I awoke to the sound of Josiah's voice, "Rebecca

I awoke to the sound of Josiah's voice, "Rebecca! Rebecca, wake up!" I opened my eyes a bit. It was completely dark except for the lantern Josiah had with him. He raised it up so I could see his face. I yawned, still pretty tired, "What time is it?"

"It's almost four-thirty. I decided to wake you up a little earlier so you'd have plenty of time to get back to your house."

I sat up, "Okay, thanks…"

He paused for a moment, then said, "Can I walk you back?"

I smiled, glad to have company on the long walk back, "Sure."

I stood up and brushed the hay off me, then turned to Josiah. He handed the lantern to me, "You lead the way."

I nodded and we walked out of the barn. Almost immediately, we saw two figures in back of the church, only a few feet away from us. They turned to look in our direction. Josiah grabbed my hand and quickly pulled me back into the barn. He grabbed the lantern from me and blew it out. I looked at him questioningly in the dark, "Who were they?"

Josiah voice was now barely above a whisper, "The preachers…we can't let them see you."

I nodded, though knowing Josiah couldn't see it. Instead, I squeezed his hand tightly.

We waited for a few minutes, expecting them to come after us, but they didn't. Their voices became more distant until we couldn't hear them anymore. I breathed a sigh of relief, then realized I was still holding his hand tightly. I quickly muttered apologies as I let go, feeling a blush rising on my cheeks and was glad that Josiah couldn't see it.

"It's alright…" he answered back. By the tone of his voice, I could tell he was smiling.

He knelt down and picked up the lantern, relighting it with a pack of matches he kept in his pocket. Then he handed it to me. "Let's go…"

We walked out of the barn and into the cornfield. "Why couldn't the preachers have seen me?" I asked.

Josiah sighed, "They don't like it when I talk with kids my age. They think it has an effect on my preaching."

I frowned, "That's horrible…they shouldn't keep you from having friends."

"I know…but there's nothing I can do about it, except make sure that they don't' find out about them." He smiled, "And there's no way I'll let them find out about you."

I smiled back. We were silent the rest of the walk through the cornfield, but I felt we didn't need words. I already found him to be a soulmate.

Finally, we reached my house. Dawn was just beginning to break over the horizon. He smiled at me, "I'll see you at church. You'll get to see me preach today."

I smiled back, "Can't afford to miss that."

Before I knew what I was doing, I was hugging him, and surprised to feel him hugging back. "Thanks again…for everything." Giving him one last smile, I walked into the house.

As I expected, my father was asleep on the couch, a half-empty bottle of whiskey in one hand. I sighed and walked into the bedroom I shared with my sister. Rachael was sitting on her bed, looking as though she had just woken up. She gave me a quizzical look, "Where were you last night?"

"I met a boy who let me spend the night in the barn behind the church. He was there when Papa was chasing after me." I sat next to her on the bed. "I hope Papa wasn't too much trouble last night…"

A smile played on Rachael's lips, "Nah. It took a while, but I finally got him to calm down the best way I know."

I laughed, "I noticed that big lump on his head."

Rachael shrugged, "Ya gotta do what you ya gotta do…but enough about that. Who's this guy you met?"

I got up and went to my closet to look for a dress for church, "Oh, his name's Josiah. He's with the group of traveling preachers."

Rachael groaned and also got up, "You know they're just bullshitters, don't you? All they want is our money."

I shook my head, "Josiah isn't like the rest of them."

Rachael raised an eyebrow, "If you say so…"

Then we stopped talking for awhile to start getting ready. As usual, we wanted to wear different colors; my dress was red, hers was blue. We have our different tastes and no longer like wearing the same clothes anymore. Though now we don't have to squint to tell us apart, because she recently got her hair cut to her chin. My hair's still down to my mid-back, and I plan to keep it that way. But our differences go further than looks. Rachael is tough. She's a tomboy most times, except when she's with her friends. I'm basically half of what she is, not exactly tough and not exactly a tomboy, but close enough. My friends do have an effect on it though, just like hers do.

