July 20, 2023

Hi guys!

The DeviantArt tournament is over, so maybe I have more time to write my fanfics!

This chapter, at 6800 words, is longer than several of my individual fanfics, and longer than the previous 3 chapters combined!

Sorry, but I, as a Christian, need a lot of space to explain my views on death.

This fanfic is not intended to evangelize anyone, but I have the right - and the duty - to defend what I believe, in every possible way.

If you are a Christian or have another religion, please read this chapter with an open mind, admitting the possibility that you have been learning wrong about Christianity all this time.

If you are an atheist or skeptic, please read this chapter with an open mind, admitting the possibility that you have been learning wrong about Christianity all this time.

Seanrudin: We'll see now what Lucy is going to do with her bangs.

Enjoy!

Chapter 04:
The God, The Goth, The Genius

Flashback:

Lucy, alone in her room, is hard at work drawing (and scripting at the same time) a horror comic (something unusual, as she prefers to write), when her smartphone rings.

"Hello Haiku?"
"Hello Lucy. Are you ready?"
"Ready for what?"
"To the Flower Fair."
"Sorry, Haiku. I can't leave the house today."
"Did your parents ground you?"
"I decided to stay grounded."
"Why?"
"Because Lincoln is grounded and I'm showing solidarity with him."
"Hmm…Okay. A self-sacrifice. That is noble of you."
"Thanks. You can go without me."
"No problem. Maybe I'll buy myself some honeysuckle. And some carnations for you."
"I appreciate. Good death to you."
"Equally."

CLIC!

Lucy folds her arms on the desk, resting her head.

"PHEW... I never thought that making a comic would be so much work. But I deserve it. After all, I'm the one who should be grounded, not Lincoln. He missed his Ace Savvy convention because of me."

She drinks water from her pet bottle and resumes her work.

"I don't even know how many pages this is going to take..."

End of Flashback.

Sunday morning.
Lucy rubs her eyes and notices that she is alone in the room.
Lynn Jr. must be in the bathroom by now.

Lucy stretches and climbs out of bed.
She kneels on the floor and crosses her fingers.
"Dark spirits, for once hear my plea. Give me access to the spirit of my brother Lincoln Loud so that we can…"
She stops.
She reflects silently for a few seconds.

Suddenly it's like everything is one big joke.
"Humph."
Lucy, without another word, gets up and leaves the room.

After showering and dressing, Lucy walks silently through the room, hoping no one will see her.
She crosses the kitchen and heads for the back door.
"Where are you going?"
"AAAHHH!" Lucy screams in terror and falls to the ground.

Lisa does nothing but frown.

"Gee, Lisa, you scared me," Lucy grumbles, as she gets to her feet.
"Serious? Well, Take That!" Lisa teases lightly, hands behind her back.
Lucy Loud is known to frighten the sisters with her sudden appearances (or materializations?). Haiku taught her to be very discreet.
But Lisa Loud, the 4-year-old mini-genie, hasn't been scared since she invented a little vibration detector that lets her know when Lucy is around.

"If that's what you mean, no, I didn't forget to eat breakfast," Lucy assures her.
"No problem. We still have half an hour before Breakfast," Lisa informs. "I came to talk about another subject."
"And what would be?" Lucy crosses her arms.

Lisa, with her owlish eyes squinted, accentuated by her giant prescription glasses, puts the hands in her pockets:
"Yesterday I overheard you commenting to Dad about wanting to go to church today."
"Yes, so what? If I want to go to the car shop, what do you have to do with it?"
"Nothing at all. I don't care what each individual believes or disbelieves. If it makes you feel better, move on. My point is another."
"Speak."

"I notice that you cultivate the popular but harmful vice of absorbing too much of what people say."
"You think?"
"I think. And I make an appeal: don't go out already believing in everything the pastor communicates to you."
Lucy nods.

