like I'm going back in time. I can see the prayer book that mother bought for me. I picked it up and ran my fingers across the shiny gold letters on the cover. I opened it up and on the first page it said at the top: To Adrian From Mommy and Daddy. Congratulations on your First Communion. Take care of this and remember to never lose your faith. Love you!
I couldn't stop smiling after reading that. They cared so much about me and my faith with God. Too bad things had to change and now we don't even know him anymore. I'm sorry Jesus.
I continued looking through the box and I found the rosary that mother had bought for me. It's so gorgeous. It's beads were tough and a pastel blue color. They felt so smooth to touch. The Crucifix at one end really caught my eye. I forgot what it was like to see a crucifix. I held it close to my face and kissed it. I forget how to pray these things. Ah I feel bad. There was a lot more stuff in the box like candles, prayer cards, photos of me and my family that whole day. We all looked so joyful and happy to be a catholic. Now I see why having a faith can really brighten up your life. I put the stuff back in the box. Before I slid it back under the bed, I saw a crucifix. One much larger than the one on the rosary. This one is made for hanging on walls. I gave it a long stare. I picked it up and something suddenly came to mind. Maybe this was the answer. This is the answer I have been looking for the past 5 years. This box right here is the key to bringing my family back together. I just know it. I can feel that God is telling me to do so. Yes this is it. Maybe Jesus really is trying to help me after all. Thank you Jesus. I hope you forgive me for not listening to you. I have been so caught up in just feeling bad for myself and thinking I could just conquer my problems all by myself. No. You are the one who can conquer anything. You are my only hope.

I decided to keep the box out. This stuff will come in handy. I took out the children's bible that my mother always used to read to me. Maybe Hayes would enjoy this. I smiled at it thoughtfully. I tiptoed across the hall to Hayes's room and knocked on his door.
"Adrian?" I heard him squeak from the other side of the door.
"Yeah it's me. Can I come in?" I asked him quietly.
He quickly opened up the door and gave me a satisfying smile. He took my arm and pulled me inside the dark room.
"Why is it so dark in here? What are you, a vampire?" I asked him, my hands on my hips. He shrugged and giggled. I flicked on the lights and went over to his bed and sat down in a comfortable position.
"What were you doing in here these past two hours?" I asked him curiously. He pointed to the mess he made on the floor. It was a large pile of Legos. He was building some sort of weird contraption.
"Oh! Cool! It's a...it's a...what is it exactly?" I asked him rubbing the back of my neck. He laughed and started to explain.
"It's my invention. It's supposed to be an M&M machine," he looked up at me and noticed that my face still looked confused. He rolled his eyes and demonstrated.
"See you insert the candy right through this latch at the top. Then you can slowly pull this stick on the side and it lets out a couple of pieces in this box right under it. And you can slide it out and grab the M&Ms and enjoy! Pretty sweet huh?" he looked at it proudly as I nodded my head.
"Yeah that's really impressive Hayes. You are a very creative little man," I said rubbing the top of his head. He grinned up at me. "I'm sure you couldn't make anything like that if you tried Adrian," he told me sticking out his tongue.
"Ah that's nothing. One time I built an entire castle. It even had a dungeon," I replied to him waving my fingers at him humorously. He rolled his eyes and we laughed together.
"But anyways I need to show you something that I found under my bed. It's very special," I told him seriously. He looked at me with his eyes sparkling. "What is it??" He asked me anxiously.
"Let me go to my room and bring it in. While I go get the stuff, you should put on your pjs and hop in bed," I said as I made my way toward the door. He nodded his head and started to undress himself. As I walked down the hall I could hear my mother yelling as my father left the house. If fighting gets too extreme at home, he would spend the night at his brothers house down the road. Every time he leaves us alone with mother, I feel so unsafe. But it doesn't happen often thankfully. He tries his best to stay at home to protect me and Hayes. But when it gets too out of control, he can't handle it. I feel so sorry for him. I know that he wants to leave but he knows he shouldn't. He can't bring himself to actually leave me and Hayes. He knows that would be horrible. And he knows he shouldn't leave mother. If he did that who knows what would happen to her. She'd have no guidance and she would get in lots of trouble perhaps.

I grabbed the the children's bible and crucifix and ran back to his room. I walked in on him having trouble putting his night shirt on. "Ah, can you help me sister??" I heard him mumble under his shirt. I giggled and set the stuff on the bed. I quickly went over to him and helped him pull the rest of the shirt over his head.
