A note: this will switch between first person and third person. There will be no warning just know that it will be from only one person’s view in first person’s; His.

Taking a deep breath of air refreshed his lungs…

But it brought no relief…

Relief for the weight burdening his soul.

Nothing seemed to bring relief.

He was exhausted,

He slept…

But never felt rested.

He was so tired…

Ready to just give up.

No one would ever understand.

Give-up…

It sounded so easy.

Yet he knew he would never be able to fully

Now she came along with her smile…

The blasted smile made him want to sleep…

Made him feel as if he had been breathing stale air…

Her smile told him she knew it all.

He supposed he should feel privileged.

Though by accident,

He had seen the bruises littering her arms.

She trusted him with her secret…

But he had never been given the privilege to see…

Her back.

The same back which gave her so much trouble…

Day after day.

She never let him call the police.

She had begged…

Saying it would destroy her family…

Her little brother was clueless…

She protected him so he could experience a somewhat normal life…

“Don’t call,” she pleaded.

He had relented.

He did not know why.

She talked so freely with him now.

Her heard the sorrow thick in her voice.

She repeatedly talked of ‘Jesus’, ‘Mary’, and ‘God’.

She was a catholic.

He never paid much attention to her when she talked of this.

He did not know why.

At home, he was always in a deep depression.

His parents always fighting.

He just wanted to give-up.

But something in him protested violently to the very idea.

Her so-called parents had raised her catholic.

Something bad happened…

He still had not been trusted with that secret…

A bad priest and they had left the church.

Yet somehow she managed to bring her brother to mass…

One day they were paired up on a history project.

It was due in three days.

That was insane it would take at the least a week…

Meaning they had to work everyday after school.

He faced her,

“I’m really sorry,” he apologized,

Her smile stayed light though he could feel dread fill the air around him.

“But my parents… They’re remodeling the house.”

The library was being remodeled too.

It had been for the past month.

They could check out books but they could not stay and study.

She was claustrophobic,

Not being able to stand the small café’s.

“We’ll go to my place,” she smiled.

That was all.

A simple smile.

Agreement.

She led the way giggling and talking the whole way.

I had never known her to babble like a girl.

Probably one of the reason’s I hung out with her so much.

But there was another reason outside of enjoying her company…

She made me feel special.

I did not think my situation was so bad anymore.

The criticisms...

Moving back and forth between houses…

The fights…

I almost felt guilty.

I mentioned it once to her.

She seemed so delighted.

I wanted to hit her…

But I knew she would shy away from me.

She said she was happy.

Happy that something good came from her.

She was still innocent and…

So trusting.

Yet at the same time,

So much mature than anyone I had ever met.

Knowing the true meaning of pain…

And of life.

Her mother had taught her so much…

But she had broken so easily…

Not believing what she taught.

She met her brother.

I was surprised.

Her with her dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skin…

Her cheerful disposition…

Was the complete opposite from her brother.

His fair light blond hair…

Blue eyes…

Porcelain skin with the lightest dusting of freckles…

barely noticeable,

And such a solemn expression.

He looked up at me,

Gave a hint of a smile

And let his sister continue her introduction.

He greeted me, scratching his wind-blown hair.

They headed inside…

The brother’s figure large and tall…

Next to his sister’s short slight form.

It all seemed so silly.

He greeted his parents.

I noticed his shorts and T-short.

She seemed a little worried.

There was a yell.

She bolted forward…

Her delightful smile dropping slightly.

She had told me to stay here…

Out of sight…

Both for them and me.

I crept forward…

Still out of sight…

But only for them.

She was scolding her brother.

He yelled at her not happy.

Apparently he had gotten in an argument with the teacher.

They were clearly not happy…

Biting words flowed from her mouth.

Her brother pouted…

Before heading up the stairs.

She tried to escape…

But never had the chance,

An hand clutched her wrist…

Her father’s.

The one who she took after.

Her brother took after the mother.

She was thrown harshly across the room,

Slammed against the cabinets…

Wincing as the metal handles dug into her back.

“You’re not the parent,” her mother said coldly.

“I know I’m sorry,” She replied.

“You know how bossy I can be.”

Bossy?

Her?

Never.

No way!

“You have to be taught a lesson.”

Her father advanced,

A belt had someway made its way into her hands.

Not a single cry come from her.

I was so surprised.

Verbal flayings flew.

