The Disciple

Chapter Twenty One

The walk takes me about 10 minutes to get to Deerfield Square. I can see a crowd full of people surrounding Potbelly's. I hope a fight didn't break out or anything. I don't want to try to break it up like bouncers at a nightclub. I decide to jog my way towards the enormous crowd. I begin huffing and puffing as I starts breathing heavily. Reaching Deerfield Square, I see James is sitting on the bench. I walk up to him and see him holding some sort of small box. I sit on the bench across from him wondering what he is holding.

"Hi James, are okay What is that in your hand James?" I ask him.

"It's the ring I'm going to give Nadia next year." He answers.

"Okay. Just two questions though. Who is Nadia?" I ask.

"Nadia is the girl I met on CDFF. She's from the Philippines and she was supposed to come on Monday, but something came up. So I decided to go the Philippines next year to propose to her. I think it's only right for her family to be a part of this moment." James replies.

"Oh." I say nodding my head in understanding.

I look over to a big crowd surrounding Potbelly's and I finally realize why everyone is crowded around there. It turns out that their debuting a new sandwich from what I've heard from other people around my complex. I then, notice a teenager who is around 17 years old staring at James. He begins to walk in our direction with his sandwich in hand. James and I stare at each other wondering what the kid wants from us. Staring at the kid I ask him.

"Can I help you?" I ask the teenager.

"You're a disciple of Gabriel right?" The kid asks and points to James.

"Yes I am." James answers.

"I'm not looking for anything in particular. I was just curious." the teenager replies

"Oh no problem. May I ask where you're from?" James asks.

"I'm from the south side." He answers.

"Oh nice. What street?" I ask him.

"Aurora." The kid answers.

The kid then turns around to wait in line. James and I try hard not to laugh out loud as the kid goes back to hanging out with his friends. I then begin thinking back to that vision I had about the brunette haired girl. Her cream skinned face leaning in for a kiss and her lips soft as a pillow. Who was she and why is that she disappears when everyone is looking. I want to tell James about her but, I don't know anything about her yet.

"So I saw the girl again today." I say to James.

"What girl are you talking about?" James asks.

"The one that keeps popping up out of nowhere." I answer.

"Sure Chris. I believe you." James says.

"You do?" I ask.

"Yeah I do." James answers.

Just like that James believes me after all this time. Maybe it's God giving me a path that I must follow. I mean I really want to know who this brunette haired girl is. I also want to get to know her a lot better. I glance at James whom by the way is still holding the ring in his hand. As we're passing by Walgreens an old lady in a wheelchair enters the parking lot. She sees James and I walking while looking at the engagement ring. Wheeling towards us, she taps James on the back. The two of us turn around with a confused look on our faces. She then stares at the engagement ring.

"Are you two together?" She asks.

Our eyes widen in shock as we have never had anyone ask us this question before. We then begin to laugh. My eyes end up in tears again as the laughter causes me to grab my stomach. James still was able to control his composure luckily. He looks at the old lady trying to keep a straight face. He then glances at me still laughing on the ground continuing to grab my stomach. He then smacks his forehead with the realization that the ring is in his hand comes into play.

"No, we're not together. We're just really good friends. In fact, this is actually for my girlfriend who lives far away." James finally answers as he puts the ring in his pocket.

"Oh silly me. It must be my old age." She says.

Still lying on the ground, James helps me up. The laughter stops and I calm down. Standing on my own two feet I notice that James put the ring back in his pocket. I decide to to tell James my plans, my main goals for next year.

"So I've decided. I'm going to search for her." I say.

"Search for who?" James asks as though he didn't know who I was talking about.

"The girl that keeps popping up." I answer.

"Oh, okay. Make sure she's real first though." James say with a sarcastic look on his face.

"Haha, very funny." I sarcastically tell him.

"Me, I'm going to the Philippines next year so I can propose to Nadia." James says.

"Oh cool. You're going to have to tell me how that goes." I tell James.

"Will do." He replies.

"You know the kid back at Deerfield Square might have given you a new superhero name." I tell James.

"Oh yeah? What is it?" James asks.

"The Disciple." I answer.

"I like it." James replies.

This entire journey has opened my eyes and I hope everyone else's. In fact regardless of the ups and downs in life there is always a positive side to things. There is no perfection to balance the darkness and the light but, only Jesus. Who might've told me this you ask? The answer is quite simple. He goes by many names, but people know him as one man. He is...The Disciple.