(This is chapter 46 LOL)
Tobias' POV
It has been over five months and I haven't stopped looking for Tris. Zeke and I are the leads on the case, the gang just does what we tell them to do. Or what I tell Zeke to tell them to do.
I fear that I'll never find her, that I'll never see her, talk to her, hold her, kiss her. I do my best keep faith, and go to church every Sunday and pray every night. Zeke normally comes with me to the church in Dauntless.
It's Sunday today and I'm getting ready to go. I don't dress up like most people, though. I'm about to walk out, the door already open, when Zeke comes down the hall. He's coming with me today.
"Ready?" He asks softly and I nod.
* * * *
The preacher comes up in front of the large crowd, which consists of mostly elderly Dauntless, since the old age rule was revoked there has been many more, adults, and the occasional child.
Zeke and I sit in the back, not wanting to bring attention to ourselves because all of Dauntless knows about Tris and how much she means to me, to all of us.
The preacher is an older man with greying hair and a plump little belly. He can't be more than 5'5 ft. tall in an all black suit with a tan tie and a Bible clutched under his left arm, which he sits on the podium standing in front of him.
The music starts to play, church songs, most of which I know by heart.
"... Our God is the Lion, the Lion of Judah. He's roaring with power and fighting our battles. And every knee will bow before him. Our God is the Lamb, the Lamb that was slain for the sin of the world, His blood breaks the chains. And every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb. Oh, every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb..."
Everyone sings, or whispers, along to the words. This one has always been my favourite.
"Now, let us pray before we begin," The preacher bows his head, as does everyone in the crowd.
"... In Jesus' name we pray, Amen,"
"Amen," The crowd repeats.
They pass communion around on the gold painted trays, the grape juice (they never use real wine, that's Catholic church, I think) which represents Jesus' blood, and the little bit of bread that represents His body.
He goes into a sermon in the book of Matthew. "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor," (Bible, book of Matthew, 11-5)
The Lord performed miracles, and still does. But in the strangest of ways. Most of the time you don't know a miracle has been performed until later.
I cling to every word the preacher says, as does Zeke.
* * * *
The preacher, whose name I found out was Mr. Nillis, concluded the sermon with a final prayer and we are dismissed. Zeke and I walk out in silence, well, for the most part. Ever since Tris went missing, he's tried to make me laugh. Why he does that I'll never understand, but I'm glad that I've got someone like him with me.
I feel a slight tug on the back of my shirt and I stop in my tracks to see what it was.
"It" was a young girl with two pigtails of curly blonde hair and pretty green eyes and a small long sleeved purple dress with sparkles and lace. She can't be more than five years old. I crouch down to her height and she places her small hands on my knees.
Her eyes are so pure, so innocent.
"Sir, are you alright?" She asks in a small voice.
I tilt my head in confusion.
"You're crying," She clarifies and reaches up to touch my cheek, wiping away a tear that I didn't know was there.
I smile slightly and she looks right into my eyes, burning into my head.
"Why are you crying?" She asks with a tilt of her head, causing her blond pigtails to bob to the side.
"I... I miss someone, real bad," say quietly.
"Who is it? You can tell me, I won't tell a soul, I promise,"
I smile. "Her name's Tris, she... She, um, went away a few months ago and we don't know... We don't know if she's going to c-come back," I choke on my words and cover my mouth with my hand.
She leans forward and wraps her small arms around my neck and hugs me in a sympathetic way. I hug her back gently.
"What's your name?" She whispers in my ear.
"My name is Tobias, what's yours?" I say, purposely using my real name.
"My name's Thalia," She replies and I see a woman, maybe a few years older than I, standing behind me with a small smile.
"Thalia, what are you doing?" She whispers softly.
"Sorry, Momma. He was sad, he said he missed someone real bad and I wanted to help," She says smoothly.
"Thank you, Thalia," I whisper as she stands to walk with her mother.
She waves to me, he hand flopping back and forth. I wave back and turn to Zeke who has a goofy grin plastered on his face.
"If that was all it took to get you to smile I would have fond a sweet little kid months ago," He jokes and I roll my eyes.
Three updates in one day?! Holy Dauntless cake, I'm on a roll! Okay, I personally love this chapter because since I started writing this, I wanted to add something with church. And I wanted something with him and a little kid and, well, it just sort of fit. Hope y'all like it! Remember: READ, VOTE, and COMMENT! Bye, pansycakes!
-Love, Emily
Be brave