Awakening

7: Sermon

Blake looked outside the living room window, eyes wide as he stared at the front yard. The grass twitched against a gentle morning wind, and the rickety fence posts creaked so softly they were almost inaudible from inside. But nothing else seemed to be moving.

"Honey?"

He turned around as Alisha walked into the living room area. She wore a dress, with wide straps at the shoulders and a faded flower design. It nearly reached her ankles, and was the most gentle aqua color Blake had ever seen. Her dirty blonde hair wasn't fancy, but she'd clearly spent a great deal of time combing through those wavy locks.

And she reached for something on the back of her neck using both her hands.

"Blake, can you get this clipped on for me?" she asked with tightened lips. "I'm having some trouble."

She referred to a little silver necklace in her delicate grasp. Blake walked to her backside, and grabbed both ends of the chain from Alisha's shaky hands whilst the latter held up her hair. The clip was a bit tricky at first, but he managed it before long.

"Thank you." His mother faced him and rubbed her hands over the shoulders, then greatly brought her soft hands to his chin. "Ooh, I think you'd better comb your hair again. You've got a few strands that look out of place."

She smiled of course, but Blake rolled his eyes. He headed for the bathroom, and looked himself in the mirror once more. The dark blue button-down shirt was really the only nice shirt he owned, as well as the black slacks. He took a simple comb on the counter, wet it down with some sink water, and gently combed through the aforementioned displaced hair strands. His short black hair still nearly reached his eyebrows when completely extended, but with some water he could push the strands into a nice side part. Once finished, he walked back out to Alisha, who put on a thin white cardigan.

"Alright," she said, a bit cheerier than usual. "Let's get going."

"And you're sure you're feeling better today?" he asked.

"I am, actually. Now come on, we don't want to be late."

Alisha locked the door after both she and Blake exited the house. Together they entered her car and clicked in their seatbelts.

The drive was silent, but calm. Though it lasted but ten minutes, Blake did enjoy the scenery as it moved past him in blurs. Houses, then green, and brown, buildings and little parks, a few pedestrians....everything about this little town was so familiar to him, so comfortable, and peaceful. He knew the names of every shop, and knew everyone who owned them, even if he hadn't visited them all at least once.

On the other side of town from his house sat a park, the edge of downtown, and a chapel with a little spire. His mother parked on the street behind a row of at least eight other cars. Once she and Blake exited the vehicle, they walked together towards the chapel a few blocks down.

A few people were gathered outside the open front doors, and spoke in calm and friendly conversation. Blake and Alisha stepped inside after a couple of greetings to the groups they passed by. The inside of the building was impressive, as this church did not appear as large as one would have guessed from its outside. Rows upon rows of old but stable benches filled the massive room in two wide columns, save from the narrow platform at the end of the aisle between said columns. While a few people stood in the aisle or near the windows, dozens more sat in the benches themselves.

Rapid movement caught his attention almost right away. A sharp but continuous wave of a hand. Near the middle of the rows and on the right, someone flagged him down. Blake grabbed his mother's attention and together they walked.