Chapter 25: A Strange Sight

Alexander walked through the cabin as music played lightly in the background. Streams of light from the sun rising over the horizon poured into the room with great intensity. He felt a peace deep in his soul. This is where he needed to be during this time. Not just the location of his body, but the location of his spirit which seemed to nestle closely to God.

The gentle piano instrumentals playing in the background mingled perfectly with sounds of birds that began their early morning routine.

"This is all so... different," he spoke quietly, but not to himself, yet to the One he knew was listening in.

"I'm so used to a fast paced lifestyle and these past few weeks have been anything but that. I- I prefer this much more." He said calmly.

Sipping a bottle of water, he walked over to the edge of his bed and grabbed the notebook that he brought along with him. He clicked play on a new instrumental and began to scribble the date and time as he began.

"Hi Father,

As the day has begun, I already feel the joy bubbling up within me. It's been so nice to be in the silence with You. I've been hoping to learn what it means to be "consecrated," as I've heard that term being used in a short sermon I watched days ago.

I just pray, please keep my friends and dear cousin safe. Please cover them and protect them.

And please, please help me to focus on You. I hope that by the end of this I desire your company more than everything else and that I learn to be with you day by day and moment by moment.

Thank you Father."

Alexander concluded his journal entry. He leaned his head back against the pillow. He felt understandably tired. It was only 6 a.m., but he had woken up around 4 a.m. to spend time with the Lord.

He had woken up naturally around that time and although he felt a tad bit groggy when he did wake, he felt the urge to spend time with the Lord. He came to the conclusion that it was very likely that the Lord woke him up at that time with the purpose of spending time with him, so instead of fighting it, he decided to remain awake and seek His face.

There was something so peaceful about being in the presence of the Lord. He found himself imagining Him sitting before him with large bright eyes, attentive of his every word and in doing this, he felt the presence of God so rapidly.

It was like a warm blanket of peace wrapped around him and Alexander began to notice rather quickly that his heart was filling with gratitude. He found that he could easily remain in prayer for a long while and honestly, he desired to.

Just skimming through the old testament and reading about Daniel and David from his devotional recommendation, he saw that the two men had a lot in common, but one main thing stood out to him.

How they prayed.

They seemed to spend hours upon hours of praying and they were considered to be great men of God. They didn't have to hide their weakness from God, instead they acknoweldged their weaknesses and learned to rely on Him in all matters.

David prayed constantly, through the good and bad and he was a repentant man when he was called out on his transgression. While Daniel prayed three times a day faithfully, despite orders to not pray to the One True God.

Alexander would be lying if he said that hearing the lives of those two men didn't inspire him. His mind drifted back and forth between the Biblical accounts of both of them and how they lived for the Lord. He was intrigued by it.

He desired to be close to the Lord as well. Just as they were. He desired to know Him well.

And in that moment he had a flashback of when he first met Arielle. He had no idea just how much his life would change in a few short weeks. He had gone from working like another cog in the machine and being focused on the endless climbing of the business ladder- but when he met her his world flipped upside down.

But he was grateful.

Genuinely, he thought that she would be the source of his attention for much longer and that if she'd only let him, he could easily allow his life to revolve around her, but now things were different.

If it be God's will, they could focus on the Lord together. And if it be God's will then they could focus on Him while being apart. Either way, Alexander soon came to the conclusion that the answer was God and no matter the outcome, the answer would always remain as God.

The only purpose in life was to know Him and to be known by Him.

"Teach me Lord," he mumbled. "I desire to know you more," he whispered. Despite the continuous rising of the sun and the singing of the birds, Alexander's eyes drifted close, and soon he was asleep.

Arielle dug through the cabinets. The variety of canned beans, instant noodles, and seasonings seemed never ending, but she continued.

The sorting is nearly done, there are only a few more to go, Arielle thought encouragingly to herself.

She stood up on her toes in an attempt to reach some of the seasoning packets that laid in the far back of the top shelf, but she struggled to reach the very top shelf and grunted in defeat. No matter how much she flailed her right arm, convinced that it was somehow longer than her left, she still failed to grab it.

With a huff, she retired back to standing normally and crossed her arms.

Laughter could be heard behind her.

"Mi hija, you need a chair. Even I can't reach that, shelf," her mother spoke inbetween her laughs.

