Change of Scenery [6]

Exactly as the title says

 

Home. Home sweet home. Home full of cobwebs and dust along with a crappy mattress. Home sweet home. Stella's home was only a small loft that was worth $10 a month, but was charged $100 instead. Still, she was okay with it. It was privacy. The only problem was the dust. She cleaned every other night with the vacuum and duster and everything. Still, it got dusty. Plus, it smelled of drugs. The mattress was just on the ground with a think blanket on top. Near the back was a room padlocked multiple times. It was Stella's closet. She needed the padlocks because the last thing she needed in this hell hole was an empty closet if any of the druggies around her got snoopy. On her right were her work clothes that were mainly black and intimidating. On her left were jeans, band shirts, a few blouses, and 2 dresses. One dress was black so she would be prepared for a funeral. The other was actually nice. A simple white sundress. She took it out along with some white sandals and placed them on a chair.

Stella went to her bathroom and brushed her teeth, washed her face, and the usual. When she finished, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her fingertips caressed her cheek as she thought, I look too much like her.

She walked to her bed in only a white tank and some boxers. As she climbed into the sheet, she wished she'd had the mind to buy a pillow, but finally drifted off to sleep uncomfortably.

 

Light steamed into the church only a few blocks away of Stella's loft early in the morning the next day. She walked in timidly in her white dress. It was 8:50 AM and there was a Sunday service in 10 minutes. It was hard for her to walk in because she wasn't the greatest Christian. But, in her mind, she had to. People were starting to walk in as well, so she had a better time entering. The stained glass always took her breath away. In a church, Stella always felt vulnerable, exposed. She hated it. it wasn't like her to feel fear this much, but the church always did it to her.

Stella found a pew empty and sat in it. Millions of things were going through her mind at one time that she didn't notice the boy.

"Excuse me, miss? Miss?"

Stella looked up. Her eyes widened. A handsome guy was standing near her looking straight down at her. Her pulse raced and her face began to burn.

"Hi. My name's Alex. Alex Wu. You must be new since I've never seen you before." Stella noted his adorable smile. His eyes gentle, but piercing. Stella couldn't speak. Stella was scared.

"So, what's your name?" Alex had found his way to sitting close to Stella. She was frozen but managed to say "Stella" silently. "Stella, that's a pretty name. How long've you been living here?" his arm was resting on the back of the pew as he intently stared at Stella. She could hardly look back at him.

"About 4 years now," she replied. Control your heartbeat, she told herself, breathe in and breathe out, let the fear leave. She mentally counseled herself to calm down.

"4 years? Huh. So, do you go to high school?"

"No. I'm a drop out."

"Oh. So, you must be at least 16."

"I'm 17."

"That's great! I'm 18. I was supposed to attend college this year, but I'm just enjoying a year-long break instead."

"Good for you." What's with this guy, she though. Time was on her side when the pastor walked up. Everyone in the church, now filled, stood up. A choir on the right of the church began singing a hymn. The attendants joined the choir's song, all except for Stella.

When she had the chance, Stella stole a glance at Alex. He was Asian with a smile that Stella still had trouble looking away from. Finally, for future's sake (but she prayed that wouldn't come to be), she looked at his other features. He had long, highlighted hair that fell over his face some. Taller than her, obviously, most likely stood at 5'10"-6'0". His clothing style was basic and school-boyish: a collared shirt on the inside of a simple sweater and jeans. Shoes were just simple sneakers. There was a wrist watch on his left hand: meant he was right handed. Necklace around him: a cross. It was gold in color and looked very elegant. Stella found that intriguing, knowing he was a true son of God. He's a good kid, she thought.

Stella went back to hearing the music being played in the chamber. Every voice blended wonderfully and she closed her eyes to just let the music flow into her. They played several songs while Stella still had her eyes closed. When they finally finished, she opened her eyes, looked up at Alex and found him smiling at her. Her immediate reaction was to snap her head back to the front and sit down. She could hear him muffle a giggle as he sat down after her.

The service was simple. It spoke about heaven and how those who believe that Jesus died for everyone's sins and that God is the Holy Father would go to heaven. Heaven was this wonderful world. As our world was limited, His world was everything we couldn't imagine. Her favorite phrase was that when living in the world of God, "you could smell the color 9." The church laughed at the pastor's illustration. Stella simple gave a small smile, nearly impossible to actually see. As the service went on, she kept thinking, in heaven, Lucy is smelling numbers, eating colors, tasting words. Above the pastor was a remarkable stained glass picture. It was the Virgin Mary, holding her son Jesus. Lucy, Stella thought, my dear little sister, happy 12^th birthday. Hope you're enjoying eating pink.

The service was coming to a close. It was nearly an hour long, so Stella was starting to get antsy. The pastor was wishing everyone a good day and to think of heaven. "Remember," he said, "we live to die, so that one day we will see our Father and gallop in the field of twos, fours, and twenties, maybe a few reds in there." Everyone laughed again. "Now, let's have a prayer. Alex, how about you say it?"

Alex stood up at Stella simply turned her head to him. He looked down, bowing his head and folding his hands together, then smirking at Stella playfully. "Dear heavenly Father, here we are, all worshipping You, in hopes that one day, we will be with You. You have given us this world and we are all grateful. We pray to You, asking for Your love everyday. Even those of us who don't come to You as openly as others, give them Your love, asking them to continue to worship Your holiness, so that one day, they, too, can be with You in a field of numbers. In Jesus's name, Amen."

All the heads in the church looked up, then stood up. An organ was playing some music as people were exiting. Stella stood up and glared at Alex, although she soon found out it a little more playful than she intended.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" she asked with her arms folded across her chest. Alex turned around and walked rather close to Stella, more than she liked. Still, she held her ground. Don't back off, she counseled herself again.

He laughed. Stella was beginning to get irritated with the way she liked it “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You were talking about me, weren’t you?”

"And what if I did?" Alex questioned, challenging her. Stella just smirked back.

"I may be little, but you honestly don't want to mess with me," she said. And don’t think I'm kidding, Alex, she thought.

Alex just smiled the smile Stella was falling for and said, "I'd like to see you try."

Reviews

[Steely]

Keep on working! I'd love to continue reading this story. Honestly, Stella's a great character and I love the way you go in depth about her faith. Yours truly,

- Steely