Angels Do Exist (ON HOLD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK)

Chapter One

Chapter One

"Ariana!"

        My father yells from down the hall, "Wake up! You wouldn't want to be late for service this morning, would you?" He pokes his head into my mediate sized room and smiles at me. I groan loudly as he shuts my door as quickly as he opened it. Not again. 

        You see, my father is the Pastor of our city's local church, Hope and Faith Ministries, and he takes great pride in spreading the word of God unto everyone who enters. Me, being his daughter, "must" be there every single Sunday. In his eyes, it's "mandatory." I love church. But as much as I do honestly listen to the word and pray and have faith and believe, sometimes I need a break, meaning a Sunday off, just to have some time to myself. But nope, never with my father.

       Every Sunday since my mother, Lucy, passed away, my father has been so unpredictable. There are days when he's too occupied with his sermons and activities going on around the church and then there are days when he's too much of an overbearing father that I feel as if I'm suffocating. My mother's death had a toll on us both. 

      I loved my mother. She was so caring, so genuine... so beautiful. She always took great care of me, and even my father at times, always knew just how to make me smile when I couldn't even remember how. Like that one time in 9th grade, when I found out this boy I had liked so much, Brett Evans, had only used me in order to get to my friend Maria, who sat next to me in English class. I mean, he was still a grade ahead but the sad thing is, he knew I liked him a lot. Ugh, what a jerk.

        Thinking back to that year makes me cringe. But my mother had made me feel so much better when she told me that one day, God would send an angel down for me, that I wouldn't have to worry about being heartbroken or always crying and being hurt all the time. She told me that I have no control over who enters my life, that it was God's say and that even though no one is perfect, there's somebody out there that's perfect enough for me. I believed her.

          On that note, I sigh and get up from my bed and head towards my bathroom for my morning routine. After I finished brushing my teeth and taking my shower, I hustle over to my clothes. Hurrying, I pull my white silky tank top over my head and then a cream cardigan over. After I pulled on a white pencil skirt and placed my heels on, I get to hastily brushing my straight brown hair back until smooth and perfect. 

       Thank God I found the time to straighten it all down last night, or else it would be a huge frizzy curly mess. Glancing at myself in the mirror, a smile appears on my face. 

        Unbelievable what I'm able to pull together in under 20 minutes. I wink at myself in the mirror and laugh for a good minute before I head downstairs to see my father waiting by the door for me

         "Finally! The princess has arrived!" he says. Annoyed, I roll my eyes and take the extra bible placed in front of me. We make our way to the car and I can't help but think what things would be like if mom was still here. My father pretends like he's so joyful and happy, but I can see right through it. The only place that seems to capture his attention and energy anymore seems to be church.

        I sigh again as we slowly drive in silence until the church parking lot comes into view. Soon, I spot many familiar faces of people that come to Sunday service weekly. My father hurries out the car to speak to a couple people before entering church. I follow suit and wave at Ms. Dunsun, one of our neighbors and say a few hello's to the choir singers.

        "Well well well, would you look who it is."

        I whip my head around to see Mary, the local slut, glaring right at me.

        I silently laugh inside of my head. Oh how ironic it is, to be given the name of Jesus's mother, but result to be such a .. disgrace to God. I know it's disrespectful to vocalize such an opinion like local slut, or whore or anything like that but I honestly can't help it. And it's not like I tell anyone, I keep it to myself, as I should. I know enough to differentiate the good girls from the bad ones, and Mary, she's a bad one alright.

        "May I help you with anything?" I sneer. I may be the pastor's daughter but I can definitely hold my own. If it's one thing I learned being in the presence of God, is that I am a child of God. And I'm capable. Of anything.

        She glances at me from head to toe and says, "Hmm. Nothing. One glance at you and I'm ready to vomit." She mockingly gags. I should honestly punch this girl in her face but she's lucky I have Jesus. I smile at Mary. She looks at me in confusion, rolls her eyes, then prances off. Thank God. On edge, I'm about to enter church, on a Sunday morning and already my mind is being drifted elsewhere by a negative influence, I realize.

        Relaxing, I walk up the steps, into a small doorway, leading into my father's church. The church always smells so new, and is decorated with brown and maroon curtains, with chestnut colored benches in even rows lining straight down to the back. It's quickly filling up, with ongoing church people approaching through the front door. 

       The choir is on the stage at the very front, setting up. I notice my father's tall pastor podium right in the middle of the stage, ready for him to advance forth and bless the people with the message. I walk up and take my usual seat right in the front row just as my father appears on his podium and begins to start service.

        "Oh how great it is to be in the house of the Lord today," he says and smiles wide with pride to everyone in the audience, getting into the spirit. I even hear a couple women behind me shout 'Amen' and 'Yes it is'. I smile.

        The choir begins to sing on cue and I immediately close my eyes and feel an intense, peaceful feeling wash over me. I suddenly get lost in the voices of the choir, almost as if they were sent straight down from heaven ...

A/N: I'm a new author to this site, but I love to write and honestly I have faith in this story for myself and you guys also, so bear with me and comment and follow and give me feedback and I promise I won't let you guys down ! :) ( Oh and btw, at the side, is an attached picture of Ariana )