I'm actually loving this fic! I don't know if many readers are but I just love this story so much I'm actually enjoying writing again!
Songs featuring in this chapter are: "The Vow", "Cold", "Unsettled Scores" and "If Only".
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Whistle Down The Wind
Scene 2 - The Barn and The Bar
"I'm telling you, Brat!" Relena exclaimed in a hush as she took her brother and sister to the barn the following day. "He's in the barn. I saw him and he spoke to me. He said he was Jesus Christ!"
Following The Man's collapse the night before she'd spent an hour longer than she'd meant to in the barn cleaning up His wounds and redressing them with old rags. Whilst she worked, she couldn't stop looking at His face. She had no idea that the Lord could be so beautiful, nor wild. In all her dreams of one day meeting her Saviour, she had never imagined she'd be like the Mary Magdalene of the Bible stories she heard in school. Of course, Relena was no prostitute and she wasn't going to use her hair to wash Christ's feet, but the sensations was just the same. What's more, He'd entrusted her with a secret and a duty. If she fulfilled that duty, there was no telling what she'd get back in return. The Bible taught her that God rewarded the righteous, and what could be more righteous than nursing Jesus himself back to health?
She hoped He was awoke when they visited so He could tell Brat and Baby the truth. They didn't believe her but she couldn't blame them. If some one came up to her and claimed they had Jesus resting in their barn she would scold them for their blasphemy and walk away with her head held high, saying a thousand Hail Mary's in her mind for the retribution of their soul.
But it happened to her. This wasn't some kind of childish dream. This was real. He'd had the marks on his hands from where the nails had pinned him to the cross and they were on his feet too. As she'd cleaned his young face – she'd discovered he was a lot younger than she'd initially thought, only a few years her senior – the marks where the crown of thorns had been pushed on his head were there. It couldn't be made up and when Brat and Baby saw them they would know she had been telling the truth. Didn't they know that liars were punished by the fires of Hell licking at their feet for eternity? She wouldn't risk eternal damnation just for some little prank on her siblings. The thought brought her back to when she was younger – much younger than she was now. She had been ten years old and Brat six. Baby was only three and much to young to join in his sister's games. Relena, feeling in a mischievous mood that was rare even for her, had rushed to where Brat had been playing in the yard with her hands to her head.
"Brat!" She had said, dramatically panting as if she'd ran a marathon. "Come quickly! Jesus is down the sewer and we have to get him out!"
But things hadn't gone according to her plan because in a panic Brat ran to their mother and told her exactly what Relena had said. Their mother, who had never been one for giving harsh punishments, had given Relena a row like she'd never given anyone before. To see her mother like that scared Relena, for she normally had the most placid nature that would have put the Virgin Mother to shame. Yet when Relena had pretended their Saviour was reborn, her mother's eyes had gone wide and she'd looked up at the sky in fear. That night, when Relena had come out of the huff of having been given into trouble, she had sat on her mother's knee while she was told why it was such a terrible crime to proclaim Jesus had been reincarnated and was walking amongst them. As usual, all of her mother's lessons had been told using a passage from the Bible and this particular one had been while Moses and his people were wandering the desert. When Moses had gone up the mountain to meet with the Lord, the people had built an idol to worship in his absence and on seeing it, Moses had been enraged.
"You see, Relena," her mother had said, "worshiping others before the Lord is one of the Ten Commandments which will cause eternal damnation. Had Brat believed you, and worshiped whatever she thought was in the sewer, if would have been your soul at risk."
The same mistake Relena had never made again. The fear of God had been put in her at such an early age she could think of nothing worse than committing a sin against Him. She dearly loved Him as she had been told He loved her, just as she loved her parents and just as she loved her siblings.
Running to keep up with her quick pace, Baby frowned. "Are you sure, Relena? You know what'll happen if you're lying, right? God with strike you down with a clap of thunder."