Rachael's the only one who can stand up to Papa, the only one who can make him calm down during one of his drunken spells. And I suspect he loves her more than me, mainly because she helps him do most of the work outside. I always see them talking and laughing together. It makes me so jealous I could scream. If I ever offered to help out there, I know I would be banished back inside to do the boring chores of cleaning the house and cooking. I already don't have a mother and for years, I've felt like I don't have a father either. I've always thought that if my mother was alive, I could finally feel like I belong. I would give anything to see her, even for just a few minutes. I always wear her cross necklace to church, to keep her close to my heart.

I quickly fastened the clasp on the beloved necklace and grabbed my bible, then hurried outside. Rachael was waiting for me on the front porch, looking hot and uncomfortable in the dress. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this…at least you could have told me to choose one that didn't have an itchy collar."

I rolled my eyes, smiling "I didn't know, alright. And anyway, you'll live."

Rachael muttered something that I couldn't hear, but I decided to ignore it as we made our way through the cornfield. We pretty much stayed silent the rest of the way to the church, but it wasn't unusual. Rachael and I never could seem to agree on anything and lately, I'd noticed we'd been getting into more fights than usual. Now and then, I would ponder what had happened between us, for we used to be so close. But I could not come up with a suitable answer, except that we had simply grown apart.

As soon as we were out of the cornfield and almost to the church, Rachael made a mad dash to a group of her friends standing outside the church, talking. I frowned, feeling left out once again, but tried to shrug it off as I walked past them. I sat down by myself on the steps of the church and waited for when we could go inside. Almost immediately, I heard footsteps behind me. Thinking, or rather hoping, it was Josiah, I turned around, but instead saw my friends, Herbert Ellis and the Cuff twins. Herbert smiled, "Hey Rebecca."

I smiled back, though a bit disappointed, "Hi."

Herbert was one of the only black kids in our town, but everyone liked him because he was fun to be around. The Cuff twins, Ezekiel and Caleb, could sometimes be a little weird, but they were okay. I guess I made friends with them easily because they were twins, just like Rachael and I were.

"Hi Rebecca," Ezekiel and Caleb said at the same time.

Herbert sat down next to me, "Your father giving you any more grief?"

I smiled, "A little…but nothing Rachael can't handle."

Herbert shook his head, "Really. She could give my mother shouting lessons. Where is she anyway?"

I shrugged, "She ditched me for the snobs." I pointed over to where they were. All her friends were quite pretty and had rich parents, but they were rude to just about everyone. They acted like they were better than everyone else. I decided to change the subject, "So where's Robby?"

Ezekiel spoke up, "He's sick."

Caleb nodded, "We went to visit him today."

I frowned, "Oh…well, tell him I hope he feels better."

"We will," Ezekiel and Caleb said at the same time.

I smiled a bit. That happened a lot with them. Rachael and I used to do the same thing, but it stopped years ago.

We glanced up as the church bell rang. Herbert and I stood up and we walked into church, the Cuff twins following. We hurried to the front and snagged the first row of seats, Herbert on my left and Ezekiel on my right. I always felt more comfortable with them, like I could just be myself. When Rachael first introduced me to her snobby friends, I could feel their eyes on me like a hawk, sizing me up. They weren't exactly nice to me, but they weren't mean either. I think that was only because it was in front of Rachael. I never went back to their group again.

I looked over my shoulder and saw them walk in among the large crowd of churchgoers. They were all talking, probably about whose dress was the nicest or something.

"Well," I heard Rachael say rather loudly as she motioned to her dress, "this is one of my favorites, because not only is it beautiful, it's so comfortable."

I rolled my eyes, thinking to myself That's not what you told me on the way here… I also didn't like Rachael hanging out with them, because of what they turned her into. When she was with them, she became one of them. She was no longer a tomboy who was always busy having fun, but instead a gossip who just sat around looking pretty. She didn't even act like herself, like the Rachael I know. But then, I wasn't one to push anybody around. I sighed and turned back to the front.