Lisa continues:
"If there is a God, I believe He has endowed us with a rational mind and a critical sense to put them to good use. If you want to discover the truth, start looking for it yourself, without blindly trusting any voice you may hear out there. The Bible itself says in 1 John 4.1: 'Don't believe every spirit, but put it to the test.' "
"How did Martin Luther do it?" Lucy suggests.
"Yes," Lisa agrees. "He chose to believe that God had revealed his truth in the Bible, and as a result, he picked a nasty fight with the Catholic Church, which had strayed far from biblical orthodoxy. It's still deviated today, by the way. In fact, I myself have serious disagreements about the Bible, but I am not the one to assume the role of the Catholic Church and impose my potentially biased view on you. It's your role, Madam Luther, to assume the protagonism of your mind and have a rational Faith, without being led by emotions or brainwashing."
"Okay, fine, I get it," Lucy cuts short. "Now excuse me, before any of the sisters show up to…"

"Lucy! I was looking for you!" Lana runs into the kitchen.
"Subtle," Lucy whispers.

Under Lisa's curious gaze, Lana addresses Lucy:
"I had a bizarre dream today."
"About Lincoln?" Lucy asks.
"No."
"Then I don't care."
"But listen: I was running completely naked down the avenue, trying to escape a ferocious steamroller. Then I suffered a sudden illness and passed out on the asphalt, making the steamroller run over me. Then, after a few minutes, I would get up and walk slowly down the sidewalk. What do you think all this means?"

Lucy doesn't move a muscle.
"Are you listening me?" Lana insists, with Lucy right in front of her. "Sometimes I have the impression that your soul leaves and returns to your body whenever it wants. You're still here, aren't you?"

Lucy turns her back on Lana and opens the back door.
She only says three words:
"Thank you, Lisa."
And she leaves the house.
Lisa, behind Lana, nods.

"But Lucy!" Lana complains to the door, disappointed. "Aren't you the family's official dream decoder?!"
"Maybe she doesn't have all the answers," Lisa guesses.
"And you, Lisa?" Lana turns to her gifted sister. "What do you think my dream means?"
"It means you shouldn't run naked on avenues, at risk of a steamroller appearing and running you over."

Lisa leaves the kitchen, leaving Lana disconcerted.

4 pm.
Lucy's first surprise: it's not a mega-church.
"I expected a more imposing and well-maintained building," Lucy admits, after 1 minute of contemplation.
"I thought you would like it," comments Lynn Sr., the only one to accompany the daughter on her visit to the church. "Sounds just like your style."
"Yes, I liked it," Lucy agrees. "But the facade has cracks and a somewhat faded paint. And there should be more flowers enlivening this garden."
"I forgot that goths are into architecture too."
"Regardless of me being goth, it's a fascinating subject."

Father and daughter enter and take seats in the empty row closest to the pulpit.
"We should have brought a Bible," Lynn Sr. notes. "I know we have it at home, but I can't find it."
"When I go to the Pastor, I bet the first thing he's going to ask me is where is my Bible," Lucy speculates, a little skeptically.

When a man with long hair, no older than 20 or 25, wearing a white surf shirt, blue shorts and dark gray crocs, appears in the pulpit, Lucy senses that there has been a mistake.
"Who is he?"
"It can only be the Pastor," Lynn Sr. responds.
"Absurd. This guy would kill Leni from the heart."

The hairy young man adjusts the microphone on the pulpit:
"Good afternoon, brothers. This service promises to be strong and encouraging. God is revealing to me that there is someone here today who would not have wanted to come, but who is waiting to receive answers to the questions that hammer in his dark and anguished mind."
Lucy turns the head to her Father, who smiles slightly.

"Get up everyone. Let's pray."
Lucy and her Father follow the crowd.

5 pm.
After the end of the service, Lucy does not hesitate and leaves the armchair.
She crosses the auditorium, followed by her Father, until she reaches the hairy man, who greets the faithful.
"Excuse me, are you Pastor Luke?" Lynn Sr. asks.
"I think I am," the young man confirms.
"My daughter would like to..."
"I say," Lucy cuts her Father off. "My name is Lucy, and I am as interested in the spiritual as you are."

"Nice to meet you, Lucy," Pastor Luke shakes her hand. "I hope today's message has borne fruit in your heart."
"I think so. You preached very well."
"Thanks. All Honor to the Creator."
"I really need to speak with you privately in the churchyard."
"Of course. You two, meet me at the fountain in the garden. In 10 minutes I'm there."
"Thank you," Lynn Sr. thanks.
As Father and daughter walk away from the crowd...
"He didn't even look at me the wrong way. I don't think he minds that I'm a goth girl."
"I would say he prefers to judge people from the inside rather than the outside."