Like the one’s I received…

But they were never accompanied with physical flaying.

I was ready to cry out in pain…

In her place.

Her face was cut.

They stopped.

I wanted to run to her…

I was a bloody coward.

I knew she did not want me too though.

She stood.

“I’ve learned.”

She left the room.

I stood from my crouched position.

In the darkness of the hallway,

I could barely see her wounds.

She seemed startled to find I had moved.

She smiled at me reassuringly.

“It’s only a nightmare…”

She tapped my shoulder,

And motioned for me to follow her.

We crept upstairs.

“Thank-you.”

“Why?”

“You did not interfere.”

“They always feel sorry, when the alcohol leaves.”

She opened a door,

Looked inside.

“Just a minute.”

She slipped inside.

A second later the door opened.

“Wait here,” she told me.

She disappeared.

I heard her call her brother’s name.

I heard her apologize.

After some pleading,

He forgave her and apologized as well.

For being so stubborn.

She returned as I stepped inside her room.

I was slightly amazed.

Lime green walls,

Dark green bed sheets…

Were tasseled around her un-made bed.

Something covered her desk,

A small blanket.

She smiled apologetically for the mess.

We started working on the project.

He looked at the girl swinging her legs against the bed frame.

“How do you keep going?”

She shrugged.

“Don’t you ever just want to… give-up?”

She looked down at me with patronizing…

But understanding eyes.

“Yes,” was the simple answer.

I was becoming frustrated.

“Why?”

I cried.

“How?

I continued.

“Why don’t- won’t you give up?”

She seemed ever slightly startled by his outburst.

After a minute’s thought she answered.

“The same reason you don’t, slightly differed.”

I drew back at her reference to me.

She paid me no heed

“There’s more to life,

You know that.

I know that.

This is only a nightmare.”

“Justice?”

I asked.

She looked at me.

“I was getting there.

This is only a nightmare, right?

I don’t know that.

How do I continue?

My brother…

My other brother, ‘Jesus’.

My real mother, ‘Mary’.

My true father, ‘God’.

Here on earth everyone are brother’s and sister’s.

God is our father,

Mary the mother of God is our mother,

Jesus, God and the son of God, is our brother.

I’m a roman catholic.

‘Justice?’ you ask.

I hope my parents don’t receive full justice.

I want them to enjoy heaven with me.

Catholics are taught to love their enemies.

My parents are the only ones I’ve managed that.

But that’s the journey of life.

The meaning of life,

To strive to be perfect…

So you can enter heaven.

It will never happen.

Only Jesus was completely perfect.

But it’s a goal.

And Jesus forgives me every time I’m sorry…

And ask for forgiveness,

He forgives me.

Only one sin is unforgivable…

The sin against the Holy Spirit…

The sin you do not want forgiveness for.

I ask Jesus for courage everyday,

That I may continue.

Another reason is:

I don‘t want to give up.”

I was astonished to say the least.

From what I knew…

Well I knew very little.

“It hurts every time I see a non-practicing catholic

Or someone who is not catholic.

I feel kinda guilty for telling you about the church.

But I couldn’t stop myself.”

She looked at me her dark eyes pleading…

And patronizing at the same time.

“For anyone who has a chance to hear of Jesus,

To know of the church,

Has an obligation to find the truth for themselves,

Otherwise, They’ll be denied entrance.

‘Those who deny that they know me,

I will deny that I know them in front of my father.’

Jesus said that.

Before he died a horrible death on the cross for us.

Consider at least becoming one, please.

It is the true faith.

It can be proven logically as well.

Jesus,

He’s the new covenant.

He started the catholic church.

How do we know he was telling the truth?

There are three explanations.

He was lying…

He was crazy… Insane…

He was telling the truth…

Those are the three options.

There are no other options.

Right?”

He nodded his head.

“So that cancels out the Jews protests,

They are still waiting for the savior.

But they were haughty,

They were the chosen people,

But also the gentiles.

Jesus came and died for everyone.

From listening to his teachings,

His talks,

You know there is no way he could be crazy or insane.

Lying?

Yes, he could have been.

But think about it.

There were many people who witnessed his miracles.

So that all had to be true.

Another thing what did he have to gain by lying?

Nothing.

Maybe you could argue fame.

But that doesn’t make any sense,

At least not to me,

And also why would he not do it in a different way.

Pretending to be a prophet would have been better.

No he had nothing to gain.

