The church was located right next ta police station in town and it was easy enough ta get ta.
"How ya doin ya little rascal?" Shishou Scáthach greeted me at the church doors. She was dressed
"Doin mighty well, Shishou," I replied. She smiled at me and ruffled up mah hair like she always do. "Where's Cú?"
"Stuck with his aunty for today," Shishou Scáthach sighed deeply, "she decided to come visit from Scotland and well, she wanted to stay for a while, lad."
Shishou hadda sister named Aífe. They was always fightin and arguin accordin ta Cú, and mah mamma said Aífe was a bit obsessive with Cú too. Shishou always said she was kinda worried about her sister, but not so much. It's not like they tried ta kill each other, if ya catch mah drift. Now that I think about it, why does Cú always get crazy women in his life? Poor bastard.
"I wish him the best of luck then," I nodded.
"Come along now, lad," Shishou Scáthach stated, "ya here to pray to God, ain't ya now?" The church was Catholic, the only one in all of Mobile. It was mah first time in church. I noticed a lotta o' folks were curious on why I was there.
"Why they lookin at me like that, Shishou?" I asked.
"Well, folks around here don't see Japs that often in churches, now do they?" Shishou Scáthach replied, "don't worry too much about it. Ya dressed up nice, lad, yer fine for the time being."
"I reckon so..." I muttered. Shishou was like mah second mamma if Imma be honest with ya, Arthur. When mah own mamma wasn't there, Shishou was there!
"Have ya eaten yet?" Shishou Scáthach asked and I nodded, "have ya grades improved at all?"
"I got a B- on the last English test!" I said proudly and she smiled at me.
"That's good, lad," Shishou Scáthach chuckled, "oh, there's the priest..." Shishou's face turned real grim real fast. It looked like she was gonna kill somebody!
"Ah, Ms. Bisset, it's wonderful to see ya here!" Now, Father Merlin was the priest of the church. He was a weird man with long white hair and what mamma called "eyes of a trampin hoe-bag who woulda stuck his dong in a keyhole if he thought it felt good." I didn't get what mah mamma meant. I don't reckon anybody can stick anythin but a key in a keyhole.
Shishou put a firm hand on mah shoulder like she was afraid I was gonna be taken away or somethin.
"Can't say I return the same feelins," Shishou Scáthach replied.
"Hon, hon, hon," Father Merlin chortled, "what do we have here? Ah, why, hello there little boy!" Shishou immediately pushed me behind her for some reason. Father Merlin looked real confused.
"I'm warnin ya!" Shishou Scáthach pointed a finger at him.
"Jesus H. Christ, Ms. Bisset, allow me to rephrase my wordin," Father Merlin coughed loudly, "my name is Father Merlin. I am always very welcomin of all folks who believe in the word of God!"
"Yes, very welcomin indeed," Shishou Scáthach muttered. Now, I don't understand why, but Shishou kept sendin prayers ta the Lord ta ensure the safety of every little boy and girl who goes ta the church and she kept prayin that they wouldn't be taken along with their innocence.
"Christ, Bisset, have some faith in me will ya now?" Father Merlin said exasperated.
"Ah, Shirou!" Mr. Ozymandias called ta me when I was lookin around for Jeanne. He was sittin front row, very close ta the altar.
"Mr. Ozymandias!" I greeted, "how are ya?"
"Coulda be doin better," Mr. Ozymandias shrugged. I began ta notice Mr. Ozymandias had bandages around his face and hands and all. He also had a new cane!
"What happened ta ya, Mr. Ozymandias?" I asked.
"Oh, this?" Mr. Ozymandias chuckled, "just a flesh wound."
"Was ya in another protest?" I asked another question.
"Oh, quite so," Mr. Ozymandias sighed, "we's lucky 'round here, Shirou. Mobile is safe from most of the fightin. Montgomery and Birmingham, on the other hand, is burnin like the fiery depths of the Hell. Folks there are gettin worse."
"Ya reckon things could get better, Mr. Ozymandias?" I inquired.
"I reckon it'll get better eventually," Mr. Ozymandias nodded, "that Dr. King fellow is much more pleasant than that Malcolm X. I reckon I'll be followin the former. I pray ya never see the same thing, Shirou. I reckon times will be hard for ya over yonder. Sufferin and hatred can make any man go bad."
"Whoever does good ya should follow, Mr. Ozymandias," I said, "the world needs nice folks."
"I reckon ya right, Shirou," Mr. Ozymandias chuckled, "what ya doin here at church for?"
"Oh, I'm here because Jeanne asked me to," I replied with a blush on mah face.
"Hohoho, go get her, boyo," Mr. Ozymandias laughed. I just stood there really confused. What in tarnation was he goin on about?
We saw Father Merlin chattin away with a bunch o' folks. For some reason, a lotta people was keepin their kids away as far as possible. Next ta Father Merlin was another man with brown skin and white hair. He looked real creepy.
"Who's that?" I asked.
"Priest Amakusa Shirou," Mr. Ozymandias frowned, "creepy little shit, ain't he not? Worse than Merlin."
