I don't think I could ever force myself to forget the night I first introduced myself to Mark. The upstairs hall that housed the boarding area felt much darker than before, ironically, it seemed emptier. It was as though a shadow had been cast over the church, sucking away any semblance of emotion yet I was still afraid. I was no stranger to introductions given my position, what with having to meet new faces at weekly services, charity drives and even the daycare but this was far different from any of those instances. I was about to meet the boy whom I believed would be sharing in my life of involuntary loneliness and, given the circumstances of his arrival, hadn't the slightest clue of how to approach him, quite literally actually.

I stood in the middle of the hallway for what felt like an eternity staring at the slightly open doorway that sat beside my own as my body refused to move any further until my mind could come up with some sort of way to go about things with Mark. It wasn't until I heard the sound of what I suspect was Nathan finishing up downstairs that my feet finally began to move again as the fear of him discovering his request had still been unfulfilled was far stronger than that of a possible botched introduction. I scurried along up to the door but paused for a moment as the sound of muffled cries entered my ears. Carefully peering inside I saw as Mark was curled up in the middle of the bed with his face buried in his pillow to contain is constant sobbing, the dim lighting from the street below coming in through the window was the only source of light within the room. For a moment it seemed as though I was going to tense up yet again, much like I just a few feet away, but something inside of me said that it was going to be alright and I managed to surprise myself by taking that first step into the room.

I gave a gentle knock on the wooden door beside me. "H-H-Hello." I stuttered out.

He became startled by my voice and quickly dropped the pillow onto the bed. Wiped the tears from his eyes he turned to face me. With the low visibility it was hard to see his exact expression but it seemed as though he was confused as to who I was.

"W-W-Who are you?" He asked finally asked, confirming my suspicious.

I took a deep breath in order to remain calm as I took a small step towards him. "My name's Alisa." I answered back quietly.

He wiped his eyes once more and silently stared at me as my mind went blank, unsure of where to go next.

"W-What are you d-doing h-here?" He finally asked.

"I live here," I replied as calmly as I could while raising my arm to point at the wall to the left. "Right there, in the room next door."

He produced a loud sniffle before speaking again. "Are… are you… are you a…?"

"Orphan." My mind finished for him when he ended up falling silent.

I shut my eyes momentarily and took a deep breath before nodding. At least getting that out so soon would make things easier.

"I know what you're going through." I said calmly. "To lose your family I mean." Being completely honest even then I was sure that given his age he had a much greater understanding of the loss he was going through than I did when it happened to me. It seemed in my better interest at the time to ignore that factor though.

His head drooped down once more as he wiped away more tears.

"I-I'm sorry…" He whispered.

"It's okay," I began softly as I resumed my approach. "It happened…" I hesitated for a moment as my mind fumbled over what my next words should be. "It happened so long ago that I've learned how to accept it and move on."

The dark rainclouds that had blanketed the sky earlier had dispersed allowing the quarter full moon to shine over the city. Mark adjusted his view and fixated on it. "I just can't believe they're gone…"

"No they're not." I told him as I got a little closer to the bedside. "Father Nathan always says that no matter what a person never really disappears."

It seemed as though my words had consumed him but I was simply relieved that I didn't upset him again. "R-Really?"

I nodded my head. "Mhmm, Father Nathan says that when somebody dies they go and join the Goddess up in heaven so they can always be watching over their loved ones. That's why we can't be sad when they pass, because they want to see us happy." I explained.

He silently stared at me, unsure if I finished.

"That's, um… that's why we can't be sad all the time." I simply repeated.

He continued to remain silent as he shuffled around in an effort to relocate the pillow he misplaced on the floor earlier. I spotted it near my feet and picked it up for him.

"I… I guess you're right." He said with a slight smile as he snagged the pillow from my grip. "But… I just down…"

"It's alright." I told him as I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Everyone needs time to grieve."

He looked down again for a moment before returning his view to me. His eyes seemed brighter than before. "T-Thank you…" He smiled. "What did you say your name was…?"

I smiled. "Alisa."

"…I'm Mark."