He had everything to loose.

His life.

He must have been insane to be lying…

And we already deleted that from the list of possibilities.

Only one thing left.

He was telling the truth.”

“Demons,’ the boy asked.

“Huh?”

“Devils could have done all that.”

“He suffered true pain.

No demon would have done that.

He also cast out demons from possessed people.

He undermined the devil’s power.

The devil tempted him.

He was no devil.

No way no how.”

“What about protestants?”

She looked at him strangely.

“Do you know any history?

The protestant rebellion?”

“Protestant reformation,” her corrected as he had been.

She laughed,

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh.

I really shouldn’t,

But what reformation?

There was no protestants before 1517

There was nothing to reform.

They started new religions,

That was a rebellion.

Plain and simple.

In no way shape or form a reformation.

There was a reformation going on at the time.

The church did need reforming,

I’ll give you that, and there was a great saint of the time.

But there was no protestant reformation,

Only the protestant rebellion.

Luther decided that he didn’t like the ways of the church,

So he started a heresy.

Did you know that there are studies that think Luther was bi-polar?

So after fifteen hundred years,

Some bi-polar opens the doors for new religions other than pagan religions?

Seems pretty fake to me.

Plus there are so many branches of each main protestant religion.

Some have died out.

Now in the twenty-second century

The catholic church still exists.

The only religions that is older than the catholic church is Judaism and Paganism.

Paganism is not the true religion.

Jews are merely still living under the old covenant instead of the new one.

The Catholic religion is the only religion to have ever been universal.

It has had some rough times.

It has become corrupted,

But it has always returned stronger and better than the time before.

Never dying out.

Logically it seems to me,

The Roman Catholic faith is the true faith.”

He sat down again, “Tell me more?”

He was interested.

She was right.

It left no room for argument that he could think of.

She smiled.

He had never seen such a bright true smile.

“I’ve got a better idea.

I don’t want to steer you wrong.

I’m still learning my faith.

How about we go talk to father?

The priest.

The church is a ten minute walk away.”

He glanced at his watch,

“Can I call my mom?”

“Sure!”

So he called.

He told his mother he would be back late.

They left.

Her brother trailing along.

She was so happy.

He learned so much.

He realized where she received her strength…

The strength to keep going forward…

She asked for it.

She asked and was answered.

He no longer wanted to give up.

He was being baptized this Easter.

He was receiving his first communion.

He was waiting to be confirmed.

A week after Easter,

That was such a joy.

He had never felt happier.

He accompanied her to the church.

Confession was being heard.

They both went.

He felt as if he was being cleaned,

Gently.

All the stain from the sins he had committed since his baptism was washed away,

By the tears of Jesus.

Such a wonderful feeling.

‘Give-up.’

Came a small voice a year later.

People were cruel.

He had born prosecutions for the church.

But it was more than worth it.

Some hurt more than others.

But he always managed to struggle through,

He knew it was only through the grace of God.

He kept working as she did.

He pushed away the small voice telling him to give-up.

He was stronger than that know.

He defeated it.

The tiny voice whispering ‘Give-up’

Came back.

But it was weaker each time it came back.

Whenever he listened

It came back stronger.

When he ignored it

It was weakened.

He had married that girl.

The one who had brought so much joy into his life.

She prayed daily for the conversion of sinners…

And for her parents.

Through her prayers, his prayers and the prayers of her brother,

Her parents returned to the church…

He was ready to give up hope.

She scolded him when ever he had mentioned it.

Now that she was twenty-five,

Her parents returned to the church.

After fifteen years of prayers and sacrifices.

Some prayers take longer to receive an answer than others.

But such a happy smile graced her face,

He decided it was well worth it.

It was lent.

He really wanted a French fry,

But He had given it up.

‘Give-up.’

The voice whispered.

He was tempted to listen to it,

To give up on trying to make sacrifices for lent.

Instead he sighed and flicked it away.

It was so small.

He had defeated it

Though it still came back.

It knew it was defeated.

He remembered back to the day when he first met his wife.

He was so close to giving-up.

So close to giving-in.

It would have been so easy…

But he would have never known this happiness.

Comments? Flames? Questions? A word? Leave a review please?!!! Tell us what you think. We hope we didn’t steer you wrong. We hope we didn’t offend anyone but this is the truth. We’re still learning the faith ourselves. But we’ll try to answer any questions you bring before us or find the correct answer for them.