20 minutes later, with the three of them sitting by the water fountain...

"It's very sad what happened to your brother," Pastor Luke observes.
"Yeah," Lucy already asks: "Why did God have to take Lincoln at age 11, before he could accomplish everything he wanted to do? Did God need him in the service of Heaven?"

"I wouldn't say that," Pastor Luke disagrees. "I prefer to think that God allows tragedies and misfortunes to happen in our lives so that we remember that we are nothing and so that we trust God even more instead of relying on our own strength and ability. After all, what happens most in the world is people who lose their lives at 10, 20, 30, 40 years old, with nobody being able to do anything to stop it. Like your brother's incurable disease. To paraphrase the singer Hermes Aquino, we are 'passing clouds'."

"True," Lucy agrees. "Life is a breath, and we have much less control over it than we would like."
"Exactly."
"But isn't the Gospel message 'stop suffering now'?" Lynn Sr. finds the reasoning strange.

"No way," Pastor Luke refutes. "Jesus Christ said that he would lighten our burdens, but that he would also give us a yoke to bear (Matthew 11.28-30). Apostle Paul says that in all our sufferings, we are more than winners, through God, who gives us His love (Romans 8.31-38). He also says that Christ gives us strength to face any circumstance, be it bonanza or misery: 'I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me' (Philippians 4.10-14)."

"I thought that last biblical phrase only referred to our victories in life," Lucy acknowledges, a little puzzled.

"So it is," Pastor Luke continues. "Evangelical churches have strayed far from the real Gospel, mixing it with the heresies of Positive Mental Attitude and the Law of Attraction, making you think that Gospel means only victories and triumphs. Of course, the pure and original Gospel is that too, but with a different concept of what it is to be truly victorious. Jesus called us to believe and to suffer in the world, both with our own suffering (Acts 9.15,16) and with the suffering of the world (James 1.27)."
"So, if I let God and Christ teach me to be strong and confident, no matter how much I suffer in life, will I be victorious?" Lucy reasons.
"That's right," Pastor Luke confirms. "You got the message."

"But why can't I talk to Lincoln's spirit?" Lucy changes the subject. "I mean, I know you're going to say that God considers it a sin to consult the dead, but…"
"…But you can't understand why it's a sin," Pastor Luke adds.
"Not even. I mean, if Lincoln was so good and helped me so much when he was alive, why couldn't he help me after he was dead? Why would God be against that?"
"I wonder too. There would be no reason why God would be against talking to the dead, if that were possible. And the primary reason God is opposed to communicating with the dead... is because this is impossible."

Lucy is speechless.

Lynn Sr. intervene:
"Ahem... I'm sorry, Pastor, but my daughters always say they talk to Lincoln's spirit, whether in dreams or mentally."
"And you too?"
"No, not me, but… who am I to doubt them?"

"They can be confused, thinking they are communicating with Lincoln, when it could just be reactions in their minds."
"That's what Lisa says all the time," Lucy informs. "She's my only sister who doesn't believe in the supernatural."
"Please, daughter, no gossip," Lynn Sr. warns.

Pastor Luke continues:
"But Satan and his demons can also deceive us, making us believe that the dead speak to us (2 Corinthians 11.14), even telling us the truth, if that is convenient for them."
"Absolutely," Lucy agrees. "Spirits can be as cunning as we humans. But I don't understand. By the way, forgive me: aren't you Christians the ones who always send everyone to Hell?"

Pastor Luke cackles heartily.

"What's funny?" Lucy doesn't understand.
"I think I have another comedian in the family," Lynn Sr. smile.

Pastor Luke regains composure:
"Well, who am I to send people to Hell? I'm not God. But humanity's greatest mistake is what the serpent said in the Garden of Eden: 'you will not surely die' (Genesis 3.4). The immortal soul, or immortalism, is the greatest hoax that Satan has inflicted on the world, and this error has infected both the Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church, and this will probably be the great lie to be used by the Antichrist at the end of time."

"You mean you don't believe in life after death?" Lynn Sr. asks. "Aren't there dead people living in Heaven and Hell now?"