"Mom, I'm taller than you. I know you can't reach the shelf," Arielle chuckled along and happily accepted the chair her mother offered. The two women worked in silent harmony as they sorted the home, reorganizing as the seasons began to shift.

The house was quickly beginning to fill with the smell of fresh linen and lemons from the cleaning solutions used on each surface. It soothed Arielle's mind as it brought back nostalgic memories of many summers past, including the ones with her father.

A sweet smile fell onto Arielle's face as they continued to clean and sort. The sound of her mother's Spanish Gospel music could be heard playing throughout the house as if to carry them on the melody of the tune and the rays of sunlight made it feel like even the outdoors wanted to join in on the praise.

"Mama! Do you think that even the sun and the many stars would praise God if they could?" Arielle asked as she wiped down the inner cabinets.

"I think they already do. The thought of them doing so reminds me of when Jesus said, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." So if the the stones would cry, how much more the stars?" Arielle's mother explained.

Arielle smiled and nodded excitedly.

"That sounds so beautiful," she practically sung.

"It is," her mother smiled back and continued on with her cleaning. The two continued to clean and talk on occasion as they did. In the gaps of their conversations, Arielle hummed peacefully as she continued to reogranize the last cabinet and in other moments she spoke to God quietly in her heart.

Although Arielle surely wasn't alone, she couldn't help but notice Julia's absence.

She was away visiting family for the next week or two. It was bittersweet having her away right then because she had voiced her plan to go apartment hunting soon as soon as she returned. She hoped to move within the month if possible.

Arielle knew that Julia couldn't stay forever, but she had gotten used to having her as a roommate. Even the couch had become kinder to Arielle's back as time went on. She didn't mind it. She was blessed to have, not one, but two people she cared about under the same roof as her.

Arielle reset all of the seasonings and seasoning packets on the top sheld and grabbed the last few can of beans, placing them toward the front of the cabinet beside the stove. She knew that her mother would reach for them often.

"Okay mom, I'm all finished!" Arielle called over to her. She had migrated over to the bathroom to begin her work in there.

"Thank you, honey! Could you run outside and quickly water the plants for me?" Her mother called back.

"Of course, mama," she replied with a cheerful heart. Reaching over to the other lower cabinet, Arielle grabbed the watering can and the plant food meant to be mixed in with the water.

As she began to walk toward the door, something black flashed across their lawn it seemed. Arielle only saw it briefly through the window. It could have been a bird or a person, that's how fast it was going where she was hardly able to detect it.

"Mom..." she called.

"Yes, sweetie," her mother replied walking back into the open room with a large smile on her face. She held that smile until she noticed the look on Arielle's face.

"Is something the matter, honey?" Her mother asked. She placed the cleaning spray down along with the rag in her hand and hastily made her way to her daughter.

Arielle slowly shook her head, "I don't know."

"What happened?" Angelina looked around the home to see if anything seemed out of sight, but saw nothing that would cause her daughter to seem so distraught. If anything, the house was more in order than it had been even an hour ago.

"I just saw something or someone speed past our kitchen window. It could be nothing, but I have a weird feeling. I'm sorry mom..." She said quietly. "Can we water your plants a little later or tomorrow?" Her large brown eyes connected with her mother's and Angelina nodded without any hesitation.

"Of course, honey. Here, why don't you go sit down, I'll call the Pastor and his wife to see if they're in the area. Maybe as they're driving by they can take a look," Angelina reassured her. "But don't you worry. The Lord is watching over us. And on top of that, you've been blessed to have those guards on duty for you as well."

"You're right mom. There are men and literal angels watching over us. I'm sorry. I just felt weird." Arielle explained.

"Why don't you go spend some time with the Lord? I was going to mop up out here and then I'll give them a call okay?" She asked while taking the watering can from her grasp.

"Okay mom. Thank you. I love you," Arielle said with a small smile.

"I love you too, honey," Angelina replied, briefly holding her daughter's face before gently gesturing for her to go to her room.

Once out of sight, Angelina slowly turned to face the door, and saw that it was still locked. With a deep breath she closed her eyes and decided that before anything else, she would pray.

Arielle had been in her room for almost an hour. She played a Christian instrumental from one of her favorite songs and focused on praying for most of the hour.

