NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Prologue
In the slums of a small town on planet Earth, a young, destitute orphan boy named Luke is steadily making his way through life. He has dark brown hair, green eyes, pale white skin, and a short stature. His neighborhood is a shallow place with people of unfortunate backgrounds and inexorable situations.
Wearing a pair of ragged clothes that were a size too small for him, and an expression that seemed to not fit a boy of his age, he wandered around looking for 'spare change' around the slums that he lived in. Walking close to the main street leading through this eerie side of town, he heard a boy call out to him "Well if it isn't that little punk Luke. I told you last time that if I saw you around here again, that I wouldn't stop until I beat you to a pulp."
In a second, Luke took off back down the street. With the three boys chasing behind him, he noticed a small ally on his left, and with a quick turn, dashed down it, rushing through. "Get back Here!" yelled one of the three boys.
Speeding past the buildings and small broken down houses of the slums as he was running down the alleys, he finally made it to a more open clearing, and ended up in a slightly better part of the town. Looking around to find a place to hide, he spotted a small run down church with a line of people walking in. To get away from his chasers, he hopped into the line, and followed them inside.
While walking in, he heard a loud, grand sound play out in a harmonious way. He looked to the side and saw that it came from a large piped instrument playing a wondrous melody that was intertwined with a heavenly choir, and the church's procession. Luke became so entranced by what he was witnessing, that he decided to stand out of sight in the corner and wait to see what would happen.
He looked around the room and saw beautifully crafted glass walls, and skylights that filled the room. Along the walls were pictures that seemed to represent something, but he had no clue what it was. Soon he spotted a tall, older, dark haired man who walked up to the pedestal that stood to the side of a large marble altar. He was wearing nicely fashioned white robes with gold lining, fit for a person of his stature, and walked with an honorable gait. Soon he began to speak, "Welcome to the Lux Dei Church. I hope you all will enjoy our mass today, as I will open todays' with these words from Jerimiah 29:14-"I will be near you again, says the Lord, and your fate will be changed" With these words let us start our mass."
As soon as the priest spoke those words, a majestic symphony flooded the room. Rays of light seemed to seep in through the beautiful stained glass that filled the room with dazzling colors. Luke was so entangled by the melody, the lights, and the words that were spoken, that he ended up staying through the entire mass, watching as the people all followed the priests' workings in a methodical manner. As the mass ended, all the people that attended started to walk out, and the dark haired priest that was holding the mass began to talk with the people that were leaving. This group of people became larger as more of the church goers started surrounding the seemingly talkative priest. While this was happening, Luke decided that he should leave, so he walked out of the church. As he was leaving, he turned back and stared at the small decrepit church. As he was staring, he began to think about how a small decrepit building could have the most wondrous event being held inside. Breaking him out of his stupor, Luke heard a shout from behind him, "Hey, guys, he's over there. Get Him!" Hearing this, Luke turned and saw the hoodlums rushing towards him. So, he started off in a sprint around the church building. He was sprinting as fast as he could around the corner of the building when the dark haired priest suddenly came out around the corner. Stumbling to a stop, Luke lay there, facing up at the father. Around the corner also came the three bullies that were giving chase, until they saw Luke lying beneath the priest. Seeing the tall, imposing figure of the priest, they then ran away from the scene. Luke, in a daze, suddenly heard the father begin to speak "While it is nice to see you young people around here, I think you should slow down a little."
Hearing this, Luke felt embarrassed, and retorted "Well, maybe you should look out for yourself, and go back to your job." "Haha, wise words from someone of your stature. Now that you bring it up, did you enjoy the mass?" Shocked at the priests' question, Luke spoke out "How did you know I was at the mass?"
"Well, although the unfortunate do come to mass quite often, I recognize their faces. You, on the other hand, are a new face, something I like to see, even if you try to hide in a corner." "If you want an answer, then yes, I did enjoy it. But I want to ask you, why do so many people come here?" asked Luke "The answer to that is to each their own, but I have dedicated my life to this place in service to the one I call God. To me, God is with every person, no matter where they are, or what they do. He is a being with love for all of creation."
Luke, with a questioning glance and a condescending tone asked "If he truly cares for all of us, and he is so powerful, then why are there people that have to work so hard just to live?" In response, the priest told him "That is an easy question to answer, but the effect seems discourageable to some. In truth, because God gave us free will, he usually doesn't do things himself, as that would go against his own word. Instead he sends messengers, and people of great faith, to help others. These people are called Saints."
"And how would I know if I see a Saint?" Luke responded in a snobbish way "In truth, you can't, a Saint isn't a person who does everything right, nor are they a person that portrays abilities that only they have. A Saint is a person who holds onto Gods' will even in the toughest times, and spreads the word of God to others." "I don't really understand what that means."
"Let's just say that they are a person that has a great faith in God." "Then are you a Saint?" "Not, exactly. I am just a humble sheep to the lord, not one of his shepherds. A Saint is something more than I could ever hope to be." "If you can't be a Saint, then how amazing does a person have to be to become one?" asked Luke.
"I think that is enough questions for the day. Don't you have parents that need you home soon?" "No, I never met my father, and my mother died when I was young." "Sorry for asking. Well, do you have a school you go to?" "No I don't." "Well that truly is a shame. How about you stay here for now. There are a few spare rooms that I can give to you. I can also have the nuns take you to their classes. There are other young kids who go there. I bet that you would fit in quite nicely ""It's not like I have anywhere else to go, so sure." responded Luke while rolling his eyes.
"You are truly a funny child" said the Priest. "And what's that supposed to mean?" Luke responded. "One day you will learn, but for now how about you tell me your name." the priest responded while walking towards the back of the church where the houses are. "Oh yeah, my name is Luke." "Well Luke, you can call me father Grey. I think that we will be spending a lot of time together, especially if that attitude of yours keeps up."
"Yeah right. I'm only staying here because I have nowhere else to go. As soon as I am old enough, I am leaving for a big city, and getting rich." stated Luke. "That is quite the impressive dream you have, although it is quite common, a kid your age should always be dreaming of something large." "You mean like becoming a Saint?" said Luke jokingly.
"Yes, becoming a Saint is a mighty fine dream. I bet that if you tried to, being a Saint isn't out of the picture." "But didn't you say it was impossible to become a Saint?" "I never said it was impossible. It's just that it requires dedication and grit. Because of that. It is improbable for most people. If you think about it, you'd have the upper hand in becoming one. With how it seems you grew up, grit is impossible to not have, so just learning dedication should be easy for you." "Sure old man, whatever you say."
"You know, the more I think about it, I think your manner of speech will need to be corrected as well. I'll tell the nuns that " "What do you mean by that? Everyone I know talks like this, except you." "That's what I mean. To achieve any dream, you have to stand out, and your manner of speech signifies a lot about you. Even without seeing the clothes you wear, your pattern of speech tells me a lot about you. And now that you will be living in a proper establishment under God's roof, you will have to speak more properly." "And what if I don't speak the way you do?" "Oh you will, trust me, it grows on you." "I don't know about that. I think I'll stay talking the way I do." "Oh, we will see about that in some years."