When he finished getting dressed he grabbed his stuffed animal toy and hopped in bed with me.
"Hmm what's that stuff?" Hayes asked uncertainly. I glanced at him and smirked. He has no idea what any of this stuff is. It's so weird because I grew up with it.
"This my friend, is only some of the examples of Christianity," I told him but he seemed lost.
"What's Christianity?" he asked as he hugged his elephant closer to his chest.
"It's a religion. It's what we believe in. It's the belief in God," I explained.
"Ohhh yeah. I believe in God!"
"Me too. We all do. But we kind of stopped going to church and all. After that our family slowly started to change," I said looking down.
He looked at me, his eyes round. I looked up at him and smiled, trying to stay positive.
"So I'm going to teach you a little bit of what I'm talking about," I told him confidently. He looked prepared. I held up the crucifix close to our faces.
"This is a crucifix," I said.
"Woah, looks kind of sad," he pouted at it. "Who is that man, hanging on it?"
"Well it's Jesus. He died for us. Basically some people, the Romans, didn't like him because he kept on telling stories about God and how he was sent to Earth as the son of God. People thought he was crazy. Though a lot of people thought he was a hero. The Roman leader, Pilot, sentenced him to be crucified. So Jesus had to carry this cross all the way to the crucifixion destination. When they got to the destination, they told him to strip off his clothes. Then they placed a crown of thorns on top of his head." I glanced at Hayes and he looked shocked. I continued. "Then they laid him down on the cross and nailed down his hands and feet to it. Then they lifted the cross upright and made him just hang there. He eventually died after a couple of hours." I paused the telling the story because I suddenly heard footsteps coming up the stairs. My mom was coming up. I had to keep my voice down. "But he didn't completely die. When they stored his body in the tomb, the next day he was gone! His body has resurrected. Which means he came back to life. Though he didn't stay on Earth. He went way up to heaven to unlock the gates. Then he went back to Earth for 40 days to teach 11 people the teachings of God. After that he went back to heaven to take care of the thousands of people entering it."
He looked so interested. It made me happy. We looked at each other and back at the crucifix.
"So why would Jesus die for us if so many people hated him? I mean he didn't have to die," he suddenly asked.
"I mean he just loves us so much. An indescribable love that will never disappear. He knew it was his duty to spread Christianity on earth. That was what he was born to do. God made him for that reason. He is the son of God." I looked at him with sincerity and he looked at me his hazel eyes sparkling. Then he looked down at the children's bible I was holding in my lap.
"What's that? A book of some sort?"
"Yes. You've heard of a bible before right? Well this is a children's bible. It's easier to understand than normal bibles. It has all sorts of stories about God and Jesus and saints. Saints are people who are known as holy or virtuous and typically regarded as being in heaven after death. They are like Jesus's little followers. They are always there to back him up because he is their leader. A lot of them died because of their faith. It was against the rules to spread Christianity and hold masses." I explained to him quite thoroughly. "Mother used to read me stories before I went to bed when I was younger. So if you'd like I can read you a couple of stories as well." I look at him my eyebrows raised. And he nodded his head happily.
"Alright you can flip through the book and pick out one that looks interesting to you." I handed him the hardcover book and he held it with his tiny hands. He was flipping through the pages when he found a story. And a really good one too. It's called Casting the Nets.
I cleared my throat and read.
"Peter had been out at the sea fishing all day and did not catch any fish. He sails back to shore and meets Jesus for the first time. Jesus tells Peter to take his boat back out to sea. Jesus also wants to tag along with some other disciples, or followers of Jesus. Peter listened to Jesus and they took the boat back into the water. To Peter and the disciples surprise, the nets were so full of fish that they could barely pull them back into the boat. And this was the first miracle ever given to Peter by Jesus." After I finished reading, I closed the book and he was still wide awake. "Another one," he pleaded trying to open the book again. I laughed. "Maybe tomorrow," I told him my eyes smiling. "It's late we should go to bed." He pouted but he nodded his head and he got under his covers. I kissed him good night and flicked off his lights. As I was about to walk out of his bedroom, I suddenly saw mother sniffling and walking away quickly from her spot next to his door. Was she listening to us the whole time? And why was she crying? Maybe she had also missed those days like me. And realized that I still cared dearly about my faith. And that I cared about Hayes's faith. She noticed that I was starting to become a better "parent" than she was being...