In the few years that followed Mark slowly began to slowly accept the fate that had been dealt to him and move on. Much like myself he began to have the concept of priesthood hammered into his head through various classes and services and seemed destined to join me later in life as a full-fledged member of the congregation. Personally, it always seemed like it would be a fun life, working together to help others but…

Well, this is the point where you'd expect me to say the Goddess had other plans in store for him but as the events of the past few days would dictate that was far from what was going on…

Around the time we were both thirteen years old Mark began to change. After spending the better amount of three years dedicating himself to the church it appeared as though he had had enough and began to rebel. He no longer appeared to be focused during our lessons, he ditched out on his responsibilities more and more and spoke to Nathan and I less and less. Though Nathan for the most part was able to keep a calm demeanor Mark's behavior could occasionally get on his nerves.

"A misguided child," he used to call him. "One whose lost his way and will someday find himself back on the righteous path."

On the other hand I found myself more curious as to what seemed to be troubling. His behavior to me seemed like he wasn't simply lashing out because it was typical teenage behavior but rather because he felt like he was being held back. I wanted to sit down with him and talk about what was wrong but his desire to be alone always scared me off. Perhaps if I had been more courageous certain things could have been avoided, and others lost.

It was a breezy autumn afternoon when I finally mustered up the courage to speak it him. It was during the daycare service's recess break and he was standing off against the wall of the church far away from everyone else with his arms crossed. His eyes were fixated on the fence that sat on the other edge of the yard as I carefully approached him.

"Mark?" I said to him quietly.

He didn't bother to bat an eye at me as he answered. "What is it Alisa?"

"I… I wanted to know… if anything's bothering you lately." I told him. My hesitance to speak told me that I clearly wasn't as ready for this conversation as I believed.

He didn't offer a reply. He just kept staring off at the fence.

"Mark…?" I asked.

He gently closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I've had it."

"W-What?" I stuttered out.

He sighed. "I've had it. I've had it with this place." He repeated with each word getting more aggressive. "I've, I've had it with this church, Nathan, this life, all of it!" He was nearly shouting by that point.

I had never truly experienced an sort of anger at that point of my life and found myself stepping away from him in fear. "W-What do you mean?"

His hands clenched into fists as he dropped them to his side. "Don't you understand? I'm not meant for any of this… garbage. It's pointless."

I gasped rather loudly at his choice of words. "Garbage? Mark, you can't possibly mean…"

"I'm through!" He interrupted as he raised his fists and gripped them harder. "All of this… it's all just…"

He began to grunt and fumble around with his words as I could only watch in shock, my feelings divided on what to do. There was the part of me dedicated to the church that wanted to rush to Nathan and tell him about this breakdown Mark seemed to be experiencing but then there was the side of me that seemed to understand him. I had approached him to try and learn of his troubles and wanted to see it through.

Eventually he sighed, unclenched his fists, and stood in silence for a moment.

"I'm leaving…" He said calmly.

My eyes widened as I covered my mouth with my hands to silence my noticeably audible gasp. "You're leaving?! But-"

"Tonight… I've decided I'm leaving tonight…" He interrupted again.

"H-How…?" I asked, a sense of fear in my voice.

Rather than answer right away he instead set his view on my eyes. The look on his face seemed to indicate that he was looking to see if he could trust me with what he was about to answer with. I took his eyebrows lowering as he looked away in dismay much harder than his next question.

"Can I… can I trust you Alisa?" He asked as he looked back at me.

"Mark… of course you can." I answered back, a half smile on my face.

He grabbed my arms and pulled me close. "No, Alisa. I need to know, can I trust you? You can't tell anyone, nobody. Not even Nathan."

I'm sure he could tell as I froze up. He was considering, no, planning on running away and wanted me to swear to secrecy that I wouldn't tell anyone? What was I supposed to do?

After not receiving an answer out of me for about a minute he let go of me and turned away. "I get it… you think I'm crazy…"

"N-No… it's just… you have a great life here… why would you want to leave it behind?" I replied quietly.

"Because, this isn't my life." He answered. "Growing up I didn't want this, I wanted to do more. I wanted to see the world, explore its secrets, not be stuck in some old church for the rest of my life." He looked me in the eyes once more as his seemed to beg for me to understand. "Haven't you ever wanted more?"

