Chrysalis

Chapter 6 - Gangsta

Chapter 6 - Gangsta

Sunday morning rolled through seamlessly, and for the first time in a while I was more than happy to wake up. My parents were unaware of my plans for the day, and it was better that way. They had gone to church themselves, and so it was a good time to sneak out. I knew they'd get back before me, so I left a message saying I went to grab coffee and took my bike. It wasn't totally untrue. I did take my bike, but it was for purposes of getting to a bus stop. The suburbs didn't have buses— only uber and your daddy's BMW.

On the bus, I fiddled with the sleeve of my white shirt. I wore a slimmed down version of black tuxedo pants with some french-stilettos and a lacy, long sleeve shirt. Tobias had told me that most people got really dressed up for masses, which is something I wasn't used to. When I had snuck into clubs with Alex had had gotten more hoed-up than dressed-up. Strangely, it felt nice to try more with my clothes and keep it classy. There was something empowering in covering in style.

I had never taken a bus before this summer started. My parents had always been weary of public transit in this city, and so they usually insisted on driving me everywhere.

There was a man in the corner losing his hair and his sight. He was short and chubby, and still walked with all the power he could. He swayed in his seat while he listened to cassette tape. I wanted to dance along with him.

Finally after forty-five minutes, the bus stopped in front of a church. A number of people got up to get off, all dressed up with chipper smiles.

I stopped off nervously, moving out of the way quickly to make room for other people exiting the bus. There were groups of people around the church' lawn, talking and laughing together. I saw some young children running and playing, while some stayed glued to their mother's legs.

And then closer to the door, there was Tobias. He was speaking with the pastor, deep in a conversation. I walked towards him slowly, hoping not to interrupt their conversation. When Tobias spotted me, he motioned towards me and lead his Pastor in my direction.

"This is Virvanna, Pastor. Virvanna," he smiled, "This is our Pastor, Sean. I was just telling him about you and how we're in music composition class together."

"It's nice to meet you," I lifted a hand for him to shake.

"Do you play any instruments, Virvanna?" he asked with a welcoming smile.

"I mostly sing," I answered.

"Well," he clapped his hands together in excitement, "Maybe you and Tobias can perform something during the picnic!"

I froze. "Oh, well I'm not—"

"Excuse me, Tobias. I need to get ready for the service. It was nice to meet you, Virvanna!"

Tobias nodded as he left and then faced me with an elbow out. "Shall we?" he said.

I giggled and hooked our arms together. "Sounds like a plan."

—

"It is the beginning, again!" He started the service with passion in his voice. "And so, we wonder, how may we approach this new year? This new time, this new milestone. As the leaves fall we must remember that they do grow again. As our windows freeze over we must know that frost melts away. And like the leaves, like the frost, we rise and fall and begin again.

" Luke, verse 21 says 'Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near'. What does that mean? What are these things that take place? These are our triumphs and our failures. These are the hardships that we run away from so quickly, without realizing the doors that have opened! We fall so we can pick ourselves up again. We end, so we can start anew. And our journey will only get harder and harder, but that can only mean that our highest points will be higher and higher because we will redeem!"