Sinful Discovery

001

Chapter 1

"Israel, put your phone down," Ma had hissed at me and I jerked into action, switching it off and forcing in down the pockets of my slacks.

I folded my hands on my lap, looking at me fingers and biting my lip as I avoided making eye contact with her - I could feel her still looking at me until she finally looked away, turning her attention back to the front where the mass was still going on.

Please God don't let her take my phone after this, I prayed in my mind knowing I'd just committed an offense. Ma took church way serious and she doesn't tolerate things like this.

"Behave," dad leaned down to my ear to whisper before sitting up straight again.

I remember taking in a deep breath to calm my nerves and collect my thoughts before looking back up. I wasn't like that, I was the good quiet boy who paid attention during masses and sometimes took notes. Parents scolded their kids to behave like me and kids thought of me as the goody-two-shoes. Today I couldn't be myself because instead of the usual mass, it was a funeral mass.

Mrs Hunt- or as I heard some folks call her, Granny Hunt had died. I wouldn't say I know her but I always see her, be it on my way to school or in the supermarket. She'd always smile at me, sometimes adding a wave. I even saw her on the day she supposedly slumped and died. For I knew she had never stepped her foot into the church and yet there her big frame was in front with flowers all over and her opened coffin.

That's what made me uneasy. I've never attended a funeral mass before and I couldn't stand looking into her coffin and seeing her once agile body now lifeless. I wouldn't say I believed in ghosts but at that moment I really couldn't stop myself from wondering if her spirit was somewhere here, marveling at how people that probably didn't give two cents about her when she was alive were all here, bawling their eyes out. Or her spirit was grumbling about her being brought to a church.

I squirmed in my seat wondering if she could see me and hear my thoughts and if she was smiling and waving. Or maybe she wasn't here, maybe she was already receiving judgement, someone she never knew deciding where she'd spend eternity. Or maybe she was just gone.

I blinked out of my thoughts and decided to look at her family sitting over at the front. I never knew she had family, they flew in from wherever after her death and now they were here. I looked around them and I noticed a boy definitely around my age standing and relaxing on the wall, his hands crossed in front of him. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. They allowed him to just stand there? Ma would whoop my ass if I chose to stand while others were seated.

He was definitely part of Granny Hunt's family, dressed in a black suit just like the men were. We were about the same height and for a twelve year old, I'd like to think I was average height. He had dark straight hair falling over his face like one sided bangs, the back way shorter. His white skin was glowed like the people on television and he had his pink lips in a thin line. He looked like he didn't want to be here anymore than I did, I wished I was standing too maybe I wouldn't be as uncomfortable as I was now.

With my eyes still on his hair, he looked up and I felt like I'd just touched ma's a lot plate of freshly baked ginger bread. My stomach flipped and I felt you as our eyes met from across the room. He had grey eyes like Nessa's cat. He kept his eyes on me and I did to, a part of myself that I couldn't control concluding that he was beautiful.

He smiled at me, his lips tilting more towards one side just as dad nudged me.

"Israel, knee." He gritted out from his closed teeth, his eyes looking at me confused.

I blinked just then noticing that every other person in the church was kneeing already. I scrambled down to my knees almost hurting myself in the process. I closed my eyes, expecting to silently say my prayers in peace and focus on the priest voice.