Relana sighed impatiently. "Sure I'm sure. Do you think I would lie about something like this? I'm not longer a child, Baby. I can't kid on the way I used to. Come into the barn and you'll see for yourself."
Looking behind her for signs of unwanted eyes, Relena slid open the barn door and let the light flood in. The kittens were already mewing for their arrival and Relena was glad she'd stuffed some food into the apron of her dress. Once the door was closed, she sent Brat over to turn on the light and there he was, clear as the winter daylight itself. Brat and Baby both gasped when they saw The Man lying fast asleep on the hay bales.
"Look at his hands!" Brat exclaimed quietly. "It truly is Him! Oh, Relena!"
Baby walked over to Him but looked at his sisters uncertainly. "What if its not?"
"It is," Relena protested. " Baby, can't you see it's Him? And besides, don't you remember? They tell us every Sunday that one day he will return and those that fail to recognise him will burn in a fiery hell. He's returned now and if you deny Him you'll be damned forever." Relena watched The Man sleep, adoring the way his brown hair feel onto her stern features that softened while he rested. "The Bible says that Jesus can raise the dead. If we help him out, he could bring back our mom. Don't you get it? This could be our chance to get mom back!" She sat on the bale beside him and softly stroked his hair. He stirred slightly, but didn't wake. "I always prayed that you would come to save me and I believe You've returned for us at last." She looked at her brother and sister and smiled at them. "Let's make a vow to Jesus, like his apostles did before us. We can be like the new apostles."
"Yeah!" Brat and Baby said.
"We'll give you shelter from the storms and the world outside. You'll be safe and we'll never tell." Relena stood up and smiled at her brother and sister. "This is our vow to you, as Christians and as God's children." A kitten rubbed against Relena's ankle and she picked up the little runt of the litter. "What do you say we start naming these little darlings?" The little black and white kitten nipped at her finger as she teased it with a bit of chicken. "I think this one should be called Runt, since that's what he is." She rubbed noses with the kittens little black one and rubbed the black splodge underneath his chin and smiled softly as it started up its whirring purr.
The two tortoiseshells played around Brat's feet and she laughed gleefully. "These two should be called Tweedledum and Tweedledee."
"How do you tell the difference?" Baby asked.
"Tweedledum's got a completely grey tail and Tweedledee hasn't," Brat replied.
"Well I'm calling the white one Angel," Baby said, proudly. "Cause I think they've answered our prayers."
"Do you know what?" Relena said, looking from the kittens to The Man fast asleep in their barn. "I think you're right."
Earl pulled his coat up further around his neck as he walked through the town, aware of the looks from some of the townspeople. He had been here for almost six months and still there were times he felt he may as well have been a stranger. Of course, what was he expecting? In these times, the only people welcome in society were white people. Not gypsies, not foreigners and not even black people. It wasn't so bad, though. He'd managed to win the approval of more than half the inhabitants and especially with the Darlain family, which he felt he was almost a part of. The pitying thing was his daughter was the greatest outcast the town knew. Together with her bike riding boyfriend – who he didn't entirely approve of but new underneath the hard exterior lay a good boy – she had become the rebellious teenager he'd never imagined her becoming.
"Afternoon, Earl," A townsman said, tipping his hat in Earl's direction. "Cold one, ain't it?"
In reply, Earl shivered. "Came on so sudden, didn't it? Flowers have all died, the sky's going grey, heat's disappeared. The news said the forecast ain't so good and with it being too cold to work on the farm I'm all messed up with no place to go. Cold, like a frozen teardrop. There's a chill in the air and I think there might actually be ice in my veins." The man laughed heartily and slapped Earl on the shoulder, going on his way. To himself, Earl muttered, "It's like an endless winter. The moons on the run and even the sun's cold."
Another person came up to him, a well dressed woman from the better end of the town which really only consisted of three big and expensive houses. He'd made peace with the woman when he'd been the man to find her missing son after he'd runaway following a row. "How's your daughter doing Earl?"
