"Stay right here Dean, I'll be back with Sam." Pastor Jim says. Sam always goes to Sunday school with the other kids and it is the only time in the week that Dean voluntarily allows Sam out of his sight. Dean knows that it is safe here with Pastor Jim and that Sam won't get hurt even if he isn't glued to his hip every single second.
As Dean waited for his brother to return he wondered if he would want to play with the toy car that he got for his birthday last week. He was seven now and a big boy, and he really didn't care, birthdays meant nothing without your mom.
He watched his feet as they swung against the pew. Every Sunday, Pastor Jim made him get all dressed up to go to church. He sat in the same pew, by himself because Sam went with the little kids to Sunday school, and Dean listened to Pastor Jim give his talk to the people. Pastor Jim liked to talk about how God was always here for us, helping us fight the evil that surrounds us. Dean didn't believe that too much. Because if God fought for all of the good people in the world than his mommy wouldn't have been killed by something evil. He looked down at his shirt and picked at a thread on his church shirt and sighed.
"You lost little one?" Dean jumped a little. He looked up and saw a very tall pretty woman.
"No, ma'am." He said. "I'm waiting for Pastor Jim."
"Oh, you must be one of the little ones that he keeps an eye on."
"Yes, ma'am." She laughed.
"Sweetie, you can call me Ellen." He eyed her warily. "What is your name?"
"Dean."
"That's a very nice name. There is an actor who had that name. He was very cute just like you." Dean turned away a little embarrassed. "I hear you have a little brother."
"Sammy. He's four. He likes Sunday school."
"Don't you?"
"No." he said and shook his head for emphasis.
"Why not? You get to play with other kids your age and learn about all of the great things that God does." Dean shrugged his shoulders and started to kick his little feet. "There has to be a reason."
"God, doesn't like me." he said.
"What do you mean Dean?"
"He took my mommy away from me so he must be mad at me. Maybe I did something bad."
"But your brother, he goes to Sunday school?" she asked trying to understand this little boy's reasoning.
"Sammy wasn't old enough to be bad. He was too little. It wasn't his fault. I did something bad." The woman touched his hand and he turned to her.
"Dean, you didn't do anything wrong. Sometimes there is evil in this world that gets to good people before God can do anything. Sometimes someone good has to be killed by evil to start someone's destiny."
"What's destiny?"
"Destiny is something that you are supposed to do."
"Like go to school?"
"Yeah, sort of." She smiled. "Maybe your mom had to die in order for you and your daddy to find your destinies."
"So it's still my fault?"
"No, baby, what happened to your mommy had nothing to do with you. But your daddy is out there right now killing those evil things so they don't hurt anyone else like your mommy. So other little boys won't have to take care of their little brothers because their mommy is dead. They won't have to be sad like you." Dean seemed to think about that. He looked back up at her with sad green eyes and she melted a little under his gaze. This boy would eventually become a hunter of legend, he would be one of the ones that would sacrifice everything, including his life, to keep anyone else from feeling what he was feeling right now. For an instant her heart broke, this little boy would never have a wife, children, or anyone to go home to at night. He would raise that little boy and he would raise him to be someone other than what Dean would become. Dean was an old soul trapped inside a very little package. Pastor Jim rounded the corner with a very talkative little boy by his side.
"Dean!" he declared and broke from Jim's hand and went to his big brother. "Dean! Can we go play with your car now?" he asked.
"Yeah Sammy we can." Dean took Sam's hand and headed into the vestibule in the front of the church.
"Pastor Jim you coming with us?" the chunky four year old asked brightly.
"I'll be there in a few minutes, you can sit outside on the step. Dean, you know how far you are allowed to go."
"Yes, sir." The two adults heard the door open and shut.
"Did you get through to him?" he asked.
"I don't think so. I tried."
"That's all that we can hope for. Thanks Ellen." Jim said with a sigh.