Lain sat at the ocean bed , pondering about what life would be like as a spartan. He truly adored them.With the brave and proud march they did walking to battle, the loud roars they did , truly asserting dominance. Lain what to join the , to be just like them , to be one of them.
That was when he saw a fairly large ship with a design so distinguishable he knew who exactly they were.The Israelites , they were sailing to Greece, he's home land."what could they possibly want?" Lain asked himself while slowly standing up to stretch his back which was sore for sitting in one posture for hours.
The ship hit the edge of Greece and that's when they slowly started ascending. The Israelite men didn't look hostile, instead they looked welcoming and were on a mission.
A crowd slowly formed towards them.Lain followed, curious to hear what they had to say.
"My brothers and sisters," one of them said with a soft tone which was firm and loud enough for everyone to hear "we have come to spread the good news, you all have been forgiven , by one who is all powerful," at this point Lain was confused. What could he mean by forgiven , what wrong had they done?
"You all have been forgiven by God , out creator, he welcomes u in his family and is inviting u to join,"
The crowd started mumbling in Greek, most of them not knowing what they could have said and we're looking for a translator.
Lain understood a bit of the Hebrew . His family used to live in Israel before the great famine which affected the world and forced his family to go back to Greece.
"We came here to teach all about about Jesus our savior and help you, my brothers to reach salvation," the Christian man said. "And what makes your beliefs the true religion?" a voice from the back of the crowd shouted in imperfect Hebrew. The crowd dispersed from the man , revealing who it was.
Old man Ezpo.
Old man Ezpo was a local leavened bread seller. Lain mainly went to him when he purchased some.
The Christian man smiled,"well, simply because he left us with the sole mission to spread the truth , because it is written, the men of God will be set to hell because of the lack of knowledge,"
Everyone turned to Ezpo looking for an answer for this debate of the foreign tongue.
He quickly explained to them what was going on.
As expected they were one Ezpo's side. No one would change what they believed just because men from a ship said so.
Lain felt a tap on his back. It was Lira, Lains younger brother. That's when Lain looked at the sky , the sun was setting, he spent all day pondering and listening to debates in Hebrew. He forgot about mother .
Lain put his hands on his face knowing he's getting a long lecture for being so upsent minded.
Ever since the famine , Lain's life has never been the same, especially with the terrible timing of his mother ending up expectant.
"Father is really furious" Lira said looking very concerned for his brother .
Lain walked first and Lira followed . As they arrived , the sunset didn't make the situation any better: a rich dark orange Illuminating the sky , candles not lit yet making the inside of their house look ominous and the curtains blowing out the door was just the cherry on top.
Lain walked in knowing he's about to have a bad night .
When Lain looked up to see who would be the first to take him through a whole lesson of morals and discipline, he saw Father, just sitting there, silently.
Father looked to see who had entered his house . It was Lain. He let out a sigh. Disappointed.
"How many times?" Father said while still rubbing his eyes.
"How many times ?" Lain asked , confused, not knowing what he meant
"How many times will I tell u to stop being so upsent minded ! Your turning 16 , about to be a valid candidate for the choosing . Do you know how crucial discipline is ?-" Father burst out screaming, clearly annoyed.
That was when Mother walked in . Father calmed down at the sight of her , she was like his cryptonite , always subsiding the roaring fire.
She smiled , gracefully walked over to Father and went to tie the naughty hairs off his face to match the slick back ponytail he had.
"You don't have to rush the boy so much," she said calming him down " he probably has a good reason for all this." She turned to Lain.
"What took you so long ?"
What excuse could Lain give this time? He knew damn well that telling them he was daydreaming all day would get his father so mad even mother probably would not be able to calm him down , he had to think of one , and quick.
Lain paused. His father tilted his head , looking straight at his soul , searching for the slightest bit of lie.
"Speak-" father was cut off.
"Missionaries..." Lain said, terrified of what could happen next.
"Hmph?" Father confused . "Missionaries? "
"A group of Israelites, they landed at the shore and they said they wanted to save us,"Lain added, "and old man Ezpo was debating with them about which religion is the real one."
Father and mother glanced at each other . They knew Israelites would be trouble, especially because of mother passed .
Her passed was so secret even she couldn't fully open up to Father about it .
"I want you to about the shore and all Israelites you could possibly see ." Mother said , she did not sound as caring and welcoming as before .
Lira walked in , confusing everyone on what took him so long . This caused a brief rapture in attention towards him . He looked up confused . He put his hands up slightly signaling that he didn't mean any trouble.
"But I'm confused." Lain brought all the attention back to him." I know everyone here believes in Zeus and the other gods, but how sure can we be it is all true?"
"Don't question it " Father burst out . " You will be inviting curses from Hades. Believe what is true and what is true is Elysium."
"But it all doesn't make sense father ." Lain accidentally raided his voice." We are born in our beliefs. We don't choose what we think is the best , it is simply an inheritance."
Father was getting mad . Who did this boy think he was , questioning Olympus , foolish!
Father decided to control himself, not letting his anger destroy this child .
Mother went upright and walked away, stoping the argument before it escalated.
"What should we make for dinner?" Mother asked.
"Meat!" Lira burst in excitement .
Mother tapped the wall , signaling for Lian to come and help her prepare dinner.
Lain followed. Mother had already started setting the fire when Lain arrived .
"..." Lain was to say something, but decided not to , it is not like anyone would listen to him .
Lain was not a person you would describe as normal . Ever since he was birthed , he's parents always said he was special . Never let him try to use his insignia.
Always told everyonet that lain was too strong for him to freely use his powers. Well even though it was unheard of , based on how new humanity was to insignia , the possibilities were endless.
Lain stood at the entrance of their small kitchen , waiting for orders. He could tell Mother was poundering about something. Whatever it was , it troubled her.
They were finally done with dinner , father still visually annoyed , and Lira fighting with sleep. Everyone was sitting at the dinner table , Lain brought all the utensils and food. Rather quietly, they ate as a family , one of the only times they get to awkwardly bond .
Lira was the first one to bed (getting carried from the dinner table while knocked out), father followed with mother , and Lain was the last one . He blew off all the candles that were being used to illuminate their house made out of mud brick , stone , wood and thatch.
As soon as Lain was in bed , still daydreaming about the missionary situation, he saw a light orange glow moving towards his and Lira's room. It was mother , she was going to their room , what could she want ?
She sat at Lain's bed edge knowing Lain wasn't asleep yet. He faced the mud brick wall which touched his bed frame. She softly ran her hand across his neck , removing the curly hairs which covered part of his ear.
"I know this is all confusing for you," she said, certain Lain was listening." The concept of holy beings up above is still a mystery to us , we can't ever be sure , I understand you my son ," she assured Lain.
She stood up , heading to her room . "But it doesn't make sense-" Lain abruptly looked back at his mother who was already walking back to her room . At this point Mother was already walking away. She stopped and whispered to herself,"oh yes it does my son , it all makes sense, you will know very very soon."
Lain slowly went back to his sleeping position he had initially had , thinking Mother hadn't have heard him.