Empire

Chapter sixteen

The next morning the officials tell us that we'll be staying in Nigeria for another day. Today is some sort of holiday for Emorians so the officials get the day off.
Last night most of them flew back to Emor including Maroon who wanted to see her family. She'll be back tomorrow in time for the next challenge.
I get to wear whatever I want today. It's a strange thought, but I haven't been able to for most of the competition.
It's raining again and the sound of it hitting the roof is beautiful.
For the first time in a few months I get to clean a house. It's not very dirty but I find things to do. As I work I sing, it's what I do at home and it's been too long since I've let myself sing. I don't feel like letting all of Emor hear me. Also most of the songs I know and love are about God.

"The present may seem dark,
But the future is golden.
There may be no end in sight,
But it's just beyond your vision.

The past is gone it can't be changed,
You can't go back to yesterday.
Old mistakes and happy days,
All of these have passed away.

Be still and know that I am God
And you are mine
All will be well
Be still and know that he is God
And you are his
All will be well

When things don't go the way you planned,
He still holds you in his hands.
Weary ways and troubled roads,
After this we'll all go home."

"That's a beautiful song." Flair says. I didn't realize she was listening.
"Thank you!"
"Can you teach it to me?" She asks.
I sing it through a few times, on the third time she joins me. She has a beautiful voice, I've never heard her sing before. While she sings I harmonize with her quietly, it's been so long since I've heard music.
That evening it's back to the competition and we have to fly to Peru. I sleep for a lot of the flight. They've kept giving us the green and purple pills, so I haven't got sick again. I wish I knew what was in them though.
When I wake up we've been flying for eight hours and there's only two hours left. Looking out of the plane all I can see is water and the sun that is just starting to rise.
When we land, Indigo, Maroon, and Magenta change us before we get out. There's no carriage waiting for us though, we have to walk to the place where we're staying. A few animals carry our things. They look a bit like a horse but they are furry, Magenta tells me they are called alpacas.
The trail goes through a bit of jungle and then after that it's mostly uphill. The slope is gradual but it's still a lot of climbing. The fresh air is nice though and I see some interesting birds and a few monkeys. After about an hour the air feels thin and it's harder to breathe. Flair is having more trouble than I am but she's not complaining. A few weeks ago she would have been whining nonstop. She has changed since I first met her.
I'm surprised at how well Indigo and her team are doing. Eventually we have to stop, we're all tired and short of breath. Maroon hands out blue pills and we all take them. Breathing is easier after that.
Around noon we finally reach the village where we're staying. We get the rest of the day off, the challenge is tomorrow.
I wake up early the next morning and sit on a rock outside. It's peaceful, looking around and watching the world. Our house is on a mountainside. Below us is a valley and in the middle of the valley is a pyramid with hundreds of steps on it. A giant bird that I've heard called a condor is floating above the valley, pretty much eye level with me. I see more houses and fields and alpacas.
After a bit I see Flair on a rock a little lower than me and go join her.
"Hi Susan." she says with a smile.
A few minutes pass and then she asks me "When did you get saved?"
"I don't know exactly, probably twelve or thirteen," I say "I didn't really have a drastic conversion."
"What do you mean?" She asks.
"Well, when I told you about Jesus you'd never heard of him before and it changed your life," I say and she nods "but I've known the gospel all my life. In a way that almost made it harder for me, I thought I was a good person because of the way my parents brought me up. I didn't realize how much pride and selfishness I had. But I was scared of dying, I'd heard my parents' testimonies and they were a bit like yours. So I was waiting for some sort of sign or feeling inside of me to show that I was saved. One day I finally realized that it wasn't about how I felt, so I let it go and trusted God's grace, and after that I finally had peace." I'm quiet for a bit and then add "I still struggle with pride sometimes, and thinking I'm better than other people. But God loves me even when I mess up, and I still have his peace."
"I think that's why I liked you when we first met," says Flair "even though your life had changed for the worse, you were still happy."
"When we met I didn't like you." I admit laughing.
"Ya I was a bit annoying..." she says "but you still took time for me. Thank you for that."
I'm so glad I did, she has become one of my best friends.