I almost cried right then. My desires to join the rest of the world were something I had always kept to myself and now someone finally understood me, even if they didn't know it.

I momentarily closed my eyes to fight back tears. "I… I have… but…"

Suddenly he grabbed my hand. "Then come with me… tonight… all we have to do is move the bench over to the fence and we can finally be out of here."

"But… but where are we supposed to go? What are we going to do then Mark…?" I asked.

"I… I don't know…" He answered solemnly. "But I know that there's a bunch of people out there who manage with nothing so why can't we?"

"Mark… I… I can't…" I said as I pulled my hand out of his grip, tears were beginning to form in my eyes. "I just can't…"

He looked back at the fence and then back at me as the church bell began to ring throughout the area, signaling for us to return inside. "Alisa, look, my minds made up… please…" He grabbed my hand once more. "You can't tell Nathan. Please, promise me that… Please…"

I stared back into his pleading eyes for what felt like the longest moment of my life. If I ratted him out it seemed as though I would be keeping him away from his dream forever but there was no way he'd be able to survive out on the city streets by himself, not even with me.

"Mark, I…" Without an answer I took my hand back and covered my eyes as I scurried back into the church, leaving him to stand in his place all by his lonesome.

I didn't tell Nathan about what Mark had planned, in fact I didn't speak to anyone after that, at least for the rest of the day. As Mark and I ended the evening by washing dishes the rate at which we both worked was noticeably slower as a sense of despair lingered throughout the kitchen. It was obvious that I had kept his secret safe but he seemed to sense how much his decision to leave was hurting me. He was the first true friend I ever had in life and he was prepared to leave me. It was his desire for freedom, and I couldn't dare keep him from that.

Later that evening as I prepared for bed I found myself startled by a knock at the window of all places. I pushed aside the curtains to reveal Mark who had climbed out his own and onto the ledge that ran along the church's outer wall. I carefully opened the window opposite of him and leaned out.

"I wanted to say goodbye…" He explained. He made no attempt to hide any of the sadness he felt as he spoke.

"Please… don't do this." I told him.

He hung his head in shame. "I told you Alisa, my minds made up."

I clasped my hands together in a prayer like manner. "Please Mark. It's too dangerous out in the city for someone your age to be all alone… Things will get better here, I promise. We can-"

"Alisa, please," He interrupted. "I have to…"

The look of determination in his eyes was enough to silence me. It seemed as though he was pasted the point of no return long ago.

"Promise me you'll be safe…" I said. "Promise. Promise that for me. Promise that if things get bad you'll come back, please."

In the dim light of the moon it looked as though he was about to cry as he nodded in response. His body seemed to tremble as he looked at me.

"I promise." He replied.

I held up a finger to signify for him to wait as I tiptoed back into my room and over to the dresser. I snagged my keepsakes box from atop it and removed from it an old rosary of mine. The small statuette of the Goddess that adorned it had been chipped many years ago but I kept it with me all these years for the sentimental value it contained for being the first one Nathan had given me. I returned to Mark a placed it in his hands. He glanced down at my hands that covered his.

"Keep this… so you can always remember your promise to me… Your promise that you'll stay safe… Don't forget about it… Or me…" I finished with a whisper.

He removed his hands from mine and held the rosary up and watched as it glittered in the moonlight. He gripped it in his hands.

"I won't Alisa… My promise or you… I won't…" He said softly.

I hung my head down. "You'll always be in my prayers Mark…"

He placed his hand on my chin and brought my view back to him. "And you in my thoughts."

I could see as his eyes began to grow red and puffy while he tried his best to smile at me. I momentarily smiled back before looking away as his hand became removed from me. I didn't bother to look back until I began to hear him begin to descend the wall. I watched from my window as he scurried across the courtyard and just as he said rearranged the bench to give him the boost over the fence. He stopped for a moment atop its metal posts and looked back in the direction of my window before down at his hands. As he dropped down on the other side of the vanished into the night I felt as though I was betraying him as I began to pray to the Goddess that he would soon return to me.

She must have been occupied elsewhere as it would take years for her to hear my plea.