Maia took a few candles from the box and dropped some coins. I did the same. We slowly walked towards an isle where there was what looked like a rack made of steel. It has small slots where you can put the candles. This isle is in a garden beside the church. Maia quietly put one candle on each slot and lit them. Again, I did as she did. I noticed now that she took seven candles. She solemnly stared at the candles. After a few seconds, her right hand gently touched her forehead, then the chest, then the left shoulder, and finally the right shoulder. She then clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.
Maia’s parents both serve the church every Sunday. Her father sings in the choir, while her mother reads some sort of lines for the ceremony. Whatever they call it, I am yet to know.
Bob looked at the candles, but he was not giving too much focus as Maia did. I just realized now that he did not get his own candles.
I closed my eyes as Maia did, but I did so more briefly than her. When she opened her eyes, she did the same gestures with her hand. Her right hand gently touched her forehead, then the chest, then the left shoulder, and finally the right shoulder. She smiled at both Bob and me and then we started walking out of the isle.
“What if the god that you worship is actually the aliens?” Bob asked as we walked.
“That still confirms that there is a higher intelligence, more powerful than us,” Maia replied.
Like Maia, my mother was baptized in the Catholic church. I was not. My father is a Muslim. Although my mother and I had to follow some dress code when at a family gathering, my mother says she has never been criticized by my father’s relatives even as she continues to go to Catholic churches. My father would say the same. And neither have asked me to go with them. Visiting churches, whatever religion, feel like going to museum for me.
We walked towards the church. Along the way, we would meet kids selling strings of tiny white flowers. The flowers are unbelievably very fragrant. Bob must have felt a thug in his heart looking at the kids that he bought a few of them. We all laughed when he finally asked us what he was supposed to do with the flowers. There were also a few men and women selling booklets and jewelries. Bob looked at one of the necklaces. It has an oval pendant with the face of a bearded man.
Maia and I walked towards the church. Bob kept following our steps but his eyes are on the people around. He looked more amazed and surprised than me about the customs of Christians.
Bob’s parents were both atheists. It was ironic that he went to a catholic school. But what was more ironic was that his lack of belief in god became stronger.
He abruptly stopped when he realized that we were already about to enter the church. I looked at him and he looked back at me. I saw surprise in his eyes. I was confused of his reaction. I looked at Maia.
She did not look at us. Her attention was at the statue of a man just in front of the church. She took out her handkerchief and ceremoniously wiped the statue with it. She then did the same gesture as she did at the candle isle. Her right hand which holds the handkerchief gently touched her forehead, then the chest, then the left shoulder, and finally the right shoulder. Bob’s eyebrows seemed to rush towards the center and his forehead wrinkled. Maia finally looked at us and smiled again.
She then proceeded closer to the door. There were two big widely opened double doors. At the middle of the double doors was a column. Attached to the column was a decorative shell, about a meter and a half above the ground. A figure of some kind of angels were on top of it.
Maia put her hand into the shell and it became wet. She then did the same gesture again. Her right hand touched her forehead, chest, and then her shoulders.
Bob and I went close to her and curiously peeked at the shell. It was a water vessel. Bob smirked in confusion. Maia was ready to go inside. I was still tagging along
“I’ll stay outside. I’ll wait for you in that coffee shop,” Bob exclaimed.
Maia smiled at him sweetly and nodded.
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