"Really?" I said in surprise. Father Merlin didn't seem so bad. Insane, maybe, but not bad.
"Go find your gal now, Shirou," Mr. Ozymandias smiled, "tell me how it goes!"
Jeanne was sittin in the middle row of the church. She looked prettier than ever. Her hair ain't as she usually does. Instead of a braided ponytail, she had her hair tied up in somethin mah mamma called a chignon. She looked like a goddess. Her blue eyes twinkled like they always do and Jeanne was wearin a light blue shift dress and a white dress jacket. She wore a ruby red necklace that I remembered mamma gave her.
"Shirou! Ya here," Jeanne smiled at me.
"Yes I am," I said quickly before I sat down. Jeanne kept her smile as I sat down.
"Well, I'm happy you're here, Shirou," Jeanne nodded, "look, mass about to start." Now, I understood some of the things Father Merlin was preachin, but I mostly didn't know what the hell he was talkin about most of the time. Also, I spent more time talkin with Jeanne than listenin.
"Do ya believe in God, Shirou?" Jeanne asked.
"I reckon I should," I replied. When Jeanne give me a confused look, I tried ta explain. "I mean, believin in a god makes life a bit easier. Ya have an explanation for a lotta o' things!"
"But do ya really, really believe in him? That he's out there?" Jeanne asked quietly.
"I...I don't know," I said honestly, "how about you Jeanne? Do ya believe in God?"
"I reckon I ain't even sure if I do anymore, Shirou," Jeanne said sadly, "I go to church to reaffirm my faith, but even then I feel like I'm losin faith. Where was God when I needed him most? When a lotta of folks needed him most? Prayin never worked. I prayed and prayed and I still got...hurt. I don't believe in all that 'it's God's plan' crap either. Why does a so-called lovin god let the innocent suffer and let the bad ones persist in this world? Lily's Jewish, ain't she? Ya reckon she ever wonder why God disappeared? During the Holocaust of all times?"
"I don't know," I said sheepishly.
"Ya would think after thousands of years God would realize humanity never changes," Jeanne sighed, "no matter what, we's always gonna fight each other in a never-ending cycle of bloodshed and hatred. Hell, we kill each other just 'cause we can't even agree on how to worship God!"
"What about Jesus?" I asked, "folks believe in him far and over yonder."
"After learnin a lot o' things and doin my own searchin and findin, I feel the Bible has way too many plot-holes," Jeanne frowned, "and are ya sure what the Bible is sayin is the word of Jesus? It's a centuries-old book written by folks writin in a third-person account and not ta mention most of it's from the Torah before Jesus existed, and Christian folks have been known for hatin Jews when Jesus was a Jew! Why? 'Cause another Jew killed him? What type of damn o' logic is that? Folks confuse me, Shirou."
Now, lemme be clear. I is ain't gonna give mah opinion. I know some folks get offended more easily than other folks and some folks will be bashin em folks for being taa darn sensitive and some folks will be cryin out blasphemy and then there's gonna be some riot in the muddafuckin- (Shirou, ya ramblin. Oh, sorry bout that.)
"Maybe...maybe God stopped carin about us a long time ago," I said, "maybe he reckoned we was gonna all go down the gutter so he decided to leave us be and see how we'll go without any guidin hand. Or maybe's he dead."
"I sincerely believe the latter," Jeanne laughed dryly.
"If that's the case, why ya believe in God so much, Jeanne?" I asked curiously.
"I reckon I just do 'cause it makes me have more hope," Jeanne sighed, " I do 'cause it don't make me feel like I'm alone."
"Ya ain't alone, Jeanne," I said, "ya got me." She smiled for once and the mass went on. Me and Jeanne stayed back after mass was over. We was helping Father Merlin and em prepare for the church's annual back-to-school day, where the church wanted ta help kids get ready for the year. By the time we was done, it was already nighttime.
"You's thinking of havin supper somewhere, Shirou?" Jeanne asked. I nodded ta reply. We head off ta some diner right across the police station. As we as headed in, I saw Lily just sittin by herself, eatin good ol' pie.
"How y'all doin?" Lily waved when she noticed us, "the pie's mighty good, y'all should try some." We was sittin on either side of her, and Lily ordered two cherry pies for us.
"What are ya doin here Lily?" I asked, "you's lookin sadder than usual."
"Naw, just my brother canceled on supper with me tonight," Lily scoffed, "I was happy too, finally thoughta he woulda been there in my life for once. How about the two o' y'all?"
"We's just done with church," I explained.
"You goin ta church?" Lily raised an eyebrow, "aw, shucks, Shirou! I thought ya was a Jew like me. Yer mama's one, ain't she?"
I nodded. Now, I reckon there is a God, but he just don't give a damn. Honestly, I don't know what the hell is the difference between all em religions believin in God. He's the same god, ain't he? Why gotta fight over it?
"Mamma says it's up ta me on what I wanna believe in," I replied and Lily nodded in agreement, "besides, I promised Jeanne." Then Lily looked at me funny.
"Say, who's ya papa, Shirou?" Lily asked.
"He died a long time ago in the big war," I replied. Lily looked at me skeptically.