Earl shrugged. "I gotta see her at some point. I tell ya, that girl ain't set eyes on me all day. The barometer is falling and only she can make it rise. You get that too? The only way you can find heat is when you're kids are around. It's strange how there ain't nothing on the trees and I'm feeling more and more that there's nothing for me here. There's two things I need Mrs. Turnaway: salvation and thermal underwear."
She nodded her agreement with a small smile. "It's cold and its getting colder. The minister's saying they're evacuating Satan who's waiting for hell to freeze over. You know what he's like. Says Satan's got pneumonia."
"That old preacher'll say anything." Earl said, with a slight roll of his eyes. Mrs. Turnaway went on her way with a wave and Earl was about to do the same when he caught sight of Duo parking his motorcycle. "Hey Duo!"
Duo looked around, saw Earl and took off his helmet. "Hey Earl. I delivered that tree last night, by the way. The Darlains loved it and told me to tell ya thanks. Anyway, how's it going?"
"Not bad. Are you going to see Hilde?" Duo nodded. "Tell her to come home tonight not too late. I feel like I've not seen her for days."
Duo watched as Earl sauntered off, fighting against the harsh cold and shrugged. As far as he was concerned it was Hilde's decision if she decided to return home early or not and he wasn't going to pass on a message from her father telling her to do otherwise. Don't get him wrong, he liked Earl. But he was a full adult and that meant adult authority. As far as he was concerned all authority had to be rebelled against if they thought they wanted to try and control him. That's why he'd dropped out of school and gotten work in a garage instead of the factory like his father had told him too and that's why he was dating Hilde. Well, partly why he was dating Hilde. Sure, they got kicks out of each other, but Duo loved the disapproval he got for dating some who the town titled 'beneath him'. It was unfortunate that for Hilde, being a gypsy, fitting in in this town was one of the hardest things to do and if it hadn't been for Duo giving her the motivation, she would have succumbed to them just as he father had.
Secretly, there was one other reason why he was dating Hilde an it wasn't one he was too proud to admit. He was using her. It was cruel, but he was. It was a childish attempt to make the real girl he wanted jealous, but it hadn't seemed to work. The opposite had occurred. He noticed that instead of Relena feeling the bitter envy he'd expected, it had seemed instead that a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had been happy for him, she'd said and what was worse she'd meant it. Duo wasn't some lovesick fool. He knew there wasn't a chance in hell that sweet, innocent, God loving Relena would fall for him, the high school drop out who believed in God just as much as he believed in non-equality. Still, life had taught him to believe in hope and he did. He hoped one day Relena would realise all she meant to him and return the feelings.
Hilde was already waiting for him in the bar when he entered, sucking up a bottle of Coke with a straw and looking like he hadn't a care in the world. She really was beautiful, Duo knew. Especially in the winter sun. Her blue tinted hair and blue eyes that sparkled when she saw him made her almost irresistible. Almost.
"Hey babe," He said, sliding into the booth across from her with a cocky grin. "Miss me?"
"I'll miss you the day these townsfolk turn atheist," Hilde replied coolly and took another sip out of her Coke bottle. "And I ordered you something to drink." Duo accepted his Coke with a nod of his head. He looked at her while she continued watching the busy streets outside and noticed there was something on her mind. It was the way her eyes seemed to burn with the blue flame of...well, he wasn't sure what it was but it was there. There was a passion for something that he didn't know what but when she looked that way he knew it had to be something good and something he wanted to share her.
He put a hand on hers, ignoring some frowns from other customers at this display of affection. "Hilde, babe? What's wrong?"
Turning away from the window, Hilde looked Duo square in the eyes and set her jaw square. It took Duo all his will power to not reach over and kiss that strong mouth of hers. "I have to get out of here, Duo. I have to get away from the town and see the world."
"Ain't you been travelling around enough?" Duo asked, expecting some sort of bitter retort his way, but instead her reply was heartfelt and – making him nervous still – honest.
