Parousia

Chapter 1

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PAROUSIA – Araceli "Means "altar of the sky" from Latin ara "altar" and coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin in her role as the patron of Lucena, Spain." ("Behind The Name", 2017)

From above, one could see cornstalks drifting in the breeze like waves in the ocean. The green leaves were swaying in a choreographed waltz where Araceli stood picking cobs and delicately placing them into a bucket. She doesn't see the poetic flow over her head but does take a peek into the beautiful sky. White frosting swirls interrupt the gas molecules of glowing blue in a fire. She feels the weight of the wooden bucket, similar to the ones women used to collect water at the well in ancient times, and wonders if she should head back now to husk.

"What shall we do with the corn this year?" asks Avodus who has been husking corn since before she can remember.

With her sun-hardened skin and smooth, white hair that drapes over her back like a wedding veil, Avodus looks as if she sprang from the very earth in which they stand. She has one bucket full on her left arm while picking more cobs into a second bucket for her right in a frictionless fashion. The waves of green above her she feels without seeing as if the very wind speaks to her. But the next movement of the stalks against the voracious corn-eating worms hits her deep at the pit of her stomach. The end is near. The leaves crinkle in as if wilted by the sun that gives them life. But only Avodus notices this; Araceli is too entrapped by the beauty of the sky to see the green crumples and for this, Avodus is relieved.

"Shall we freeze it and save it forever in its current state? Or perhaps, cornbread will help feed our starving world. Maybe we should donate some to the casserole dishes made for the hungry." Araceli doesn't notice the smile like gold hidden within an abandoned mine upon Avodus' face as she replies.

For Araceli is following her calling, to be the Midrash. She does not foresee that she will be the angel that brings all of the righteous beings to Heaven.

"Oh mom, look up at the road. A truck has stalled, and there's a family waiting for help." Araceli points at what she has seen, but Avodus feels the doom forsaking these people. A burning need to allow forgiveness for their trespasses overtakes her womb like a fetus. She feels their every hiccup along their lives and yearns to protect them.

Araceli walks toward the family, leaving her bucket where she'd been. She doesn't notice the gloom of white smoke billowing up from the street down the road. The magnetic pull she feels to approach these strangers is like nothing she's felt before. She also doesn't notice the rocks spitting up and hitting the electrical poles. Every cell in her body gravitates to them. As Avodus drops both buckets and catches up to her daughter, a pain sears in her heart. She grabs Araceli's arm in time to stop her. A semi-truck barrels down the street and clips the truck of the family. Araceli gasps as she views what her mother had foreseen. The pickup somersaults on top of every living being. There's no way anyone of them survived. First Araceli crumples into Avodus, tears dropping from her eyes as if they weighed a ton. Then with a deep breath, she turns back to her original destination.

But Avodus cannot stop Araceli. Araceli runs to them at a full out sprint. When she arrives at their bodies, she drops to her knees at each one; holding their head in her hands and listening to their last requests. A little girl looks up at her, eyes flooded with innocence. The little girl's mom holds her right hand and her dad holds her left. Avodus pauses as she hears her daughter promise them that they will be together in the afterlife in Heaven. The young child's mom tries to reach for her child to fully embrace but her body won't let her. The man's jaw muscles tense with his anger as he holds back tears watching his wife. But then they listen to Araceli and a sudden relaxation falls onto them. When Araceli finally relaxes into a sitting position and inhales, Avodus sees the spirits lift above. All smile down at her. With just a few words, Araceli gave them the peace they needed to move onto the next world.

Araceli's shoulders roll back, and she begins praying for those departed. Avodus looks around to see if anyone else saw what took place. The semi-truck straightens and then barrels further down the road with gravel smoke in the wake. She's unable to catch the license plate number through the fog. She realizes it's the first time she actually wishes she had a cell phone. There's no way she can get information to the authorities in time for them to catch the trucker. The coroner will have to suffice.

Thank you for all the love! I plan to continue this in a week or so. I'll be adding another work in a few days as part of the FanFic Contest. Wishing all the best to you! Don't forget to VOTE! :)