Pastor Jenkins walked to the pulpit and smiled at the congregation. Herbert, the Cuff twins, and I gave each other a knowing look and tried to keep from laughing at Jenkins's fake-looking toupee. The more he wore it, the funnier it got.

"God welcomes you to his house this morning. Today, we have a new guest. I am proud to present to you, 'Josiah the Amazing Boy Preacher'!"

Jenkins moved aside as Josiah walked up to the pulpit, now dressed in the same formal clothes the pastor wore. He glanced at the rows of people until his eyes settled on me. He smiled and I smiled back, giving him a wink to wish him good luck.

He turned to the rest of the congregation and began to speak, "I remember a scripture that talked about the time of Herod in the land of Canaan when the slaughter of innocent children ran the streets red with blood…"

Everyone seemed hooked from the moment he spoke. It was as though he had actually been there so many years ago. I was completely mesmerized. No one got up during the sermon, as they sometimes did, and no one spoke a word, as they always did. Even Herbert and Caleb and Ezekiel were paying strict attention, which they never did. It was like this for three hours straight. When Josiah had finished his sermon, the congregation stood up and gave him a standing ovation. He smiled and turned to look at me. I smiled back and mouthed the words 'good job' to him as I continued clapping.

Afterward, everyone got to talk a moment with the 'Amazing Boy Preacher' on their way out. The other preachers stood next to him, as though they were guarding him. When they finally got to me, I glanced at the prachers, then pretended I didn't know him, "That was a beautiful sermon, Josiah. You truly have a gift." I smiled, meaning every word I said.

He smiled back, "Thank you. I trust I will see you next Sunday."

I nodded, "You can count on it."

He shook my hand and moved on to the next person in line. It wasn't until I had walked off that I noticed the note he had handed me as he shook my hand. I unfolded it and read it:

Rebecca,

Meet me at the barn around 11:30.

Josiah

I smiled to myself and folded the note back up, slipping it into my dress pocket. I had no idea what time it was, so I looked around for Rachael and finally found her, on the side of the church with her friends. I groaned and paused a moment, before walking over to her. "Hey Rach, could I see your pocket watch for a minute."

Rachael almost smiled at me for a moment, then gave me a cold stare, the same stare the other girls were giving me, "Well, I suppose…" she replied haughtily. She handed me her pocket watch, the one Papa had given her a few months ago. It read 11:19. I nodded and handed it back to her, "Thanks."

She frowned, "Is that all?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Well, bye." I walked off, rolling my eyes. I heard them behind me, whispering something. I briefly heard my name mentioned and then hysterical laughter. I ignored it as I walked off back to Herbert and the Cuffs, who were standing just next to the stairs and glancing over at me. Herbert frowned, "What was that all about?"

I rolled my eyes again, "Don't ask."

Herbert nodded, "All right. So, anybody up for a game of pitching pennies?"

I shook my head, knowing I wouldn't have time for it, "Not today. I have to go meet someone."

Ezekiel frowned, "Aw, come on. We need at least four people to have a really good game."

"Yeah, come on Rebecca. Who are you meeting anyway?" Caleb asked.

"Josiah," I replied.

Herbert raised an eyebrow, "The guy who was just preaching? Is he your boyfriend or something? I noticed him looking at you a lot."

I felt myself blushing again, "No, of course not…"

Herbert frowned, "Then why would you pass up—"

I gave him a look and he seemed to understand, because his voice trailed off. He nodded, "All right. We'll see you later, Rebecca."

I smiled a bit, "Bye."

"Bye." Caleb and Ezekiel said at the same time. They all went off to find another player for their game.

I made my way back to the barn, noticing that most people, even Rachael and her friends, had cleared from the churchyard. I went inside the barn and stood near the entrance. I kept the door open, so I could at least see where I was walking. I sat down on an upside down barrel and waited for Josiah to arrive. It didn't take too long and I saw his frame appear in the doorway…