"I traveled but I never saw." She rubbed her arms as if a cold breeze had blown over her. "It's this town, Duo, and these people. They're making me restless and I want more. I don't want to be a factory girl or work in the farm. I want to see things, experience things. When I'm in this town, its like there's a chain holding me back that I just want to break free from." She looked at him, searching, the fire burning a hole into his soul as she tried to see what he was thinking.
Duo swallowed hard and then raked a hand through his hair. He was feeling almost the exact same way. He knew how living in this town was like being in confinement without bars or in prison without a sentence. "Babe, I'll take you away from here. That's a promise. Me and you, we'll see the world together."
The bell sounded above the door and Duo turned to see who it was that came in and grimaced when he saw that it was Sheriff Treize Khushrenada, the law of the town. He was still young for having worked his way up to a sheriff, perhaps in his late twenties early thirties. Unfortunately, this made him arrogant as hell, knowing that he was the crème de la crème of the policing schools around Louisiana, though not necessarily unpopular with the locals who admired his no-nonsense attitude towards the juvenile delinquents of the town, a category to which both Duo and Hilde belonged.
His winter blue eyes scanned the perimeter and caught sight of Hilde. Though he had no ill intentions towards the different religions and coloured skins of the town, he knew that the other authorities did.
"The state police are coming and you're kind shouldn't be caught in a place like this," He said with a smile that wasn't quite apologetic nor malicious. It said that that was just the way things were. Hilde looked to Duo with a shrug and walked out with him at her back, giving Treize a cold stare before leaving. His dismissal of Hilde caught the locals's attention and they profoundly approved. "Listen all of you and listen well. There's been a set of prison clothes found about a quart a mile away, and they say that there's a real devil on the loose. I'm giving out an official warning that this man is dangerous and wounded. In a single word, desperate. He's already killed two people and he will not hesitate to kill again. If you see this man, do not go near him unless you have some sort of firearm to protect yourself with."
He took a few more steps, letting his boots clump against the wooden floor, a delicious sound in the silence and stopped. He met every single man's eye once before resuming his speech. "I'm forming a group of vigilantes to hunt this devil down. Any man brave enough and clever enough to join me, step forward now." Treize smirked as every man in the bar got to their feet. He'd track down this devil in their midst like a dog and with the help of these yokels, he'd put it down.
The children were still playing with the kittens when Relena returned with more milk for them. She was finding she enjoyed this extra responsibility almost as much as she enjoyed caring for Brat and Baby. Everytime a kitten would rub against her she found herself smiling fondly.
"Give me that saucer over here, Baby, so I can give the kittens more milk."
"Milk?" Questioned a voice behind them and Relena realised the Man had awoken without her realising it. The impulse to stand in reverence was so great she was on her feet before she knew it. "Don't you know cats can't stomach dairy food?"
Brat fell at his feet and the Man watched her in confusion. "Sweet Jesus! You're awake. We knew it was you the minute we set eyes on you! You even have the Holy Marks and everything," She added, gesturing wildly at his hands.
"Recog-recognised me?" The Man said, feeling slightly fearful and looking around for a weapon he might be able to use to get away.
"Sure," Relena said, wringing her hands nervously. "Don't you remember last night? You told me who you were. You told me you were Jesus Christ." The Man, realising now there had been confusions, laughed in relief and also at the person who he'd been confused with. If he was Jesus, he'd hate to see the Devil. "Why are you laughing? You are Jesus, aren't you?"
Grinning, the Man shrugged. He could play along with this game so long as it kept him safe. He'd heard of these kind of towns and the Jesus lovers living in them. Not only that but these were kids: the easiest people in the world to manipulate. "Sure I am, sweet cakes. But you've got to answer me this. Have you told anyone I'm here?"
Relena and Baby shook their heads, but Brat bit her lip. "I told my friends, but they swore they wouldn't say anything to anyone. Even their parents."