"No, there isn't," Pastor Luke decrees. "Remember what I said about being 'passing clouds'? Death has always been one of humanity's great riddles, and people have always been bothered by the fact that they can't dodge death. Hence the various religions and sects that speak of spiritual dimensions, reincarnations and other things that are not in the Bible. Because people want to live as if they don't need to depend on God. As if they could be self-sufficient. Hence the Law of Attraction says that you are god and that you can conquer everything by yourself. No, you can not. Without God and without the life-giving work of Christ we can do nothing (John 15.1-8). And being mortalistic, as our church preaches, only serves to further reinforce that we are totally dependent on God, whether to live now or to live in Eternity (Acts 17.28)."

"It makes some sense, but… Does the Bible say we are unconscious after we die?" Lucy questions.

"Now we come to the point: what does the Bible really say?" Pastor Luke starts flipping through his Bible. "I'll tell you, I was also raised by my family in the belief that after death, everyone would go to Heaven or Hell. It's amazing how you can read and reread the Bible without seeing the full truth of God and Jesus when you're caught up in the lie, or compromised by it. I myself read 1 Corinthians 15 several times, but as I became more open to the truth, there came a day when I read the chapter one more time and it was a totally different read."
Pastor Luke waves to Lucy, and she sits closer to him to read the Bible with him.

"Read Verses 12 and 13."
Lucy, with her hand, adjusts her fringe to read it better:
" 'Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen.' "
"Verses 17 to 19."
" 'And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.' "
"Verse 32."
" 'If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.' "

"What did you identify?" Pastor Luke asks.
"Honestly, nothing."
"And many Christians don't either. I highlight 3 things that Apostle Paul says here. First, he says that without the resurrection of the dead, Christians who have died are perished. Would he say that if Christians who died were happy in Heaven?"
"I don't think so."
"Second, he says that without the resurrection of the dead, we only have hope in this life and in no other. If dead Christians were happy in Heaven, would you say they are hopeless?"
"No way."
"Third, he says that without the resurrection of the dead, we should 'eat and drink', that is, make the most of the life we have now, since we will not have another chance. Would that make sense if we had a chance to party in Heaven right after we died?"
"No, it wouldn't."

"Hence he says in verse 20, 'But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.' If we have faith that Christ rose from the dead, we can all believe in the promise of rising one day in order to live forever."

Lucy reflects in silence.

Lynn Sr. reminds:
"But... what about the Parable of the Rich and Lazarus? After all, didn't Lazarus go to Heaven and the rich man to Hell right after they died?"
"That's just a Parable, not a real case," Luke pins. "The Bible tells one Parable that shows people living after death and two Parables that show trees talking in human language. There's a lot more 'biblical evidence' that trees can talk."
"Ha ha... Very funny," Lucy returns, wryly.

Lynn Sr. insists:
"But Jesus would deceive people, confusing them about the afterlife?"
"Jesus didn't confuse anyone," Luke clarifies. "Because the original audience knew the story wasn't real. After all, it wasn't Jesus who created the Parable of the Rich and Lazarus."
"It was not?"
"Before Jesus, this story was already circulating in Israel, Egypt and in the pagan world at large, with several different versions. But in all these versions, after the rich man and Lazarus died, the rich man managed to put Lazarus to alert his family alive, so that they would not go to Hell soon after they died. So Jesus parodied the story by inventing an alternate ending, where Abraham says to the rich man: 'If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead' (Luke 16.31). I, too, have read this verse dozens of times, without ever having understood the real message it conveys: Jesus told this parodied parable to prove that the immortal soul is a hoax, and Catholics and Evangelicals interpret it with the exact opposite meaning."

"Wow!" Lucy is perplexed.

"Moreover, if Jesus claims in the parable that people would not repent hearing about Hell, then the reports of Mary Baxter, Bill Wiese and other people claiming to have visited Hell are all false. After all, Jesus would not contradict himself by taking people for a walk in Hell."

"Blimey!" Lucy gasps. "And to think that there's an entire industry of movies and books promoting belief in Hell…"

"Not to mention the infamous Chick Tracts," Luke adds. "Jack Chick loved portraying Hell in his comics. It must have been a secret fetish of his."

