2

15 1 0
                                    

“You know that this is crazy, right.” Lily said with her hands folded against her chest. Finn packs his backpack with the Bible, spray paint and a sledge hammer among other things.

“You can back out if you want to. I’m not forcing you to join me. This is something I must do.” Finn replied once he closed the zip.

“Vandalism? You can get arrested Finn!” she yells in exasperation with her arms in the air.

“The law says it is vandalism. I’m just sending a message. They must know what’s coming.” He walked to the kitchen, took a water bottle and started to fill it through the faucet.

“Okay then. What happens next? What happens after we’re done with this?” Lily asked while she grabbed her jacket, putting it on.

“We go to the next town, then the next and then maybe to the city.” He said in a matter-of-factly. Finn walked back to the small living room and put his water bottle inside the backpack.

“If you’re scared, just stay behind. I will understand.” He put on his backpack and glanced at Lily as she sighed in defeat.

“I’m not letting you go there alone. I won’t let you do this alone. Till death do us part, huh?”  Lily smiled lovingly at her husband. Her honey brown hair was tucked in a tight bun showing her full, oval face.

A few days into the town, Finn met Lily at a bakery. He bought one croissant from her then the next day, he found himself walking back to the bakery. Her nebulous Eden-green eyes that were a sparkle with the 'joie de vivre' and oyster-white teeth that showed whenever she smiled had intrigued him and he yearned to know more about her. Within weeks, Finn had landed himself a job as a plumber and by the fith month of his stay in the small town and courtship, he proposed to her. She said yes to him of course and they got married by a judge since they couldn’t afford to have a wedding.

Finn walked to where Lily stood, “Till death do us part.” He parroted her as his hands found their way along her cheeks. Their foreheads touched, and their eyes closed. They relished the feel of being close together like a source of comfort to each other. Her arms ran over his firm biceps and landed behind his head on his soft chestnut hair.

Finn, after he had his encounter with the old man, started preaching sermons in the town’s Anglican Church. It was the only church standing that people attended every Sunday. Little by little, his courage grew, he preached more and guided people on how to pray to the God Almighty, the true meaning of repentance and how to effectively study the Bible.

“We should head out now. I’ll take my bike and we can meet at the church?” Finn told his wife with his hand twisting the doorknob.

“Yeah…wait. Won’t the bike be noisy?” she asked, whilst pulling a strand of her hair, in a worried tone.

“I’ll be leaving it by the woods. We’ll use it if need be since the car is rusty and old and might break down on our way to the next town.” Finn explained.

“Alright. Stay safe.” Lily slightly waved at her gentle-smiling husband as he walked out of their humble home. It was a fair-sized house in a tiny piece of land with a beautiful white but old picket fence. Finn had managed to pay their mortgage after he’d saved us from his plumbing gigs. 

The minute the door got shut, she started pacing across their small living room with sage walls. She was scared for his safety...their safety. Her mind was spinning around with doubts and the possibility of getting caught and sent to prison that she almost got a panic attack. Taking a seat on a grey bean-bag chair, she took in deep breaths, exhaled and inhaled as she remembered a verse her husband read to her; “In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.”(Psalm 56:4) The verse was repeated over and over again in a barely audible voice till her heart was no longer weary. She longingly stared the sheer lace curtains bordered by heavy burgundy throw and released a long sigh.

Lily took her own backpack, slightly larger than Finn’s and locked all the doors in her home. “I’ll surely miss this place.” She said to herself. A voice that sounded much like Finn’s said, there are mansions awaiting us in heaven, at the back of her head. She chuckled and left her little, vintage-designed home.

A Call to Warn All. Where stories live. Discover now