"Good. You have to keep it a secret cause if people find out I'm here, they'll kill me if they find me. You don't want my death on your hands, do you?" Fearfully the siblings shook their heads. "That's what I thought. Do what I ask of you and I'll put a good word in for you to the big guy upstairs."
Relena was about to question this when the pitchfork she'd rested against the door began to wobble, giving them a clear warning that people were trying to get in. "Hide!" She hissed to the Man and he dove behind a large stack of hay, covering himself from head to foot with the stuff. Relena removed the pitchfork from the door so that her father and Earl could get into the barn.
John took a quick look around and then smiled at his children. "What have you been doing in here?"
Smiling back, Relena replied, "We were just talking about Jesus and the Bible."
"If Jesus came back, would he have tattoos?" Baby asked, thinking on the ones the Man had on his arm of a crucifix. John an Earl looked at each other in bemusement.
"If Jesus were to come back he'd better not come back to this town. The people here are so cruel they'd crucify Him within a second! I'd be surprised if they even took the chance to talk to him." Relena claimed. John and Earl looked at each other again, though their glances were far from bemusement. "Speaking of the people, why's there all this whispering and being secretive? What's going on?"
Earl took a deep breath in. "Some foul, corrupt thing had blown in from outside town. They say its the Devil himself."
"Jesus will protect us!"
John put his hands on his daughters shoulders and looked at her lovingly. "That may be so, but we still need to take the right precautions. Supper's ready on the table so come and get it while its hot."
Without another word or protests, the three children and two adults left the barn, leaving the man alone with only the kittens as company. As he emerged from the hay and dusted himself off, he couldn't help but think back on the man who looked like a gypsy's words. A devil, they were calling him? Strange that. The adults called him the Devil, yet the children thought of him as Christ. He sniggered to himself. That was about as opposite as it got. All this talk and ideas of religion got to him. He thought back to him childhood which really wasn't so long ago. In those days when he'd been once called innocent, there was a prayer for the living and the dying, even one to soothe the savage sea. There was a prayer, it seemed for almost everything but God hadn't been a prayer for him, and he hadn't had one either.
There were so many cries in the night he'd tried to ignore. Why didn't he do this? Why didn't he that? So many unbroken chains, so many unsettle scores...
When he'd once been called free, he had noticed so many thinks: that old man at the bank who sneered, the teacher's slaps, the brutal eyes, the uniforms, the lawyers and the traps, it seemed, they'd set out for him; the lonely girls who yearned to love, kiss, dance; the rich and selfish widow in the market for a last romance; the soldier with the smell of war that would never seem to fade; the hero in the playing fields who was forgotten in a day. The betrayers, the betrayed. The abandoned and afraid. The corrupted and the celebrated, endlessly humiliated, gloriously big paraded. It had been said there was a prayer for all of these people and a prayer for everyone that could ever be. The Man knew that was lies. A prayer had been said for all of these and more but there still hadn't been one for him.
He remembered through his life the stern and disapproving lips, the friends who'd just attacked. The fathers that they take away and the ones they can't get back. He remembered the desperate boy who'd slept alone, whoever's in his bed. He'd realised then that the chosen ones got a home and the blessed get ahead. He'd been taught a prayer for every living thing; unborn and deceased. But they hadn't taught a prayer for him, but he was beginning to realise that that was the nature of the beast. The beast he'd been told he was. Godless, hopeless. A life thrown away by mistakes. Where had God been then? When he'd most needed him?
He wasn't sure how many hours had passed since he'd considered all that had happened to him, but it had been a few anyway. The moon was up and it was getting cold. He lay back on the hay and folded his arms underneath his head, thinking more and more. He was surprised he'd still been able to after spending a year or more in prison with only his thoughts as real company. It was said that thinking too much was bad, but he disagreed. Voicing opinions was bad. Giving emotions was bad. It was better to seem heartless than be a tool for pity. Life had taught him that. Keep to yourself, don't talk when you don't need to, don't show what you're feeling. Well, unless under pretence which he seemed to be. He had a part of play now and he'd have to be one damned actor if he could pull it off. The Blessed Saviour, the Holy Son, Jesus F Christ.