Lucy jumps to her feet:
"But if Lincoln is unconscious and incommunicable, what hope do I have left?"
"The resurrection hope, remember?" Luke resumes. "Jesus promises that at the end of time, all the dead will be raised: 'Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice. And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5.28.29).' "
"Judged? So there will be a condemnation?"
"Yes. The wicked will be punished for a time and then will be annihilated forever, never to exist again. After all, on the one hand, God would be unfair not to punish the unrepentant who sinned in this life. But on the other hand, God would also be unfair to burn the unrepentant eternally for billions and billions of years just for a few decades of sins committed in this life. Eternal Torment is another grotesque lie of Satan, and this lie only serves to drive people away from Christianity as repugnant. Like you two, for example."

Lucy and Lynn Sr. amaze.

God revealed to him?

Lucy scratches her arm:
"Yes. Not just me, but... I would venture to say that our whole family looks down on Christianity. Largely because of this belief that we're going to burn forever because we like certain movies and video games… Or because I dress in black and wear ultra-pale makeup… Or because my sister Luna has a girlfriend..."
"Enough, Lucy!" Lynn Sr. decree, very seriously.
"OK. Sorry."

Luke completes:
"But our hope is that we will be resurrected to live on Earth, not in Heaven. Another thing that amazes Christians is knowing that the Bible never says that we will live in Heaven someday, but ALWAYS emphasizes that we will live on Earth forever. After evil has been vanquished and the unrepentant eliminated for good, the righteous will inherit the Earth and dwell in it forever. It will be the same life we have today, with beach, movies, soccer, video games, but with all the effects of sin removed."
"And will people no longer have a conscience of sin?" Lynn Sr. wants to know.
"Yes, they will know what sin is, but they will not be tempted to sin."
"But how is that possible?"

Pastor Luke smiles for a few seconds.

"If I give you a plate full of mud now, will you eat?"
"Of course not," Lynn Sr. discard. "Are you crazy?"
"And why not? If you don't know, many people in Haiti cook mud cookies to eat."
"YERK," Lucy makes a disgusted face, already imagining her sister Lana enjoying the "delicacy".
"Since Haitians are so hungry, they are tempted to eat mud. But we Americans, who have a perfect diet - well, not so perfect, but that's another story - don't feel that temptation. At the end of time, it will be the same thing: Eternal Life with God will be so perfect that we will not be tempted to sin."
"So we are not eternal now, but we will be eternal in the future," Lucy reasons.
"Exactly. And only God can provide us with Eternal Life. After all, only God possesses immortality (1 Timothy 6.16)."

Lynn Sr. check the time:
"Well, I think it's time we went. It was a pleasure meeting you, Pastor Luke."
"The pleasure is all mine," Luke squeezes his hand. "All Glory to the Creator."
"I thank you too," Lucy repeats the gesture. "I still have a lot of questions... but I also have a lot of answers."
Pastor Luke recommends:
"Read the Bible and pray to God for answers to your questions."
"Okay... I don't have a Bible."
"You can take this one with you," Luke hands over his own Bible. "And don't worry: this Bible is already translated from our mortalistic point of view."

"Okay, but… Before we leave…"
"Yes?"
"Are you a Harry Potter fan?"
"I adore it," Luke smiles. "In the same sense that I adore a chocolate bar. Not in the same sense that I adore God. So I know that God is not jealous of me."
"But isn't Harry Potter of the Devil?"
"Just because of the magic? Harry Potter teaches many Christian values such as friendship, teamwork, selflessness, fighting evil with good, etc. By the way, between Harry Potter and God Is Not Dead, which of the two film franchises reflects Christianity more?"

Lynn Sr. and Lucy amaze again.

Lucy and her Father walk back home, while contemplating the sun slowly disappearing from the horizon.

"What did you think of Pastor Luke?" Lynn Sr. breaks the silence, after several minutes of walking.
"He's different than I thought," Lucy admits, Bible in hand. "He has strong convictions, but he's not the 'fanatical believer' type. Maybe not all Christians are the same."
"Of course. In fact, the vast majority of them are good people. But what about Lincoln? Are you convinced that it's impossible to talk to him?"
"I don't know. I strongly resist the idea that he is unconscious. But for me, it's much easier to accept a God who punishes people with eternal sleep than eternal torment."
"Well, you can still meet Haiku at midnight and try to summon Lincoln."
"Perhaps. I'll see what I can do."