An engine could be heard roaring as it drove up their street. Arielle's eyes darted out the window. She smiled almost instantly when she recognized Pastor Henry and his wife, Eva, exiting their family van and walking up to her mother who must have just opened the door for them.

Arielle search the street. She saw the usual vehicle that usually held two guards. She knew the other three were stationed somewhere out of sight. They were watching and for a moment she wondered if she had been overthinking.

Wouldn't they have seen it too? She thought.

Ring! Ring!

Julia's name flashed on the screen of her phone.

"Hey Julia," Arielle greeted, still distracted by the current events.

"Hey Ari!" Julia seemed to be rather chipper on the phone. The sounds of chatter could be heard around her.

"How's the family?" Arielle asked while keeping her eyes outside, watching the interaction of those close to her.

"They're good! They were happy to see me and the feeling is definitely mutual. It feels nice to be with them." Julia replied dreamily. Arielle knew that Julia seeing her family again was good for her. She hadn't brought up her ex in so long that his name was beginning to escape Arielle's memory.

"That's good!" Arielle replied, still partially distracted.

"Is everything good with you?" Julia asked.

"Huh- oh! With me? Well-"

"So that's a no," Julia cut her off while chuckling.

"Hey!" Arielle exlaimed with a smile on her face, but no denying statement left her lips.

"What's wrong?" Julia asked, slightly more serious than before.

"I... I'm trying to figure a part of that out. It's either something or nothing." Arielle replied while thinking.

"Well what is it if it's something?" Julia pressed.

"It'd be having a continuation of the previous stalking." Arielle answered quickly.

"And if it's nothing?" Julia asked.

"Then the birds around here may be flying too close to the ground." Arielle mumbled.

"So I'm going to assume the former because the latter is a tad bit confusing," Julia replied.

"The former is also very undesirable," Arielle countered.

"At least it makes sense." Julia said. Arielle could imagine her shrugging as if she were in front of her.

"Jules..." Arielle groaned.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Julia quickly apologized. "You know I'd never want you in danger. I'm sorry, I was hoping to lift the mood."

"I know. I'n grateful that you care, but let's not root for a stalker? I'd much rather prefer a bird problem." Arielle said matter-a-factly.

Julia snorted. "Fine. Anything that means your safe. Although it sounds like your mother's tomato's would be in danger with all your new bird friends."

"I have a feeling that my mom would prefer me over tomatos. She doesn't even like tomatos!" Arielle laughed.

"Yay, you laughed." Julia could be heard smiling on the other end of the line.

"Thanks Jules. Just keep us in your prayers?" Arielle asked.

"Always." Julia replied softly.

"Thank you. I'm just grateful that you'll have your own place soon. I don't want you dealing with this." Arielle sighed.

"Hey, we're in this together. Sometimes I feel so helpless because I wish I could make it all stop Ari, but I'm here for you. We're sisters and that will never change." Julia reassured her.

"I know Jules. Thank you."

"Julia! Your dad keeps threatening to mimick a bird call, please come back into the living room!" Julia's mom yelled from somewhere in the background.

"That's not what tweeting means sweetheart," Julia's dad could be heard correcting her.

"It's sounds like you have to go," Arielle laughed.

"I think you're right," Julia replied, clearly trying to keep her laughter in.

"I'll talk you later, Jules." Arielle said with a sigh of contentment.

"Later Ari," she answered back.

Once the call ended, Arielle tucked her phone back into her nightstand drawer. She decided to lay down and just relax her racing mind. She needed it to be still.

Within a few short moments, Alexander came to mind and within seconds a smile formed on her face. She wondered how he was doing. They hadn't spoken much, but she had received a text from his cousin Vincent letting her know that Alexander had gone away on a retreat with his friend, Devin.

She just hoped that he continued to meet with her Pastor. She decided the she wanted to lean into God more intentionally and seeing Alexander's behavior do a 180 degree turn encouraged her.

She rolled to her side, reaching for her notepad and pen, and so she began writing down a short prayer list.

"1. Pray to desire God above all else.

2. Pray for everyone's safety, including my own.

3. Pray for Alexander to grow close to the Lord."

After jotting down her list, Arielle began to pray and wait on God. Time felt like it was flying, soaring far above the clouds, and as it did, she found that the secret place was her favorite place to be. She never wanted to leave.