I struggled to open my eyes as I saw a flicker of light pass by, faint voices becoming clearer as I regained my consciousness. I forcibly lifted my lids, and as my vision cleared, an image of a woman with dark curly hair met my gaze.

I jolted upright, instantly feeling the pang of pain inside my head.

"W-where am I? Who are you?" I asked in panic, lifting myself from the bed despite the pain that dominated my body.

"No, no dear, don't try to get up yet. You're safe here, don't worry." The woman cautioned and helped me back down. "Before you ask again, my name is Marina Jacob; you are in our Pastoral house." My eyes widened at her statement.

"Excuse me, Pastoral house? Wait... What do you mean, Uhm, Ma'am?"

"Pastor Eyasan saw you unconscious near a bar, and it seemed like nobody would actually be around to pick you up so he decided to take you with him here... also to keep you safe." I nodded as the realization came to me; the last thing I remember was when I fell to my knees and... prayed. As funny as that may sound, I do remember my words clearly. I lowered my gaze as I continued to recant what had happened, and instantly the memory of my dimming sight flashed in my head.

Oh my goodness.

I gazed towards the woman before me. Ah, the Jesus People.

"I'm so sorry for being a bother Ma'am. I really appreciate your help, but I can handle myself now. I can go..." I assured.

"Oh is that so? Will your parents be looking for you?" I lowered my head as I heard the question. Well, of course she'd ask that. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't something I could reply to with ease.

"Uhm, I'm not with my parents." I saw her glad expression change as she heard my reply.

"Oh... So, who are you living with, then? If you don't mind me asking..."

"I live alone, in my apartment. My aunt lives somewhere else, Ma'am." The woman looked at me intently as I spoke.

"Hmm... Is it okay for me to ask, what happened to your parents dear?" My gaze was now fixed towards her, unsure of what to say next.

"I..." I took a deep breath as I began to speak. "Uhh... my mom married another man and my father died of a heart disease when I was five," I replied with my head down.

"Oh..." She looked at me with both disbelief and sympathy. "I'm sorry, dear."

"Yeah, It's okay. I've learned to live with it." I simply replied.

"Would you believe me if I said we are somewhat similar?" I glanced up to her with wonder, "My father died when I was a baby and my Mother was busy with her other family so... we were left to our grandfather." Silence reigned in our midst for a while. I scurried my mind for a way to ask, curiosity triggered within me as I thought of her words.

"So... what happened?"

"Well, I was miserable. I felt really bad and desperate for love and attention that I expected my parents to give. Having them on somewhat different worlds, I never actually had that desire fulfilled." I watched her as she recanted her past, eyes afar as she spoke. We are similar. "So," She continued, "Because of the frustration I felt, I tried cutting my wrist until it bled so bad in hopes to end my life." My eyes widened as she spoke, even more so when she rolled up her sleeves and showed the slit marks that scarred her tanned skin.

Woah,

"What can I say? My life was meaningless and that's why I did these things." She continued as she rolled her sleeves down.

"Umm... But Ma'am, you don't look like the kind of person that would actually do those things?" I stared at her in disbelief.

"I know," She replied with a smile, to which I felt my curiosity intensify. "That's because my past, all that I was before is cleansed with the blood of Christ." She paused and gazed upon me. "All I had back then was anger, hate, loneliness, and such but, without any exaggeration, when I accepted Jesus in my heart, the void was just... filled."

My gaze remained towards her, unaltered as I drank in each word she said. I could feel fascination grip me. She really didn't say much, but her words felt like arrows hitting my heart. If my friends were here, they'd say I'm crazy, but I know it's not crazy. It's real, insanely real. And my mind was having a hard time figuring it out.

"I may not know completely what you're going through right now, but God does, and He offers you rest from all the things that you've been through. There is always hope when you are in Christ." Her statement amazed me. It's as if she knew exactly the questions I was asking the whole time. Embarrassment gripped my being as I felt a pair of tears slide down my eyes, wiping them away in haste as soon as they fell.

I took in a breath, lifting my gaze once more when I felt the woman gather me in her arms. "It's okay, dear. It's no sin to cry..." I felt my cheek burn. I must admit, I had never been embraced like this before, and it felt really comforting.

"You know dear... If you want more, you can come tonight. We have a revival crusade at 7 pm here at the church grounds."

I nodded to her invitation without much thought, releasing a breath as I wiped my cheeks dry.

"I'd love to..."

---

I fiddled with the skirt that I now wore, feeling my heart pound against my chest as I stared towards the giant tent outside the Pastoral house.

"Might as well get in there already" I breathed.

I slowly made my way out of the room and headed for the church grounds. People wandered around the place, moving speakers and other stuff around. Others were talking, some, probably the early comers were already occupying the seats.

I felt a bit awkward as I walked to the tent, the flowy peach dress that Pastor Marina lent swaying with the wind as I moved. Wearing skirts and girly things was something I rarely did, but knowing this was all Pastor Marina could lend gave me no choice. I shook the idea off my mind. Its church, after all, and I am in no position to complain.

I took out my phone to check the time, sighing as I leaned against one of the church's post. But even before I could press its open button, the phone came alight with Aunt Riza's name.

Oh no...