When they arrive at the Loud House, it's already night.
Lucy barely has time to enter and is already surrounded by her sisters.

Lynn Jr.: "Hey Raven, how was venturing out to church today?"
Lana: "Have you had any supernatural experiences?"
Lola: "Did Lincoln speak to you in spirit?"
Leni: "What kind of suit does the pastor wear?"
Luan: "Does he have any special preaching techniques?"

Lucy waves her arms, as she always does to say "SILENCE" completely silently.
"Please girls. Let your sister breathe," Lynn Sr. demands, both serious and humorous.
"Is that book in your hand the Bible?" Lori points.
Lucy nods, showing the black cover with gold lettering to her sisters.

Luna intervenes at a bad time:
"This is the book that sends gays to Hell."
All the sisters look at Luna, with censorship eyes.
"Please, Luna, be kinder," Leni demands. "She's trying to find out the truth."
Luna, impassive, continues:
"And it's also the book that supports slavery."
"George Washington was a slave owner too," Lisa underscores.
"And?" Luna insists. "Founding America does not absolve him."
"Maybe," Lisa admits. "But if we look at Washington in terms of historical context, why not do the same with the Bible?"
Luna doesn't answer.

Rita appears from the kitchen, wearing an apron:
"Good night, Lucy. Get ready, dinner will be ready in 15 minutes."
"Okay. I'm going to take a bath and get ready for rest of the night," Lucy announces.
"Rest of the night?" Lola wants to know more, as Lucy has only told her parents about the midnight sacrifice.

Without going into detail, Lucy takes off her shoes and heads upstairs to her room.
After starting to climb, she turns to face her sisters and says:
"Thank you, Lisa."

The bathroom is a liberating place for Lucy. It's like it's the only place in the house where she can get rid of her sisters' expectations and even get rid of herself.

No, in that place she doesn't have to be gothic, dark or even serious. There she can stop being Lucy and experiment be whoever she wants: singer, comedian, fashion lover and anything her imagination comes up with.

For her, as exciting as teleporting to dark and terrifying worlds is being able to leave them whenever she wants, conceiving her own multiverse of madness of which she is sovereign.

Unfortunately, she wanted to be able to really feel 100% free, instead of constantly being "hostage" to her family's thoughts and mockery, or even to the Morticians Club, as if she had an obligation to follow guidelines and protocols to maintain her "gothic license". No wonder, she distanced herself from the Morticians after Lincoln's death, keeping only contact with Haiku, who, alongside Rocky, remains her best friend.

She always wanted to be aware that she has no obligation to be anything than what others expect her to be. But that's so hard for a shy girl like her. So the bathroom works as her liberating key, where all the "obligations" vanish.

Not coincidentally, she chose the bathroom to read her Pony Princess novels. Until she gains enough confidence to read them in the living room, under the curious eyes of the entire family (and under the relentless gaze of Lynn Jr., threatening to beat up any sister who dares make fun of her sheltered sister's literary preferences).

So, once locked in the bathroom, Lucy hangs up the towel and removes her clothes, in no hurry.
Once undressed, she caresses her body, in a totally private sensory experience.
Who says that only Lana can embrace naturism?
Next, she opens the mini-cabinet over the sink.
After finding the hair scissors, she goes to the mirror and starts cutting her hair.
She could have stopped to contemplate her face one last time, but she preferred to act quickly before she could regret it.

10 seconds later, her bangs are in pieces in the sink.
She smiles morbidly:
"Wow, Lucy. What beautiful dead eyes you have."
Her eyes, revealed again to the world, after so many years hidden in a curtain of black hair.

But suddenly, doubt hits her.
What to do with the "mortal remains" of the fringe? Save it to burn in Haiku's sacrifice?
But for what exactly? To summon the spirit of Lincoln? Why, if Pastor Luke assured that this is useless?
And even if Pastor Luke is wrong, what would Lincoln's spirit do to comfort Lucy? After all, she will continue to cry and suffer after this.
But at least without any bangs to get in the way.
After all, the bangs now look just like that.
A symbol of embarrassment.

