The Ghosts of Melbrew [1/12]

Chapter 18) For The Church

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       The afterschool afternoon of Friday, December 2nd was rather neutral with its temperature. The air around us felt only slightly cool, rather than what the surroundings might have you think. It may have looked really cold outside, but it certainly didn't feel it.

          A blanket of snow covered the ground, and the wind was absent, going with it, that chill in the air. The sky was almost sunny, with few clouds coating it. The snow glistened and sparkled under the light, almost blinding. It was so un-cold, in fact, that Kai even went and took off his jacket. He walked around in short sleeves, looking like an absolute madman amongst the snow.

          The five of us met up outside of the highschool, then walked to the middle school together, where Kimi was waiting for us, leaning against a wire fence on the sidewalk, fiddling with the ends of her ponytail.

          “Happy birthday, Kimi!” I said to her upon seeing her, “Congratulations! You’re officially a teenager now. How does it feel?”

          “Like death.” She said, tone bored. Cameron continued walking forward, leading the way down the streets as we walked together, following behind him.

          “Ahh, very accurate!” Cameron said, walking backwards, “She gets it now! Though TBH, she was kinda always like this."

          “She’s turning into Kai!” I said.

          “I sure hope not.” Kai said, “She’s just more miserable than usual today.”

          “Why?” Dominik asked, “Because she’s a teen now, or...?”

          “Eh, yes and no.” Kai said, then looked to his sister, “Do you wanna rant about it?”

          “Yes! It's so annoying!” Kimi complained loudly, suddenly angry, “The church needs people to volunteer to help with their stupid Chrismas party celebration thingy. The orphanage is Christian and run by weird ass creepy nuns. I don't even think they're real nuns! Any orphans thirteen and above are forced to help them. It’s so much work and it’s so stupid!”

          “Welcome to my world.” Kai said, “I’ve had to help them ever since mom and dad died, congrats on getting into the labor club.”

          “Can I ask why there’s so many orphans in this town? If it isn't insensitive to do so?” I asked.

          “It’s because all of the bigger towns in the area just ship all of the orphans to us.” Veronica said, “It’s especially strange because most of the time, the reason why the kids are orphans in the first place is because both of the parents were murdered. Whether that be one at a time or simultaneously. I’m not even joking. Kimi and Kai are a part of that statistic."

          She continued, "Like, Melbrew isn’t the only weird town around here. Melbrew might be the smallest town, and it is definitely the strangest, but it's not the only one. It's like a whole community of mysterious cities, where Melbrew is its capital. I have no idea why kids get shipped here though. It’s like they don't want them to be adopted. Like, who's going to come out to the middle of nowhere, the middle of pure thick woods, just to adopt some orphaned kids whose parents were both murdered? Kimi and Kai are the only kids at the orphanage who are originally from this town. Everyone else is from other cities in the area, like Metalwood, and there's even one from Seattle. Yes, even a big city like Seattle is a part of the statistic!"

          “Can I ask why there’s even a Church in this town to begin with?” Kimi asked, “Your family is a bunch of witches who know who the real God is, why is there a Christain church?”