"I ain't gonna say yer ma is yer ma but is your mama really yer real mama?" Lily asked. I was still confused, so Jeanne explained it ta me.
"She askin if ya mama the person that gave birth to ya," Jeanne said bluntly.
"I...I reckon so," I replied. They both gave me odd looks.
"It is to no offense to ya," Lily reassured, "but...you don't look like yer mama at all."
"I'll be damned, even if you had white blood in ya, ya don't got your mama's eyes or hair or even her damn jawline," Jeanne muttered, "say, where ya daddy from Shirou?"
"Mamma always said from the land of em Nips," I replied.
"Japs don't have a lotta of em redheads do they?" Lily stated, "didn't ya say ya daddy died in the war?"
"That's what mah mamma told me," I said.
"Well, shit," Lily sighed.
They were at a park bench now on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in August. Arthur looked at Shirou incredulously.
"Did ya ever find out?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah, I did eventually," Shirou nodded slowly.
"Huh," Arthur replied simply. He found it odd, really. The world was big out there, of course. You learn new stuff everyday.
I was gettin hit all em words I hadda sit down foh a bit. I was confused. I kept askin mahself questions and stuff. Like, who really was mah daddy really? Is there anythin mamma been hidin over yonder?
Suddenly, somethin caught mah eye.
"Hey, Lily?" I asked.
"Yeah?" Lily replied, being on her ninth plate o' pie. She was a big ol' glutton like that. I always been wonderin why I never see her gain a single damn ounce!
"What is goin on over yonder?" I asked. I was lookin through em cafe doors and atta the church. For some reason, the light was on even though the church shoulda been closed. I is seein some odd stuff goin down there!
I saw a shadow of some tall fella and it looked he had spiked hair from his shadows. Now, this where things got real weird. I was seein this fella do somethin ta this little boy or somethin. It was some weird stuff, I tell ya. It ain't lookin right.
"Call the police," Lily yelled at the waiter, "come on y'all! Hurry the hell up!"
The very next mornin, that Amakusa guy was taken outta the church by the police.
"I ain't doin nothin! I swear ta God!" He said.
"Yeah? Stop disgracin 'im name asshole," One of em officers reply.
"I ain't touchin no kids! I swear! Ya can't take me! Hell, I ain't goin back!" Amakusa decided ta make a break for it and he almost got away too! "I ain't goin back ta the damn penitentiary! You's never gonna take me's alive!" He was runnin as fasta than the devil from Christ! But em officers real mad I tell ya, three of em tackled him hard!
"Jeanne? What's goin on?" I asked.
"Don't worry too much about it," Jeanne waved it off. Years later, the Church was all over the news! Like, everywhere!
"Wha...how...what?" Arthur sputtered. The two of them were at a museum in Tennessee and what Shirou just told him nearly made him spit out his coffee.
"Yeah, pretty darn weird I tell ya," Shirou frowned. Arthur wanted to faint.
Eventually, school came in once again. One more year and I was outta there and inta the University of Alabama. After school, I usually went fishin with Cú and all em. Howeva, he was sick early in the year and so I spent most of mah time with Lily or Jeanne. Well, mostly Lily. Jeanne spent a lot o' time studyin, whilst Lily was relaxin all the time. She told me she gets her work done early so she ain't gotta do nothin later.
We was at the pier while we was fishin. Lily hummed ta herself a nice little tune I never heard before. I gotta say, I admire Jeanne and Lily. While the former was much calmer and kind, and the latter was much wittier and carefree, they all had a high degree to toughness I don't I reckon I'd see in most men either. The sun was goin down and Lily started ta sing a song I didn't know at the time. Howeva, it became clear to me years later the song was just a foreshadowin of events to come. The next big thing I'll be tellin ya Arthur...well, it ain't pretty to say. But this song, it gave me some peace for a time. Golly, I'm surprised I still remember every damn word that came out of her mouth.
Down this road I can see my home
But why must I be going home alone?
Mama tell me why the sun got turned black?
Mama tell me why Old Ginny's face looks cracked?
Lord knows I been repayin for my sins
Life is an odd game of loss and win
I ain't the one to sit back and drink just whiskey and gin
Mama tell me why Old Glory looks so gray?
Mama tell me why does empathy all em folks always lack?
Mama please Mama tell me if I'll see the brighter day?
Lady Prairie has been shedding mighty tears
Mama everybody been havin mighty fears
Mama why is everybody fightin in everythin?
America's mockingbird no longer sings
Good Lord, I wish I could just fly away
Milady I wish for brighter days
I ain't much good words to say
Lay me down with my forefathers of thy nation
Mama I know I'm testin God's patience
But help me Lord in midst of darker times
It's too early to be sayin goodbye
Why pray now I don't know why
Mama knows, I don't know why
Look through my eyes, I tell no lies...
Oh Lord, I don't know why...
A/N: Sorry for the long wait? Well, the next few chapters will be gradually be diving into much darker subject matter, as Shirou is nearing some of the most violent years of the Civil Rights Movement and the buildup to the Vietnam War. Shirou will also be diving into the origins of his heritage, as like he told Arthur, darker times are ahead.