"Hmm… The bangs are mine, and I do whatever I want with them. After all, Lincoln has no power over my hair."
Without thinking too much, she collects all her bangs from the sink...
...and throws them in the wastebasket!

"Sorry, Lincoln. I hope you're not offended."
Smirk.
"And now, my bath."

20 minutes later, when the family gathers for dinner, Lucy is the last to appear.
While she doesn't emerge, Lola comments:
"She's going to try to scare us again."
"She's so dramatic," Lana observes.

Suddenly 3 knocks under the table.
Lynn Sr., Rita and the sisters sigh in relief.
No scares this time.

Lucy slowly appears in her chair.

The scare of sisters is general!

Except for Lisa, who isn't shocked by the change.

"Some problem?" Lucy asks, her eyes narrowed and quite visible.
"Hey Lucy, where's your bangs?" Leni asks.
"I threw it in the trash," Lucy summarizes.
"In the trash? But why?" Luan questions.
"Because she wants to live without bangs, duh," Lisa closes the question. "Why can none of you accept this?"
The sisters don't answer anything else.
"Thank you, Lisa," Lucy thanks her, for the 3rd time this day.

After taking her first mouthful, Lucy abandons her monotonous voice, and with her normal tone of voice, announces:

"From now on, I am no longer a 'spiritual coach' to anyone. I won't answer any more questions about dreams, birth charts or how the spirit world works. If you really want to know the supernatural, find out for yourself. I'm tired of being mocked by you for so long and now, after Lincoln's death, see you all treating me like 'you were always right'. Because now I'm the one who doesn't want to be right."

No one complains, though Lucy can read the annoyance on her sisters' faces.
"Daughter, that wasn't exactly nice of you," Rita admonishes her softly.
"I didn't mean to be nice," Lucy clarifies.
"Uh, okay, daughter," Lynn Sr. supports her. "You are free to do whatever you want."

Midnight.
Lynn Jr. is already asleep in her bed, while Lucy reads the Bible at her desk.
Suddenly, her smartphone rings.

"Hello Haiku."
"Hello Lucy. Are you ready?"
"Ready for what?"
"For the midnight sacrifice."
"There will be no sacrifice, Haiku."
"How not? Have you cut your bangs yet?"
"I cut it, but I threw it in the trash."
"Why?"
"Because I've come to the conclusion that if Lincoln really wants to talk to me, he won't be so stingy as to demand that I do something he would never have asked me to do in life, whether it's cut my bangs or incinerate my poetry notebook."
"Then why did you remove your fringe?"
"Because it's my right. And I'll say more: if tomorrow you see me wearing pink shoes, that's not your problem."
"Lucy, I'm your friend. Why are you talking to me like that? I want to help you review Lincoln."
"Haiku, you don't know my brother like I do. Now take your vase of honeysuckle and take it back to your house. And give them lots of love. Don't neglect them like I neglected Lincoln."
"But..."
"See you. Good death, by the way, good night."

CLIC!

Lucy puts her smartphone away and continues reading the Bible.

After getting ready for bed, Lucy kneels in front of the bed and says a prayer:

"Lord Jesus, if it's possible, make me meet Lincoln just one more time. If not, give me strength and courage to go on. Amen."

Next day, afternoon.
Lucy circles the garden of the house, looking for someone.
All she finds is Lana diving into a large puddle of mud, while her discarded clothes are lying around.

"Lucy?" Someone calls her from the back door.
"Lisa? I was really looking for you," Lucy approaches her sister. "Do you have a minute?"
"I should ask you this," Lisa holds a small briefcase and some plastic envelopes. "I need some samples from you for my experiment."
"Sigh… Of course. Lets sit."
Since Lincoln's death, Lisa has a more humane attitude towards her "guinea pigs", specifically her family. Now she chooses one sister at a time, taking turns between them, and always asking permission first.

As Lucy sits on the swing, she demands:
"No syringe today."
"No problem," Lisa assures, not looking at her sister, as she opens her briefcase.

