Hopes of Paris

Chapter III: Promise

Kids gathered outside the doors of The Church of Saint-François-Xavier just when it closed its doors for visitors. A Bible teaching was held every Saturday on one after the noon. Sall had registered for this teaching ever since he was eight years old, and Carmen followed him after they had met in the year two thousand and ten. He was waiting for his friend to arrive and kept checking his phone for texts from her, but she would not answer his messages. The supervisor signaled the start of today's session, and everyone walked inside little by little.

"I will never forget that expression on her face." Sall mumbled as Sam and Jacquie sat beside him.

Just when Sall was about to walk inside the church, he heard someone call his name from afar. The familiar high pitched voice he had been expecting but gave up on. Carmen appeared running from the far end of the sidewalk, barely keeping a hold of her little purse around her shoulder and waist. She was heavily breathing from her mouth, her cheeks were a dark tint of red, and she was sweating even in the cold weather of the winter. Her eyes felt watery too, for some reason. Sall's eyes widened as he watched her running, and even more when they caught sight of the look on her face. He had never seen someone so excited for seeing him as much as she was.

"Hi! You're kinda late." He greeted her, smiling softly infront of the door.

"I'm... really sorry. I..." Carmen was struggling to catch her breath, arching down and putting her hands on her knees.

"There's no need to apologize! How was America?" He reassured and asked. Carmen was in the United States on vacation with her family for a month.

"We'll talk later. Come on now!" She grabbed Sall from the wrist and started pulling him inside.

"Easy!" Sall giggled, trying his best to go quiet once they went past the door.

The supervisor had gathered the kids around the front wooden seats. There was four rows of seats. Between each two rows to both left and right sides, there was a small space separating the seats. However, the space in the middle was a whole lot wider, and that was where Sall and Carmen walked. Everyone looked back at them as they headed inside, placing their arms on the back of the seats. Sall smiled at them, and Carmen wondered why were they ignoring the supervisor's words and just looking at them. She then realized she had still been keeping hold of Sall's wrist, and everyone by now thought they had something going on. Carmen blushed upon knowing, quickly letting go of Sall's wrist. They sat in the nearest available seat near the others to the left side beside each other, listening closely to the supervisor.

"And thus mankind was created, originating from Adam and Eve." The supervisor said, running his eyes among everyone as he stood in the middle.

"Hubert." Sall raised his arm and wanted to add something, calling the supervisor by name and stood up. It was okay for the kids to do that.

"Yes, Sall?" Hubert turned his attention towards the black eyed male as well as the others.

"Adam and Eve gave birth to Abel and Cain. Wouldn't that make us the children of killers?" Sall asked, monotoned. He had zero expressions on his face, blankly staring the supervisor.

"That... That isn't the case for everyone," Hubert got a little surprised by the question and didn't know how to answer. "Adam and Eve still gave birth to others after Abel and Cain. It wasn't entirely up to the two brothers."

"So you're saying some of us are children of a killer, while others aren't," Sall placed his index finger on his chin, thinking. "Why did Jesus die for us then?"

"That's not-... You know the answer to this one," Hubert was getting a little impatient. "It's to release us from our sins."

"The sins our ancestors committed?" Sall asked, tilting his head. He blinked in utter confusion. "Why did it take Jesus this long to be born, then? And if God is all-knowing, why did he not prevent all of th-"