Theme 07: Heaven
Faith is, at one and the same time,
absolutely necessary and altogether impossible.
Heaven, Sally reflected, was something that took a lot of hope, a lot of faith, to believe in. But, most importantly, it took Christianity. Something she hadn't been interested in for a very long time.
She remembered, when Percy was just shy of seven, the event of Sunday Mass. She had found a small cathedral nestled just outside of the city. The car ride was long, but worth it, she figured, to give her son some kind of belief system. This often turned into a day long event. One in which Percy would attend Sunday school while Sally made polite conversation and ran a couple of unfinished errands. There were always a few.
But, needless to say, such a routine did not last long. She knew it wouldn't. And though she tried to smile when Percy recited a verse or said the prayer at mealtimes, she always ended up grimacing instead. Because no matter how much he loved it right now, it would end…soon. And he would know it was his fault.
After a few months they had stopped going altogether. For his own good, she assured herself. After all, faith was just one aspect of a person's well being. And the incidence of it in their lives dropped off easily. He hadn't believed in heaven, God, or anything else since. And though sometimes it would bother her to think about it, she was content enough with things as they were.
Which is why she was surprised, if anything, to see Annabeth in her kitchen that morning. Though, it was not the fact that she was there that troubled her, but instead the way her son was behaving. She watched as the girl went on about something… and then how Percy smiled and looked at her. She hadn't seen him like this in years.
As she stepped back into her bedroom, it occurred to Sally Jackson that her son was placing his faith somewhere, something he hadn't done in a very long time. And, just maybe, he was finally growing up.