Lisa pulls out a pair of razor scissors and cuts a sample of Lucy's hair.
"You look good without the bangs," Lisa compliments.
"Thanks. Cut just a little."
"I know what I'm doing. And by the way, how was the reaction at school?"
"Oh, nothing unusual. The kids around were staring at me at the beginning of class, but it soon passed. There were a couple of silly comments at recess, but I ignored them. I'm sure they'll talk about it for a long time, but I don't care."
"Excellent. Lincoln and Luan taught you very well to have thick skin."
Lisa keeps Lucy's hair in the first envelope.

Next, she picks up the cotton swab.
"Open your mouth."
Lucy complies and Lisa extracts some spittle from her, placing it in the second envelope.

"Now, take off your left shoe, please."
Lucy, without hesitation, removes her black shoe and sock.
Lisa picks up the nail clippers.
Lucy observes:
"If you were any other 4-year-old girl, I would ask you if you can handle it."
"Never ask that for a nuclear physicist," Lisa advises, as she trims Lucy's toenails.

After tucking the nail pieces into the third envelope, Lisa announces:
"We're done."
Lucy replaces her sock and shoe.
"So, Lucy, what do you want to talk about? Biology? Astronomy? Star Wars?"

Lucy sighs for a long time:
"Lisa, why is it that people are so moved by death? Whether it's the death of a loved one or even someone you barely know."
"It's a good question," Lisa ponders. "First comes the natural feeling of losing someone we love. Second, the identification of the tragedy of those who die with our own personal pains, conflicts and dilemmas. Third, humanity's permanent discomfort with that great enigma that is death. The Bible, that you must be reading, says in Ecclesiastes 3.11, 'God puts Eternity in the human heart.' "
"And what does that mean?"
"It means that every human being nourishes within himself the desire for permanence, to live forever fully and accomplished. That's why religions have been and are so successful throughout History, for trying to provide answers to our doubts. That's why Voltaire ironized: 'if God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.' "

"And you, Lisa, how do you fit in this equation?" Lucy wants to know, still sitting on the swing.
"Huh? What?"
"You're an atheist. You don't believe in God or any kind of afterlife. How do you live in peace with the idea of dying and ending it all?"
"Simple: I don't stop to think about it. If I worry about death, I won't be able to do anything. What matters to me is knowing that I only have one life now and I can't waste it like Lincoln did and..."

Lisa stops.

...

...

...

She takes off her glasses.

And she starts to cry.

"Come here," Lucy pats her legs.
Lisa climbs onto the swing and sits on legs of Lucy, who hugs her little sister gently.

Neither Lucy nor Lisa are fans of kissing and hugging, but Lincoln's death has made them see the world in new colors.

"Hug as much as you can," Lucy repeats the phrase that has become her mantra. "You never know when your loved one will leave."
"We've disrupted Lincoln's life too much," Lisa acknowledges. "And now it's too late to repair the damage. We can never bring him back."
"But God can," Lucy assures. "I believe in that."
"For you, a spiritual girl, it's so easy."
"No, it's not easy. But nothing in life is."

Lisa continues clinging to lap of Lucy, who also sheds her tears silently.

Suddenly, Lucy starts singing:

There must be more to life than killing
A better way for us to survive
What good is life, in the end we all must die
There must be more to life than this

Lisa goes on singing:

There must be more to life than this
There must be more to life than this
I live and hope for a world filled with love
Then we can all just live in peace

Lucy and Lisa face each other and sing together:

There must be more to life, much more to life
There must be more to life, more to life than this

Lucy kisses Lisa's forehead.

Lisa kisses Lucy's cheek.

Lucy gets up from the swing and walks out, carrying Lisa in bridal style.

Both smiling.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Phew! There it is!

The flashback refers to the episode Sleuth or Consequences.

Pastor Luke is inspired by the Brazilian theologian Lucas Banzoli, whose book opened my eyes to the hoax about the "immortal soul".

Most biblical quotes in this chapter are from the King James Version, which is NOT a mortalist translation...

The song that Lucy and Lisa sing at the end is There Must Be More to Life Than This by Freddie Mercry and Michael Jackson.

I'm not sure what we'll see in the next chapter, but after Luan and Lisa, it's time to see Lucy interacting with her sporty guardian, right?

See you soon!