The barn door slip open suddenly and the Man grabbed a bottle and smashed it to defend himself. The moonlight settled on a face that showed no fear, but mild curiosity. He closed his eyes in relief when he saw it was only the elder girl from before. He was momentarily stunned by the way her long blonde hair shone in the moonlight making her look like an angel. Her pale skin and blue eyes added to the image and in his mind he saw the halo and wings on her back. As he lowered the broken bottle she smiled softly at him and he couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't seemed to beautiful earlier. Perhaps it was her brother and sister around her which made her seem younger than she was, but with them absent she looked every inch the mature woman. It stuck him that he didn't know what to call her.
"What's your name?" He asked, as she walked towards him, stroking a kitten as she past it.
"Relena," She answered with the slight tingle of bells in her tone. Her voice sounded melodious to him, like she was singing though she was only speaking. "Relena Darlain."
"Well, Relena," he said, his gruff voice causing disharmony with hers, "what would your mother say if she caught you coming to see me in the middle of the night?"
She stopped then. Before she had moved as though she was going to sit with him but the question had made her change her mind and instead she rested on a bale a metre or so away. It was hard to see her properly, but by the way the air had seemed to get heavier he could tell the question had upset her. "My mother's dead. You took her up to be one of your angels a few months ago."
The Man nodded slowly, still looking at her, studying her. "You look like an angel, so if you got your looks from her it was only fitting she be made one too." Relena looked up at him, startled by this unusual form of flattery, and from Christ himself! Maybe she was to become the next Mary Magdalene, if those vicious rumors turned out to be true. "Anyway, what do you want from me? Why have you come?"
For the first time, she looked hesitant and not sure of what to say. He wanted to reach a hand out to touch her; not as a comforter but to see if her skin was really as soft as it looked. Then, at last, she spoke so quietly he had to lean in to hear her. "I...I want you to bring my mother back...Please. I'll do anything you want me to do, just bring her back."
Sorrow, the Man knew, could make a person believe just about anything. It was sorrow, he realised now, that had convinced Relena he was her Lord. She was so desperate to see her mother again she was willing to believe a wanted felon was actually Jesus risen again. If it hadn't been from the way Relena's eyes plead with his own he might have actually laughed but he couldn't. Not when such innocent and desperate eyes seemed to be pleading with his very soul. He almost wished he was Jesus just so he could put an end to her grieving. Almost. Then he realised he could use this situation to his advantage.
"Look, angel," He said, closing his eyes and lying back, "I'm a little too tired at the moment to perform any miracles at the moment but I'll make you a little deal. I will bring your mother back to life if only you take care of me and my injuries and keep my little secret just that. Deal?" He held out his bandaged hand and she shook it, a feeling of revelation washing over her as it dawned on her she was shaking the stigmata itself. When she let go he sat back up. "Man, if only all things could be so simple, huh Relena?"
"You know," she whispered, unsure why she was but feeling it was right all the same, "If all we lost somehow came back and if all that died again would grow, if all our dreams were golden and never black or grey...if all our dreams came true then we'd never have to say if only it was so. These are the loneliest words I think I'll ever know."
The Man looked at her, and then, with slow deliberation, moved onto the bale of hay she was sitting at. He put an arm around her shoulder and felt her body tense up immediately, not used to physical contact from a man yet. After a few seconds, she relaxed and even let her head rest against his shoulder. He repeated her words in his head and had to admit he agreed with them. They pretty much summed up his entire life. "If all we'd lost somehow came back, if all that died would grow...If only it were so? Yeah, these are the loneliest words I know."
Please review!
jellybean-kitty
