Worth The Risk

1

When I was a little girl, my father used to tell me stories of kings and prophets who fought battles and a man for whom nothing was impossible. On Sundays we would go to this tiny building with a cross on it and I'd hear the same stories with lessons. It always confounded me how many lessons they seemed to be able to come up with from one story. But I loved it, I loved the stories, I loved the lessons, I loved the book they came from. And I believed all of it.

My mother used to call me a day dreamer because I could sit in my window seat and be lost in thought for hours. I'm thankful now that she never assumed that she knew what I was thinking about. And I'm thankful that she wasn't disappointed when she found out that I day dreamed about princesses. I'm glad they both understood, I can't imagine a life without my family. But I'm lucky.

I shut my journal and shoved it into my back pack. On my way out I paused in the doorway of my old bedroom. With all of its memories packed away in boxes, it was just another room now. A smile played over my lips as I recalled all the special moments I'd had in this room. My first kiss, my first sleepover, my first personal space with no one I was stuck sharing with.

It was sad but something inside me told me that I had no idea what I was about to encounter in Houston. Something about the unknown felt oddly inviting. I shut the door and got into my sister's car, soaring the house only one last look before moving forward to my new life.

A week later

My prayers were never the long kind. My mother always taught me to just get to the point and not waste God's time with flowery speech. There's praise and there's blowing hot air and repeating yourself in thirty different ways. Her words not mine.

I got up from my knees and realized that the house was empty. My parents always got to church early and just because we moved across the country, didn't mean that tradition would change. They must have taken my siblings with them since the house was so eerily silent. That was rare in the Hansen household so I enjoyed it.

I took my time in the shower and for once I enjoyed my pancakes without any of my siblings bickering or irritating me. Once I was dressed and ready I got my stuff, greeted my new neighbors and rushed to get to church in time for the service to start.

I found Funaki and Hoko and I sat beside them. It being summer and the church being packed, it was hot. But more so because for whatever reason, Texas just had to try and outdo the desert in heat. Thankfully we happened to be sitting right underneath a fan which was circulating the cool air from the aircon.

One of my favorite things about service was the music. I loved singing; Kamila and I had already been asked to join the youth choirs and we had accepted gratefully. This church seemed to already the be full of singers so praise and worship was one big mass choir with beautiful harmonies.

'Before I pray, I want to call forward elder Hamilton's daughter to sing for us.'

There was nothing but the sound of the fans whirring and people fanning themselves in the hot little church. A girl who looked to be Funaki's age accepted the mic from the pastor. I noted the looks of satisfaction on everyone's faces and guessed that she could probably sing and she was a favorite.

'Hi, I'm Arielle, some of you may know me, some of you may not. The song I'm going to sing today is Take me to the king. I hope you'll be blessed by the words.'

She cleared her throat and the pianist began to play; nothing could have possibly prepared me or any of us for what we were about to hear.

Take me to the king
I don't have much to bring
My heart is torn in pieces
It's my offering
Take me to the king